Detective Conan-like criminal silhouettes invade the pitch in Switch-specific glitch.

The Nintendo Switch version of FIFA 18, the latest in the Electronic Arts football series (or soccer for North American or Antipodean readers), went on sale on September 29, but already videos showing some of the bizarre bugs are doing the rounds on YouTube and other video-sharing sites.

One such glitch is that some players’ faces have disappeared, leaving only a green and blue-checked texture where their faces should be. A pity, since makers Electronic Arts have no doubt paid a pretty penny for the image rights for the good, the bad, and the ugly faces of the footballing world. It seems that these possibly extraterrestrial athletes only turn up in the game’s Normal Match mode.

Another glitch that has been discovered is the the sometime disappearance of face, kit, and all identifying features, leaving only silhouette-like black figures in place of the players. Some gamers have offered tongue-in-cheek praise for EA’s imposition of racial equality, for racism has no place on the pitch.

Japanese fans compared the silhouetted figures to the mystery villains of Conan, the diminutive detective star of manga and anime, where the criminal’s actions can be seen but without yet revealing the identity of the dastardly culprit.

▼ Have you seen these men?

One reason that these glitches are showing up in the Nintendo Switch version, but not on other gaming platforms (which had their own goalkeeping and shooting bugs to contend with, hopefully rectified by yesterday’s patch), is that unlike the others, EA Sports are not using their in-house Frostbite engine but a specially designed custom-built engine for the Nintendo Switch iteration.

The game is the first time back on a Nintendo device after a 4-year break, presumably because of the unexpected success of the Switch. With the exception of these strange bugs cropping up, the reception of the Nintendo Switch version of FIFA 18 has been largely positive, with fans welcoming the latest installment in the long-running series, despite the absence of some elements such as the story mode, and crowd atmospherics that are present in other versions. Switch owners though, seem to be quite happy with being able to get their hands on the game; for one thing it keeps them busy while they wait until they can get their hands on other things, like VR boobs to be fondled.

Source: Automaton, via jin115
Featured image: YouTube/Snorth93