What do you wish for FIFA 18? Here is our wishlist for the upcoming football simulation.
In just four months, the release of FIFA 18 is expected in September 2017.
So far, there is hardly any official information about it. Only Andrew Wilson, CEO of EA, provided a glimpse of FIFA 18: It is supposed to build on the foundation laid by FIFA 17, continue the story mode “The Journey” and bring innovative changes.
But what innovations can fans look forward to?
We probably won’t get an answer to that until E3 in June. Until then, we can make assumptions, speculations, and wishes for FIFA 18.
These are the things we wish for FIFA 18
The FIFA fan community has concrete and diverse ideas on how to improve FIFA 18 compared to FIFA 17. The wishes range from a complete overhaul of some game modes to visual, cosmetic adjustments. All these ideas would exceed our “Top 10” list by far.
Therefore, we will now list ten wishes that are particularly frequently mentioned in worldwide FIFA forums and that we would also like to see realized in FIFA 18.
The highest priority: Gameplay!
EA Sports can come up with the coolest modes and features, but they all fade into the background if one thing is not right: The gameplay. Because as Adi Preißler once rightly pointed out: “The decisive factor is on the field.”
Every year, EA Sports advertises that the gameplay becomes even more realistic. The players become smarter, recognize spaces better, position themselves cleverly or defend more intelligently. However, in practice, curious scenes and wild actions on the virtual pitch repeatedly cause laughter or frustration.
In recent years, there has indeed been some progress in gameplay, but there is still plenty of room for improvement. An AI (artificial intelligence) that less frequently opens up spaces at the back for the opponent or suddenly stops in a sprint so that the pass doesn’t reach its target could certainly be further refined. Because it should not be the AI, but the performance of the players that decides the outcome of a match.
Our wish: FIFA 18 should come a little closer to this goal.
Two other important aspects of gameplay:
- The goalkeepers: The times of catastrophic goalkeepers (FIFA 15!) are over and hopefully will not return. However, even in FIFA 16 and FIFA 17, devastating goalkeeper errors could still be observed. In FIFA 18, goalkeeper AI should become even smarter.
- The referees: Every FIFA player knows them: Games where the referee whistles everything against you. Sometimes the accusations against the referee may be unjustified, yet everyone can agree that referees often whistle very “adventurously”. If a light touch results in a yellow card and the referee lets a sliding tackle from behind, in which the player spectacularly flies across the field, go unpunished in the same game, controllers may well smash against the wall. Here, the AI could certainly be optimized.
A unique character in “The Journey”
With FIFA 17, a story mode was introduced for the first time in the FIFA series. In “The Journey“, the story of young football talent Alex Hunter is told as he rises to become a world star. The events take place not only on the pitch but also off the pitch – in the locker room, at the training ground, and in Alex’s apartment.
The community generally received “The Journey” well. However, two changes were frequently requested:
- More of it! The Journey only covers one season. After that, it’s over. Many players expected a longer story.
- More customization options: In The Journey, you cannot customize your character. His name is always Alex Hunter, he always looks the same, and it is always played in the Premier League. It would be a welcome change if at least a few outer characteristics of the protagonist could be adjusted freely.
It is already known that the story mode will continue in FIFA 18, with new characters and new storylines. Whether customization will also come remains to be seen.
A return of futsal – How about it?
For many fans, FIFA 98 is considered the best FIFA of all time. The reason: futsal! For years, fans have been demanding the return of this mode, which excited numerous players back in the day.
And FIFA 18 would be a good opportunity for a comeback: After all, futsal will celebrate its 20th anniversary in FIFA. EA Sports could certainly make many fans happy with this. However, so far, there are no signs that futsal will ever make a comeback.
FUT 18 – Legends for everyone in Ultimate Team
We don’t have to worry about the “Ultimate Team” mode. It will also be included in FIFA 18 – with some innovations, according to Andrew Wilson.
The “Ultimate Team” modes bring in tons of money for EA, which is why they are also to be transferred to other EA games in the medium term. To keep FUT interesting year after year, new features, new modes, and new cards are introduced in FIFA.
Last year, two significant innovations were introduced with SBCs and FUT Champions. We will likely find out which innovations are coming in FUT 18 only in the summer.
