FIFA 17 Street Date Broken in the UAE; India Release Soon

FIFA 17 has seen an early release in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Several retailers in the country have posted pictures of stock today.

Ready for sale...limited stock

A photo posted by plz comments in english (@sonic_games_uae) on Sep 23, 2016 at 3:09am PDT

Thanks to this several Indian retailers are expected to bring in copies of the game as early as Monday, September 26 at a price not too dissimilar to Rs. 3,999 (your mileage will vary from store to store) for which it is available for pre-order on Amazon India.

For the record, FIFA 17 is only officially available at Amazon India from September 29 - the actual release date of the game, the reasons for which we’ve covered in-depth here. This is par for the course considering FIFA 16 and FIFA 15 saw independent game stores bringing in the game earlier than EA’s own partners in the country.

We've seen this happen with The Division, Far Cry Primal and Street Fighter V, Indian merchants with contacts in the UAE bringing in copies through parallel import channels. Prior to this games like Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, The Order: 1886, and Just Cause 3 were some big name titles that found themselves available locally prior to release - all of which were stock meant for the Middle East.
While three days might not seem much for many a casual gamer, for FIFA fans it gives them the headstart in mastering FIFA 17's many nuances, and there are plenty.

For what it's worth, its also said that FIFA 17 is to be a step down from last year's game. While there's fun to be had in FIFA 17, it's nowhere close to what it should be. Some fundamental changes to the moment to moment gameplay are detrimental to the overall experience and The Journey mode falls flat. Rather, it’s padded in all the wrong places. FIFA 17 isn’t the best effort from EA but it isn’t the worst either. There is a better football game this year, and it isn’t from EA.

Do Subscribe on YouTube!
Follow Me on Twitter>>> @iamBhavish
And like us on Facebook>>> The Gud1

FIFA 17 Up for Pre-Order in India: Price, Release Date, and More

FIFA 17's price has been revealed for India. It is Rs. 3,999 on the PS3, PS4, Xbox and Xbox 360 and is up for pre-order now. The PC version is digital only as it has been for the last couple of years. And much like FIFA 16, it will be exclusive to Amazon India.

The price of Rs. 3,999 comes as a relief considering that Battlefield 1, another high-profile EA game is up for pre-order at Rs. 5,199.

Interestingly, Amazon India only lists the Standard Edition of FIFA 17 which comes with an eight match FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) Loan Item of Eden Hazard, Anthony Martial, Marco Reus, or James Rodriguez, five FUT draft tokens, and Special Edition FUT kits. The Deluxe Edition and Super Deluxe Edition haven't been listed yet. Safe to say they should be in days to come.

Furthermore, the announcement of FIFA 17's price and pre-orders this early is indicative that Amazon India is confident of getting the game on time. A major plus point considering how the grey market and parallel importers got the jump on the e-commerce giant last year.

FIFA 17 will be available in the US from September 27 and the rest of the world (India included) from September 29. The game will be on EA Access for the Xbox One a week prior to release and on PC through Origin Access. You can also pre-order the game digitally.

On the Xbox One and the Xbox 360, FIFA 17 Standard Edition is for Rs. 3,500 and comes with an eight match FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) Loan Item of Eden Hazard, Anthony Martial, Marco Reus, or James Rodriguez, five FUT draft tokens, and Special Edition FUT kits.

And then there's a FIFA 17 Deluxe Edition which includes up to 20 FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) Jumbo Premium Gold Packs for 20 weeks, access to FUT kits early, an eight match FUT Loan Item of Eden Hazard, Anthony Martial, Marco Reus, or James Rodriguez, and a three match team of the week loan player, one per week over 20 weeks. This costs Rs. 4,240.

For Rs. 4,500 though you can get the FIFA 17 Super Deluxe Edition. This doubles the number of Gold Packs and three match team of the week loan players. The rest of the entitlements remain the same as the Deluxe Edition.

The same editions are available on PC, although the pricing differs. Rs. 3,499 gets you FIFA 17 Standard Edition, while the FIFA 17 Deluxe Edition will set you back by Rs. 4,799. If you have your sights set on the FIFA 17 Super Deluxe Edition, expect to shell out Rs. 5,499.

On the PS4 you'll be paying Rs. 3,375 for FIFA 17 Standard Edition, Rs. 3,999 for the FIFA 17 Deluxe Edition, and Rs. 4,499 for the Super Deluxe Edition. If you're still on a PS3, expect to pay Rs. 3,330, Rs. 3,999, and Rs. 4,499 respectively.

These come with all the same freebies as the Xbox One and PC versions with the addition of a FIFA 17 theme. Keep in mind that buying digitally usually means a large download size and the lack of resale value, making the physical version a valid option especially in countries like India where Internet connectivity isn't the greatest.

FIFA 16 was found to be an interesting beast. The core gameplay veered towards simulation with thoughtful ways that retool some of its most basic actions and your approach to a match. However it's hamstrung with flawed execution to some of it's headline features like FUT Draft and women's teams. How EA rectifies this in FIFA 17 remains to be seen.

Do Subscribe on YouTube!
Follow Me on Twitter>>> @iamBhavish
And like us on Facebook>>> The Gud1