For a couple of generations now young football fans have grown up playing football video games. From Football Manager to Pro Evolution Soccer to FIFA/EA Sports FC, football fans have been able to play with their favourite teams and players across the whole world of football.
One of the key aspects to what makes these games so popular is the level of detail put into them. Gamers can play with teams from the top level of the game like Real Madrid as well as lower division sides like Accrington Stanley. Modern games span across the globe, encompassing nearly all top level professional leagues in the world and allowing gamers to play with as full a database of players as possible.
The level of detail isn't just down to the players, but stadia, chants and almost most importantly commentary. For decades commentators have leant their voices to the video games to give whatever scenario gamers end up being in feel more realistic.
It takes a lot of work to get such details nailed down and while in a recent appearance on No Tippy Tappy Football with Sam Allardyce former Ireland International Andy Townsend talked about the amount of recording himself and Clive Tyldesley had to do during their run as commentators on FIFA.
So Clive's the commentator, so you can imagine every player out there, he's got to do "Beckham" when it's just a pass in the middle, "Beckham" when he's getting towards the edge of the box, "Beckham!" when he scores a goal. And he's got to do that for thousands of players. For players all across the world he has to do all that.
And now as a co-commentator in those computer games, I don't know what team the kids at home, when they're playing it are picking. So I can't say any names.
And you get a script and it would say we want 30 versions of a cross from the left, the centre forward heads it, the goalie saves it. 30 of them, one after the other. In different ways. And then, the cross coming from the right, 30 saves. Striker volleys it, goalkeeper saves it. Goalkeeper lets it in, goes through the goalies legs, goalie tips it onto the bar. It hits the post.
So you can imagine by Friday after a Monday start, My F*****g head has gone completely.
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Must have been an absolute head wreck for Andy Townsend going through all possible scenarios. It goes to show the level of detail EA Sports puts into its games.
