For general thoughts on FIFA 17 and first impressions of The Journey, see this post from August.
Upon completing FIFA 17’s new single-player, story driven game mode, The Journey, my first thought was about how EA Sports could build on it. Though addicting (it was the first thing I tried upon receiving the game and it remained the only game mode I played until completion), it definitely feels like it’s just a starting point. Like EA wanted to gauge the level of interest in it before building it out to the degree that it could be built out to.
You’re likely unable to forget when Cristiano Ronaldo announced his new line of blankets while presumably nude underneath one of them a couple months ago. Well, Elite Team sent me one and it is absolutely massive.
Nike’s new limited edition Tiempo Pirlo boots “celebrate Pirlo’s dual careers as a footballer and winemaker” (Pirlo’s family owns a winery called Pratum Coller). The boots come in a merlot colorway with a real cork sockliner that features the words “Aged since ’94.” They’re also packaged in a wood crate like a bottle of wine.
Adidas is letting fans create and submit third kit designs for Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Flamengo, Juventus, Milan, and Man United. Anytime you ask people on the internet to design something and then publish the results on your site, you’re asking for trouble and this is no different. Man United’s template seems to be getting the most prank submissions, with dozens of Harambe designs in the gallery (a few of them pictured above), but there are so many more — including one featuring a picture of a guy’s ballsack (which is definitely not pictured here). A sampling…
I got an early look at FIFA 17 at an event in New York marking the partnership between EA Sports and Bayern Munich. This only partially explains why Javi Martinez and NBA player JR Smith faced David Alaba and Zedd (a person who does music) as the culmination of the evening. The team of Alaba and Zedd won both matches they played. Javi Martinez was not pleased.
When you hate wearing a shirt as much as Cristiano Ronaldo does, you’re bound to get cold sooner or later. So to alleviate that problem, Cristiano now has his own line of blankets. And if the video/sextape intro above is any indication, he’s a fan of them.
There are a variety of colors and designs, but I think this one would look best in your home…
Though EA Sports’ FIFA series long ago surpassed Pro Evo Soccer to become the undisputed king of football video games, PES chips away at their rival’s superior resources where they can. Konami’s newly announced deal with Barcelona does that in a relatively small but significant way for Barca fans.
As part of the deal, Camp Nou will only appear in PES 2017, as will the club’s anthem. The club and players will still appear in FIFA 17 as well, but their partnership with Konami ensure that they will “be faithfully reproduced in the series using the Team ID and Player ID systems to guarantee that PES 2017 perfectly reflects both the general and individual style of play of the Barca first team.”
Judging by the trailer above, it looks like PES is aiming to be a combination of the FIFA games and Football Manager. So if that’s what you want, this might be the game for you.
Anyway, if you’re playing FIFA 17 and wondering why Barcelona’s home matches are played at “Estadi Catalonia” or whatever, this is the reason.
The trend of garish food themed kits in the Spanish lower division continues with CD Pinzon’s strawberry and blueberry shirts. Like other Spanish food kits we’ve seen, these represent the region’s agricultural output. Sadly, they do not seem to be scratch and sniff. I mean, you could scratch and sniff them, but they’ll just smell like body odor instead of fruit.
Coming in hot from the position that any attention is good attention, Norwich City have unveiled a third kit that “pays homage” to their 1992-94 kit that is consistently rated as one of the ugliest of all time.
