FIFA 97

This iteration of the FIFA lineage includes commentary from John Motson with summaries from Andy Gray, with the between-match sections covered by Des Lynam. All player moves are from David Ginola using the MotionBlending technology. Full interactive replays are included.

Released: 1996
Platforms: Game Boy MS-DOS PlayStation SNES Sega Saturn Windows
Genres: Association football Sports
Developers: EA Vancouver
Publishers: EA Sports
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Non-fiction
Country: Canada
Age ratings: PEGI 3 ESRB E
Languages: English

About

FIFA 97 (also known as FIFA Soccer 97) is an association football simulation video game published by EA Sports. It was released for Windows, MS-DOS, PlayStation, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and Mega Drive, in 1996, with the Saturn version to follow in 1997.

FIFA 97 is the fourth game in the FIFA series and the second to use the Virtual Stadium engine. Unlike the first game to use the engine, FIFA 97 features polygonal players as opposed to the 2D sprites used in FIFA Soccer 96. The MS-DOS, Windows, and PlayStation versions were criticized for being sluggish.

Keywords

soccer
3d

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Reception

FIFA 97's computer version received a "Gold" sales award from the Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (VUD), indicating sales of at least 100,000 units across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The PlayStation version received a wide range of reviews. GamePro gave it a rave review, particularly applauding the motion captured animations, crowd noises, and "detailed, side-busting commentary". GameSpot's Stephen Poole disagreed on the commentary, noting that it is on occasion blatantly inaccurate. However, he opined that the slower pace of the gameplay is more realistic.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

Platform	Released	Regions
PlayStation	16 November 1996	Europe · North America 30 November 1996 · Japan 20 June 1997
Windows	25 November 1996	North America · Europe 31 December 1996
MS-DOS	25 November 1996	North America · Europe 31 December 1996