HYPERMOTION V

EA introduced its new animation technology, dubbed HyperMotion, in FIFA 22, and made improvements to it in last year’s game. FC 24 will continue that tradition. This year, HyperMotion has been dubbed HyperMotion V, and is using motion capture from real players through multiple cameras placed in stadiums during actual matches. According to EA, that’ll mean even greater realism and authenticity in the way players move. For instance, every player will now have their own unique running style.

PLAYSTYLES

EA Sports FC 24 is also introducing PlayStyles, which look like an evolution of Attributes from previous games. PlayStyles will hand players a variety of different on-pitch capabilities based on real-world data. There will be 34 PlayStyles in total, and will cover all phases of play, including interceptions, first touch, power shots, finesse shots, a goalkeeper’s cross claiming ability, blocking, whipped passes, and interceptions, among many others. Meanwhile, if a play is particularly potent with a particular PlayStyle, they’ll have its PlayStyle+ variant, making it that much deadlier. So Erling Haaland, for instance, will have the power shot PlayStyle+.

MANAGER CAREER MODE – COACHING STAFF

Where Career Mode is concerned, FC 24 is focusing the bulk of its improvements on the actual coaching and match preparation side of things, which is something wannabe managers everywhere will be very happy to hear. Chief among those changes will be having to now recruit and manage your own, full coaching staff. You’ll have to look for and recruit different coaches with different specializations and areas of expertise, which, of course, will directly impact the growth of your players (or the lack thereof). The bigger and better your coaching team is, the quicker and more your players’ attributes will improve, while which of their attributes are improving will also be shaped by the makeup of your coaching team.

MANAGER CAREER MODE – TRAINING PLANS

For those who like to dive further into the micromanagement nitty-gritties, FC 24 will also let you define and set specific training plans for individual players. Training plans will have to be managed throughout the season, with your primary goal being to ensure that you’re maintaining the right balance between ensuring the highest possible performance levels for the player in question, and that they remain fit and sharp throughout the course of the season. The requirements for each player’s training plan will also as the season progresses based on several factors, like how packed your fixture list is, how much that player has been played, what their natural physical attributes are, and more. In total, there will be five possible training plans that you can set for a player, and each will have a different focus, with two each focusing on Energy and Performance to varying degrees, and one being a balanced training plan.

MANAGER CAREER MODE – MATCH READY TRAINING

You know those training drill minigames you get before every match in FIFA games? In FC 24, they’ll serve an actual mechanical purpose. Coming in the form of Match-Ready Training, these will be one-off drills before every match that will, based on how you do in them, let you gain temporary PlayStyles for the upcoming game for the players that participate. What PlayStyles you unlock will depend on what drill you choose, which players participate in it, and what their positions are. So if you want to aerially dominate a team, a pre-match drill that focuses on crosses and headers will let you unlock suitable PlayStyles for the upcoming match.

MANAGER CAREER MODE – SPECTATE MATCHES

This one is definitely a much smaller change than the things we’ve discussed so far, but an interesting one nonetheless. Past FIFA games have allowed players to either sim or quick sim matches, but if you really want to step into the manager’s role, in FC 24, you’ll also be able to spectate matches. Obviously, you’ll have no direct control over your players while spectating, but you will still be allowed to make substitutions and change tactics in real-time.

PLAYER CAREER MODE – PLAYER AGENTS

Coming to the Player Career side of things, there are a few notable changes being made here as well, chief among them being the addition of player agents. That’s right, in Player Career mode, you’ll now have an agent of your own, which will allow you to have much greater control over your career and what path it takes. You’ll now be able to set a Career Path for yourself by selecting a specific team that you’re hoping to join, based on which your Agent will give you short- and long-term goals to work towards.

ULTIMATE TEAM – EVOLUTIONS

Ultimate Team usually tends to be the flagship mode in every FIFA game, and that’s obviously not going to change just because the series is now called EA Sports FC. So what’s the big change that FC 24’s Ultimate Team mode is bringing to the table? That would be Evolutions, which, in a nutshell, is a new and overhauled progression system that will aim to give you greater control over how every single player in your team is progressing. Every Evolution (some of which will be paid) will require players to complete specific objectives, after which the player will level up and evolve, receiving not only improvements to stats and attributes, but also visual upgrades.

ULTIMATE TEAM – PLAYER UPGRADES

What exactly will you be able to upgrade when a player levels up? Apparently, there will be plenty of options. In addition to specific stats, a variety of other attributes can also be upgraded and customized, including weak foot ability, work rate, how effective a player is in alternative positions, skill moves, PlayStyles, and more. According to EA, leveling up, upgrading, and evolving a player enough times will let you shape them as you see fit with a much greater degree of control than past games.

