EA’s Message to People Upset Women Can Play With Men in FC 24 Ultimate Team: Kick Off Mode Is Right There

EA Sports has defended its decision to allow male and female soccer players to play together in FC 24 Ultimate Team mode, saying it uses new technology to combat harmful online conduct.

EA Sports’ first post-FIFA football game, FC 24, features male and female players cooperating and playing against each other in Ultimate Team, the game’s most popular and most controversial mode. can. Female players are not at a natural disadvantage in Ultimate Team either. If male and female players have the same attributes (stats), the same height, and the same mass (controlled by weight), the results on the virtual pitch will be exactly the same. Attributes relate to the competition in which players play.

This means Chelsea superstar Sam Kerr brings an overall rating of 91 to the Ultimate Team compared to the Women’s Super League and can compete with similarly rated male players in this mode.

Following the announcement of FC 24 last week, some within the FIFA community argued that mixing men and women in the ultimate team was unrealistic and contrary to what they considered a “real” soccer simulation. Some of these players said the problem was that they felt women would have a hard time competing with men in real life and should have a hard time competing at FC 24. . Some argued that male and female players should be restricted to their own modes within Ultimate Team, while others said they didn’t want female players in Ultimate Team at all. Some threatened to boycott FC 24 outright.

“It’s something we thought deeply about.”

In an interview with IGN, Electronic Arts Vice President and Executive Producer John Shepard argued that the decision to mix men and women in Ultimate Team was the right one, and that the developers are making their game She said she felt strongly that she wanted to use it to promote women’s soccer.

“That’s something we really thought about,” Shepard said. “We feel we can play a very important role in the growth of the sport by introducing this sport to all fans. We want to bring the world together around football. I have a belief that

“Ultimate Team is the perfect place for that. It’s a mode where you can build your own fantasy team with different nationalities, different leagues, different clubs. So it felt like a great place to do that.”

Asked what message EA Sports has to so-called FIFA fans who are frustrated by the gender mix in FC 24 Ultimate Team, Shepard said that players will experience a virtual version of a real team in reality. emphasized the kick-off mode, which restricts its use with other players. .

“We have a vision to connect 1 billion fans, not just 150 million fans today,” Shepard said. “We want this game, this brand, this club, this ecosystem to welcome everyone. feels very strongly about it.

“There are other modes of play, such as Kickoff, where it is more important that the club plays against another club. And I think it’s great for football and I think it’s great for our fans and future fans. That’s what I want to say. ”

In an interview with IGN, senior producer Sam Rivera said Ultimate Team should be thought of as a “fantasy mode” where users can already create teams made up of players who could never play together in real life. rice field.

“Ultimate Team is fantasy mode,” said Rivera. “I’ve never seen Mbappe play with all the icons. It’s the ultimate team and what’s going on there is fantasy football.”

In general, FC 24 women are probably shorter and lighter than men. While the stats of both attributes influence gameplay, female players are more likely to reach the ball, while taller players can reach the ball while shorter players cannot, players with greater mass outperform players with less muscle, etc. Ultimate is expected to keep himself on his team. In fact, some of the best men in the mode today, including Argentinian legend Lionel Messi and Italian icon Fabio Cannavaro, are short and underweight.

Rivera said: “It’s not just about being tall and strong. The core message here is, ‘All things being equal, they play the same.'”

Agility is an important attribute. Player reaction, turning, acceleration, interception, and blocking speed are all important factors in determining their usefulness in-game.

EA says it takes toxicity ‘seriously’

There are concerns that the addition of women to the Ultimate Team will increase online hazards. FIFA has drawn criticism in the past for racist user-generated content in its Pro Clubs mode, and Ultimate Team has suffered similar problems. With FC 24’s September release and Ultimate Team players taking on the online challenge, players are prepared for everything from sexist club names to inappropriate team compositions.

Without going into details, Shepard said it’s an important issue for EA Sports, and with more women likely to try the Ultimate Teams mode, new efforts are being made to address online toxicities. acknowledged that it was done.

“This is something we take very seriously,” Shepard said. “It’s a work in progress. It’s a constant effort. , is migrating to some new systems and using some new services to help monitor names.

“It gets really complicated. People can get around different systems, so those systems have to be updated and adjusted. But that’s just one of many things: this is a group of people who are constantly watching for in-game toxicity and who understand how to ensure a safe environment for everyone. But it’s one of the things that we’ll continue to focus on and continue to work on.”

Check out IGN’s hands-on preview of EA Sports FC 24 to see how this year’s game plays out. Nintendo Switch owners may want to know that their version is a significant improvement over previous FIFA Legacy editions.

Wesley is IGN’s UK news editor. Find @wyp100 on Twitter. Wesley can be contacted at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.