2021 is the third year in a row that EA will release a terrible rip-off version of FIFA for the Switch, and I’m sick of it. If you’re not aware, ever since FIFA 19, EA hasn’t updated the Switch version of FIFA with any new gameplay mechanics. The only thing the company adds is new cosmetics so that your favourite kits and players look great. Of course, FIFA Ultimate Team is still updated and available, but nothing else meaningful is added. The publisher has the audacity to charge actual money for something that it could deploy in an update to FIFA 19, and it makes me feel sick that people will probably buy it.
How does this work then? FIFA 19 was as advanced as EA was willing to make the games on the Switch. For some reason, it doesn’t have the developers to push the games harder, or it just doesn’t think that the audience cares enough. That’s why it’s been updating the visuals for the Switch versions and selling them as brand new releases each year since. You can actually check the listings for each game and see that none of the new mechanics are being added. all that you’re buying is a new skin on FIFA 19, there’s nothing new about it.
To put this into context, it’s like purchasing a digital version of a new book each year. The images for the cover look different, but what you’re actually buying is the same book. The words are the same. another good example is picking up a new album from your favourite artists and realising that the songs are all the same. We wouldn’t accept this in any other form, and I don’t understand why we’re accepting it here. EA has done a lot to improve its reputation, but here we still see the money-grabbing executives raising their heads.
I believe that FIFA fans want more from the Switch editions. There are plenty of great sports titles on the Switch, but each year FIFA becomes so much less relevant because of the nature of this Legacy Edition series. I hope that the Switch Pro makes EA change tactics here, because otherwise they’re scamming real people out of quite a lot of money.