Speaking with Edge, the two men most responsible for the series' turnaround in recent years - designer Gary Paterson and producer David Rutter - explain the formula for taking a mediocre but cashed-up franchise and turning it into the most professional and best-reviewed sports game on the planet.

And it's all down to hating FIFA. See, both men are relatively recent hires, and both joined the company loving everything about former soccer game powerhouse Pro Evo, and hating everything about FIFA, which at the time was EA's laziest annual cash cow.

So they set out to do what Pro Evo did - namely, make the player feel like they were playing a game of football, and not just watching one - only do it better. Which with FIFA 09, they managed.

This story was a cover feature in the latest copy of Edge magazine, but if you didn't manage to see it there, you can read the whole thing below.

FIFA 10: Championship Managers [Edge]

Yup. 500,000. Emerging victorious at the top of that mountain of broken dreams was 22 year-old Frenchman Bruce Grannec, who beat Mexico's Ruben Zerecero 3-1 in the final to claim the crown.

He won the title on Sunday in sunny Barcelona, at the end of a tournament featuring 31 other finalists from the half a million qualifiers. For the record, all games were played on PS3.

So it's probably news to most Americans that the game is popular. Immensely popular. Like, bigger-than-Madden popular. And how popular is that? Let's take a look at these figures.

For starters, FIFA was EA's biggest-selling game last year (FIFA 09 selling over 7 million copies worldwide). And the year before that. Which means a lot of people play it online. Like, enough for there to be an average of 1.25 million games of FIFA 09 played every day, with 141 million having been played in total since the game's release in September.

Those numbers are crazy numbers. And you know the craziest part? They're deserved, because FIFA 09 was actually a really, really good game (especially the 10v10 online multiplayer).

Now, we don't have any particular issue with Eurogamer's choices for the Top 50 Games of 2008, but the head of EA Sports certainly does. Explicitly, Mr. Moore would like inquire exactly what happened to FIFA 09, the soccer game from his very own EA Sports, the one that netted an 8 out of 10 from the UK online publication.

"Now I get that the sports genre is the Rodney Dangerfield of games when the awards are handed out," Moore vents in his latest blog entry. "But c'mon, one of the best sports games of recent times not even in the Top 50?"

Pete's obviously satisfied with the top twenty appearances of Boom Blox, Spore, Burnout Paradise and Mirror's Edge, if not others. "Tomb Raider? OK, that's interesting," Peter writes.

"Is it not cool to include a so-called mass market game? Bangai-O Spirits (no disrespect Treasure) makes it and FIFA 09 doesn't?" he says.

Which raises kind of an interesting point. Should a top X list represent the a publication's best of reviews, or should it simply reflect an editorials staff's choices for most memorable, most enjoyable games, regardless of the outlet's review scores. If it were the former, it would be incredibly easy to put a year-end best of list together. Just sort by review score, ascending.

I don't see much in the way of sports representation on Eurogamer's list. That's not too surprising, considering how divided the virtual sports loving and regular ol' video game adoring crowds are.

But is Peter right in his calling out of Eurogamer?

WTF? (Where The hell is FIFA 09?) [Peter Moore's Blog]

Last month's 360/PS3 FIFA 09 screens had the ripe whiff of Bullshot about them (hey - we could be wrong, let's see them in motion) but this crop of Nintendo DS shots seem much more likely.

We don't know much about what to expect from the pocket-sized version, but it looks pretty good - nice use of the touch screen for tactical overheads and a decent enough 3D match view up top.

FIFA 09 will be kicked into touch on all consoles, everywhere, on October 14th.

Players changing teams in the European domestic leagues is common, and Edu is nowhere near as iconic a player for TFC as Favre was for the Packers. But if Edu does end up with Rangers, will EA update their cover art with a downloadable/printable replacement? Will we see guerrilla shoops a week after he changes teams? It's one thing to second-class the sport over in the U.S. How would it be taken in Europe? Or since it involves an MLS player, would anyone even care ...

Another Cover Change for EA? [XeNonX, thanks Ben]

(Ulterior motive: A football post allows me to boast about San Jose dismantling Revolution 4-nil last night. We are absolutely the best last place team in anything on the face of the earth right now.)

GUILDFORD, UK. – July 1, 2008 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today revealed it has created platform specific experiences for its popular FIFA 09 football franchise from EA SPORTS™. FIFA 09 has been designed and customized to deliver a unique gameplay experience that takes advantage of the hardware specifications of each available platform— the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system, Wii™ home video game system, PC, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Nintendo DS™, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system and mobile—when it is released worldwide this autumn.

