Kotaku: Soccer

EA Sports Delights in Signing Away Pro Evolution Soccer's Three-Time Cover Star

Owen Good — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 14:00:00 EST

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Back in January, one of Lionel Messi's teammates on FC Barcelona let slip that the football superstar greatly enjoyed playing EA Sports' FIFA series. At the time, he was the three-time cover star of Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer, from its 2009 to 2011 editions. More »

A Sports Video Game Outsold Gears of War 3's Launch

Owen Good — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 21:00:00 EDT

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EA Sports' hot streak at retail continues to ride strong; FIFA 12 sold 3.2 million copies in its first week, the label reports, citing internal analysis. That means FIFA 12's launch was bigger than Gears of War 3's More »

The Six Biggest Sports in the World in One Kinect Game

Mike Fahey — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 14:00:00 EDT

Why worry about which sports game to play on your Xbox 360 when you can get baseball, hockey, basketball, golf, football, and other football, all in one handy Kinect game? More »

After Tragic Death, the Timing Couldn't Be Worse for This Soccer Game

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 05:00:00 EDT

Today, soccer player Naoki Matsuda died due to cardiac arrest complications. He was 34 years old. Also today, a PSP game he promoted went on sale in Japan. More »

Rooney Again Anchors FIFA Cover in UK, Australia

Owen Good — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 20:30:00 EDT

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Wayne Rooney is again on the cover of EA Sports' FIFA series, joining Arsenal's Jack Wilshere on FIFA 12 for release in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scandinavia and the Middle East. In Australia, he will be partnered with Tim Cahill, the Australian star who plays for Everton in the English Premier League. More »

Leaked Video Gives In-Depth Look at FIFA 12 and its 'Impact Engine'

Owen Good — Sat, 21 May 2011 15:00:00 EDT

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A leaked webcast of the improvements to and new features in FIFA 12 graced YouTube earlier this week, was removed, and has returned. It's about 10 minutes of new stuff, some of it highly technical, but for FIFAphiles, it sheds plenty of light on the "Impact Engine" anchoring this year's batch of upgrades. More »

The Chelsea Football Club Repels an Invasion from Space Using Only Their Balls

Mike Fahey — Fri, 20 May 2011 11:00:00 EDT

These four members of the Chelsea Football Club probably wouldn't mind us Americans calling it soccer, as long as we gave them proper acknowledgement for saving the entire planet from "giant alien invaders", which are definitely not Space Invaders for legal reasons. More »

First Touch Football is Full-Featured Footy

Owen Good — Mon, 09 May 2011 09:30:00 EDT

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Typically, upon hearing that a sports game is unlicensed, I expect completely generic teams populated by bland rosters. First Touch Soccer is hardly gimped in such a way. Yes, the team names themselves are altered. But draw up a match with "Manchester Red," and sure enough, there is "Rooney" at forward. More »

Gamers More Agitated by Playing Sports Games than Shooters, Says UK Study

Owen Good — Wed, 04 May 2011 19:30:00 EDT

There's a couple of ways to look at this latest video game study out of the U.K. Either there is no meaningful link between playing violent video games and aggressive behavior, or FIFA 11 is deadlier than Modern Warfare. More »

FIFA Commentator's Sexist Remarks Put EA Sports In A Pinch

Owen Good — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 19:40:00 EST

Tuesday, Sky Sports sacked football commentator Andy Gray after his sexist disparagement of a female official made it into a pre-game broadcast. Gray still has a job, though: The voice of EA Sports' FIFA series since 1997. More »

The Most Realistic Sports Video Game Ever

Mike Fahey — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 13:00:00 EST

It's almost like being there! Thanks to Zelda Did It! for sharing the pic. More »

Is Technology Ready For Japan's Holographic World Cup?

