FIFA 14 next-gen differences explained

FIFA 14 is set to launch in September this year, and the cross-generation title will undoubtedly have a few differences between the Xbox 360/PS3 versions and the Xbox One/PS4 editions; but what exactly are they?

Speaking with EA Sports’ David Rutter, Eurogamer got some playtime with FIFA 14 and asked how the next-gen influences and the new EA Sports Ignite Engine will impact on the next-gen versions.

“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,” said Rutter.

Rutter explained they did two main things to improve the next-gen console versions of FIFA 14: bump up the resolution, and improve the animations and player AI.

“[We bumped] it up to 1080p and see if it made a difference, because 1080p’s expensive. It’s a lot of graphics. We were sceptical 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,” said Rutter.

Rutter then elaborated on the improvement on animations and AI behaviors of the game.

“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 behaviours 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.”

“The feature’s called Pro Instincts, and it’s based around the processing power of the new consoles allowing us to have players almost predict the future. The player on the pitch is running along and a tackle comes in ahead of him. Currently two things happen – he either hits the leg or he doesn’t hit the leg. This new generation of consoles we have every nuance of possible collision, and trying to position himself not to collide.”

Rutter also mentioned that the crowds were a big part of FIFA that the community had been begging for improvements on, and the next-gen versions finally have just that. “It’s not that the crowds just look nice – it’s that there’s atmosphere and soul,” added Rutter.

FIFA 14 launches on 26 September for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, with the Xbox One and PS4 versions releasing following the launch of the consoles.

MyGaming recently got hands-on with FIFA 14 on Xbox One and named it one of the best games of Gamescom 2013.