Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»street soccer players-the unrestricted athletes who bring their panache and personalized style to unlined parks, gymnasiums and backyard laneways-will recognize Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»in the upcoming FIFA Street, created by Electronic Arts and available for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.
But women won't see themselves on-screen as avatars. The game, due out in March, will not include female players because the added cost to shape their bodies and model movement and clothing didn't provide enough return on investment. The time-consuming animation involved in modelling the female form-breasts, hips, and a smaller frame in motion-was considered too pricey.
The game's creative director said female avatars were on the wish list and will be considered in the future.
In September, EA added a female avatar to its hugely popular NHL 12, drawing on the likeness of the 14-year-old girl who asked the company why a team couldn't include her female hockey heroes.
I can't help but see the missed opportunity, not just in FIFA Street but any sport-based video game that displays exceptional life-like details and has the ability to elevate the status of sports stars and national role models while still affirming women's athletic abilities and potentially drawing more girls to sport.
The MLS may not have a women's league, but many teams, including the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Whitecaps, support and fund a women's roster that competes in a semi-professional league. Canada will host the Women's World Cup in 2015. And, although the street game that inspired FIFA Street is distinct from the homeless soccer movement, the World Cup of Homeless Soccer opened to national women's teams three years ago. The Canadian women are competitive.
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