FIFA 14 is one of the most anticipated games in the upcoming EA Sports roster, and the game is set to appear on both current and next gen platforms this year. Team behind the game, EA Vancouver, has revealed to Eurogamer some of the differences that the current gen version of the game will have compared to the next gen version of FIFA 14, including differences in graphics and the inclusion of the EA Sports Ignite engine.
David Rutter of EA Sports explained that the EA Sports Ignite engine is a big difference between the two versions of the game, as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One version of FIFA 14 will benefit from the new physics engine, as well as the updated graphics the new systems can provide:
"A lot of that time was getting the FIFA that was working on it and then taking that and running with it. The FIFA that you're now playing - we've been working on that for about 18 months maybe. But there's been a lot of preparation and pain before that...There were two things we did straight away. One was bump it up to 1080p and see if it made a difference, because 1080p's expensive. It's a lot of graphics. We were skeptical going into it, but came out being glad we did it, because it makes a significant difference. That was the most performance expensive thing we did initially."
Another big difference is the amount of player animations FIFA 14 will have in each version of the game. The next-gen version of the game will have many more animations that allow the game to look more realistic while in motion:
"We've always been, probably, at the forefront of animation technology in a videogame. We've got roughly ten times the animation on Xbox One and PS4 than on current gen consoles. We wanted to improve the behaviors of the players and the AI. A lot of that is around physics and decision making and the way they move, and we've got roughly four times the processing of decisions."
Finally, the other notably difference in the game is how the crowds in FIFA 14 will behave. The next-gen version of FIFA 14 will have much more realistic crowds that will affect the way the players act compared to the current gen console experience:
"Nearly every interview I've had in the last few years has said when we are going to get good crowds. There's two parts to that - there's good crowds and then there's why do they want good crowds. It's not that the crowds just look nice - it's that there's atmosphere and soul."
While both versions of FIFA 14 should be great games, the next gen FIFA 14 should be the one to look out for when it becomes available when both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are released.