The FIFA football series, entry by entry

Between two consecutive entries the series changed what a footballer actually was on screen. FIFA Soccer 96 introduced the Virtual Stadium engine and put polygonal figures in place of the sprites used until then, which altered the camera work as much as the look of the players.

The starting point had been more modest. FIFA International Soccer showed the pitch isometrically, at an angle from above, and paired it with a crowd that responded to events on the field. That noise was the selling argument of its day: plenty of games had football in them, hardly any had the atmosphere of a match. FIFA Soccer 95 widened the content rather than the technology, adding club competitions to a game that had offered national sides only.

FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 fixed the shape the FIFA series still keeps: qualifying campaigns across every continental confederation, and licensed music on the menu screens. Later editions such as FIFA 2000 refine that template instead of replacing it.

Tournament games and the manager branch

Two further lines run alongside the numbered editions. One is tied directly to the World Cup and trades the long season for a single tournament with group and knockout stages; World Cup USA 94 belongs to it. The other is FIFA Manager, where you never touch the ball and settle selection, transfers and budget instead. Exactly one game from this whole list runs in the browser here: World Cup USA 94. Every other title, the numbered FIFA editions included, is a catalogue profile and cannot be launched.