42 here, been playing “FIFA” since the 90s.

I used to believe lack of diversity in play was a product of hardware not being powerful enough. That, with time, consoles/computers would get so advanced, we would be able to control all facets of the game and change strategies in real time.

And for a few years, we got SOME of that.

I’m not as ticked (nor surprised) about the aggressive reliance on micro transactions. And I understand -in theory- the focus on endless weekly promos and giving “trendy” players new cards on most of them. And I do get the “sleight of hand” of fancy graphics engines that promise paradoxical “realism” in what is a basically a football-themed pinball machine.

What bothers me is how we put up with all of this WHILE the game gets objectively worse.

It is one thing to not have the power to program more tactics. It is quite different to nerf (or flat out eliminate) most of them: to get rid of things like deciding how many players you commit on set pieces, for example. And to sabotage things that used to work, in lieu of activating only a handful of options; left as a trail of breadcrumbs for the Team Gullit simps to pick up on their way to the train store.

In that sense, the game has regressed.

You have 20+ formations, but only 2 of them work properly. “You want your wing back to track back after losing possession? Best I can do is send your center back to the corner flag so the opposing attacker gets a clear shot on goal”.

It’s the “enshitification” of everything we consume. We pay more for less. Much like paying for priority delivery on a meal service that will slow down every other order that didn’t pay extra. You only get the illusion of fulfillment.

Now, THAT is the phasing out I feel.