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EA opens probe into claims that staff are selling rare FIFA 21 Ultimate Team cards
EA is looking into allegations within its community that some employees are selling rare FIFA 21 Ultimate Team cards for cash.
Germany may restrict games with loot boxes to adults
Germany may soon pass a law that limits video game loot boxes to the 18-plus crowd over gambling concerns.
FIFA 15 removing trade offers from Ultimate Team mode
Electronic Arts announced that it has disabled a key feature in FIFA 15's Ultimate Team mode in an attempt to crack down on the harmful trade of in-game currency. In recent FIFA series games, players could exchange in-game items, coins, and players with friends using the Trade Offers feature. Finding that coin sellers often used the service to shuttle ill-gotten currency between accounts, EA removed the feature from this year's game. The coin-selling market is tied to account hacking and phishing, and functions in previous FIFA games could be exploited to cheat players out of cash by artificially inflating auction bids. EA's Ultimate Team revisions supplement recent changes to its cheating policy, which gives coin buyers three strikes before they're permanently booted from FIFA online play. Sellers are dealt harsher penalties, and risk being banned from all EA-published games for coin selling and farming. [Image: Electronic Arts]
EA hopes to earn $1 billion from add-on content this year
Electronic Arts is aiming to surpass $1 billion in add-on content and DLC sales this year with major expected contributions from its sports franchises, Bloomberg reports. EA spokesperson John Reseburg confirmed with Bloomberg that Madden NFL add-on content revenue grew by 350 percent year-on-year in the financial quarter ending June 30. Reseburg notes that Madden NFL 15 will be a "major contributor" to expected revenue growth in the publisher's sports sector. Add-on content featured in the Ultimate Team modes for the FIFA and Madden franchises drove significant revenue gains over the last year, and EA aims to stabilize its virtual economy with stricter rules banning coin sellers and card-trading bots. [Image: EA]
EA banning FIFA Ultimate Team coin sellers from its online games
We're roughly one month away from the launch of FIFA 15, and EA Sports is reminding the series' fans that it won't tolerate cheating, especially in FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT), the mode that continues to earn big bucks for the publisher. In a lengthy update on the official FIFA site, the publisher discussed the effects that coin and card-trading bots have on its FUT servers. In May, the publisher opted to de-activate trading in the FUT web app due to "the severe Transfer Market search issues caused by coin-farming bots," which caused the loss of in-game currency and athletes for other players. In turn, the makers of these bots sell the Ultimate Team goods on third-party websites (when they aren't phishing for account information on social networks). Whether buying or selling these items, EA considers these folks cheaters, and has already taken action in the past: "Since February 2014, we've banned hundreds of thousands of FIFA 14 accounts for coin selling and buying," it said.
PSA: FIFA 14's World Cup update delayed until tomorrow
For those sitting idly by their consoles, waiting for FIFA 14's Ultimate Team World Cup update, expect it to arrive tomorrow, according to an update on EA's official forums. The update adds a special World Cup mode within FIFA Ultimate Team, the series' card-collecting, squad-building mode. It also offers an offline World Cup kick-off game option for those playing on PS4 or Xbox One, which allows players to use the 32 national teams participating in the tournament this summer. While running its final phase of testing, the developer "encountered unforeseen issues that would affect all users who downloaded the update," and opted to "address them first before release." It anticipated that the World Cup kick-off mode will likely launch "earlier in the day." [Image: EA Sports]
FIFA 14 jets to Brazil with Ultimate Team World Cup mode on May 29
EA Sports announced a free update for FIFA 14 that adds a unique World Cup tournament mode to Ultimate Team, slated to arrive on May 29. The mode offers a separate card-collecting excursion within FIFA 14's Ultimate Team mode in which players gather their World Cup squad to participate in both the online and single-player global tournament. While players won't be able to transfer their current set of Ultimate Team cards to the World Cup mode, all card packs purchased within the tournament set grant players a separate gold-level card pack for their usual FIFA 14 Ultimate Teams. Chemistry for players' World Cup teams is boosted within the mode by each athlete's nationality and confederation affiliation. Additionally, Xbox One and PS4 players will receive an offline FIFA World Cup kick-off mode to play with the 32 national teams participating in the tournament this summer. The Ultimate Team add-on for FIFA 14 is the only way for players to enjoy the World Cup with the correct national team kits, crests and the Estadio do Marcana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on PC and next-gen consoles. EA Sports' other effort to celebrate the global sporting event was with 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, which launched in April for Xbox 360 and PS3. [Image: EA Sports]
EA Sports FIFA World plays footsie with PC in open beta
EA Sports has kicked off the open beta of EA Sports FIFA World, the publisher's free-to-play soccer game for PC. The PC version of the popular sports brand went through four closed beta phases and one limited open beta before launching globally. The game includes familiar Seasons and Ultimate Team modes as well as 600 clubs from 30 licensed leagues. EA Sports FIFA World uses three different methods of control: keyboard, mouse and gamepad. It also offers access to the Football Club social hub, in-game rewards for gameplay accomplishments and weekly featured tournaments for Ultimate Team, erm, teams. It requires a persistent Internet connection and an Origin account to play, though EA claims the game was "built to be enjoyed on average spec laptop computer or desktop personal computers." [Image: EA Sports]
Madden 15 cover vote starts, rookies packed into Ultimate Team
EA Sports kicked off its cover athlete vote for Madden NFL 15 during the first round of the NFL Draft last night, and is slated to end after four rounds of voting on June 6. The vote features just 16 candidates this year instead of the standard 32, which is an even more rapid decrease from Madden 25's two brackets of 64 football players. The first round's eight match-ups can be found after the break. The developers at EA Tiburon also celebrated the first round of the NFL Draft by inserting each of the first round's 32 draftees into Madden Ultimate Team card packs in Madden 25, starting today. It makes for a fine opportunity to check out the digital versions of each recruit without having to wait to play as them in Madden 15, which is due to arrive August 26 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Just don't trust Madden to predict which rookies will be picked by teams in the draft, it won't go well.