“We have listened and responded to gamers and football fans around the world by building customized gameplay experiences for FIFA 09 on each platform,” said Andrew Wilson, Vice President & Executive Producer for the franchise. “Everyone wants to play a football game that is customized to their system and delivers a unique and enjoyable experience. We understand that and have innovated features, created new modes and designed controls that are tailored to each specific platform.”

With over 250 additions and enhancements to core gameplay, FIFA 09 on the PLAYSTATION 3 system and Xbox 360 deliver an authentic football simulation that enables you to customize the game to suit your style and ability. New animation technology creates more responsive first-time shooting and passing, faster and more controlled dribbling, and improved trapping. New player momentum physics, which exploits the power of these platform engines, delivers realistic player collisions, authentic jostling for the ball, and more variation in tackling.

“We listened to our consumers to make the changes that they wanted,” said David Rutter, Producer of FIFA 09 on the PLAYSTATION 3 system and Xbox 360. “No other game has over 250 feature changes and additions focused on improving core gameplay. We have an absolutely authentic recreation of the real sport through attention to detail.”

For the first time, go inside the game engine to customize the strategy and positioning of your teammates to decide exactly how your team will play in any situation. With new Custom Team Tactics you have all the tools to become a first-team coach. Adjust and customize tactical settings so CPU players and your team perform just like the real-world team plays and make strategic decisions to exploit your opponent’s weaknesses, all on-the-fly. The popular feature innovation Be A Pro has expanded to a career mode called Be A Pro: Seasons where you can choose or create a professional player and then develop his skills at a single outfield position over four years with the ultimate goal of becoming a national legend. The matchday experience is now true-to-life with a referee and linesmen on the pitch. Plus, crowds, stadium atmosphere and commentary have all been regionalized in exact detail.

On the Wii, enjoy FIFA 09 All-Play one of two ways—a Wii-specific take on the authentic ‘11 vs. 11’ simulation or over-the-top ‘8 vs. 8’ arcade action within a stylized environment with Mii™ versions of your favorite superstars, like Ronaldinho and Wayne Rooney. Refined motion and point-and-play controls make playing FIFA 09 All-Play even more intuitive and perfectly balanced for gamers of any ability to enjoy fun, football action. Choose to play the style that best suits your skills from advanced controls for experienced players to new EA SPORTS™ All-Play controls that enables novice players to focus on fun using simplified controls with AI assistance.

“You’ve never played football like this before,” said Kaz Makita, Line Producer of FIFA 09 All-Play. “Our new ‘8 vs. 8’ Footii Match enables you to play an exaggerated style of football where the personality of your Mii comes to life. You can play with your Mii characters against or alongside some of the biggest stars in a truly unique football experience tailored specifically for the Wii version of FIFA 09.”

FIFA 09 on PC now features leading-edge visuals that deliver graphics that exploit the power of hi-spec gaming PCs, as requested by PC gamers. Star players are featured in photorealistic quality with remodeled likenesses for ultra-realistic gameplay. FIFA 09 on PC also features customizable mouse gameplay controls that deliver deeper, more intuitive command over your squad. Plus, customizable widgets are now integrated into the menu system to connect you to the FIFA community and real-world football so you stay connected while playing FIFA 09.

“We are committed to investing and innovating to create a PC specific experience,” said Producer Paul Hossack. “Gamers want a gameplay experience exclusively for PC and FIFA 09 on PC delivers this.”

With 500 new animation sequences and all-new collision and shielding systems—representing the biggest innovations to the multiplatform EA SPORTS football engine in four years— FIFA 09 delivers more responsive, intelligent and realistic physical action on the PlayStation 2 system. The new collision detection system with 360 degree coverage enables players to behave according to their physical attributes where player speed, direction and strength determine everything from the severity of the collision to the outcome of possession. Changes to the animation system reward the skillful gamer during one-on-one situations between attackers and defenders. Tuned acceleration attributes enable swifter virtual players to possess quicker first steps and gain advantage in sprints. Plus, four new skill moves—scoop turns, rainbow flicks, heel-to-heel knocks and ball rolls—give you a total of 32 tricks in your arsenal to perform just like Ronaldinho.

FIFA 09 on the PSP system and Nintendo DS now include the innovative Be A Pro feature, including the unique Be A Pro camera that re-creates the rush and excitement of racing in on goal, designed exclusively for each system.