EA Connection Quality Report
We designed a tool for Electronic Arts gamers to better understand connectivity issues and improve their online multiplayer experience while playing FIFA.
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Connectivity Issues
Modern day games require fast and reliable network connections, especially when playing online in multiplayer. For Electronic Arts, this issue is magnified for their flagship game EA SPORTS FIFA 21, where hundreds of thousands of gamers can be online at any one time.
During games, some players report that the speed becomes sluggish and it feels like there's a significant delay between a button press and the corresponding action in-game, making the game feel unresponsive. These issues have led gamers to miss important tackles and shots on goal, costing games. In other instances players report games stuttering and even a total loss in connection.
Gamers typically feel that this is an issue with the game rather than a home networking issue, often taking to social media to vent their frustration at EA.
In most instances this isn’t an issue with the game. Online connectivity is a complex set of interactions and often depends on the type of game you’re playing, the connection you have, the providers that service your connection and, of course, your location.
Connectivity is always an important topic given the growth and scale of the FIFA community. To address these concerns, we designed a tool to educate and help players understand their internet connection and improve their online multiplayer experience.
The tool is called The EA Connection Quality Report and it’s made up of 3 sections:
Connection Quality Info
For logged in gamers, the main dashboard contains a breakdown of their connection, including ISP score, latency, packet loss, jitter and network type. Gamers can also view details on their match history to pinpoint any issues and there’s also an ISP comparison leaderboard to see how your provider stacks up against the competition.
Connection Guides
Troubleshooting tips and step-by-step walkthroughs to help improve connectivity. This section will eventually include setup guides for PlayStation, Xbox and PC, as well as home network setup along with connection guidance.
Networking Explained
Ping, packet loss and jitter are important terms to understand. This section breaks down these issues and explains how it can affect the quality of online gameplay.
Watch this space
With the world facing a tough battle with a global pandemic, this has resulted in a massive surge in online gaming. EA have reported recording breaking figures for many of their top shelf games, with FIFA leading the way. The connectivity tool has come at the right time and it will hopefully help millions of players enjoy more quality uninterrupted gameplay.