EA's Ultimate Team card sales grew 60% in the last year
Sales for EA's Ultimate Team modes in FIFA, Madden and NHL grew 60 percent year-over-year on a non-GAAP basis (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles), the publisher noted in its 2014 financial earnings report. Additionally, EA said its Ultimate Team services "generated more than $380 million" in fiscal 2014, and that Madden Ultimate Team alone saw a 90 percent year-over-year growth. First debuting for NCAA Football 14 and NBA Live 14 last year, Ultimate Team is a trading card-collecting game mode that's driven EA's digital revenue for a number of years in its other sports games, such as Madden NFL and FIFA. FIFA's digital revenue alone topped $145 million in the first half of the fiscal year, as the publisher revealed in late October. EA reported its fiscal 2014 earnings today, showing a net revenue of $1.12 billion in the fourth quarter of 2014, down from $1.21 billion during the fourth quarter last year. [Image: EA Sports]
NBA Live 14 getting its own card-based Ultimate Team mode
EA recently announced that NBA Live 14 will receive an Ultimate Team mode of its own. Similar to the popular, money-making Ultimate Team modes found in other EA Sports series like Madden and FIFA, NBA Live 14 Ultimate Team has players collecting trading cards that constitute items like basketball players, jerseys and arenas by opening card packs. Card packs can be purchased with real money or coins earned by completing matches with your cobbled-together group of current and former basketball stars. The two avenues to compete with your team are online in games versus other players' teams as well as Fantasy Showdowns, or special offline challenges that will continually be added by EA Sports throughout the NBA season. Challenges include pitting your team against last season's stats leaders, the top players from NBA draft classes over the last two decades, real NBA line-ups and more. Fantasy Showdown challenges may also reward players with card packs instead of coins. NBA Live 14 is slated to launch November 19 on Xbox One and PS4.
FIFA's digital revenue tops $145 million in first half of fiscal 2014
EA's FIFA series has generated over $145 million in digital net revenue in the first half of fiscal 2014, a period that stretched from April 1, 2013 through September 30, 2013. The news came from EA's Q2 2014 earnings report, and was derived on a non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) basis. EA reported that FIFA's digital revenue saw an increase of 25 percent over the first half of fiscal 2013. The publisher reported $70 million in digital revenue from FIFA 13 in the first quarter of 2013. FIFA 14 launched at the end of September and features legendary soccer players in its popular Ultimate Team mode on Microsoft consoles, which accounts for a chunk of its digital revenue sales.
Get a head start on your FIFA 14 Ultimate Team on September 15
According to a tweet issued by EA Sports' official FIFA Twitter account, early access for FIFA 14's Ultimate Team mode will arrive in web app form on September 15, ahead of the game's release date on September 24. Ultimate Team, the popular card-collecting-style mode in the series, contributed to FIFA 13's $70 million in digital sales in Q1 2014. EA Sports offered a web app last year for FIFA 13 Ultimate Team players prior to the game's launch as well, which allowed players to buy, trade and sell athletes for their teams. It remains to be seen if this year's early access offerings are similar.
FIFA 14 getting legendary players for Ultimate Team on Microsoft consoles
FIFA 14 will include legendary players from the sport's history in its ever-popular Ultimate Team mode, EA announced at its Gamescom press conference. The legendary players will be exclusive to Xbox 360 and Xbox One, and will first be available in random Ultimate Team gold packs when the Xbox One launches this November. We have the full list of players available after the break. FIFA 14 will launch in North America on September 24 for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, then in Europe on September 27. What's more, European players that pre-order the Xbox One system will receive a copy of FIFA 14 as well.
