Here's the First Glimpse of FIFA Running on Nintendo Switch
By Riley Little 15 February 2017
A brand new and Japan-only commercial for the Nintendo Switch showcases the first-ever footage of EA Sports’ blockbuster FIFA franchise running on the home/portable console.
It won’t be long now until hopeful customers will be able to stroll into a brick-and-mortar retailer to purchase their very own Nintendo Switch. The console itself has been met with mixed reactions from fans following a global showcase back in January, but Nintendo seems to be gathering some support from third-party publishers that had previously abandoned the company in the wake of its lacklustre Wii U sales. One of the bigger companies set to support the Nintendo Switch is none other than Electronic Arts, and it will be bringing none other than the ever-popular FIFA series to it as a result.
While the confirmation of a new and allegedly custom-built FIFA game for the Nintendo Switch is enough to get fans of soccer/football excited, EA has (for whatever reason) been hesitant in showing any gameplay from the upcoming software – like, literally, none at all. Despite mum being the word on the Switch version of FIFA 18, a Japanese commercial for the new system appears to have shown off the first-ever glimpse of the title in action.
The brief snippet of FIFA gameplay on the Nintendo Switch can be watched below:
Much to the surprise of very few, the title itself appears to function almost identically to past iterations of the FIFA franchise. With that said, the commercial doesn’t overcommit the involvement of EA Sports to the various controller configurations that are accessible to Switch users. Sticking to the detachable Joy-Con controllers, FIFA looks just as accessible as it does on existing video game consoles – albeit with one major difference. Apparently the game will support local multiplayer, allowing multiple Nintendo Switch owners to link up and play against or with friends nearby.
Based on the footage, it’s hard to tell whether or not this is indeed FIFA 18 and not just a rough demo of what fans can expect later on in 2017. Another aspect that’s hard to question at this time is whether or not the Switch version of FIFA is just a port of the Xbox 360 and PS3 version of the game, something that has been rumored since a report first surfaced last month. Whether or not that will come to pass remains to be seen, but gamers at least have a slightly better understanding of how FIFA 18 will function on the Nintendo Switch later this year.
The Nintendo Switch arrives on March 3, 2017.
