For anyone who is interested in FIFA squad updates

Hey guys, so I've noticed that we here on the forum who have posted in the FIFA threads have been a bit curious in regards to the FIFA transfers which have updated online sometimes in the past, but this summer we've had none. So, I got on a chat with a game advisor at EA (the people who answer your game-related questions) and tried to get a few answers on this topic since for me anyways, is a crucial part of this game's enjoyment (it's a football simulator at the end of the day (ateotd) so this is important).

So for those who have wondered on this forum and have no real answer because we have asked this before, I took that conversation, changed nothing but spelling errors and posted it here so you guys can see it as well. A few things of note: this is a long read, but not TOO long, and I'm not claiming to be posting some ground breaking information that was not previously known before, just what I was told, so for those who are interested check it out
"Kevin" is my advisor, and "you" is myself:
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Kevin: Thanks for contacting EA Customer Experience, my name is Kevin. How may I assist you today?

you: Hey there Kevin, do you have a pretty good understanding of the FIFA series?

Kevin: I do indeed!

you: Awesome. My question pertains to the "download updates" feature which has to do with the transfers. We are of course currently in the summer transfer window for European clubs but FIFA hasn't updated these transfers at all.

Kevin: Yes, unfortunately you will most likely not be seeing the latest transfers reflected in FIFA 13, though FIFA 14 will of course have them.

you: We will "most likely" not be seeing them? Is there a chance we will see them?

Kevin: Well, the ultimate decision about what squad updates are included in the game is down to the development Studio so I can't guarantee one way or another, but I'm giving you my best guess based on what updates they included in FIFA 12 and 11 at this time of the year.

you: I see, so you are telling me that there is basically no way to know the answer to this question for sure.

Kevin: I would be extremely surprised if there were further updates to the squads given the impending release of FIFA 14, but no, I can't categorically rule it out either.

you: Ok, because I was thinking perhaps when the transfer window closed, maybe then they would update. Has that happened in previous FIFA editions (I can't remember)?

Kevin: In the last two versions anyway, they did not, any summer transfers were not included until the next game release in September.

you: Well that's unfortunate. It seems as if they intend to bore you into buying the next copy, which I ultimately understand.

Kevin: Well, I agree it would be nice if they could continually keep it up to date, but I suppose it is more practical to stop at some point and concentrate on the next game! In the meantime though, are there any other queries I can assist you with today?
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So here he's ready to wrap it up but of course the question isn't answered
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you: Right, it does sound practical but at the same time how much would they really be held back by simply updating the squads? When for the winter window they do it constantly. I just think that it's an improvement which isn't too difficult/time consuming yet it would make playing the game better by leaps and bounds.

you: Unless I'm wrong. Are you familiar with the work that actually goes in to that particular update?

Kevin: My understanding is that there has to come a point where they stop updating the squads, and this is simply the point they have picked.

you: Right, and that's what I mean. That's just a lame decision but again, there's no profit to be made by giving us the players too much of a good thing. I get it.

Kevin: I would be very hesitant to say it is a profit-based decision, at a certain point the developers simply have to fully focus on their upcoming release. The summer months may seem "quiet" from a football point of view, and it may seem trivial to be releasing squad updates throughout from your perspective, but from the Studio's perspective they are enormously busy at this time of the year as various deadlines for FIFA 14 approach.

you: Well I get what you're saying but it does seem to be a bit of a profit-related decision, or sales-related, although I also get that EA and FIFA are not strapped financially in any way so given the position where the FIFA series is at the moment, I guess they are afforded the leverage.

Kevin: Indeed, the FIFA Studio is one that I suspect has the freedom to make design-decisions without too much concern about margins and other boring financial stuff, hahah. Of course you also have to remember that they are doubly busy this year as they also have to develop FIFA 14 for the next generation consoles.

you: True, but in the versions prior to this year they never had to worry about that and we still didn't get an update. In the summer window too, the most exciting. But given the way they constantly update Ultimate team, team of the week, current form, etc, I just do not see why they can't include transfers as well, other than of course the fact that since it gives the game so much more excitement that if we don't receive it we HAVE to get the next version. And these other updates are happening "up-to-date"!! As in, they're still current.

Kevin: Well, you have a point about the Ultimate Team certainly, I suppose they feel more obligated to continue to release content for that because many users are still actually buying FIFA Points on it.

you: Again, that does make sense financially, so that is a good point.
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And here, I think he said f*** it and was ready to just end it because he never responded, so I had to type again just so he wouldn't leave
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you: Well I do have just one more question.

Kevin: Sure, fire away!
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This TOTALLY happened btw, this next bit
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you: As you may have noticed, I am a fan of this transfer season. So, seeing as how the updates were just not gonna happen I took the time to manually update the squads myself, even if they were just for my own exhibition use, through "club transfers". Now this took a LOT of time. Then just a few days ago the game totally reset my squads without me doing so. Is this in any relation to why we don't get the updates?

Kevin: No, any changes to the offline squads you have set up yourself could only result from a local error, as those squads would be locally saved on your console.

you: That's what I thought, which is why I don't understand why they happened. "Local error" means my mistake right? Yet I never did anything to my squads, in fact I tried to keep them up to date. There is no way the system can just reset them?

Kevin: By local, I just mean it would have nothing to do with any game updates or issues on our server side. Things like clearing your Game Data Utility, Save Data Utility or Cache could cause this to happen.

you: It's just weird because nothing else was affected, just the transfers I'd made. It's disheartening when not only do you not get the updates, but even when you go through the trouble of manually making them that gets undone as well. Where else do I simulate my football, lol!! It's a huge bummer but I guess that's the reality of it.

Kevin: Definitely, after going to all that trouble that's certainly a pretty tough blow. I'm sorry there's nothing we can do to restore the changes, but as they were only on your system we would have had no access to them sadly.

you: It's no worry, I guess I'll live. It's just a bummer and this information makes FIFA 13 obsolete in a sense, for me anyways. But that's that. I believe that answers my questions though.

Kevin: No problem, well I hope you aren't too disappointed and in the meantime it has been a pleasure talking with you, I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!

you: Likewise man, thank you for your time and for the informative answers, I just wanted to get a further understanding on the whole update business and you have assisted so thank you.
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And at this point they usually give a farewell of sorts but I think he was sick of me so he just ended the chat lol, cause I had a few more questions but they really weren't of much importance.

So if you did read this, I thank you for your patience and hopefully this gives you a bit more insight as to how the updates work in FIFA for transfers and why we don't have them, although at the end of it all nothing really got answered. Just wanted to post it though, so there it is. Thanks again guys

Some teams got updated, but they cancelled the updates. Like Man City had Navas and Fernandinho, but they're no longer there.

I think it's because if they did put the transfers in, then they probably think no one would buy FIFA 14 or something.

It's nothing to do with them working on FIFA 14 etc and having no time. I'm sure it doesn't take long to make a few transfers.

Yohan Modric wrote:Some teams got updated, but they cancelled the updates. Like Man City had Navas and Fernandinho, but they're no longer there.

I think it's because if they did put the transfers in, then they probably think no one would buy FIFA 14 or something.

It's nothing to do with them working on FIFA 14 etc and having no time. I'm sure it doesn't take long to make a few transfers.

lol, exactly. But thats the best they got, so it's all but confirmed: it's all about the benjis!

It's all about the benjis like you said.

And ultimate team is a prime example. How is it that transfers get updated there but not on seasons and other game modes

You don't need to look at FIFA to know EA is solely about profit...