There was a time, not too long ago, when Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) was the go to game for every soccer fan, including those within EA.
EA Sports president Andrew Wilson says people told him to copy what made PES the fan favourite, but instead decided to focus on connecting more players online.
"The easiest thing that could have been done and certainly what a lot of people were telling us was 'Pro Evolution Soccer is a great game, just copy them and then you'll win on marketing! It's a sure fire way to win.' That just wasn't that interesting to us," Wilson told GamesIndustry.biz.
"I can remember at that time when I got offered the job I asked some friend of mine 'should I take this job?' Because FIFA wasn't liked outside the company, and wasn't liked inside the company. Because we weren't, as a company, building a great game."
Instead, Wilson said EA focused on connecting the world with the global sport, through both developers and players.
"We were like the UN of game development teams, but we were all unified around a passion for football. And I think that was the first step."
Following that, Wilson prioritised creating a game that would allow 11 vs 11 online matches with 22 real players.
"Basically we worked back from and started from the basics of control that we would need to ultimately deliver that vision, and here we are today."
By Ben Salter - Tweet @Ben_Salter