FIFA team fears PES reform

EA is wary of a Konami comeback as FIFA and PES go head-to-head again this October.

Last year’s FIFA 10 was a watershed moment for the franchise as it received the critical plaudits ahead of its rival, Pro Evolution Soccer.

Although FIFA has always been a commercial smash hit, Konami’s footy sim was long considered the superior product.

Now EA is on top, and the firm insists it won’t be scoring an own-goal by letting complacency set in.

We are confident FIFA is a good game, are we comfortable? No,” says FIFA line producer David Rutter.

PES is a great game made by a great development team that I have a lot of respect for. I’ve had a personal relationship with that game for many, many years.

There’s been a turning point for us in terms of quality a few years ago, before then PES was the benchmark football video game.

Is PES a threat? Absolutely. Are we paying attention? Yeah.”

Executive producer Kaz Makita added: We are worried about Konami. Knowing how Japanese companies work, they put a lot of effort to try and build a strong product. We expect their new game to be great, we spend a whole time playing their games, it’s fun and we learn from what they’ve done.

The new FIFA boasts a revamped passing system, new facial animations and body types to more accurately represent the football players.

It is also one of five FIFA releases this year, which includes free-to-play browser-based game FIFA Online, Facebook title FIFA Superstars, World Cup tie-in FIFA 2010 World Cup and FIFA 10 DLC Ultimate Team.