Laughing Banana
Weeping Pickle
Not really. My point was that very few in here possess intimate knowledge of what it would cost and the requirements and resources needed, that we are ALL guessing (some better than others). Which renders arguments of cost on both sides estimates... I don't profess to know how EA development process works. There was at least one poster in here suggesting that the entire game engine would have to be re-worked - I just feel the barrier lies elsewhere.
Hardly a gotcha...
Okay, if you say so, hahaha.
Regarding the chances of seeing this happen - Never say say never:
It was done in NHL - http://www.ea.com/news/female-players-join-the-nhl-13-roster
Who knows. FIFA is already King and there is little demand for it....so yeah probably not.
Not impossible, but probably very unlikely.
If you'll read my post again you'll see that I'm fine with people saying that it doesn't make financial sense, although it would be nice if more people used actual numbers instead of just treating it as a foregone conclusion. What I was pointing out was the anger accompanying some of those assertions that the market doesn't exist, saying "I would be so pissed off if they did this" or "it would be a waste of money." What I'm pointing out is that while in other economically unfeasible suggestions like Yakuza, people will make the same arguments that it would cost too much or would lose money, they do so without the anger, and often with sympathy.
But there are numbers:
158 signatures says all EA needs to know about the level of interest.
To be fair, even smaller (men's) leagues and teams have a much larger fanbase than the most popular women's teams. Last year the German Women's Bundesliga had an average attendance of only 1,100 and it's probably one of the most popular leagues in Europe. It's sad but you can't deny these facts.
Because the world's biggest women's league (National Women's Soccer League, US; Attendance 2013: 375,846) is still much smaller than even the 5th tier of the English Football League (National Conference; Attendance 2013/2014: 1,029,099) which isn't included in FIFA either.
And I re-read this thread from the beginning, and I hardly see this "anger" you're mentioning. Just one person, probably, and he/she was swiftly banned by Aeana (I assume). People were fine in here, giving their reasonings as to why they didn't think it would happen. I think you're projecting, using words like "anger" to quickly paint others that disagree to having questionable motives. Pointing "it would be a waste of money" is hardly an indication of anger.