Case study fifa_tes_version

Why “case studies”?
 Because in your exam, you are very likely to have a question
like this:
 There are lots of ways to market video games. The best
campaigns:
 Appeal to a specific target audience group
 Use all three media platforms to get their message across
(print, broadcast and web)
 Use different strategies pre- and post-release
 From your research on video game marketing and
promotion, explain how each of these can contribute to the
success of a campaign. Give examples from at least TWO
campaigns that you have looked at.
LANGTON - MARCH 2014

Peter Moore – President of EA
sports

FIFA video games
 The FIFA series of football simulations is one of the
most successful video games in the World.
 It is the most integrated of the three games that we
have looked at for several reasons:
 It features real people
 It has the support of the sport’s governing body
 It taps into a huge supporter fan base
 It can use real players for celebrity endorsement
 Sometimes it can be difficult to see where the
“gaming world” ends and the “real football world”
starts.

Why is it successful?
 The FIFA series is hugely successful because it uses a
variety of marketing techniques to keep it at the top
of the games charts:
 PRINT: advertising and magazine articles featuring
sponsored players and events.
 BROADCAST: sponsorship of football leagues around the
World – the name of the publisher is always visible during
matches / sponsorship of top international players.
 WEB-BASED: a fully integrated publisher webpage which
uses downloads, news and forums to keep its customers up
to date.

FIFA video game series
 Type of game: sports simulation
 Developer: ea sports
 Publisher: Electronic Arts
 First published: July 1993
 Platforms: the present game is available for PC,
consoles and handhelds. The original game was
only available for PCs and consoles.
 Sales to date: 100 million+

History
 When first published, there was little competition in
this market, so the game quickly captured a large
player-base.
 Electronic Arts publish very successful simulation
games for American Football and Ice Hockey in a
similar format, based on the success of FIFA.
 FIFA was one of the first video games to get an official
licence from the governing body of the sport and this
has proved to be a very successful (financial)
partnership.

Global FIFA
 The current version of the game FIFA 14 features full
leagues from: the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal,
France, the Netherlands, Brazil, Mexico, the USA,
South Korea and Australia.
 It also includes selected teams from: Greece, Turkey,
Argentina and South Africa.
 The global nature of the teams featured gives a good
indication of where the game sells best.

Getting ready for the World Cup

Special Editions
 As well as domestic leagues in many countries, the
FIFA series also produces special editions:
 FIFA World Cup – 1998-2014
 UEFA European Football Championship – 2000-12
 UEFA Champions League
 “Street Football” – FIFA Street – 2005 -12
 And a series of Football Manager sims:
 FA Premier Manager
 Total Club Manager
 FIFA Manager – 2003-14

International marketing
 The FIFA series is available in
 18 languages and
 51 countries.
 Sales of over 100 million copies put it near the top of
the all-time best-selling video games list.
 FIFA 12 holds the record for the “fastest selling sports
game ever” having sold 3.3 million copies and having
generated $186 million in its first week of release.

Fast selling

Screenshots

Milestones in development - 1
 1993 – first launched and stayed at Number 1 in the
games charts for six months.
 1996 – first use of real player names and their
positions.
 1997 – first use of “motion-capture” action.
 1998 – first use of licenced music artists (Song 2 by
Blur) / first accurate representation of the off-side
rule.
 2003 – first use of “Freestyle control” allowing tricks /
first use of EA Trax – exclusive music menu

Milestones in development - 2
 2004 – first appearance of selected secondary leagues / first
use of an “online” gaming option.
 2006 – complete overhaul of the game – game code almost
entirely rewritten / first appearance of a Classic XI
featuring football legends.
 2008 – “Be a Pro” option first used – controls only a single
player on the pitch.
 2010 - 360° player control
 2012 – game adapted for iPhone, iPad and iPod
 2014 – EA Sports Football Club – rewards and challenges

Criticism
 Criticism of the game has come in the fact
that some editions of the game have only
very small changes and yet (like football
team shirts), often players feel the need to
buy the new edition every year.
 ea sports maintain that they have a long
history of continuous improvement each
year and that every version of the game is
better than the last.

EA Trax – music licencing
 Ever since music was first licenced for FIFA 98,
artists have been falling over themselves to get
their music featured on the soundtracks of the
game.
 Artists who have contributed the main themes
have included: Kasabian, The Crystal Method,
Muse, Linkin Park, Kings of Leon, Bloc Party,
Oasis, Fatboy Slim, Blur, Robbie Williams, Moby
and Gorillaz

Endorsement
 Wayne Rooney was the
“face of FIFA” from FIFA
06 to FIFA 12.
 Lionel Messi replaced
Rooney and has been the
featured player for the
last two editions.
 ea “stole” Messi from
Pro-Evolution Soccer –
ea’s closest rival.

ea sports homepage

Buying
from
the
website

Products /
platforms

Gaming and
competition
news

On the road promotion

FIFA 12 VIP box
An all white, high gloss wooden
box. As fancy as it looks, the real
“awe” comes when the box is
opened up.
Inside lucky owners will find the
PlayStation 3 version of FIFA 12, a
custom gold painted soccer ball, a
PlayStation Portable system, a pair
of Beats by Dre headphones, and a
custom engraved iPad.
This limited edition kit is allotted to
the celebrities like Dwayne Wade,
Landon Donovan, Wayne Rooney,
Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant Tim
Lincecuum, Brian Wilson, Wiz Khalifa,
and Lil Wayne. LANGTON - MARCH 2014

“I know, let’s get
some footballers
to sell it for us…”

“Sleb endorsed”

Referee sponsorship???

Why no
women?
Vero Boquete (a female
Spanish professional
footballer) has campaigned
online for the introduction
of women players into the
FIFA series.

Case study fifa_tes_version

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