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Medal of Honor: Warfighter unseats FIFA on UK charts
Shock and awe, Medal of Honor: Warfighter, which is receiving some of the worst reviews of the season so far, took first place in the UK last week. This is either a sign of the media's impotence or a hat tip to the brilliance of publisher EA that it withheld review copies until launch. A similar situation occurred with Resident Evil 6 a few weeks ago, a game which still sits pretty at tenth place on this week's chart.Other new releases last week included portable games Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask and Moshi Monsters: Moshlings Theme Park, which debuted at eighth and ninth place, respectively.If you're wondering about Just Dance 4 ('cause how can you not on the UK charts?), it may have slipped two spots from fourth to sixth, but sales were actually up one percent. Dance Central 3 debuted in 39th place. Shimmy on past the break for the UK top ten.
FIFA fo fum, we see sales of Skylanders to English mums
Welcome to the fourth consecutive week of FIFA 13 topping the UK Charts. No need to feign surprise. Also, don't expect FIFA's run to end by next week, unless Medal of Honor: Warfighter shocks and awes us all. Then again... there's always Forza: Horizon. Racing games can be a wild card on the UK charts. The big debut this week was Activision Blizzard's Skylanders Giants. The sequel outdid the premiere of its predecessor with a second place start, while the original Skylanders, Spyro's Adventure, debuted at number 16, but saw great success after. Bethesda's Dishonored slipped to third and -- there it is! -- the insidious Just Dance 4 keeps working its way up the charts. You can't turn your back on it for a second. Soon it'll be number one and working all that Gangnam Style. Now saddle dance past the break for the UK top ten.
Dishonored is 2012's biggest new IP launch in UK, FIFA 13 sees 1st place hat trick
FIFA 13 was – and, probably still is – the top selling game in the UK. For the third week in a row the footie sportsball game, despite a 63 percent decline in sales last week, retained its premier position.Bethesda's Dishonored actually debuted in second place. According to Chart-Track, it's the biggest new intellectual property launch of the year, besting Square Enix's Sleeping Dogs. Even combining sales of Pokemon Black (#3) and White (#5) Version 2, Dishonored would still hold its second place position.The other major launch last week, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, premiered in seventh place behind the insidious Just Dance 4. The aliens are winning. Check out the UK top ten after the break.
FIFA 13 still on top in UK; Resident Evil 6, Just Dance 4 debut strong
FIFA 13, which had a record-setting debut, maintains its premier position on the UK charts. The game saw a 72 percent decline in sales in its second week, but from a historical perspective, FIFA 13 is going to have a long tail and be in the top of the charts for quite a while.Taking the second spot were launch-week sales of Resident Evil 6. Despite crushing reviews, the action horror adventure was the fourth largest game premiere in the UK for 2012. Borderlands 2 slips one spot to third, just above the insidious debut of Just Dance 4.Insidious? Yuuuup! Again, if history serves as any basis for the future of Just Dance 4, it'll just hang out this holiday season, being charming as ever. It won't go away or may find some way to sneak into the top spot once things slow down early next year. Hit the dance floor after the break for the UK top ten.
FIFA 13 sells 'over 4.5 million' units in first five days
Kids these days sure do seem to like the football, if FIFA 13's crazy-pants sales figures are any indication. The game, which Joystiq's resident sportsball enthusiast Mike Suszek liked an awful lot, has sold "over 4.5 million games across all platforms" since its launch on September 25, according to a press release from EA.More than 1 million of those sales took place in the UK and within the game's first 48 hours of availability, which falls in line with the chart-topping performance we covered a couple of days ago. FIFA 13 has also been responsible for the most concurrent online users of any EA game to date, with 800,000 footballists throwing down simultaneously on September 30. We suspect, however, that very few of those players drive Range Rovers and are married to Victoria Beckham like most footballists.
