FIFA 16‘s developers have included a touching tribute to the game’s late director in the upcoming sports title, with them having introduced the home stadium of the team he supported into the game.
Creative director Simon Humber, who played a big role in the designing of the game’s incredibly popular Ultimate Team mode, passed away earlier this year after suffering with cancer, and the development team at EA Canada have acknowledged his contributions to the series by debuting League Two outfit Portsmouth’s Fratton Park, breaking a trend that typically only sees the squads featured in each country’s top league having their stadiums brought to life in the game.
Fratton Park will join Norwich’s Carrow Road, Watford’s Vicarage Road and Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium, which have all been included this year as the three clubs have been promoted to the Premier League.
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Speaking of Fratton Park’s debut in the FIFA series, Ashley Brown, the director of Portsmouth Football Club, said: “Simon was well-known among Pompey fans, his love of life, humorous and caring character ensured he was loved by all who met him. His passion for Pompey, the FIFA game and football in general, was infectious and as such he leaves a legacy of having made a hugely positive impact across all three.
“Everyone at Pompey is honoured that Fratton Park will appear in FIFA 16 and I know Simon would be ever so proud to see his club featured in this way. He would no doubt hope that it helps spread the word about his beloved club.”
EA have also included another little tribute to Humber in the game, with a wreath of flowers being placed near the goal in FIFA 16‘s Fratton Park.
Speaking of Humber’s contributions to the series, the VP and GM of FIFA David Rutter said: “When you make video games, you spend a great deal of time with people, and shipping an annual title makes a team very close. I worked with Simon daily for seven years, and feel like I – and the team – lost a family member.
“In terms of his legacy within FIFA, he was the daddy of Ultimate Team, and played a big role in career mode – many of the features coming this year were ones he was leading development on.”
[Via EA Sports]
