FC 24, the first game from EA Sports since it left the big FIFA licence behind, got off to a slightly awkward start with its first big reveal earlier this week, when its Ultimate Edition cover art took a bit of a ribbing from fans.
There were a few questionable faces in there, admittedly, with Brazilian Womens' legend Miranda looking quietly terrifying up in the top left, and Ronaldino not quite at his best, but the biggest standout was Andrea Pirlo, the iconic now-retired Italian holding midfielder.
Pirlo looks especially out of place because unlike everyone else in the group shot, he's just wearing a plain, unbranded blue t-shirt amongst a sea of official kits. He's also staring blankly into space, leading to plenty of comments joking he looked a little lost.
More interestingly, Pirlo wasn't in the trailer that released alongside the cover's big reveal — including, notably, the group photo of all the other players coming together that's then emulated in the main artwork — leading some to wonder whether he was a last-minute addition.
Talking to Nicholas Wlodyka, senior vice president and general manager of EA Sports FC at an event in Amsterdam, it sounded like the whole thing was a nightmare to pull together.
When I asked Wlodyka if it was a case of the licensing coming in hot, or being difficult to juggle, he said: «You nailed it. In terms of getting 31 players on the cover — each with approval rights — having to negotiate through exactly how they want to appear on the cover, it is a quagmire to pull it off.»
Wlodkya said his team knew it would be «super, super ambitious to be able to pull this off», and that sadly he couldn't share any anecdotes on whether Mr. Pirlo had accidentally wandered onto the set.
«I think
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