Cologne, Germany, 17 August 2010 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced today that EA SPORTSTM has developed a new feature called Be A Goalkeeper for FIFA Soccer 11 that will enable fans to experience the thrill of playing as the keeper, and for the first time in a soccer videogame, will place control of all 22 players on the pitch in human hands. The new feature will be available for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system when FIFA Soccer 11 is available in stores September 28 in North America and October 1 in Europe and Asia.
Chelsea FC and Czech Republic goalkeeper Petr Čech has been signed as the spokesperson for Be A Goalkeeper and will be featured in advertising, marketing and promotional campaigns.
Be A Goalkeeper is a completely new way to play—instead of thinking as a player out in the middle of the pitch, you have to think and react as the goalkeeper. Experience the thrill of the one on one battle, making the great save from a free kick, punching balls safely out of danger, the pressure of the corner, and most importantly, keeping a clean sheet. Be A Goalkeeper features three levels of accessibility with varying degrees of AI assistance—assisted, semi-assisted and fully manual. Fans will be able to compete as the goalie in Career Mode and enjoy a 15-year career or create themselves as the goalie in Virtual Pro 2.0 to learn the position, track stats, complete achievements and test themselves against the best players in the virtual world.
With control of the keeper now in human hands FIFA Soccer 11 will deliver an authentic replication of soccer online with 11 vs. 11 Online Team Play that locks people into the role of a single, fixed player the entire game. Now up to 11 friends on different consoles will be able to select and take control of their own individual players on the same team to compete against up to 11 rivals of another team.
“The phenomenal growth of online gaming and the desire of our fans to be able to play as the goalie was the driving force behind this innovation for FIFA Soccer 11,” said Kaz Makita, Executive Producer, EA SPORTS FIFA. “Friends can play alongside each other in their pro clubs with all 11 virtual players on the pitch human controlled. We have finally replicated football in the virtual world.”
Over 750 million online connected games have been played since FIFA Soccer 10 launched last October and over 350,000 pro clubs have been created that enable friends to compete alongside each other against rival clubs. Pro Clubs is one of the most popular online game modes in FIFA.
FIFA Soccer 11 reinvents player authenticity – on and off the ball – for every position on the pitch with Personality+, and introduces new Pro Passing where pass accuracy is determined by a gamer’s ability on the control pad, and player skill, situation and urgency on the pitch. Plus, experience true freedom in man-to-man interactions with 360° Fight for Possession that transforms physical play from just lateral jostling to full 360° collisions.
Visit http://www.facebook.com/easportsfifa to join the EA SPORTS FIFA Facebook group or visit WWW.FIFA.EASPORTS.COM for more information about the game. New game modes and innovations will be revealed later this month.
FIFA Soccer 11 will be available for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, Wii™, PC, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Nintendo DS™, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system and mobile. It will be available on the Wii in North America on Oct. 4. FIFA 11 is developed under the EA SPORTS brand by EA Canada in Burnaby, B.C. The game has not yet been rated.
EA SPORTS™ 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 experiences that ignite the emotions of sport through industry-leading sports simulation videogames, including Madden NFL football, FIFA Soccer, NHL® hockey, NBA ELITE basketball, NCAA® Football, Fight Night boxing, EA SPORTS MMA, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® golf, and EA SPORTS Active.