PLAYER MODELS

The FIFA franchise hasn’t made a radical visual and technical leap for a number of years now, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen with FC 24 either- though like every year, there are some other, more granular improvements that EA is highlighting. For instance, this year’s game will feature much more detailed models for every player, while EA is also touting a revamped cloth system, which means the fabric of players’ kits will deform and wrinkle more realistically and with greater detail.

IMPROVED LIGHTING

Another visual improvement that EA Sports FC 24 is set to feature is an upgraded lighting model. Dubbed Feature Lighting by the developers, it will seemingly allow for much better contrast and more depth to each frame. The goal here, according to EA Sports, is to make the match look more cinematic and even closer to an actual real-life broadcast.

NEW COMMENTARY AND CUTSCENES

Other changes are also being made where the presentation side of things is concerned. For instance, FC 24 will add a new commentary duo in Sue Smith and Guy Mowbray, which should provide a nice change of pace. Several new cutscenes are being added as well, including cutscenes in the commentary gantry, players celebrating key moments during a match that aren’t goals, like key blocks and saves, and even cutscenes from the referee’s perspective on some occasions, like when a free kick is being set up, or when a player is being booked or sent off.

IMPROVED MATCH INTRODUCTIONS

Pre-match introductions tend to see some notable improvements in FIFA games most years, and FC 24 is also making similar promises. In this year’s game, pre-match build-up sequences will be more elaborate and include new cutscenes, menus, and graphics, that together will cover everything from the the commentary gantry and dressing rooms to stadium tunnels and more.

CROSS-PLAY

Cross-platform multiplayer was introduced in FIFA 22, and expanded in FIFA 23. In FC 24, it’s expanding again. While FIFA 22’s cross-play applies only to friendlies and seasons, FIFA 23 added a variety of Ultimate Team modes to the mix. With FC 24, however, EA is finally doing what the community has been hoping for all along, with cross-platform multiplayer now being available in every multiplayer mode. What isn’t changing, however, is that cross-platform will be generation-specific. So PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC players will be able to play with and against each other, PS4 and Xbox One players against each others, and Switch players only amongst themselves.

Oh, and speaking of the Switch version…

SWITCH VERSION

The Nintendo Switch has been supported horribly by the FIFA franchise. Sure, the fact that it has received a new FIFA game every year is obviously already a much better situation than what Nintendo consoles have seen in the past, but with EA only choosing to release a new Legacy Edition each year, people have been paying for the exact same game with no real improvements or changes, other than updated squads and kits. EA Sports FC 24, however, finally has a new and improved Switch version. Not only is it finally moving to the Frostbite engine, it will also include PlayStyles, and introduce a full-fledged Ultimate Team experience, unlike the neutered Ultimate Team mode previous FIFA games have had on the Switch.

“Our exceptional teams are creating innovative entertainment experiences across our multi-year pipeline, starting with the highly anticipated, culture-defining titles Madden NFL 24 and EA Sports FC 24,” said CFO Stuart Canfield.

“We had a strong start to the fiscal year, with net bookings growth of 21% year-over-year, highlighted by new releases, continued live services growth, healthy engagement, and new player acquisition. Looking ahead, our teams remain focused on delivering long-term growth and profitability.”

Other standout figures include live services and other net bookings increasing by four percent year-over-year, hitting $1.177 billion and representing 75 percent of the total net bookings. EA Sports FIFA, in particular, had a record Q1 for the series due to “accelerated” year-over-year growth in net bookings. The next entry in the series, EA Sports FC 24, releases on September 29th – check out a deep dive into Career Mode here.

As for Star Wars Jedi, while Electronic Arts is keen on developing more titles in the series, Respawn Entertainment is focused on porting Jedi: Survivor to Xbox One and PS4. Performance improvements are also still coming to current-gen platforms. Stay tuned for more updates in the meantime.

Sales were up by 22 percent, thanks to price promotions on consoles (as per Games Industry). God of War Ragnarok went from sixth to third place due to hardware bundle sales. Final Fantasy 16, which was in fourth place, has dropped out of the charts to 11th place as sales fell by 39 percent.

The rest of the charts are similar to last week, with Minecraft on the Nintendo Switch going from 11th to ninth place and Elden Ring rising from 19th to tenth place. Check out Gfk’s top-ten best-selling physical titles for the week ending July 15th below.

Horizon Forbidden West

Guerrilla Games delivered an excellent sequel with Horizon Forbidden West, a game that corrected almost every criticism with the original all while greatly expanding upon the scope of the original release. Horizon Forbidden West is also a visual powerhouse that presents its gargantuan world with striking attention to detail, and one of the more impressive aspects of that presentation is definitely Aloy’s hair. Sporting dense braided locks, Aloy’s character model has full hair physics for each of these locks that swirl and twirl with each movement. Sure, they are prone to glitching out every now and then which results in some hilarious moments – but by and large, the hair looks and functions in a pretty realistic fashion.

