About.com names FIFA Soccer 10 in its list of Top 10 Xbox 360 Games of 2009

2009 saw a lot of good sports games (Madden, Tiger, NHL 10, etc.) but the one that stands above them all is FIFA Soccer 10. It is a huge game with every league and team and player you could want and a wealth of modes to use them in. Be A Pro is my favorite sports game innovation ever, and FIFA 10 does a great job with it. The gameplay overall is also just incredibly good. The game moves and flows so realistically and it is a joy to both watch and play.

USA Today Awards FIFA Soccer 10 as Best Sports Game of 2009

Best Sports Game “More so than any other sports games this year, the savvy team at EA SPORTS responsible for FIFA Soccer 10 (for Xbox 360, PlayStation 2/3, Nintendo Wii; rated E) has delivered an exceptional soccer simulation, featuring myriad game modes (including online leagues for most versions), smart artificial intelligence, enhanced control and a revamped animation engine for ultra-fluid player and ball movement.”

Runners-up are EA SPORTS’ NHL 10 and 2K Sports’ NBA 2K10.

PlanetXbox360 Awards FIFA Soccer 10 2009 Sports Game of the Year

Sports Game of the Year: FIFA Soccer 10 – It is evident EA Canada’s time was well spent on the intricacies of being a manager. In the past, it was more of a throw-in feature that didn’t receive a lot of attention, but FIFA Soccer 10 finally brings the series up to speed with an entertaining franchise mode. It’s lifelike and much better than what gamers have come to expect from the FIFA series. With over 500 teams – and not to mention 41 national teams – it should be easy for a gamer to find a team worthy of his or her skill level. If gamers know what’s best for them, they’d pick up FIFA Soccer 10 the first chance they get; it’s easily the best soccer game on the Xbox 360.

FIFA 10 Is Europe’s Top Selling Game Year to Date

Electronic Arts Inc. today announced the continued record-setting sales pace for FIFA 10 as well as the development of FIFA 10 Ultimate Team, a game mode expansion and new way of playing FIFA 10, the highest rated sports game* ever on the PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360®.

Based on internal sales projections, FIFA 10 has sold through more than 4.5 million units worldwide since launch, a 26 percent increase over the same period a year ago (eight weeks in Europe and five weeks in North America). FIFA 10 also became the fastest-selling sports videogame in the world with 1.7 million units sold through at European retail in its first week after its launch on October 1, and it’s the top selling game overall in Europe in 2009.

FIFA 10 has achieved new franchise records for online play as well, averaging 3 million** games played daily and over 113 million^ total online games played on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 over the past two months, and will launch FIFA 10 Ultimate Team in the new year. FIFA 10 Ultimate Team is a deeper, more authentic, more dynamic version of the game mode successfully introduced last year and enables fans to customize the way they build their Ultimate Team.

Take on the challenge of building an Ultimate Team of the best football stars in the world, manage one or multiple squads simultaneously, and compete against other gamers in dynamically updated online tournaments. For the record number of football fans playing FIFA 10 online, FIFA 10 Ultimate Team provides a new challenge to put a personally crafted team up against the rest of the world.

“FIFA 10 Ultimate Team adds a lot more authenticity to a unique game that will update with new challenges and content over time,” said Producer Paul Hossack. “We now have over 7,000 players from 27 leagues available, from which gamers will craft one or multiple squads to show their mastery of the revamped, more realistic chemistry system, and compete in tournaments with exciting requirements and rewards. On top of that, we’ll release new tournaments and other updates regularly to keep the experience fresh and exciting.”

FIFA 10 Ultimate Team has more options and players that enable gamers to emulate the way real-world coaches and managers build the truly great football teams. Choose how to manage your team–-focusing on creating one formidable squad, or managing multiple squads to match dynamic requirements for tournaments and competitions. Buy, sell, trade and acquire the biggest stars to build your dream team. Be strategic and tactical in preparing your squads for the various in-game competitions. A completely redesigned chemistry system built around player relationships on the pitch, means that managing teams and squads to their full potential is even more critical to success. Take carefully assembled squads into standard tournaments and themed competitions against the most formidable teams from around the world – and then out wit and out play them.

Test your skills as a player and manager to claim global football supremacy with FIFA 10 Ultimate Team, available to purchase for 400 Microsoft points or $4.99 as a download via Xbox LIVE and the PlayStation Network to FIFA 10 beginning this February, 2010. FIFA 10 and an internet connection is required for play. FIFA 10 Ultimate Team is developed by EA Canada in Vancouver, B.C. It is not yet rated.

FIFA 10 CONTINUES RECORD SALES PACE; FIFA 10 ULTIMATE TEAM ANNOUNCED

Envisage getting the job as director of EA’s sports contract games. The initiation would be like the first day of a long vacation, with the head of HR slinging a hammock in your new place of work as he talked you through the particulars of your new position: ‘You’ve got a couple of games to get out a year,’ he’d articulate, ‘and they’re on the whole already done at the beginning of the development cycle, so just kick back and relax.’

