FIFA Football 2003

FIFA Football 2003, known as FIFA Soccer 2003 in North America, and simply FIFA 2003 is a football simulation video game produced by Electronic Arts and released by EA Sports. It was released in 2002.

FIFA Football 2003
PAL region cover art, featuring (left to right) Real Madrid's Roberto Carlos, Manchester United's Ryan Giggs and Juventus's Edgar Davids
Developer(s)	EA Canada, Exient Entertainment (GBA)
Publisher(s)	EA Sports
Artist(s)	Ali Kojori(Animation Director)
Series	FIFA
Platform(s)	PlayStation Microsoft Windows Game Boy Advance GameCube PlayStation 2 Xbox Mobile phone
Release	October 25, 2002 PC, PS, PS2, Xbox, GC PAL: 25 October 2002 (PS2) PAL: 1 November 2002 NA: 2 November 2002 (PC) NA: 11 November 2002 (PS) NA: 12 November 2002 (Xbox) NA: 14 November 2002 (GC & PS2) Game Boy Advance PAL: 15 November 2002 NA: 19 November 2002 Mobile NA: 27 August 2003
Genre(s)	Sports game
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer, online multiplayer

FIFA 2003 is the tenth game in the FIFA series and the eighth to be produced in 3D.

Gameplay

A number of new features were added to improve upon the previous version. Club Championship Mode was introduced with the feature of playing against 17 of Europe's top clubs in their own stadiums and the fans singing their unique chants and songs. A TV-style broadcast package gives highlights at half-time and full-time, as well as comprehensive analysis. One of the most anticipated new features was EA Sport's "Freestyle Control" which allows the user to flick the ball on and lay it off to team mates. Other additions include greater likenesses of some of the more well-known players such as Thierry Henry and Ronaldinho, as well as realistic player responses.

Players

The European cover features Roberto Carlos, Ryan Giggs, and Edgar Davids, representing Brazil, Manchester United and Juventus respectively. In the United States, Landon Donovan appeared on the cover alone.

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
	GBA	GC	PC	PS	PS2	Xbox
Metacritic	76/100[1]	86/100[2]	83/100[3]	70/100[4]	88/100[5]	88/100[6]

Review scores

Publication	Score
	GBA	GC	PC	PS	PS2	Xbox
AllGame	N/A	N/A	[7]	[8]	[9]	N/A
Eurogamer	6/10[10]	N/A	N/A	N/A	9/10[11]	N/A
Game Informer	N/A	8/10[12]	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
GamePro	N/A	[13]	N/A	N/A	[13]	[13]
GameSpot	N/A	8.6/10[14]	9.1/10[15]	N/A	8.6/10[14]	8.6/10[14]
GameSpy	[16]	[17]	[18]	N/A	[19]	[20]
GameZone	N/A	9.3/10[21]	9.4/10[22]	N/A	8.2/10[23]	9/10[24]
IGN	8.8/10[25]	8.4/10[26]	7/10[27]	N/A	8.3/10[28]	8.4/10[29]
Nintendo Power	3.9/5[30]	3.9/5[31]	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine	N/A	N/A	N/A	[32]	[33]	N/A
Official Xbox Magazine (US)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	8.8/10[34]
PC Gamer (US)	N/A	N/A	78%[35]	N/A	N/A	N/A
BBC Sport	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	86%[36]	N/A

Reception

Upon release, FIFA 2003 was initially outsold by Pro Evolution Soccer 2 (PES2) in October 2002, but FIFA 2003 later overtook PES by December 2002, when FIFA had sold 2.5 million copies across Europe.^[37] The PlayStation 2 version of FIFA Football 2003 received a "Double Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),^[38] indicating sales of at least 600,000 copies in the United Kingdom.^[39]

The game received "generally favorable reviews" on all platforms except the PlayStation version, which received "average" reviews, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]} FIFA Football 2003 was a runner-up for GameSpot's annual "Best Sports Game on PC" award, which went to Madden NFL 2003.^[40]