Deus Ex to Mankind Divided

Deus Ex was a revolutionary game when it was originally released way back in 2000. Its complex web of mechanics and interesting narrative themes paved the way for systemic game design for years to come, and a lot of that still stands true for Mankind Divided which is the latest entry in this long-running franchise. Of course, there’s a night and day difference between the visual fidelity of both games – and a simple side by side comparison is all that’s needed to see the graphical leap in all its glory. Mankind Divided has amazing weather effects, superb lighting and reflections, and lifelike animations while the original feels clunky and borderline unplayable by modern standards.

For starters, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers get access to FIFA 23 via EA Play on PC and consoles starting today, while May 18 will see another couple of new titles arriving with Eastern Exorcist for console and PC, and Ghostlore for console.

On May 23, long-awaited sci-fi adventure title Planet of Lana will launch day one with Game Pass on both PC and consoles. It will be followed on May 25 with the addition of Pokemon-like open world RPG Cassette Beasts (console), tactical strategy title Massive Chalice (cloud and console), and management sim Railway Empire 2 (cloud, console, and PC).

Finally, acclaimed indie adventure game Chicory: A Colorful Tale is arriving on May 30 (console and PC).

This is according to freelance journalist Oscar Lemaire (who wrote for Le Monde and GK). He noted (translation via DeepL) it to be a “much better start” than Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and bigger than the launches of Red Dead Redemption 2 and FIFA 23. It includes sales of the Collector’s Edition.

It’s still “far behind” the record set by Grand Theft Auto 5, which sold 1.1 million copies. Lemaire also doubted it would be surpassed, given the de-emphasis on physical sales over the years. Once again, Nintendo hasn’t officially confirmed sales numbers, so stay tuned for official figures in the coming days.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available for Nintendo Switch. Check out various tips and tricks for the title here and our analysis of its visuals here.

Environ 500 000 ventes physiques pour Zelda TOTK en France pour sa première semaine. C'est un démarrage nettement supérieur à celui du dernier Pokémon. C'est plus que le lancement de Red Dead Redemption II ou des derniers FIFA.

— Oscar Lemaire (@oscarlemaire) May 15, 2023

Oui.

— Oscar Lemaire (@oscarlemaire) May 15, 2023

Non non, ça reste loin derrière le record de GTA5 (1,1 million), qui ne sera probablement jamais dépassé vu l'importance qu'a pris le dématérialisé depuis.

— Oscar Lemaire (@oscarlemaire) May 15, 2023

“Record live services performance and increased engagement, particularly from our EA Sports FIFA franchise, drove better-than-expected Q4 net bookings, capping a strong finish to the fiscal year,” said Chris Suh, chief financial officer Chris.

The success should be no surprise, since EA reported back in February that FIFA 23 was on pace to become the best-selling title in the franchise’s history. EA CEO Andrew Wilson stated that year-to-date net bookings had grown by 4% for the franchise year-on-year, and North America alone saw its market grow by 50%.

Even during launch, FIFA 23 was breaking records. Back in October 2022, EA revealed that the FIFA 23 launch saw a record-breaking 10.3 million players playing across all platforms in its first week alone.

The success of FIFA 23 is priming EA for its next major football title, which will be the first one released by the company to leave the FIFA branding behind. TItled EA Sports FC, the game recently got a short teaser trailer.

Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 remake, which topped the previous two weekly charts, has fallen to No. 2 with a 55% drop in sales. Meanwhile, Hogwarts Legacy hands on to its place at No. 3, with sales down only 5% from last week. 

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has climbed up to No. 4, enjoying a 13% increase in sales, while Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is down to No. 6 with a 26% drop. Interestingly, The Last of Us Part 2 has re-entered the top 10. Thanks to a whopping 999% increase in sales driven by Easter and Spring price promotions, the game finds itself in fifth place in the charts. Fellow first party PlayStation title Gran Turismo 7 has seen an impressive 483% rise to re-enter the charts at No. 7, while God of War Ragnarok sits in ninth place (up 25%). 

The only new release in the top 10 this week is EA’s new golf sim EA Sports PGA Tour, which comes in at No. 8. 

You can check out the full top 10 for the week ending April 8 below.

FIFA 23, the final title in the franchise under Electronic Arts, dropped to third place, while Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is in fourth place. Metroid Prime Remastered dropped to fifth place after enjoying the series’ fourth biggest physical launch in the UK earlier this month. God of War Ragnarok is in sixth, followed by Minecraft (Switch Edition) in seventh and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in eighth.

Interestingly, Super Mario Odyssey has risen from 13th place the prior week to ninth place this week (perhaps due to the MAR10 Day sales). Animal Crossing: New Horizons is in tenth place, the same as the previous week’s chart. Check out the full top ten below.