EA Sports FC has earned the second-biggest physical launch of 2023 in the UK.
According to Head of GamesIndustry.biz’ Chris Dring, the first entry in the newly rebranded football series managed to beatHogwarts Legacyin physical sales, but fell short of dethroningThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
However, physical sales forEAFC are down 30% overFIFA 23, the last entry in the series before the branding split with football’s governing body.
Dring notes that EA had expected some short-term impact as a result of its rebrand away from FIFA, whose name it has used in video games for over 25 years.
Notably, theNintendo Switchversion of the game is up physically vs FIFA 23. This is likely due to EA ditching the “legacy edition” from the Nintendo Switch version, which saw the last few years of FIFA releases on Switch relegated to a simple update of kits and players, rather than a new game.EA SportsFC on Switch finally makes the jump to the Frostbite engine, and is feature-complete with other formats.
EA Sports FC’s physical launch in the UK is the second highest of the year, behind Zelda but ahead of Hogwarts Legacy
In terms of physical versions… UK launch sales of EA Sports FC on Switch are up (slightly) compared to the launch of FIFA 23. It’s the only platform that has posted a sales improvement year-on-year. I wonder why? (I know why)
The most notable change in this year’s game is the inclusion of women in its Ultimate Team mode, allowing for mixed-gender teams.
The top women’s leagues from England, France, Germany, Spain and the US have been added to the mode. Male and female players can play in the same team, and if they’re part of the same affiliated team (such as Chelsea FC and Chelsea Women) they receive a further chemistry link.
In ourreview of the current-gen versions of EA FC 24, we said “EA Sports FC 24isn’t the huge departure that we’d hoped for. While Ultimate Team devotees will likely be happy, the rest of the game feels like an afterthought in the transition away from the FIFA license.