Accused murderer Aaron Hernandez removed from NCAA 14 and Madden 25
Aaron Hernandez, the New England Patriots tight end charged with murder on June 26, has been removed from Madden 25 and NCAA 14. Players that happen to unlock Hernandez's Ultimate Team card in NCAA 14 by getting a gold medal in the game's Shovel Option drill in the Skills Trainer mode will see the card turn into that of current Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith. A future title update will remove Hernandez from the game entirely. EA Sports' statement reads: "We have made a decision to remove Aaron Hernandez from Madden NFL 25 and NCAA Football 14. Because NCAA Football 14 was finalized prior to our decision, Hernandez' image still appears in the Nike Skills Trainer. However, he is not in the game, and anyone who unlocks that particular Nike Skills Trainer reward will receive an Alex Smith Ultimate Team player item instead. The image of Hernandez will be removed via a Title Update in the near future." NCAA 14's Ultimate Team mode, the college football series' version of EA Sports' card-collecting mode seen in many of its games, features thousands of unlockable, real-life athletes. The athletes, many being current NFL players, represent the colleges they attended. In Hernandez's case, his likeness in NCAA 14 was tied to the Florida Gators. He was released by the Patriots on the day he was arraigned, so were he in Madden 25, he would have been a free agent.
NCAA 14's Ultimate Team mode to include season tournaments, former greats
While we learned in April that NCAA Football 14 will include its own Ultimate Team mode this year, EA Sports announced details on how it will operate today. The mode will include more than 1,400 former college football players at the game's launch, as well as both solo and special head-to-head challenges. Ultimate Team is the long-running mode that spans most of EA Sports' properties, which combines standard on-field gameplay with a card-collecting system for building and managing your team. NCAA 14's version of Ultimate Team will also include a head-to-head season mode, in which players match up against one another with their specially crafted teams in a 10-game season, before entering an end-of-the-season tournament. Players can earn rewards along the way for toppling challenges that increase in difficulty, such as coins for procuring more card packs. The game will receive similar treatment in the mode that other EA Sports games got in the past, with challenges and card collections being added throughout the real-life football season. NCAA 14 is slated to launch July 9 on PS3 and Xbox 360.
EA Season Ticket expands with 'over $100 of PDLC' for use in Ultimate Team mode
Nope, "PDLC" does not stand for "Penguin Downloadable Costumes," as much as we want it to. Unfortunately, in this instance, it stands for "paid downloadable content," and EA Sports' $25 "Season Ticket" is adding a smattering of said content to its value proposition in its coming line of annual sports games.For instance, Madden 13 players are getting one legendary pack and 24 Pro Madden Packs, apparently, while NHL/FIFA fans are also getting 24 "Premium Gold Packs" for their Ultimate Team modes. Both Tiger Woods 14 and NCAA 14 are also putting their normally paid DLC into EA's Season Ticket program, though no details are given on what that content will be.The usual other Season Ticket perks apply, such as three-day early access to digital versions of next year's sports title and a 20 percent discount on non-included DLC. And yes, you get to keep the smug sense of satisfaction you get from having a one-up on your Ultimate Team compatriots.
FIFA 13 GameStop pre-order perks make Messi so happy he could skip
Details for GameStop's North American FIFA 13 pre-order bonuses are in, and they look shockingly familiar. GameStop pre-orders will receive one gold pack per week for 24 weeks, each of which consists of 12 items, including players rated 75 and up, contracts, stadiums, staff and badges, along with one "rare" item.Pre-orders will also receive a steelbook case featuring FIFA 13's cover athlete, Lionel Messi.These offers mirror the Ultimate Edition announced for the UK, available through pre-order and on launch day, September 28 in the UK, only. The gold packs are meant to be used with FIFA's Ultimate Team, the online ecosystem that last year was subject to a flurry of hacks.
FIFA 10 Ultimate Team trailer details upcoming DLC
EA Sports' monthlong silence on FIFA 10's Ultimate Team DLC has been lifted today with the release of a new (and charmingly British) walkthrough trailer. As you can see for yourself above, the clip not only gives us a cursory tour of the new content, but also a preview of what's to come -- new packs, updated player stats, and more tournaments, among other things. The DLC is said to be priced at 400 ($5) or $4.99 via Xbox Live and PSN (respectively) and we still don't have a more solid release date than "February." In the meantime, well, we've got you this trailer. That's something, right? %Gallery-79240%
FIFA 09: Full version of 'Ultimate Team' title update priced
EA Sports' Football World community manager, Romily Broad, has revealed the upcoming FIFA 09 DLC, Ultimate Team, will be priced at 800 / $9.99 US (£7.99). For the uninformed, Ultimate Team is a fantasy soccer management mode that will allow gamers to assemble their fantasy teams by collecting virtual cards in various categories. Footy fans should take note, this isn't regular DLC. The content will drop as a mandatory -- and free -- title update on March 19 (clocking in at about 1.3GB). Gamers will receive a five match trial with the option to shell out for the full version. Mandatory 1.3GB title update? Comcast -- and Rogers Cable -- users had better schedule their bandwidth usage accordingly.