Of course FIFA 13 is biggest thing since FIFA 12 in UK, PS3 'Super Slim' helps hardware
FIFA 13 debuted in the UK last week and the footie franchise dismissed last year's record-setting premiere. According to Chart-Track, FIFA 13 outsold the previous year's installment in units and revenue by 27 and 31 percent, respectively. The game represented 80 percent of all entertainment software sales on the British isles.Last week saw the biggest sales week in the UK of the year so far, with a 196 percent increase of unit sales in the market and 282 percent in overall revenue.FIFA 13 wasn't the only major player to come on the field last week, World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria got its kung-fu panda on in fourth. Although that may seem like a lowish debut for what's still one of the biggest MMOs in the world, it should be noted that the game was available digitally and therefore wouldn't be tracked.Finally, on the hardware front, the PS3 'Super Slim' 500 GB sent PS3 sales up 138 percent, with the console representing 37 percent of PS3 sales. Storm on past the break for the UK top ten.
FIFA Soccer 13 review: First touch
After the impressive FIFA Soccer 12 last year, it's easy to have high expectations for this year's soccer game from EA Canada. Barring any major setbacks to the series, the question of how great FIFA 13 would be wasn't an unreasonable one to ponder heading into the game's release.This is, without a doubt, the best soccer sim I've ever played. Kicking off with First Touch Control, FIFA 13 adds shades of unpredictability that I'm not used to in a sports game, even after setting the tone with last year's introduction of the Player Impact Engine. First Touch Control adds more weight to the initial touch players put on the ball, thanks to added elements of physics in players' actions. As a result, every play feels reasonably risky, and none of your passes are certain to hit their mark to a point of predictability. The ball might take a hard bounce if you attempt to volley it instead of safely settling it when receiving a pass.%Gallery-157622%
EA: FIFA 13 scores 353K in North America on day one
NBA Live 13 may be lost, but EA's got one win on its hands at least, as FIFA 13 has sold at record numbers already. The popular soccer sim has sold through 353,000 copies on Xbox 360 and the PS3 in just one day, according to EA, giving those sales an increase of 42 percent over last year's iteration. The iOS version has also done well, with the best launch day sales of the game on that platform in history.FIFA 12 sold 3.2 million copies in its first week last year, and went on to sell over 10 million total. Presumably, FIFA 13 is on track to do even better than that this year. It arrived in North America this past Tuesday, and will release on Friday around the rest of the world.
FIFA 13 demo hits PC, PS3, 360 today
Technically, the FIFA 13 demo "kicks" PC, PS3 and 360 today. Hitting things with your hands, after all, is illegal. Headline discrepancies aside, a demo for FIFA 13 is now available for PC and Xbox 360 in both the UK and North America. The PS3 demo has already landed in the UK as well, though North American PS3 players will have to wait for the PSN update later today.
Building a better beautiful game with FIFA 13
EA Canada has a difficult road ahead of it with FIFA 13, attempting to follow up a game praised for its inclusion of tactical defending and a brand-new physics engine. The question posed to the FIFA Soccer team this year is: "How do you make a significantly better game than FIFA 12?" Hardcore soccer fans might know that answer, and based on our recent run with FIFA 13, it seems EA Canada has a few ideas of its own.FIFA 12 sprinkled in the sort of imperfections players want to see in a sim sports game. The Player Impact Engine introduced last year, for example, gave players more authenticity in their movement and interactions. To expand on the great gameplay offerings last year, FIFA 13 includes more dribbling options and a crucial improvement in realism, First Touch Control.%Gallery-157622%
EA putting 'a lot of resources' toward preventing another 'FIFA hack' season
Electronic Arts made over $39 million in just three months off FIFA 12's Ultimate Team DLC last year – a 69 percent increase from the same period the year before – but it also created a lot of headaches for consumers (and us) with what came to be known as the "FIFA hack.""We learned a lot from the experience. A lot of companies are suffering from this right now. There's a lot of sophisticated hacking happening in the gaming industry and it's a continuous battle," EA Games president Frank Gibeau told us during Gamescom. "We take it very seriously, put a lot of resources on it. The learning from the FIFA example last year has been incorporated this year. There's some incremental and additional things. I don't want to get too detailed because I don't want to tip our hand. Rest assured, we take it very seriously."Gibeau said that EA did hire someone from Microsoft to add layers of security precautions and other anti-hack methods inside the publisher's products."You're never going to win this battle," said Gibeau, recognizing the company can only go so far. "The moment you declare victory, somebody will walk in and show you didn't. So you have to continuously stay on top of it and, most importantly, keep account integrity the first and foremost issue."So, should consumers feel more confident this year that they won't be hacked?"I hope that they do, and I think our performance will have to make them feel that way." He concluded, "We can promise it, but we have to actually show it."
