FIFA 97

FIFA 97 is a football simulation developed by High Score Productions and published by Electronic Arts, the fourth entry in the FIFA series and the second to use the Virtual Stadium engine, this time with polygonal players replacing the 2D sprites of its predecessor. French winger David Ginola, then playing for Newcastle United, appeared on the European cover and provided motion capture for the player models. Five PAL variants are catalogued across France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK, covering three different case formats: Full Jewel PAL, Mini Jewel Black Bordered PAL, and Mini Jewel White Bordered PAL. All are Original pressings. The multi-case-format variants are an interesting collector detail, with France and Germany also receiving dedicated country-serial pressings in Mini Jewel formats. A Die Hard Trilogy Leaflet is documented as loose paperwork in the Mini Jewel White Bordered variant. The game received criticism for sluggish performance on PlayStation, but remains an important entry in the PAL sports catalogue.