By: Anthony Gallo

When Electronic Arts decided to create a soccer video game in the early 1990’s, little did they know that today the video game series would not only change the world of gaming, but also professional soccer.

Soccer is undoubtedly a world spectacle. Millions tune in to watch the World Cup every four years and cheer on their country, as they look to be crowned the best in the world.

Another world spectacle, is gaming and the people at Electronic Arts (EA) have created the most popular sports video game of all-time. From its humble beginnings in 1993, the game has evolved from a 2D generated game, to a very accurate portrayal of soccer today.

EA Sports producer Gillard Lopes Dos Santos told FIFA.com in 2014 that, “for the action to be as realistic and impressive as possible, we record and study how the players move on the pitch, the precision of their passing, how they take a penalty, their headers, and even the physics of the ball.”

Hours and days go into making this widely popular video game a reality, and because of that, so many people around world go out and buy the video game series yearly.

Brando Santini has been playing FIFA ever since the 2006 version, and says the game helped him follow soccer more passionately. “FIFA has been a big part of my life and how I live it.”

“Before playing FIFA, I was never really into sports. I did play hockey and soccer as a child, but I was never really pushing myself and I barely watched or followed the sports too.”

“Since I started playing FIFA a lot, I became more into sports. Now I watch soccer all the time, when I have the free time to do so, and I also play a lot more sports now.”

“I learned to love the sport and I have this emotional connection when watching my favourite teams like AC Milan or going to the Toronto FC games. I was never like this before but I think FIFA helped me bring out my passion for the love of the game,” says Santini.

When asked how much does he play this game, he jokinky said, “too much.”

“When I first began playing and had the time to do so, I was averaging about 3-4 hours a day. When I was younger and lacked a sense of responsibility, I would come home from school, load up the game, and played until dinner. Then after dinner I would go right back on and continue until I really had to study or sleep.”

With the growing of the game, Santini says that he knows people who have been able to make a living from creating YouTube videos of themselves playing FIFA.

It may sound crazy, but many people in the FIFA community have been able to make a career from playing FIFA. Playing the game on streaming platforms such as YouTube or Twitch has become a phenomenon.

Some FIFA YouTubers have been able to gather millions of subscribers, who turn to their channel daily to see them play the popular video game. These creators post videos of them playing game modes within the game, while commentating their experiences.

Looking at YouTube searches from 2008-2017, the search term ‘FIFA video game series’ has gone up in recent years.

Ben, aka DoctorBenjy FM is a FIFA/Football Manager YouTuber from England. Today, Ben has been able to create a YouTube fanbase that includes over 34,000 subscribers and over 600 plus videos.

When asked how long it takes to create a video, Ben says that, “with FIFA, the file sizes are bigger and the recording time is longer so on average it’s about three hours a video.”

With rise of YouTubers creating videos now, Ben says that the various game modes are a key reason for people to create some very entertaining content. “I think career mode and ultimate team have their fair share of popular creators.

“The competitive nature of FUT (FIFA Ultimate Team) has allowed people to grow to a huge level in the last few years, whereas career mode is much more story based, so it’s down to the creator to make it interesting,” says Ben.

Another YouTuber who has been able to create some entertaining FIFA content is Louis, aka LE96z. Louis, like Ben, is from England, and has been playing FIFA constantly since 2012. He has been growing his fanbase to currently include over 24,000 subscribers.

To be a YouTuber, you will need to deal with the fact that you will not be making a large amount of money right away. And the ones who have, are a low percentage. Louis says that to be paid by YouTube, a creator will see some money for every 1000 views they get on one video. He went on to explain that a way to earn extra cash for videos is to get a sponsorship.

An avid FIFA gamer, who wants to create his own YouTube channel one day is Luch Vigliatore. When he first bought FIFA in 2004, Vigliatore feel in love with the series. “I play FIFA as a hobby and I hope to one day turn it into a small career and make some money playing it or putting content on YouTube or Twitch for it,” says Vigliatore.

“That has always been a goal of mine and I will continue to play the game for a number of years.”

If creating YouTube Videos isn’t your thing, another way for people to take their FIFA gaming experience to the next level, while also making some cash is joining the world of eSports.

eSports has really taken off in recent years, with millions of people watching gamers play games like League of Legends, DOTA and many others. FIFA has just recently joined the types of games that professional gamers can play. “FIFA is trying to be [a leader] and will probably be a leading light in that,” says Ben.

“They have the play base, the structure and money to do it so it’s set up for success. When it comes to the question of ‘is it allowing none pro soccer players a chance to make money?’ Yes.”

Professional soccer teams like Paris Saint-Germain of France and West Ham of England are just two teams that have seen the rise of eSports and decided to sign professional gamers to contracts.

The video game universe is changing, and with that, so too is FIFA. The game has grown from being a fun thing to when bored, to now being a source of income for some.