FIFA 13 'skill games' show off minigame skill
Remember all the drills you had to do in little league soccer? Well, EA thinks you'll want to experience that all over again in video game form through the latest FIFA iteration. Call it "training" if you want.
FIFA 13's Move support demonstrated
The PlayStation 3 version of FIFA 13 will support the PlayStation Move, and the special controls were demonstrated during Gamescom press conference. Players will be able aim precision passes, paint paths for teammates to follow, shoot with a flick of the wrist and add spin by turning the Move.For added realism, we suggest you duct tape the Move to your foot.
FIFA 13 adds real-life developments in-game with Match Day
FIFA 13 will have a feature called Match Day that incorporates real-world developments into the gameplay, through the running in-game commentary. Match Day will also affect gameplay, with team figures changing to reflect the real world numbers, and in-game stats reflecting on-pitch performance.Match Day will be included in the FIFA 13 demo, which launches September 11. The full game is out September 25 in North America and September 28 in Europe.
EA @ Gamescom: Crysis 3, SimCity, Army of Two and more
If you're lucky enough to find yourself at Gamescom next week in Germany, playable demos of Crysis 3 and SimCity will be headlining EA's lineup. Aside from those two, there will also be demo stations at EA's booth for Need for Speed: Most Wanted, FIFA 13, FIFA Manager 13, Medal of Honor: Warfighter and Star Wars: The Old Republic.EA will also be conducting behind-closed-doors presentations. Notable titles for private showcase include the newly-announced Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel from Visceral Games, the Armored Kill expansion for Battlefield 3, Crysis 3, Dead Space 3, NHL 2013, Sims 3, SimCity and a bunch of mobile games from EA and Chillingo. We'll have previews of those games next week.
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 launching with Wii U, gets all touchy
EA announced FIFA 13 for Wii U at today's EA Summer Showcase event, and the game's live demo features new touch controls using the Wii U GamePad.Among the new GamePad-oriented features is Team Management Control, in which players can perform substitutions, select formations, and control individual players' offensive and defensive tactics. Shaking the GamePad activates the game's Touch Screen Shooting, a feature that places a soccer net on the handheld screen for players to tap, guiding their shots into the net with more precision.The Wii U version's co-op mode allows four players to take to the field while another player uses the GamePad to manage the action using Team Management Control as well. FIFA 13 for Wii U will continue to use the series' Player Impact Engine, and is slated to launch alongside the system later this year.
FIFA 13 with Kinect lets the ref hear, react to your foul mouth
FIFA 13 is integrating Kinect in a variety of voice-controlled scenarios, allowing players to choose formations, make substitutions and call plays as they happen live, as the above video demonstrates. Kinect will also enable the referees to "hear" it when you react poorly to a bad call, and while you won't get a yellow card for cursing out the refs, they will take your potty mouth into consideration on future rulings.
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.
Open wide and scream for FIFA 13 launch dates, UK pre-order info
FIFA 13 is scheduled to launch on September 28 in the UK, placing the US date, supposedly, on September 25. The FIFA 13 Ultimate Edition will give UK buyers 24 FIFA Ultimate Team gold packs, one per week for 24 weeks and with a value of more than £15. Each gold pack includes 12 items, such as stadiums, managers, contracts, healing, badges and players rated 75 and up, as well as one rare item. The Ultimate Edition will be available through pre-order or on launch day only. Reservations from Amazon will receive 10,000 EA Sports Football Club Credits, which can be used to buy in-game items. Game's pre-order incentive gets buyers the adidas All-Star Team, which includes 23 of the world's top players, including Karim Benzema, Nani and Lionel Messi, who you can see is very excited about all of this in the above global cover shot.
