The EA Sports FIFA series is one of the best selling games among the sports genre.  For over a decade the game has brought the soccer playing experience to living rooms around the world.  Each updated version introduces new aspects from playing style to graphics.  But even with the most entertaining games, a series can begin to lose its originality and amusement.  Reading through various message boards, I found many gamers were unhappy with some of the aspects of the most recent version, FIFA 11.

With the FIFA 12 game set to be released in the Fall, there have been leaks of screenshots and some new aspects to the game.  Although, it appears that the new features will add to the game playing experience, there are a few more that I would like addressed.

They are:

1.  Franchise Mode: The most recent versions have included a Career Mode, but I want a true Franchise mode similar to what is included in other EA sports games.  I think it would be very interesting to sign players to a team’s academy as well as scout players from around the world.  This might be too in depth for the casual soccer fans, but I think that hardcore fans would enjoy this feature.

2.  Improved Player Development: One thing that has bothered me about FIFA 11 is that many of the players don’t improve their ratings over time no matter how much that a person uses them.  I would like FIFA to use a feature that is included in many of the EA sports games, which is to have specific drills to help a player improve from season to season.  For example, in the Madden Football series, when using the New England Patriots, a gamer can improve Tom Brady’s throwing accuracy rating by performing throwing drills.  So in the case of FIFA, if a gamer wanted to improve Andy Carroll’s dribbling skills, there would be soccer specific drills available to do this.

3. Kit and Stadium Design: In real soccer, a club’s kit and sponsors can change from year to year.  The same is true for a club’s stadium.  I think that would be an interesting feature to help break up the monotony of Career Mode.

4.  Start From Scratch: Again this is something that is available in other EA sports franchises.  I think that ability to start a soccer club from scratch, design the kits, set the budget, hire coaches, choose your league etc. would be an interesting feature.  Then, for example, if the Club was in England, it would be placed in the lowest league and be given the opportunity to move its way up.

5.  All Time Clubs and Players: Imagine playing the 1968 Manchester United team against the current club or Pele’s Brazilian teams against the World Cup winners Spain.  Bringing back the greats of the game would add quite a bit of excitement and would add a fresh experience for the user.

These are just a few improvements that I would like added to FIFA 12.  There are hundreds of you out there who play and love the game as much as I do. What features and improvements would you make?