References

1. "FIFA Soccer 2003 for Game Boy Advance Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 30 April 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
2. "FIFA Soccer 2003 for GameCube Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 4 March 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
3. "FIFA Soccer 2003 for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
4. "FIFA Soccer 2003 for PlayStation Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 23 April 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
5. "FIFA Soccer 2003 for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 8 March 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
6. "FIFA Soccer 2003 for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 22 October 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
7. Hoogland, Mark. "FIFA Soccer 2003 (PC) – Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
8. Hoogland, Mark. "FIFA Soccer 2003 (PS) – Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
9. Hoogland, Mark. "FIFA Soccer 2003 (PS2) – Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
10. Reed, Kristan (7 February 2003). "FIFA Football 2003 (GBA)". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 15 September 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
11. Reed, Kristan (28 October 2002). "FIFA Football 2003 versus Pro Evolution Soccer 2 (PS2)". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 19 November 2002. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
12. "FIFA Soccer 2003 (GC)". Game Informer. No. 116. GameStop. December 2002. p. 130.
13. Tokyo Drifter (1 November 2002). "FIFA Soccer 2003 (GC, PS2, Xbox)". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on 22 December 2004. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
14. Varanini, Giancarlo (18 November 2002). "FIFA [Soccer] 2003 Review (GC, PS2, Xbox)". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
15. Goble, Gord (5 November 2002). "FIFA [Soccer] 2003 Review (PC)". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 14 March 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
16. Murphy, Kevin (11 December 2002). "GameSpy: FIFA Soccer 2003 (GBA)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 31 December 2005. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
17. Murphy, Kevin (21 January 2003). "GameSpy: FIFA Soccer 2003 (GCN)". GameSpy. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
18. Abner, William (7 November 2002). "GameSpy: FIFA [Soccer] 2003 (PC)". GameSpy. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
19. Althof, Jeremy (7 November 2002). "GameSpy: FIFA [Soccer] 2003 (PS2)". GameSpy. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
20. Murphy, Kevin (21 January 2003). "GameSpy: FIFA Soccer 2003 (Xbox)". GameSpy. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
21. Lafferty, Michael (24 November 2002). "FIFA Soccer 2003 – GC – Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
22. Lafferty, Michael (26 November 2002). "FIFA Soccer 2003 Review – PC". GameZone. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
23. Krause, Kevin (5 December 2002). "FIFA Soccer 2003 – PS2 – Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 30 December 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
24. Surette, Tim (3 December 2002). "FIFA Soccer 2003 – XB – Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 28 December 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
25. Schneider, Peer (3 February 2003). "FIFA Soccer 2003 (GBA)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
26. Boulding, Aaron (31 October 2002). "FIFA Soccer 2003 Review (GCN)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
27. Jones, Mark (1 November 2002). "FIFA [Soccer] 2003 (PC)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
28. Boulding, Aaron (1 November 2002). "FIFA Soccer 2003 (PS2)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
29. Boulding, Aaron (30 October 2002). "FIFA Soccer 2003 Review (Xbox)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
30. "FIFA Soccer 2003 (GBA)". Nintendo Power. Vol. 165. February 2003. p. 161.
31. "FIFA Soccer 2003 (GC)". Nintendo Power. Vol. 163. December 2002. p. 214.
32. "FIFA Soccer 2003 (PS1)". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. Ziff Davis. December 2002. p. 180.
33. Davison, John (December 2002). "FIFA Soccer 2003 (PS2)". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. Ziff Davis. p. 160. Archived from the original on 28 June 2004. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
34. "FIFA Soccer 2003". Official Xbox Magazine. Future plc. January 2003. p. 74.
35. Smith, Rob (February 2003). "FIFA [Soccer] 2003". PC Gamer. Future plc. p. 63. Archived from the original on 15 March 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
36. Gibbon, David (30 October 2002). "Let's play: Fifa 2003 [sic] (PS2)". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
37. "FIFA 2003 outselling competition in Europe". GameSpot. 18 December 2002. Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
38. "ELSPA Sales Awards: Double Platinum". Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 20 May 2009.
39. Caoili, Eric (26 November 2008). "ELSPA: Wii Fit, Mario Kart Reach Diamond Status In UK". Gamasutra. UBM plc. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
40. GameSpot Staff (30 December 2002). "GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2002". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 7 February 2003.

External links

• FIFA 2003 website
• FIFA Soccer 2003 at MobyGames