Sound familiar? It should, because that, my friends, is the introduction to Pocket Gamer’s review of FIFA 08, run through a thesaurus a bit so it looks a little better. (Watch it – Ed.)

It was how I intended to open the review of FIFA 09, in a hilarious literal parody of what I was sure would be yet another EA battery-farmed sports game.

Well, how wrong I was. You see, far from replicating the pigeon-steps of recent FIFAs, 09 represents a significant step forward in the handheld simulation of football, expanding the boundaries of portable gaming so joyously you could probably play it non-stop forever. Or as long as your batteries last.

In the past week, I’ve let out audible gasps on the train, tutted on the tube and have punched the sofa in disgust, such is the way FIFA has emotionally engaged. Honestly, if FIFA continues evoking such passions, by the end of the week I fully expect to be involved in running pitched battles with PES supporters. And by next month I’ll be giving anyone who bought the abominable World Tour Soccer a Chelsea smile.

This new-found loyalty’s not because of FIFA’s now-familiar Manager mode. Nor the excellent quizzes, or the online play and interactive leagues, which I’m convinced no-one uses anyway.

No, this new-found FIFA enthusiasm is thanks to the Be a Pro mode, which is easily the best addition to the footballing genre (on handheld, at least –the concept is familiar from Namco’s PSone title Libero Grande) since whoever invented the through-ball invented the through-ball.

Be a Pro mode really shouldn’t be as staggeringly brilliant as it is. On paper – or the Internet, in this case – it doesn’t look like much: pick a player from any of the game’s billion domestic and foreign leagues, and play matches controlling him and only him. For four seasons. That’s it. If you’re lucky, you’ll control the ball about a tenth of the time you would in a standard game of FIFA. For the rest of the time, you’re a sporting tourist.

A special camera offers a dynamically zoomed view of the pitch, and it’s up to you to control your runs, call for passes, spot gaps in the defence, that sort of thing. At first, you simply concentrate on your own play and position but as your career progress, you earn more influence over the teamplay. You can call for your mates to shoot on your command, or demand pressure on goalies. Over time your player journeys from bit-part player to player-manager, effectively conducting most areas of play.

Between matches, you earn points for performing specific match-day tasks, with more added if the team as a whole meets certain criteria. Whilst it’s clear that many of these objectives are randomly generated, they never cease to elevate each game from a goal-scoring competition to something entirely more tactical.

Once a specific number of points have been accrued, you’re given the option to improve key footballing abilities. Wisely choosing which skills to improve is key to real player progression. If this is all sounds a bit RPG, that’s because it is – you’ll be leveling-up and increasing stats much like in a traditional role-player. But instead of then heading off to slay dragons in nerdy fetch quests, you’ll be entering some of the world’s greatest sporting arenas to score goals.

Actually, that’s not strictly speaking true. Proof of the success of the Be a Pro mode is that it’s not just about the goals any more. There’s an equal amount of satisfaction to be gleaned from spotting a run and playing a defence-splitting through-ball, or knocking a dinky one-two en route to goal. In these virtual arenas, I’ve stood stationery having played a team-mate through, willing him to score. When he has, I’ve actually raised the PSP triumphantly, smiling when the two players embrace. Which is clearly bonkers. But an example of the game’s brilliance.

Outside of the Be a Pro mode, FIFA 09 is as comprehensive, authentic and good-looking as always. The only major addition is a new casual mode, which in theory lets anyone play a decent game of football, albeit with most of the interactivity simplified. It’s a nice touch, meaning absolutely everyone can pick up and play.

Which they should. Because FIFA 09 really is the new benchmark by which all handheld football games should be judged. Absolutely stunning.

FIFA, the world’s governing body of soccer, Electronic Arts Inc and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe today announced the official kick-off of the second phase of the 2010 FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC) online competition. This year’s FIWC season has been split into two phases to ensure that even more players have the opportunity to compete in the tournament. The first phase, which concluded on December 18, 2009, saw over 400,000 players from around the world compete online on EA SPORTS™ FIFA Soccer 10 on the PlayStation®3 (PS3™), via PlayStation®Network to secure the first 11 places at this year’s FIWC Grand Final, which will take place at Port Olympic in Barcelona on May 1, 2010

The online leaderboard from the FIWC 2010 phase 1 has now been wiped clean, giving those players who weren’t able to participate or didn’t make it into the top 10 another shot at claiming one of the remaining 11 online Grand Final spots*. To participate in the FIWC 2010 online, players can register directly inside the retail version of FIFA 10 on PS3 from January 5, 2010 and start competing right away. Alternatively, live qualifier events for an additional nine Grand Final places will take place in Sydney, Sao Paulo, Paris, Milan, Tokyo, Copenhagen, Warsaw, Moscow, Johannesburg and London.

Following the culmination of this year’s competition in Barcelona, the FIWC World Champion will be crowned officially at the FIFA World Player Gala 2010, a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet the real life football stars in person.

* For full FIWC 2010 tournament terms & conditions, please see www.fifa.com/fiwc