"Why can't I control a female player in FIFA?"

Posted by FantasyMeister on August 16, 2012 03:20 pm 39

I beg a few minutes of your time. I'm a reader, not a frequent poster here, but nonetheless I think you can help me out.

The title isn't a question I usually ask myself because I'm a Dad, a gamer, and not particularly interested in FIFA titles. To me it's a non-issue that I'd normally, to be honest, be a little apathetic about.

However, 4 years ago my daughter introduced me to the wonders of Girls Soccer Leagues (she plays) and this question arose and I've given it a lot of thought. The answer is simply that whilst EA haven't deliberately excluded the option, they haven't actively included it either. If they try to one day to make Women's Soccer an inclusive part of the FIFA series they'll have to devote time and resources into implementing it without being certain they'll recoup that investment, without even being certain there's a demand for it.

Whilst having nothing concrete to back my opinion up, I think they will recoup that investment, and there's no doubt in my mind that the demand is there. Just looking at the grass roots level in the UK (my home) we have Girls Soccer Leagues starting from as young as 10 years and progressing right through to professional level. And whilst I know that Soccer is only something like a 5th string sport in the USA, the USA Women are the Olympic Champions (they beat Japan in the final).

I also know that every female soccer player I've ever discussed this with thinks that they should be able to play as female players in EA's FIFA series. (Most of them have PS3s rather than XBox 360s incidentally, but we're talking a sample of less than 100).

So in my view the time is ripe, maybe not in time for FIFA 14, but maybe, just maybe, FIFA 15. So how do I make my daughter's wish come true? Simple - I humbly request that you click this link and sign the petition.

Tell EA Sports to include female characters on their soccer games.

How will this affect me in the long run? FIFA games won't drop in price much. I'll have to buy it more often than I do currently. It'll be a menu option I can skip if I want to, or dabble in if I'm playing against my daughter (she beats me anyway no matter what team I use). But if one day my doesn't-yet-exist granddaughter asks me why she can't control a female player in FIFA, at least I'll be able to say I did my bit. I made an effort. I tried. The rest was down to EA.

Who knows? Maybe Konami will beat them to it?