Four top players did motion capture
The FIFA video game series has been around for two decades, and in that time, it’s been a boys only club. There’s been outside pressure to reform, notably in 2013 when Spanish player Vero Boquete started a petition to urge EA Sports to include women footballers. With FIFA 16, ladies finally get a turn on the pitch.
EA Sports has announced that FIFA 16 will feature 12 women’s international teams from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Sweden, and the United States of America. The publisher says they’ll be playable in “several game modes including Kick Off, offline tournaments, and online friendly matches.”
A lot of work seemingly went into this addition, as entirely new character models and animations were created. Players Abby Wambach, Sydney Leroux, Alex Morgan, and Megan Rapinoe took part in motion capture sessions at EA Canada to help the developer forge realistic movements. EA also took a head-scanning device around the world to various tournaments so that it can use authentic facial features and hair styles for the many players.
It’s nice to see EA finally give ladies their due; it is the world’s most popular sport, after all. FIFA 16 complete with a bunch of women’s national teams will be available on September 22 for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