Mike Fahey — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 14:30:00 EST

Tomorrow is the day Japan finds out if its promise of a fully holographic worldwide broadcast earns them the bid for the FIFA 2022 World Cup. Can the country possibly deliver? More »

FIFA Surpasses 100 Million Mark; Ultimate Team Is Now Free

Owen Good — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 18:00:00 EDT

EA Sports today said its FIFA franchise broke the 100 million barrier, in terms of lifetime sales, making it the top-selling sports game of any type worldwide. FIFA joins gaming staples like Mario and Pokémon in the nine-digit club. More »

Someone's Not Having Fun Here

Owen Good — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 20:30:00 EDT

Playing FIFA 11 in a pool in a stretch Hummer driving through LA? Hell of a home-console advantage for the Phoenix Suns' Steve Nash, sure. But is that really cause for Landon Donovan to call him a bleeping bleep? More »

FIFA 11's Demo Arrives, Features Unlockables

Owen Good — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 20:00:00 EDT

FIFA 11's demo went live on both consoles' download services today, providing you with six top-flight international clubs and a range of difficulty settings to get a feel for this year's edition. More »

Pro Evo Soccer's Demo Hits Consoles Tomorrow

Owen Good — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 22:30:00 EDT

The PC demo for Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 is live right now from the PES web site, and it'll be available tomorrow for Xbox 360 and PS3. More »

Jockeying For Position In FIFA 11

Owen Good — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 19:20:00 EDT

In American football, this type of motion is called "strafing." In association football, it's jockeying. This two minute tutorial gives you another good look at the soccer sim's gameplay while educating you on the finer points of advanced defense. More »

How In Shape Are FIFA 11's Athletes?

Owen Good — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:30:00 EDT

Looking at this trailer gets me winded. There's a reason I played fullback in my lone season of high school soccer - I didn't have to run past midfield. Hell, coach chose the goalie based on the fact he smoked. More »

How To Keep A Clean Sheet In FIFA 11

Owen Good — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:30:00 EDT

New to this year's edition of EA Sports' FIFA will be the opportunity to play as a goalkeeper in the game's career mode or in online team play. This tutorial gives the basics of the position's entirely new control set. More »

Kicking It With Kinect Sports Soccer

Mike Fahey — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:40:00 EDT

I finally got my first chance to go hands-on with Kinect today, and I wasn't allowed to use my hands. More »

Landon Donovan Gets America's FIFA Cover

Owen Good — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 21:30:00 EDT

Sure, I called it. Then again, any eight-year-old watching him bang home the winner in stoppage time of the U.S.-Algeria match could tell you Landon Donovan would be making his third appearance on the cover of EA Sports' FIFA series. More »

Kaka Is FIFA 11's Worldwide Cover Athlete

Owen Good — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:20:00 EDT

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite will be the global cover star for EA Sports' FIFA 11. You might know him better as Kaka, the 28-year-old Brazilian star for Real Madrid. More »

FIFA's U.S. Date Confirmed for Sept. 28

Owen Good — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 18:49:00 EDT

Yesterday we mentioned that two major retailers listed FIFA 11 releasing on Sept. 28 in the U.S., roughly two weeks ahead of its annual slot. EA Canada today confirmed that release date for North America. A release date for Europe will be announced after the World Cup. More »

Regardless of World Cup, EA Sports Predicts an American Triumph

Owen Good — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 18:20:00 EDT

Landon Donovan's miracle goal on Wednesday did far more than propel the United States to the World Cup's knockout stage. It's made America the No. 1 soccer video game market on the planet. More »

Checking Out The Xbox 360's Take on Wii Bowling

Brian Crecente — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Kinect Sports comes packed with more than half-a-dozen ways to play, but my limited time with the game only gave me a chance to check out one of them: Bowling. More »

Arsenal vs. Chelsea Highlight New FIFA Online Screens

Owen Good — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 19:20:00 EDT

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EA Sports' free-to-play, pay-to-upgrade FIFA Online is into the second week of its open beta, for which you may sign up here. While you're waiting on the 1.12GB download, check out these six screens EA released today. More »

Introducing Soccer Relegation to American Football — in a Video Game

Owen Good — Wed, 26 May 2010 21:30:00 EDT

Maybe the only way to make the Oakland Raiders' season interesting past the sixth week would be to force them - and every other wretched team - to play for the right to stay in the National Football League. More »

Let's Leave The Game Consoles At Home, M'kay?

