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Predict and win with Champions League Predictor
The first set of matches in this year's UEFA Champions League competition are underway across Europe. Now you can keep on top of all the action and by predicting the outcome of the upcoming games earn the crown as the top predictor by using the new app Champions League Predictor. This free universal app requires iOS 6.0 or later. The Champions League features all the top club teams of Europe including Barcelona and Real Madrid from Spain, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund and English sides Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City. With Champions League Predictor you can follow all the games and news updates plus utilize your soccer knowledge and insight to predict the outcomes of the matches. Each user,once they are registered, receives a bankroll of 900 units. You can also earn an additional 500 tokens by reviewing the app. They you enter your prediction for the final score and the game result. Each correct score and result earns you one point and that translates to 100 units. Users can use the units to pay for available downloads inside the app. Champions League Predictor also features a list of stories about the teams competing in the competition and some of the special players such as Ronaldo from Real Madrid, Lionel Messi of Barcelona, and Diego Costa of Chelsea. These stories feature not only their efforts in the Champions League but also how they are doing with their respective teams in their home leagues such as the English Premier League, Serie A in Italy and La Liga in Spain. The first round of matches are the Group Stages and then the top two teams in each group advance to the knockout stage. Finally the winners advance and the top two teams meet in the Champions League final to be held this year in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on June 6th. UEFA will crown its champion and you could be the top predictor amongst all the users of this app. As you are successful with your match and score predictions you will rise in the ranks and could end up on top of the list if you can use your knowledge in picking winners. You will find other apps that duplicate much of what is included in Champions League Predictor such as fixtures, scores, and news feeds. This app does offer some downloads such as team wallpapers and ringtones for your favorite team competing in this year's event. The new wrinkle in Champions League Predictor is the the competition it offers by making correct predictions. So you can have some fun and earn bragging rights along with staying on top of the competition.
BT Sport steals Sky's crown jewel, gets exclusive rights to the Champions League in 2015
Do you like to spend huge sums on Sky Sports just to catch the big moments in European football? Well, in the biggest thing to happen to UK broadcasting in years, BT Sport has outbid (by a considerable margin) both Sky and ITV for the exclusive rights to show both Champions and Europa League matches between 2015-2018. It's a huge coup for the nascent broadcaster, and a statement of intent that it doesn't want to become the next ITV Digital. What this means for consumers, of course, is that £22-a-month Sky Sports subscription (on top of the £21 you pay for the basic package) just took a big hit in value, and that if you want to see the world's biggest game, you're gonna have to buy a BT Sport subscription.
Sky Sports for iPad update brings second screen to UEFA Champions League, Ryder Cup
When you're rooting for your team, one screen is never enough. Sky Sports knows this, and knows it quite well it seems. Hence why the UK Satellite giant is rolling out more of it via its iPad app. Now, as promised, the UEFA Champions League and 2012 Ryder Cup get in on the action. As you would imagine, the update lets users dive into a bunch of stats, game info, live tweets and even allows watching multiple games split-screen stylee. The updated app is available now, in plenty of time for the build up, leaving you free to stock up on snacks and refreshments.
Spanish researchers to train FIFA referees on calling plays with stereoscopic 3D, won't help catch dives
Spain might be on Cloud Nine after clinching victory in UEFA's Euro 2012, but a team at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid isn't resting easy. To help referees know when they should blow the whistle, researchers have recorded 500 simulated offside soccer (yes, football) plays in stereoscopic 3D to give refs a more immersive sense of what it's like to make the call on the pitch. The hope is to have FIFA more quickly and accurately stopping play without having to spend too much actual time on the grass. We don't yet know how many referees if any will be trained on the system by the 2014 World Cup, or if it will spread to other leagues -- what we do know is that no amount of extra immersion is needed to catch a theatrically fake injury.
EA explains why UEFA Soccer is now FIFA 12 DLC
Every four years, EA releases a soccer game based on the UEFA championship. EA renewed the license for the franchise long enough to make a 2012 version. However, there won't actually be a standalone UEFA release this year -- instead, EA is putting out UEFA Euro 2012 on April 24 as a DLC pack for FIFA 12. EA still refers to it as the "officially licensed videogame," but it's a downloadable expansion.Why relegate the UEFA to expansion pack status? Mostly because FIFA 12 has been so popular, EA communications manager Steve Frost told Gamasutra. "We felt this was the best way to extend that experience and deliver fresh new content to our fans," he said. Releasing UEFA as DLC helps keep players engaged in FIFA longer."We expect that some fans who may not have FIFA 12 will want to play Euro 2012 and therefore purchase both," he said later in the interview, "but the bigger opportunity for us is to offer our loyal and passionate FIFA fans new content." Chances are, if you like soccer, you'd be interested in FIFA anyway, so this seems like a win-win.
