The Definitive Reasons Behind "FIFA" Being the Best Sports Video Game Franchise Ever

Madden's reign has come to an end.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Madden NFL and NBA 2K have long been established names in the world of sports gaming, but lately a shift has been taking place in the market that has become harder and harder to ignore with each passing year. As improvements have been made to console gaming, and graphics and gameplay have become sharper and sharper, one title has clearly benefitted the most from all these innovations: FIFA. It may seem hard to believe, but, in the seventh-generation of consoles, soccer has steadily been capturing the interest of gamers with far greater success than football or basketball. With FIFA 14 set to drop tomorrow, it's likely that this trend will only continue. 

We can talk about the sales numbers here, or about how much better the franchise has been at improving year-to-year than Madden, but those differences only account for a small portion of why FIFA has started to rise atop the gaming industry. To give you the full idea of how FIFA has executed its takeover, we outlined the The Best Reasons Why FIFA is the Best Sports Game Ever. Don't expect it to be giving up that title any time soon, either. 

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Numbers don't lie.

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The seemingly endless number of leagues and clubs to choose from.

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The loading screens.

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It's poised to win the next-gen console battle.

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Player movement and controls are more realistic to FIFA than any other game.

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The online game play.

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The NHL doesn't reach a wide enough audience.

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The positions are more unique from one another than other sports.

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Pro Evolution Soccer hasn't been able to keep up.

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FIFA Ultimate Team.

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The goal celebrations.

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The soundtrack.

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Madden is too repetitive year-to-year.

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Soccer is more widely recognized globally than either football or basketball.

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Its impact goes beyond video games.

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