GENEVA & LONDON, Oct 06, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- FIFA, the world's governing body of soccer, Electronic Arts Inc
(NASDAQ:ERTS) and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today
announced the new season of the FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC), the
world's only official FIFA global soccer gaming competition. The FIWC is
a season-long tournament mirroring the real world of soccer in which
competitors from all around the world participate playing EA SPORTS(TM) FIFA
Soccer 10 on PlayStation(R)3 (PS3(TM)).
This year marks the sixth FIWC season, which will kick off today inside
EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer 10. Players will be able to compete for
their spot in the Grand Final at one of 10 FIWC Live Qualifier Events
across the globe, taking place in Australia, Brazil, Denmark, France,
Italy, Japan, Poland, Russia, South Africa and the UK, or by playing
online. For the first time in the tournament's history, the online
competition of the FIWC via PlayStation(R)Network will be split into two
seasons. Season one starts with the launch of FIFA Soccer 10 on
October 2 in Europe and concludes on December 18, 2009. The ten best
players of season one from across the FIFA confederations will go
through to the Grand Final, which will take place at Port Olympic in
Barcelona on May 1, 2010*. Players who didn't make it during season one
have another shot at their spot in the Grand Final in season two, which
kicks off on January 4, 2010 and concludes on March 31, 2010.
Registration for participating in the online leg of the FIWC 10
tournament will take place directly inside the retail version of FIFA
Soccer 10 on PS3 from October 2 across Europe and Asia and from
October 20 in North America.
Alongside the 2009 FIWC champion, Bruce Grannec from France, the 31
finalists will compete to be crowned FIFA Interactive World Champion of
the Year, rewarded with an invitation to the FIFA World Player Gala
along with a USD 20,000 cash prize. The runner up will receive USD
5,000, while the player coming third will be awarded USD 1,000.
"More than 500,000 players vied for a spot in the Grand Final at last
year's FIFA Interactive World Cup. This makes it the FIFA tournament
with the most competitors," highlights Chuck Blazer, member of the FIFA
Executive Committee and patron of the FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC).
"The FIWC is becoming more and more popular among all age groups and the
great thing is that everybody can participate. Players can face each
other whenever they want and wherever they are - this is truly unique."
"With the real life season already underway, FIFA fans the world over
are itching to show off their skills in this year's FIFA Interactive
World Cup tournament and they won't be disappointed," said Matt Bilbey,
VP Marketing, EA SPORTS. "The FIFA development team in Vancouver have
worked incredibly hard to deliver players the most authentic soccer
gaming experience ever with FIFA Soccer 10. With the game out
now, we're excited for players around the world to start their journey
to the top of the FIFA Interactive World Cup league on the PlayStation
3."
"The FIFA Interactive World Cup 2009 was a truly incredible tournament,
with over half a million people competing, many of which via PlayStation
Network," said Darren Carter, VP for Brand and Consumer Marketing, SCEE.
"The FIWC is a great example of what can happen when you take one of the
world's best selling games, mix it together with the world's favourite
games console, and open it up to the community. We are very excited
about this year's tournament and wish everybody competing the best of
luck."
EA SPORTS(TM) FIFA Soccer 10 for the PlayStation(R)3 is powered with
the first-ever true 360° dribbling system that gives players finer
control of the ball, enabling them to find spaces between defenders that
previously were not possible. Additionally the new Skilled Dribbling -
an all new animation wrapping technology - provides unprecedented
control. The all-new Virtual Pro will let players live out their fantasy
of playing as a professional player. By using the Game Face function,
they can put themselves into the game and embark on a career with more
than 200 accomplishments to master across all games modes. Based on
consumer feedback from more than 400 million online games played, FIFA
Soccer 10 refines an already potent game engine, combined with
authentic club and league licenses, to continue to set the benchmark as
the most complete simulation of soccer which also features an completely
overhauled Manager Mode with more than 50 major improvements, a New
Practice Arena and Customisable Set Pieces.
Details about the live qualifier events will be made available over the
coming weeks at www.FIFA.com/FIWC,
so check in regularly to keep your fingers on the pulse of the FIFA
Interactive World Cup 2010.
* For full FIWC 2010 tournament terms & conditions, please see www.fifa.com/fiwc
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is
a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in
1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive
software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless
devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under
four brand names: EATM, EA SPORTSTM, EA Mobile TM
and POGOTM. In fiscal 2009, EA posted GAAP net revenue of
$4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies.
EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com.
More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can
be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile and POGO are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.
FIFA 10 is an official licensed product. All other trademarks are the
property of their respective owners.
About Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE), based in London, is
responsible for the distribution, marketing and sales of PLAYSTATION(R)3,
PlayStation(R)2, PSP(TM) (PlayStation(R)Portable) and PLAYSTATION(R)Network
software and hardware in 99 territories across Europe, the Middle East,
Africa and Oceania. SCEE also develops, publishes, markets and
distributes entertainment software for these formats, and manages the
third party licensing programs for the formats in these territories.
Since the launch of PLAYSTATION 3 in November 2006, over 14.4 million
units have been sold globally and continue to be sold at a record level.
Maintaining its position as one of the most successful consumer
electronic products in history, PlayStation 2 has sold over 131.3
million systems worldwide. Since its launch at the end of 2004, over
41.3 million PSPs have been sold globally, highlighting the importance
of the portable entertainment market. With the huge increase in interest
and accessibility of network applications and network gaming, over 10
million people have registered to the PLAYSTATION Network, the
free-to-access interactive environment, and 200 million items have been
downloaded.
More information about PlayStation products can be found at www.playstation.com
or visit the Virtual Press Office at www.scee.presscentre.com.
PlayStation, PLAYSTATION, PSP and the PlayStation logo are registered
trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
About FIFA
For more than 100 years, the Fédération Internationale de Football
Association, founded on 21 May 1904 in Paris and better known as FIFA,
has continued to provide the essential leadership role to the
international football family. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, the
eighth FIFA President, Joseph S. Blatter guides the organisation today
with a commitment to the evolution of FIFA as a modern and dynamic
association. The basis of the world's football family is formed by
FIFA's members. From the founding seven, the family has today grown to
208 affiliated football associations, also organised into six
confederations spanning the globe.
FIFA's worldwide activities go well beyond its various competitions,
such as the world's biggest single-sport event, the FIFA World Cup(TM). In
football development projects such as the FIFA GOAL Programme as well as
in corporate social responsibility activities (including the Football
for Hope movement to support through football social and human
development) FIFA makes material, financial and promotional
contributions to develop the game and make the world a better place. For
the Game. For the World. To find out more about FIFA and its initiatives
please check out www.FIFA.com.
SOURCE: Electronic Arts Inc
Electronic Arts
Bettina Munn, +41 22 316 1327
bmunn@ea.com
Maik Matischak, +41 22 316 1317
mmatischak@ea.com
or
SCEE
Nick Caplin (nick_caplin@scee.net)
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd
Tel: + 44 207 859 5301(5349)
Fax: + 44 207 859 5036
or
FIFA
FIFA Media Department
Tel.: +41-43/222 7272
media@fifa.org
Copyright Business Wire 2009