Electronic Arts takes soccer fans out of the stands and onto the field
with its first sports title for the Playstation 2.
Electronic Arts (Nasdaq:ERTS), the world’s largest interactive
entertainment software company, announced that FIFA Soccer World
Championship–the first EA SPORTS title to ship for the PlayStation(R) 2
computer entertainment system in Japan, will ship this spring in the
Japanese market and will be on display for the first time in the U.S. at
the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles May 11-13, 2000.
Taking the interactive game player out of the stands and onto the field
FIFA Soccer World Championship delivers a revolutionary game playing
experience.
FIFA Soccer World Championship features startling graphics that are
designed specifically for the PlayStation 2 console to bring to life the
on-field experience, through highly detailed facial animations,
high-resolution player models and dynamic player and stadium lighting.
Players run in and out of the shadows as they move up the field while
the animated crowd waves flags and chants wildly.
FIFA Soccer World Championship will feature five game modes including
Exhibition Mode, where players match their favourite team against any
other in the world. World Cup mode allows players to play in the World
Cup final as Japan or 46 other international teams. U-23 World
Championship Mode allows players a taste of the future as they play as
one of the 16 top Under 23 National teams in the world. League Mode
allows players to pick their favourite club team from England, Spain,
Germany or Italy and play through a
full season. The fifth mode is Training which allows players to hone
their skills before taking on the big teams in the other modes. They can
work on penalty, corner, free kicks, throw-ins, or a full practice match
before taking to the pitch for heated competition.
Taking full advantage of the advanced capabilities of the PlayStation 2
capabilities will be an intuitive and responsive Artificial Intelligence
(AI). Fully rendered characters, a plethora of new animations, improved
motion blending and more frames per second than ever before bring the
game to life.
The game is so realistic that game players can witness physical
exchanges between FIFA players and their emotional reactions to events
in the game. Adding to the FIFA Soccer experience on the field is a
lively bench full of players, a collection of stoic security guards and
moving TV cameramen on the
sidelines.