DirecTV launches Fox Soccer Channel HD tomorrow
Having already added Gol TV HD last week, DirecTV is making fans of the other football even happier now that it's launching Fox Soccer Channel HD tomorrow. Between those two and Fox Soccer Plus matches in HD the satellite broadcaster is claiming over 320 live matches on deck for this season. From UEFA Champions league coverage later this month to La Liga and UEFA Europa League it's all there, along with a Soccer Mix channel to tune into up to 8 games in SD & HD simultaneously. FSC HD goes live on channel 619 tomorrow, while DirecTV's exclusive feeds of some tournament action will be on channels 480-489
SCEE renews UEFA sponsorship to last until 2012
According to MCV, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has renewed its contract to continue sponsoring the UEFA Champions League until 2012. SCEE has been with the European football league for over nine years, bringing PlayStation products to footy fans.For all the Americans reading this, wondering: wait, they play football in Europe?, here's a little clip to get you up to speed. Oh, that football.[Via VG247]
International HD news roundup
Here at Engadget HD, we'd prefer not to just focus on high-def happenings in the US of A. Thus, we round up the best of the best from the international front each week and present it here, bundled together in a single, easy to digest list. If something went down in your corner of the globe over the past seven days, let the rest of the world know it in comments. 'Til next week, до свидания!Read - RTVE to launch HD next year Read - Lithuania's TEO adds three HD channels to Interactive GALA TV Read - We can convince ITV HD to support Blu-ray recording, says Panasonic Read - More HD for Russia's Platforma Read - UEFA Champions League and FA Cup Final airing in HD next week
Fox VP details soccer HD plans
Ever since FSN made it's 24/7 HD for 2009 proclamation futbol fans have wanted to know if that applies to them too, and the Goal soccer blog on the New York Times has the news on what to expect as the UEFA Champions League comes to Fox. Fox Sports International VP David Sternberg let it be known that Fox Soccer Channel isn't going to be high definition until the end of this year, so don't expect any FSC games in HD until February 2010. The good news? After the wait, we can expect broadcasts of proper HD feeds, rather than upconverted widescreen SD feeds seen sometimes on ESPN.They do plan 16 live games on FSN, plus the 2010 final on FX, while broadband viewers can expect streaming from Setanta, so if FSC isn't on your lineup yet, there can still be some HD of the Beautiful Game in your future.
Konami scores UEFA assets for Pro Evolution Soccer franchise
Electronic Arts has had the NFL completely monopolized since 2005, giving them exclusive rights to official league teams and players for their Madden franchise -- but did you also know that they've also traditionally had assets for most professional European soccer leagues tied up as well? (You did? Well aren't you awesome.) However, Konami recently released some details concerning the next installment in their Pro Evolution Soccer franchise -- chief among these being their new licensing deals with the UEFA, as well as the Manchester United and Liverpool football clubs.Assets from the UEFA as well as the two clubs will be included in Pro Evolution Soccer 2009. It's quite a coup for Konami, whose sales figures for PES titles have traditionally paled in comparison to those of EA's FIFA series. We anticipate EA's retaliation -- we hear they're in talks with various athletic leagues to purchase the exclusive rights for sports.
Shipping this week: soccer spotlight edition
click to enlarge Another week beyond the Grand Theft Auto IV launch, another super slim lineup of new games. By super slim, we mean precisely one game. The game in question is UEFA Euro 2008 from Electronic Arts. After a quick wiki, we have discovered that UEFA stands for Union of European Football Associations, so ... it's a soccer game then. But what's this? According to Metacritic, it's actually a pretty good soccer game. For all the true football fans out there, this week is for you. The rest of you can wait for June 3.[Via Joystiq]%Gallery-18193%
ESPN makes known Euro 2008 broadcast schedule
For folks across the pond, catching all 31 UEFA Euro 2008 matches in high-def shouldn't be an issue, and thanks to ESPN / ABC, doing so here in the US won't be either -- well, almost. The network(s) have just released their broadcast schedules for Euro 2008, which is schedule to start on June 7th (ESPN Classic) and conclude on June 29th (ABC HD). Out of the 31 total tilts, 26 of 'em will be readily available on either ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD or ABC HD, and all but the two ABC matchups will also be available via ESPN360. Who says there's no good football in June?[Via EPL Talk]
UEFA Soccer 08 stadiums revealed
Another UEFA tournament equals another UEFA game of course! While that may seem like the extent of our math skills we can say for sure that Electronic Arts have released 8 screens of the stadiums being used in UEFA Soccer 2008. So far it looks as if EA has successfully recreated the stadiums from the Austria and Switzerland hosted event. All we can say is, GOOOOOOOOOOOAL! Sorry, we had to.%Gallery-18193%
PS3 ad in 360 game, mass hysteria!
We're a little late getting to this, but 360 Fanboy would be remiss if we didn't mention the appearance of a Playstation 3 advertisement in a 360 game. The ad appears in UEFA Champions League 2006-2007. Before anyone jumps the gun and assumes Sony pulled a fast one to get this ad in the game, it really stems from the PS3 officially sponsoring the real life sport. Naturally, the ad would most likely show up in any iteration of the game. The funny part is this: the game is not currently scheduled to hit the Playstation 3, and the game is expected to debut on March 23rd. If you've been keeping score, you'll know that March 23rd is the same day that the PS3 is launching in Europe. Little ironic, doncha think?Wow. First PGR3 screen shots are showing up in ads for Gran Turismo HD, and now we have a Playstation 3 ad in a 360 game. What's next? Dogs and cats living together?[Via Joystiq. Thanks, Haqq]
PS3 ads turn up in Xbox 360 game (inadvertently)
The website of UK magazine 360 Gamer has discovered PS3 advertising in EA's Xbox 360-bound football (soccer) sim, UEFA Champions League 2006-2007. The story here isn't so much a case of surreptitious product placement, however, as it is a tale of the benefits that come from sponsoring the world's most prestigious club football competition. As one of UEFA's main Champions League backers, Sony's advertisement hoardings (as seen in this Xbox 360 capture) are bound to appear in any official videogame interpretation of the event -- regardless of the formats those games are developed for. There are at least two big ironies here, as far as we can see: UEFA Champions League 2006-2007 isn't scheduled for a PS3 release. The Xbox 360 version of the game is released in Europe on March 23, which is the same day Europe (finally) gets the PS3. (And while we're on-topic, Joystiq is tipping Manchester United for this season's Champions League -- you know Scholesy has never been in better form.) [Thanks, Bruce Wayne III]
