Thank you and Good bye

Before i go, i just wanted to say thank you. I first picked up FIFA and Played my first ever game on FIFA98. 

Over the years your game has wowed me, the updated graphics, the textures and the cinematics where breath taking. from like fifa08 to like fifa18 was a golden decade of change and amazement in what you came out with. It was one success to the next. The game felt amazing, responsive and there was a skill gap which i took for granted.

unfortunately here is the sad part.
over the last few years, I've fallen out of love with the game of FIFA/EAFC. I live and breathe football. I support Manchester united and have since i watched my first game of them playing almost 25 years ago. It pains me to say i support them, but not as much as your game pains me currently. You sale pitch often revolves around the pre order bonuses, the upcoming promos and cards and the need to always be up to or beyond the power curve. Unfortunately this is why i will be retiring from your game. i have no motivation to play it, the rewards i thought where going to be amazing this year, they consistently let you down. Like i don't know how i keep getting dupe hero's and icons but that's not even the frustrating bit, that's just RNG. I load up your game, check the SBC, Check objectives and evo's. I think, heck yeah, i got that little tingle of excitement in my mind lets go sauce it up online. This is where the pain points begin. 

Before i start - I play fifa because in my mind its exciting to create opportunities, hit top bins with a finesse or volley, to break away from a tackle and beat a defender to beat the goalie and score. This is why i love the game, the build up to goal (creativity), the break down (to beat the defender or back line), The rush (to score or almost score).

You game has dampened and extinguished that light for me.

This is not in any order, more of just as it comes to mind: The pain points. 
I refuse to highlight the issues with menus and the bugs where the game crashes or stalls or visual glitches because i know you always attempt to fix it but for the 3rd or 4th year in a row we still have them (they don't kill your dream)
1. Delayed input and non responsive gameplay. 

I have tried both console and PC (i mainly play PC now) both XBOX and PS controller wired and Wireless. I've learnt to turn on pass indicators so at least i can see if the ball goes to the wrong person. I've tried both early pass receiver, late and on power up. nothing changes its all the same. So in my mind i see this game as acting as designed. its completely random, like when I'm running with the ball, and the player just over runs the ball and forgets it, or you pass to a player and the ball goes to the intended player, but your locks to either the pass initiator or someone else on the team. From the moment of kick off you can literally tell if its cross console or not. when i move my left analogue stick to move and the player just takes a moment to think about the input, i assume that's by design. Changing character to the character that has the little triangle above their head as the player to be switched to but it gives you someone else on your team that isn't closest to the ball or player. Turning off cross console makes searching for a game 20s-1m to like a 2 minute queue time on PC (too long).

2. magnetism or jam (however you want to paint it, the 'rub of the green')

i assume this is by design to stop players from rage quitting, but the amount of games i lose and i think to myself; Surely I'm not that bad? - only to review the post match report and see my possession at like 60%+ with 14+ shots on target with an XG of like 4.8 compare to the other players 30% possession and 3 shots on target and i drew or lost the game 3-1 or 1-1. I assume this is designed to adjust or make it so the clear and obvious better player is just being locked to a particular skill set? The amount of goals i concede to my defenders either fumbling the ball directly to an attacker or my defender being muscled off in a 1v1 by someone who has like 70 physical is too often for me not to think its by design. The majority of those games where i lose 3-1 and have a higher XG is usually this SAME game play cycle; Winger or striker on either side of the box shooting across the face of the goal, my LB/RB marking said striker, my CBs both standing on the D of the 18 yard box walking back in. The opposite full back is starting to cover the run of the winger that is about to score, but as the ball is parried by the goal keeper - the CB and LB/RB stop tracking and instantly start walking like the game play is over. Thus leading to the concession of a goal. 

3. Creativity and 'AI'

this game and the creative formation side has been in a better place this year than past years. big Kudo's to you all for the work you have done there. Unfortunately that would be where it stops. 'Counter' build is just so players make runs behind. You can spam L1/LB or R1/RB and players just look at you still. You can do both, inside wingers or wingers or wide play maker, the players still stand in the same spot. the origin is always the same. you start odd with a 5 back problem, now its just the same old game play cycle of either a congested midfield, so you move to wide formation, or you play against a 442 and the passing channel are closed so you cycle back to your LB or RB to do a Lofted over the top ball to a winger, only to find VVD marking your striker so you attempt to recycle it only to find 6-8 players now standing on the and in the 18 yard box.  the only saving grace is I've found the long distance shooting allows for some amazing goals, but in all honesty, those goal keeps should be saving those. as soon as you shoot across the face of the goals, goal keepers just turn like 60 degrees and cant save it all of a sudden.


I don't want to go on a tangent, i want to be constructive. I thank you for everything, i thank you for the memories, i thank you for the years when i was younger and could dream big about doing everything with my players and hitting amazing goals and flicking my wrist like DAMN that was dirty. Now I'm left loading your game, playing 10-30m in the game and leaving and turning it off for something else.

i wish you all the best in the future, i know you don't need money, your a big company. this wont make an opinion or a wave, but its closure on a chapter that has been in my life for 25/33 years I've been alive.

Thank you and goodbye <3