This is taken from a Peter Moore interview:
FIFA has put some clear water between itself and Pro Evolution Soccer in the last couple of years. What are doing to ensure the next game continues that trend - and that gulf widens even further?
The one thing we have in the FIFA team is an absolute paranoia about complacency. Whilst you say there's clear water between us and Pro Evo, EA Canada's mentality is that the competitor is breathing right down their necks.
A number of them actually worked on Pro Evo. They know the capability -as do I - of the very talented team at Konami has. They also know that you're at your most vulnerable when you think you're winning.
[We're about] continued innovation in what we do, in particular taking a very critical look in the mirror. And when I say paranoid, I mean it. The team listens brilliantly to its fanbase - because it knows there's always things you can fix; always things you can do a little better. The team will tell you they can do a lot better with Manager Mode [as seen in FIFA 10] - and they will in FIFA 11.
We've got a very complex game which is growing with things like Ultimate Team adding to that, but the team will never rest on its laurels. Coming into a World Cup year, they've got the bit between their teeth at the same time, they know they need to innovate because Konami will keep on coming, to their credit. They've built a great brand and they're having a difficult time right now.
We took a huge gamble four years ago on a brand new FIFA engine for next-gen. All of the downsides that gives you temporarily paid off eventually. It was a real gamble - look at our Metacritic scores from 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and look at where we are now. The difference is incredible, and something I'm hugely proud of. But we'll never be complacent and we'll never believe the hype. We've done a phenomenal job getting to where we are today - but one bad iteration and it starts to crumble again.
FIFA World Cup 2010 is round the corner, but some CVG readers have asked us: Why release a standalone World Cup game? Couldn't it just be DLC for FIFA 10?
If you read the background on it, we've got all 199 teams, all the South African stadiums, you've got a good chunk of home stadiums for the teams involved. Make no mistake, this is a seriously big game.
The World Cup has always been a major event [for EA] every four years - and one we spend a lot of time and a lot of money getting ready for.
Who's not to say four years from now at World Cup 2014, it may be downloadable content? But right now, when you see the magnitude of the game we've delivered and the marketing plans we have in place, it's deserves to be a standalone game. And this is the first time we've shipped a World Cup games as [our FIFA engine] is in the ascendancy [vs. Pro Evo etc.]. We're very excited about it.
