In the realm of video games, there are such things as mainstream video games and cult classics. You’ll discover which games are popular and which have smaller fanbases if you spend enough time gaming or online.
You’ve got your Fortnite, Minecraft, Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, and the two I’d like to talk about today, FIFA and Madden.
Each of these games has universally understood concepts associated with them. All of them are addictive multiplayer experiences that are extraordinarily easy to grasp. Large audiences understand the concept of shooters with player versus player combat. These games have ways to play with your friends, whether that’s partying up, a.k.a. grouping up to play an online multiplayer match together or playing against each other.
With FIFA and Madden, you can play against one other person or a computer player. The concept is simple: you play virtual soccer in the FIFA series and virtual American football in the Madden series.
Anybody familiar with the concept of games knows about sports, soccer for international audiences, and American football for American audiences. Virtually everyone who’s aware of and plays video games is aware of sports and real-life games. Sports games are guaranteed money makers because you can rely on almost anybody knowing how the sport works.
The same thing applies to shooters; virtually all gamers know of warfare. It comes up on the news all the time, and everyone knows the world wars from history class. While not as straightforward as a sports game, shooters like Call of Duty are incredibly popular.
FIFA and the Madden series consistently release very similar games each year. It’s been going on since the 90s, with Madden 98 and FIFA 1993. Each year, new iterations of the same game are released, featuring updated graphics and rosters that reflect the players active during that season. Obviously Madden and FIFA 26 look different from their first entries, as technology has drastically improved over decades, but the games grow more similar each year. Sometimes, the game remains almost unchanged, but the players differ; despite these similarities, millions continue to pay full price each time. I find it fascinating personally, an entirely different world many live in.
It’s fascinating that people buy game consoles only for the latest FIFA, Madden, Call of Duty, and Fortnite, especially with how expensive they are. This is what most people do, not just a few. You’re 10x more likely to have someone understand “do you know what the FIFA games are?” than “do you know what the street fighter games are?” or any other non-super popular series.
It’s what many consider the lowest common denominator of gamers, those who only engage with the tip of the iceberg, that is, the video game industry. It’s not a bad thing to be a part of the lowest common denominator; that’s just what we call “most people” playing the most popular choices of video games.
Sports games are so popular because they appeal to this lowest common denominator and need next to no effort to do so; it’s a formula so safe it’s unlike anything else in the industry, and that’s okay.
