[1/2] A smartphone with the Electronic Arts logo is seen in front of a displayed stock graph in this illustration taken September 16, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 29 (Reuters) - Electronic Arts (EA.O) on Friday launched its first soccer game without the FIFA tag, betting its "FC 24" title will maintain the momentum in its best-selling franchise and provide a bulwark against an industry slowdown. That has left "FC 24" without the visibility and marketing heft the FIFA brand enjoyed. EA has tried to boost the appeal of "FC 24" with new features such as cross-platform play and HyperMotion V technology that uses data from real footage to program in-game movements. Analysts also believe the FIFA split should unlock a bigger marketing budget for "FC 24", which has retained licenses to most of the soccer leagues, teams and players.

---

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Joost Van Dreunen, Michael Pachter, Pachter, Zaheer Kachwala, Shinjini Organizations: REUTERS, Electronic, FIFA, EA, FC, NYU's Stern School of Business, Wedbush Securities, Apex, Thomson Locations: United States, Bengaluru