Sony’s Lost Deal: FIFA and Bullfrog Were Almost Theirs

In the early days of the original PlayStation, Sony was quietly doing things that could have changed the future of gaming forever. Sources say that new information about PlayStation's early history shows that the company came very close to two huge deals: getting Bullfrog Productions, the studio that made Theme Park and Populous, and getting the official FIFA license. Both chances slipped away, but thinking about what could have happened makes for a crazy alternate history for the biggest gaming brand.

Peter Molyneux started Bullfrog, which was one of the most creative studios in the 1990s. Bullfrog's work had a big impact on modern management and strategy games. The company is known for its creative simulation games and strange design ideas. Back then, PlayStation was just starting out in the console market and was still figuring out how to make its system stand out by forming partnerships.

Some sources say that Sony's top executives were about to buy Bullfrog outright, but Electronic Arts made a counteroffer and ended up buying the studio. It was a big "what if" moment. If Sony had been successful, the PlayStation brand might have become even more popular in creative simulation games, long before The Sims became a hit.

At the same time, PlayStation was also in serious talks to get the official FIFA license. If they had, FIFA Soccer would have only been available on Sony's platform. That might seem impossible now, but the gaming world was still making friends in the middle of the 1990s. Reports say that Sony backed out of the deal because it wanted to keep a good relationship with a "third-party partner," which is probably a reference to Electronic Arts.

If Sony had gotten the rights to the world's most popular sports franchise, it would be interesting to think about what the gaming world would be like now.

If PlayStation had exclusive FIFA titles, it could have completely changed the balance of power in Europe, where Sony's consoles already have a lot of power.

For context, Europe has always been one of PlayStation's best markets, and soccer (football) is the most popular sport there. If Sony had owned the FIFA brand, it could have given them an unbeatable edge, especially when Nintendo and the Xbox were still coming out and the competition was still up in the air. For generations, fans and developers would have been impacted if PlayStation had not been known as a powerful console brand but rather as the birthplace of virtual football.

Imagine a world in which the terms "PlayStation" and "FIFA" were nearly synonymous, much like how "Mario" is associated with Nintendo or "Halo" with Xbox.

However, the abandoned Bullfrog acquisition is another interesting development in Sony's early history. At this time, Sony was also starting to work with other studios, like Psygnosis, which helped the PlayStation achieve some of its early success. PlayStation would have gained not only prestige but also a creative identity founded on simulation and experimentation if Peter Molyneux's visionary team had been added.

Games like Dungeon Keeper and Theme Park were innovative. They were eccentric, aspirational, and highly addictive. Bullfrog had the potential to become Sony's premier game development studio for imaginative, genre-bending titles. The company's subsequent emphasis on story-driven games may have even been influenced by this. 

These almost-acquisitions are even more interesting because they show how Sony planned to do business in the beginning, which was a mix of ambition and diplomacy. The company obviously wanted to be unique and cutting-edge, but it also didn't want to annoy its largest outside publishers. Ultimately, that equilibrium contributed to PlayStation's reputation as the preferred platform for game releases, attracting both Japanese and Western developers. Not owning FIFA or Bullfrog gave Sony some freedom, but it also meant missing out on two chances to build an empire.

In hindsight, each of the two deals could have led to very different outcomes. If Sony had bought Bullfrog, the PlayStation ecosystem might have had more innovative simulation series besides Gran Turismo. And what if FIFA had only been available on PlayStation? That could have changed the history of consoles, especially in Europe, where the series always sells the most.

It's one of those fascinating "what ifs" in the history of gaming that demonstrates how a single business decision can have far-reaching consequences. Would PlayStation still be as dominant as it is now, or would its early successes have made it too strong too soon?