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 06 May 2010 02:00:00 EDT

Man, I love video games. They're great. But sometimes, they're totally unnecessary. More »

It's Spain vs. Italy When World Cup Demo Releases Tomorrow

Owen Good — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 18:20:00 EDT

EA Sports tucked news of tomorrow's global release of its FIFA World Cup 2010 demo inside some marketing copy about the game's soundtrack, which no one cares about. Talk about burying the lede. More »

Line Up Your World Cup Shot, but First, Compose Yourself

Owen Good — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 19:20:00 EDT

With four matches coming down to penalty kicks in the knockout stage of the 2006 World Cup - including the Final - you'd better brush up your shootout skills, especially as the feature gets fine-tuned in 2010 FIFA World Cup. More »

Seven More Screens to Showcase the Pageantry of the World Cup

Owen Good — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:20:00 EST

EA Sports released another seven screenshots of its upcoming FIFA World Cup 2010, offering a look at the Italian, Spanish and American sides, and some wacky French fans. More »

EA Sports Confirms FIFA World Cup 2010

Owen Good — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:30:00 EST

EA Sports made its World Cup edition of FIFA 10 official today, although the title was entirely expected and its release date was telegraphed by retailers before Christmas. More »

Two Big Outlets List FIFA World Cup Edition for April

Owen Good — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:00:00 EST

EA Sports has not yet announced a date for its 2010 FIFA World Cup version, but both Amazon and Gamefly have it listed for April 27. World Cup 2010 begins June 11 in South Africa. More »

It's Goal Time In Free Realms

Mike Fahey — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:40:00 EDT

Those soccer fields sprinkled about Sony Online Entertainment's Free Realms now has a purpose, 3-on-3 footy matches and 20 levels worth of Soccer Stardom now available. More »

Sense of Urgency in FIFA 10 Latest Vid, Screens

Owen Good — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:40:00 EDT

The latest trailer for FIFA 10, going out today to coincide with the title's GamesCom appearance, highlights the raft of new features you can expect this year. One I just like the sound of is "defensive urgency." More »

Everton FC Using Football Manager 2009 To Find Talent

Stuart Houghton — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:20:00 EST

How good is Football Manager 2009's player database? Professional quality, apparently - at least that is the opinion of Everton Football Club, who plan to use it to scout for talented players. More »

England Striker Owes It All To FIFA & Pro Evo

Stuart Houghton — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 20:40:00 EDT

England soccer/football hero Theo Walcott may seem like the consummate athlete, but according to the ever-reliable Daily Star he owes his success to the magic of video games. More »

New FIFA 09 Trailer Talks Be A Pro: Seasons

Adam Barenblat — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 21:00:00 EDT

If you enjoyed the "Be a Pro" mode last year then you'll likely welcome the newest addition, Be a Pro: Seasons. In the new mode you can not only create a player, but take them into a four season campaign. Another interesting aspect is that you won't be tied down to one single character, you can switch players at any time. FIFA 09 ships in the states on October 14th for Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, DS, and PS2. More »

FIFA Soccer 09 To Get Weekly Player Stat Updates

Stuart Houghton — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:40:00 EDT

EA Sports' Fifa Soccer 09 will get an optional realism boost in the form of weekly stat updates to reflect player's real world performance. More »

EA Facing Another Football Cover Change?

Owen Good — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Ah, and by that I mean association football, not "throwball" as soccer enthusiasts call American football. Seems that one of the coverboys for FIFA 09, Maurice Edu (at right in the cover shot) of Major League Soccer's Toronto FC, is close to signing with Glasgow Rangers of the Scottish Premier League. That would make two football cover boys changing shirts in as many months for Electronic Arts. More »