FIFA International Soccer is a 1993 association football video game developed by EA Canada's Extended Play Productions team and published by Electronic Arts.
Tournament mode resembles the format of the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship, with the player controlling a team of their choice through a series of matches, starting with three group games with the possibility of progressing to four further games in a knockout format.
The computer-controlled goalkeeper will kick the ball to the opposing player, giving the other an easy chance to score.
Initially, the development took place for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis under the working title of EA Soccer, with a small budget of around $50,000-$100,000.
EA's UK team looked at both games, but felt they needed to do something different to set themselves apart, by adding more realism and an isometric viewpoint.
[7] Other EA Sports titles held official licences from the leagues depicted to allow real team names, players and stadia to be included, and with a view to securing the same for their football title, EA signed a five-year deal with football's governing body, FIFA.
EA decided they would need to bring forward their game ahead of the US Gold title, and aimed for a Christmas 1993 release.
Fearing a sales flop, they reversed the decision and decided to release the game worldwide under the FIFA International Soccer title, providing the option of moving unsold stock to other markets.
Reviewing the original Mega Drive version, Edge magazine praised the way the crowd sounds reacted to the play on the field as well as the visual detail of the players and their animations with the isometric view.
With only minor concerns around the response time to the players input and the lack of an on-screen clock graphic, they awarded a score of 94%.
The magazine stated that "In no other game can you achieve such a high degree of pinpoint accuracy when passing", and praised players executing offensive or defensive stance depending on location.
They also praised the graphics, animation, digitized crowd chants, and accessibility to players of all skill levels.
They especially praised the highly detailed graphics, multiple views, realistic gameplay, and six-player support.
[39] In 1996, Next Generation listed the Genesis and 3DO versions as number 71 on their "Top 100 Games of All Time", saying it "put 3DO on the map after a year of disappointing titles for the system, and ... breathed life into EA's flagging sports line-up."
[45] In 1995, Flux magazine rated the 3DO version 53rd on its Top 100 Video Games writing: "Player Controllable camera angles help make FIFA 3DO, without a doubt, the most advanced sports title to date.
The series passed 100 million total sales in 2010, and EA's licence to use the FIFA title runs through to 2022.