Confessions of a former Fifa player

As we near the beautiful month that only comes every four years (The 2018 Fifa World Cup) I want to take a moment to talk about the benefits of Fifa video games and how they change us.


Since soccer is the most popular sport worldwide, it is fitting to talk about a game that has successfully integrated the majority of the aspects from real life soccer into a digital platform that benefits and changes a people.


1). It helps you play better. As seen in the picture below, famous soccer stars Messi, Neymar, Pique, etc are playing for one of the best soccer clubs in the world as well as starting 11 in their countries for the world cup. Contrary to popular belief, many Fifa video game players, are in fact real-life soccer players. During the summer when my friends come back from college, we dedicate 2 or 3 hours of playing soccer outside, order some food, and play Fifa until 2am so that the loser of the earlier outside match has a chance to redeem themselves and restore bragging rights. Another benefit is that the skill moves that the game allows you to do with high rated players, are skill moves that take time to learn and do in an actual outdoor game but nonetheless it challenges players to see a skill in the video game and practice outdoors. You would not want people practicing games such as GTA, COD, etc in real life, so Fifa provides a safe and healthy way to do this.

2). Fifa helps players make important decisions. Although it is true that fast-paced video games increase your reflex skills, it also helps make informed decisions. Below is a photo of the Fifa Ultimate Team transfer market page, one of EA's most profitable aspects of the game where players may spend anywhere from $5-$20,000 opening packs in the hopes of getting a 99 rated Ronaldo or Messi, keep in mind the game is already worth 60 bucks. The cool yet dangerous thing about the transfer market is that you can either play the market or it can play you. The process is simple where one basically buys medium to medium-high players on the market from other players online and resell them to make a profit. Players keep in mind that for any successful sale of one of your players, Fifa charges 5% of the price that it was sold for so it is important that players make careful decisions in not selling them too low where they lose coins (in-game currency) or too high where no player wants to bid on what they are selling. This involves investigating what the player is generally worth based on the prices of the market, and as new cards come out with higher ratings, one card that once costed 3,000 coins now costs 6,000 after one day or could cost 1,000 depending on the market.











3). This soccer video game involves a lot of emotions. There's always that one friend who talks so much smack throughout the day that when you see them being humiliated 9-0 in a match, nothing gives greater joy to your heart and everyone else present to see them blaming it on the controller. Apart from laughter, a 1-1 match with a friend you've bet money with and as the clock ticks to the 90th minute does come with an immense adrenaline rush that you need during the day. You also get to know people's characteristics based on their style of play. If they do skills and take long shots, they are confident, if they pass the ball around the whole game they are afraid to lose, if they tackle too much in the game and get red cards shows that your friend loses their cool, and if you see a friend who loses and doesn't cry about it, you can trust they are generally pretty chill. As we talk about emotions, the dopamine rush in the brain feels so good when you score a last-minute header and attain full bragging rights until your friends come home to face you again when the semester is over.

(El Piojo Herrera: Former Mexico national soccer team manager who was famous for his hysterical expressions)

4). Fifa encourages diversity. Every year Fifa tries to add more clubs than the year before. It was in Fifa 17, I believe, that 10 women's international soccer teams were added including the U.S., Mexico, and Brazil. It's a huge leap forward as not only other men from different countries feel included but the unfairly stereotyped women are also able to prove that they can compete just as well as men can. Perosnally, I believe that the US women's team is far superior to the men's team.

5). But then there's the bad.... As previously stated, emotions can overcome a player, especially when they're losing 11-0 and with 3 players sent off. One big cause of anger amongst Fifa players that unfortunately leads to broken controllers, consoles, discs, and tears is how Boromir puts it, "One does not simply stay connected to EA servers." If you haven't won a match in forever but are somehow dominating an online match this time around say 7-2, when you get the message that the servers are down, you lose the whole match and any rewards that were going to be given to you for the win.  Not everyone is a team player and unfortunately, some players get too over their heads. The other big problem is mini microtransactions that many people and YouTubers fall for. It becomes an addiction to buy pack after pack as you feel you are closer to getting a good player. Fifa is a great example, however, of how digital media can be used for good in our lives to increase diversity, play outside, come together with friends, and make well-informed decisions, all with a reasonably balanced amount of play time.