The FIFA video games are known for being the
best-selling sports video game franchise in the world. The new FIFA 16 game is
gaining headlines and publicity for its inclusion of women’s soccer players both
on the cover and in the game. Before this point, gamers only had the option to
play as men’s soccer teams, and only male soccer players had been featured on
the game’s cover. However, the game now offers the opportunity for gamers to
play as 12 different women’s national teams from across the world, including Australia,
Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Sweden,
and the US. FIFA 16 is also being recognized for placing women on the covers of
the game in versions of FIFA 16 being sold in the United States, Canada, and
Australia. To decide who would be on the covers, EA Sports, the makers of the
game, placed a poll on the internet so that fans could vote for who they wanted
to see on the cover. The winners were each placed alongside Lionel Messi, the face
of the franchise since 2013, on the game’s cover in their respective countries.
Highlighted names show the 3 women who have been featured on the cover of FIFA 16. The rest of the names are male. |
In a preliminary survey, the “announcement of the inclusion of woman players was met with positive critical response from IGN,”
or Imagine Games Network. When asked what he thought about starring alongside
Alex Morgan on the United States’ FIFA 16 cover, Messi said, "Having women's national teams in 'FIFA 16' will be great. Alex and her team have accomplished something amazing for their country and the sport in the USA, and to share the cover with her is an honor." Not only is this good publicity
for EA Sports and FIFA 16 for including women in their game, but also good
publicity for the United States’ Women’s National Soccer Team, especially Alex
Morgan, and women’s soccer as a whole. At an EA Sports press release, Morgan
said, "It is an incredible honor to be one of the first women featured on the cover of EA SPORTS FIFA. I know people all over the world play this game and I'm really excited that 'FIFA 16' is putting such an important spotlight on women's soccer…”
There are some limitations to the women’s
teams included in the game. Unlike men’s teams, the women’s national teams only have the option to play in friendly games, as well as an offline tournament mode.
The game’s most popular mode, Ultimate Team, is unavailable for women’s teams.
Also, when compared to the sheer amount of men’s teams and leagues represented
in the FIFA 16 game, the women's representation is incomparable. The main reason for the discrepancy may
be because this is the first edition of FIFA in which women are included,
however, are there hopes for more women’s teams to be represented in the
future?
Shown here are the covers of the FIFA 16 game in Canada and the United States, respectively. |
Also, there may be an ulterior motive to
the franchise’s inclusion of women in the game. Some people have argued that
FIFA only included women in the game for a predicted sales boost. A main point
of an argument presented by
a London blogger Amanda Connelly is that “…women have played FIFA and participated in equally exciting high level sports forever… it highlights the fact that FIFA ignored the already undervalued successes of women in sports and the women playing its game for so long.”
It could be argued that FIFA only included women in fear of losing consumers,
as they had been receiving requests for years to include women in the game, but
in the realization that women are just now being recognized for their accomplishments
in soccer, in the form of finally being given representation in FIFA 16, is a
bit concerning.
Advertisement for FIFA 16's most emphasized new feature: inclusion of Women's National Teams. |
The idea of there being gender inequality
connects to Alex’s current event presentation, on the grounds of trying to
create equality within sports. Also, the idea of one woman representing an
entire group relates to when Alexa mentioned how Hayley Williams is the most
well-known woman in punk rock; as Alex Morgan is essentially the face of women’s
soccer in the United States, as demonstrated with her being on the FIFA 16
cover.
Discussion Questions:
1. Why do you think EA Sports waited until now to
include women in their FIFA video games?
2. Only 3 out of 15 countries voted to put a female
soccer player on the cover of their FIFA 16 game. What do you think could’ve
caused this discrepancy?
3. Do gender roles play a part in women being “accepted”
into the sports world, as represented by their inclusion in the FIFA 16 video game?
Sources:
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/28/fifa-16-to-include-womens-football-for-the-first-time
http://espn.go.com/espnw/athletes-life/the-buzz/article/13288807/alex-morgan-represents-us-women-historic-fifa-16-cover
http://www.i4u.com/2015/07/93427/alex-morgan-appears-alongside-lionel-messi-ea-sports-fifa-16-cover
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_16
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_(video_game_series)
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/fifa-16-puts-woman-on-cover-for-first-time-ever-in/1100-6429028/
http://www.i4u.com/2015/07/93427/alex-morgan-appears-alongside-lionel-messi-ea-sports-fifa-16-cover
http://thenextweb.com/opinion/2015/07/21/fifa-16-acknowledging-women-exist-isnt-something-to-applaud/
http://www.fifa.com/media/news/y=2015/m=5/news=twelve-women-s-national-teams-to-feature-in-ea-sports-fifa-16-2609581.html
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