EA Sports 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Released in North America

[Shawn Zipay]

Soccer fans (or "football" if you're anywhere but the United States) rejoice because EA Sports 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil was released today in North America.

EA SPORTS™ 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™, now available in stores throughout North America. Complete with 11 Game Modes, 21 new stadiums, 7,469 players, 203 National Teams sanctioned by FIFA®, and one hundred new football animations, EA SPORTS 2014 FIFA World Cup is now available for Xbox 360® games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and for PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system.

Gameplay innovations and new features make EA SPORTS 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil authentic to the tournament experience. All new in-mode training session, adidas® micoach Training allows fans to improve player attributes as the tournament progresses by competing in 18 different drills that can enhance everything from pace to shooting. New Penalty Kicks and Set Piece Tactics change the way the game is played from dead ball situations. Penalty Kicks feel dramatic and rewarding with new save animations, shot tuning, and Goalkeeper Antics, while Set Piece Tactics put fans in control of the runs their teammates take by using the directional pad and choosing one of four preset plays. Other innovations to the franchise’s award-winning* gameplay includes improvements made to passing, dribbling, and player movement that were implemented to showcase the world class talent that will be on display at the 2014 FIFA World Cup™.

“This summer’s tournament in Brazil promises to be one of the most colorful and exciting FIFA World Cups we’ve ever seen,” said Mat Prior, Lead Producer, EA SPORTS 2014 FIFA World Cup. “The game we’ve created will give fans a chance to feel the excitement, drama, and flare of the tournament whether they choose to play offline against friends or online against people from all over the world.”

A new design feature Patriotic Presentation implements newly-rendered 3D crowds, cut scenes from celebrations all over the world, and hundreds of flags and banners to bring the sights and sounds of Brazil directly to fans’ homes. Commentary in nine languages, a new soundtrack with 34 tracks, and EA SPORTS Talk Radio** highlight a fully featured audio package to help shape the theme and narrative of the tournament. EA SPORTS Talk Radio, featuring Ian Darke and Andy Goldstein, or Roger Bennett and Michael Davies (Men in Blazers), is available in Road to the FIFA World Cup™ and Captain your Country, contains over 50 hours of recorded content to stay up to date on all the action.

[K-16]

My mind is STILL blown when I learned that soccer was what the British called the sport. I've always legitimately thought it was an American term to separate between American Football and European, but dang was I wrong!

It's a shame FIFA tanked in sales for the North American PC market. This is the kind of football game I look forward to from EA Sports whenever it's the year of the World Cup competition. I like their self-contained complete games, yet I don't feel like buying every title on an annual basis. So that's why FIFA World Cup is right up my alley. Has everything I want, the experience is wonderfully authentic (lots of love put into the culture and auditory experience), and there's no microtransactions to worry about like FIFA World. I want the one-price all you can eat buffet. But alas, I can't play it on PC because North American PC gamers don't care much for European football. I still remember FIFA 98, and how freaking solid the game was. I had very minimal lag playing online with a friend on a 33.6K modem running on a free 56K ISP (it was either NetZero or Juno) funded by an always-on banner ad that covered a third of my screen. Sure the graphics were degraded when playing online, but screw it! It worked even when I wasn't the host on a p2p game! The game also had a nice rendered intro (at the time) synced to Blur. Good times.

But seriously, I'd be surprised if 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil did poorly, because I honestly believe EA Sports takes the FIFA license very seriously for their Xbox and PlayStation games, even if they scored exclusivity rights to abuse the crap out of it. I do feel that in this case, having the resources to legally replicate a culture (licensed music, brand names, visual and voice likenesses, etc.) does provide a fun authentic experience... Even if that culture is full of corporate aftertaste.