EA Sports Fans Want Electronic Arts to Bring Back a Brand It Abandoned 16 Years Ago
The discontinuation of Electronic Arts' FIFA series may not have hurt as much as the company abandoning EA Sports BIG back in 2008.
- EA Sports BIG was initially launched in 2000, but just eight years later, Electronic Arts discontinued the banner label.
- The brand was responsible for many highly enjoyable extreme sports titles, including the iconic SSX series that kicked it off.
- Fans of the label want it to make a comeback in some shape or form, especially because of how much fun SSX games used to be.
There used to be a time when EA Sports actually tried to bring fresh experiences with its video games, dividing its attention between various IPs that could cater to a wide range of player bases. While its partnership with FIFA came to an end not that long ago, forcing it to move ahead with its FC titles instead, there was one brand that Electronic Arts completely abandoned 16 years ago, ending its beloved run of extreme sports games that proved to be quite entertaining during the 2000s.
But with the general perception that the developer and publisher has surrounded itself with in recent times regarding its repetitive release slate, perhaps it is about time that it brings EA Sports BIG back in all its glory.
EA Sports BIG Launched Its Last Video Game in 2008, After Which Electronic Arts Discontinued the Brand
Rebranding FIFA to FC did not really change much for Electronic Arts and how it approaches its major titles, as the annual release structure was back once again, much to the annoyance of fans, which could be an indication that the company needs to implement something new yet familiar to win its dwindling fanbase back.
The recurring cycle has sparked conversations regarding EA Sports BIG, a banner label that Electronic Arts launched back in 2000 but only continued for eight years until completely shutting it down in 2008. For those unaware of what types of video games fell under the banner, EA Sports BIG was created to focus on extreme sports such as snowboarding, snowmobile racing, and the Street variants of FIFA, NBA, and NFL, among other iconic titles.
Fans who remember the extremely enjoyable days from back in the PlayStation 2 era share the sentiment that Electronic Arts should not have been that harsh with its BIG label, simply because of how short-lived it truly was, but in such a limited time, it brought some of the most memorable EA Sports titles that were not constrained to the FIFA series.
The very last title that Electronic Arts launched under its EA Sports BIG banner was NFL Tour in 2008, which received a less-than-ideal reception from the fanbase, resulting in the label being shut down that year with no continuation in sight for more than a decade.
The EA Sports BIG Fanbase Misses SSX in Particular, as It Brought Extreme Snowboarding to Their Consoles
Aside from its Street twists on football, basketball, and soccer, the best titles to come out of the EA Sports BIG label were the SSX games, the first installment of which was released in 2000 as a launch title for both the brand and PlayStation 2.
Earning the banner critical acclaim and a lot of goodwill from the fanbase, it only makes sense for EA Sports BIG fans to look back at titles like SSX 3, which nearly perfected the snowboarding experience for the era that they were released in, bringing extreme sports to the comfort of their players’ consoles in the process.
Some of Electronic Arts’ recent practices have not sat right with its fanbase, resulting in them reminiscing about an era when it seemed like the company actually cared about the sports experiences that it offered, SSX being a glaring example.
Unfortunately, the last game in the SSX series, which was initially meant to serve as a reboot for the snowboarding IP, was launched in 2012, but if Electronic Arts can bring College Football back after 11 years, fans can only hope that it seriously considers the revival of EA Sports BIG as well.
