Another Soccer Game Steps Onto the Pitch, VIVA Football Announced

Some would argue that the football genre is nearing saturation point these days. There’s Konami’s superb Pro Evolution series, there’s EA’s officially licensed, pedantically-detailed FIFA games, and many more besides. Whilst this proves that soccer games are popular and profitable, the competition faced by new entrants to the market is nothing short of monumental.

That’s why news of another football game - VIVA Football from DC Studios - could easily be swept under the carpet. If it’s not FIFA or PES, making an impact will be enormously difficult. However, this latest Dino Dini-assisted project is promising revolutionary gameplay.

“The current generation of football games have no focus on the player. The game itself is the spectacle. This is a problem” suggests Dini, “It is the player’s experience which is accessible, playable and has long term appeal.” Whilst many would debate the idea that, for example, Pro Evolution Soccer 3 is lacking in long-term appeal, the ‘single-player experience’ is an intriguing idea hitherto unexplored.

Having collective work experience in developing Kick Off, Player Manager, Goal!, Dino Dini’s Football and Mia Hamm Soccer 64, the team offers a reasonably deep working knowledge of the genre. However, recent output from DC Studios has been fairly lacklustre, with Salt Lake 2002, NBA Jam 2002 and Tour De France failing to set hearts alight.

Whether or not VIVA Football can leave any kind of impression on a devoted fanbase remains to be seen. One thing’s for sure though - if DC can manage a release across every format, its chances of success will be significantly boosted. Indeed, versions are already planned for PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, PC, GBA, DS and PSP, so perhaps good things will happen.