Exclusive Partnership to Deliver Enhanced Experiences for EA SPORTS
Football Gamers and Fans of the Barclays Premier League
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. & LONDON, Jul 22, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) and the Premier League today
announced that EA SPORTS(TM) has become the Official Sports
Technology Partner of the Premier League. Under the partnership, EA
SPORTS will expand its current relationship with fans of the Barclays
Premier League with exclusive enhanced experiences and even greater
authenticity inside of EA SPORTS Football products. EA SPORTS
branding will be featured on all live on-screen broadcasts of Barclays
Premier League fixtures, and EA SPORTS will work with broadcasters to
develop enhancements for match day broadcast analysis and increased fan
interaction. EA SPORTS will also sponsor the Player Performance Index
and will explore new ways to utilize more in depth Barclays Premier
League statistics than ever before in future iterations of EA SPORTS
Football products.
"As the most watched domestic football competition in the world, the
Barclays Premier League delivers tremendous global exposure and direct
access to one of the most passionate football audiences in the world,"
said Matt Bilbey, Vice President of Football, EA SPORTS. "Partnering
with the Premier League further establishes EA SPORTS and its FIFA franchise
as the ultimate, authentic football gaming experience. We look
forward to adding further in-game authenticity with the direct access to
the Player Performance Index as well as releasing new ways to leverage
our technology to enhance the fans enjoyment of Barclays Premier League
football on and beyond match day each week."
In the exclusive role as Official Sports Technology Partner of the
Premier League, EA SPORTS will explore new ways to leverage actual match
and performance data to deliver improved interactive football
experiences that match the complexity, finesse and excitement of a real
world football match. Examples include:
-
The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index: EA SPORTS will sponsor
the Premier League Player Performance Index that will soon expand to
include new performance data that will now account for time and
distance measurements. This will allow for detailed statistics such as
the speed at which a shot is hit, the force of a ball as a keeper
makes a key save, the height of a jump, the speed at which a penalty
is struck and more. This technology will be introduced at all Premier
League club stadia this season. EA SPORTS will have direct access to
the Player Performance Index to further extend the authenticity and
depth of its football franchises including EA SPORTS FIFA in
future versions.
-
EA SPORTS Team of the Week: Available at www.premierleague.com,
the Premier League and EA SPORTS will publish the EA SPORTS Team of
the Week. The team will be based on ratings from the EA SPORTS Player
Performance Index after each round of the Barclays Premier League and
will be integrated into EA SPORTS Football games.
-
Barclays Premier League Broadcast Branding: EA SPORTS branding
will appear on-screen, linked with live match statistics, during all
Barclays Premier League broadcasts in the UK and overseas.
-
Barclays Premier League Match Broadcast Enhancements: Using EA
SPORTS graphics, animations and interactive technology combined with
real-time, real world data feeds, EA will work with broadcasters
toward enhancements for match day broadcast analysis that will bring
football fans closer and deeper into the action direct from their sofa.
Premier League Director of Sales & Marketing, Richard Masters, said: "We
are extremely pleased that EA SPORTS has had the foresight to enter into
this exciting new partnership that will connect with Barclays Premier
League fans in new and inventive ways. Fans have a thirst for statistics
and information and that is something that the Premier League, working
with EA SPORTS, will provide to a level not seen before in professional
football."
In addition to the Sports Technology Partnership agreement, the Premier
League and EA have also agreed upon an extension to the Electronic Game
License.
Building on FIFA 10 gameplay that won 50 sports game of the year
awards, EA SPORTS FIFA 11 continues to listen to its
growing legion of FIFA fans around the world to refine gameplay in ways
that matter most to fans. Visit http://www.facebook.com/easportsfifa
to join the FIFA group to express feedback directly to game developers
and receive exclusive content. New game modes and innovations will be
revealed in the coming months along with features on other platforms.
Visit WWW.FIFA.EASPORTS.COM
for more information. Screenshots are available at http://info.ea.com.
EA SPORTS FIFA 11 will be available in stores world-wide this
Fall for the PlayStation(R)3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360(R)
videogame and entertainment system, , Wii(TM), PC, PlayStation(R)2 computer
entertainment system, Nintendo DS(TM), PSP(R) (PlayStation(R)Portable) system
and mobile. It is developed under the EA SPORTS brand by EA Canada in
Burnaby, B.C. The game has not yet been rated.
EA SPORTS(TM) is one of the leading sports entertainment brands in the
world, with top-selling videogame franchises, award-winning interactive
technology, global videogame competitions and breakthrough digital
experiences. EA SPORTS delivers personal access to the emotion of sports
through industry-leading sports simulation videogames, including Madden
NFL football, EA SPORTS FIFA, NHL(R) hockey, NBA
ELITE basketball, NCAA(R) Football, Fight Night boxing, EA
SPORTS MMA, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR(R) golf, and EA
SPORTS Active.
For more information about EA SPORTS, including news, video, blogs,
forums and game apps, please visit www.easports.com
to connect, share and compete.
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: EA SPORTS(TM), EA(TM), EA Mobile(TM) and POGO(TM). In fiscal 2010,
EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.7 billion and had 27 titles that sold
more than one million units. 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, Pogo and EA SPORTS Active are trademarks of
Electronic Arts Inc. Official FIFA licensed product ' © The FIFA brand
OLP logo is a copyright and trademark of FIFA. All rights reserved.'
Manufactured under licenese by Electronic Arts Inc. Player names and
likenesses used under license from FIFA, International Federation of
Professional Soccerers "(FIFPro)" and national teams. John Madden, NFL,
NHL, NBA, NCAA, Tiger Woods and PGA TOUR are trademarks of their
respective owners and used with permission. Microsoft, Xbox, and
Xbox 360 are registered trademarks of the Microsoft group of
companies. "PlayStation" and PSP are registered trademarks of Sony
Computer Entertainment Inc. Wii and Nintendo DS are trademarks of
Nintendo. All other trademarks are the property of their respective
owners.
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SOURCE: Electronic Arts Inc.
Electronic Arts Inc.
Shaun White, UK Sr PR Manager, +44 148 346 3333
swhite@europe.ea.com
Jen Riley, PR Director, 604-456-5081
jriley@ea.com
David Tinson, VP, Communications, 650-628-5189
dtinson@ea.com
or
Premier League Press Office
+44 207 864 9164
press@premierleague.com
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