One thing we wish for FUT 18: Legends for everyone. Since FIFA 14, Legends cards have been exclusive to Xbox players due to a marketing deal between Microsoft and EA. According to a leak, there is supposed to be a similar deal between Sony and EA for FIFA 18. That one player community is completely excluded from Legends cards (these are not time-limited but exclusive) should not be repeated in FIFA 18.
10 innovations that Ultimate Team needs in FIFA 18, we list here.
More Bundesliga – A license for the Third League
A wish that is especially voiced from Germany: The Third League. However, the licenses for this league lie with the German Football Association, which EA would need to negotiate with.
Many fans would welcome the opportunity to finally (again) play with their favorite clubs that are currently in the Third League in FIFA. More than a year ago, a statement from EA producer Sebastian Enrique brought hope: “I always push our licensing team to get more. I can’t promise anything, but the Third League is on our list of things our community wants.”
Pro Clubs needs improvement
“Pro Clubs” is the most popular mode for many players. Many buy the annual FIFA edition exclusively to play this mode with their friends.
In Pro Clubs, team play is highly emphasized. Each player takes on a position on the field, allowing for 11v11 matches. In practice, however, the games usually take place in smaller groups, such as 4v4.
Many fans of the club mode have felt disadvantaged for years: This mode is overshadowed by FUT and is only treated marginally by EA Sports (since it does not generate money through microtransactions). In recent years, Pro Clubs has indeed seen few innovations. Only in FIFA 17 was the progression system revised.
However, this mode, which offers the most intense online experience in FIFA, still has great potential that the developers can tap into for FIFA 18. Emphasizing the social component, introducing a more exciting progression system, and increasing goals. In short: Don’t let this great mode wither away!
Let us play unfair
In soccer simulations of earlier days, there was the option to dive and commit “deliberate fouls” at the press of a button, where players would jump into opponents with their soles forward.
This typically resulted in a red card, but it was immensely helpful for venting frustration. Many casual gamers would like to see such unfair actions again. After all, dives and deliberate fouls are also seen in real football.
What impact this will have on game balance and how these unfair actions will ultimately be received by fans is questionable. If the opponent gets away with a dive, for example, the anger towards the referee and the opponent is boundless. This additional frustration potential is likely something developers want to avoid.
More love for the career mode
The career mode is similar to Pro Clubs: While FUT is becoming bigger and brighter, innovations are scarce here. However, the career is a traditional and still popular mode.
But criticism of the career mode grows year by year: EA Sports is neglecting the “Career Mode”. It becomes boring too quickly, and it lacks a real challenge.
Interestingly, an EA employee also sees it this way. He identifies the problem that you only compete against CPU-controlled teams in career mode, leading to a lack of variety. Because of this, he started a petition a few months ago to gauge the interest of the FIFA community in a “Connected Career” that adds an online component. This way, you could compete with your team against your friends.
This petition comes too late for FIFA 18. The earliest we can expect an implementation is in future installments. But for FIFA 18, the same applies: Don’t forget the career mode.
VR – FIFA 18 in virtual reality?
In 2016, the first mass-market VR headsets hit the market. However, one cannot yet speak of a breakthrough for virtual reality. There is a lack of top titles that attract a broad audience, prompting potential buyers to say: “I need this thing right now”.
Perhaps FIFA 18 will surprise us with VR support. It would certainly be appealing to run around the pitch from a first-person perspective and feel like a real football professional. However, it is likely to take several more years before this can be implemented in the way many players would wish.
But who knows, maybe there will already be certain modes or skill games that can be played in VR in FIFA 18.
More leagues, more women’s football, more of everything!
Our last modest wish for FIFA 18: More of everything!
The FIFA series is characterized by having tons of real teams, real leagues, and real stadiums. And there can never be enough of that. We would love to see:
- more leagues (especially third league!)
- more stadiums (preferably more from the Bundesliga)
- more women’s national teams (or leagues)
- more and more diverse commentator phrases
- more celebration options
- more fan chants and a better atmosphere
- and more diversity and realism in the fans / the audience.
But now it’s your turn! What do you wish for FIFA 18? What innovations are necessary?
Interesting: FIFA 18 Leak: Sony secures exclusive deal – Legends on PS4?
