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PSA: Fake EA Sports Instagram account phishing for Xbox, Origin logins
It's World Cup season; reigning champions Spain lost in spectacular fashion and FIFA soccer fans may be interested in rectifying that loss to Chile in FIFA 14's Ultimate Team World Cup mode. Unfortunately, Instagram accounts posing as official EA Sports channels are popping up during this period of piqued interest, posting tempting offers for free in-game currency in order to obtain players' Xbox Live and Origin account details.
Xbox One's World Cup app sets its destination for Brazil
Microsoft announced a new sporty app section for Xbox One today called "Destination Brazil," which connects viewers with a couple of nifty tools to enhance their FIFA World Cup viewing experience. Slated to launch Thursday, June 12, Destination Brazil includes a "Brazil Now" app that snaps to the side of the TV screen to update viewers in real-time on match scores, statistics, interactive polls, relevant tweets and more. The Xbox One will also receive an unscripted TV series starring footballers Thierry Henry and Edgar Davids called "Every Street United," which travels the globe to find talented street soccer players. Every Street United debuts on Sunday, June 15 via its Xbox One and Xbox 360 app or through Xbox Video. Microsoft will also distribute videos on Xbox Video from YouTube soccer channel Copa90 and will provide a quick access point to the special World Cup mode within FIFA 14's Ultimate Team section. As a bonus, those that pick up a copy of FIFA 14 or 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil on either system (well, only Xbox 360 for the latter) will receive a special Xbox-branded mini soccer ball to destroy their lamps with, because they're definitely not Lionel Messi or anything. [Image: Microsoft]
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]
2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil trailer is proud to be from (nation of origin)
This gameplay trailer for 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil bleeds red, blue, green, white, orange, yellow and potentially other national colors we missed. The soccer game that celebrates the global sporting event launches April 15 for Xbox 360 and PS3, and includes six core modes.
EA Sports' 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil won't be coming to Xbox One or PlayStation 4
As is the case every four years, FIFA's biggest football competition is about to take place. To celebrate the 2014 tournament, which will be played in Brazil, EA Sports is releasing a title to give fans a chance to virtually experience the World Cup on gaming consoles. While the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil game will be available on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, we were surprised to find out that EA Sports won't be bringing it to their next-gen revisions, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Here's what the game's Lead Producer, Mat Prior, told us: When we made the decision we considered a number of factors but most importantly we wanted to create the best game we could that could reach as many people as possible and the way to do that was make our best game yet on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. We gave our team the mandate of setting a laser focus on building the highest quality game for X360 and PS3 they could, and that's exactly what they are doing.
FIFA rolls out iOS and Android apps ahead of 2014 World Cup Final Draw
Now that we know which 32 football nations will be on the quest for global domination in Brazil, FIFA, the sport's governing body, decided it was the right time to release a set of apps for iOS and Android. These official applications, which are free of charge, provide fans with access to a ton of footie-related stuff, including news, videos, photos and match results from nearly 200 leagues. The FIFA app also lets you mark up to three national teams, clubs and competitions as favorites, allowing easy access to information from those followed the most. Better yet, FIFA's going to be using its new mobile ware to stream the 2014 World Cup Final Draw on December 6th, so you'll be able to see in real-time what road lies ahead for your country.
New FIFA World Cup game in development for Xbox One and PS4
During yesterday's investor call to discuss EA's second quarter of fiscal 2014 financial results, CEO Andrew Wilson noted that the publisher is working on a new FIFA World Cup expansion game. Additionally, CFO Blake Jorgensen brought up FIFA World Cup again when asked about next-gen games in development, indicating that the game will appear on Xbox One and PS4. It is unknown if the game will also be developed for current generation systems. "In the last two weeks, you've also seen several announcements about our product slate for the remainder of this year and into FY15," Wilson said. "We are refining our focus on our biggest brands and great new IP in development, including The Sims 4, EA Sports UFC, FIFA World Cup and Dragon Age: Inquisition." EA Sports traditionally launches a new World Cup-branded game in line with the global sporting event, which occurs every four years. The last game in the series was 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, which launched in April 2010. Given that the next World Cup is scheduled to begin in June 2014 in Brazil, a new entry in the sub-series is hardly surprising. The publisher's next-gen efforts will not include Tiger Woods in its future golf games, and Jorgensen also noted that Titanfall will be exclusive to Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC "for the life of the title" during the call. EA will launch the next-gen version of FIFA 14 along with the new consoles this coming month.
Kinect support explodes, EA Sports, Mass Effect 3, and more hop on board
Kinect is almost as popular for its hacks as it is for actually playing games, but Microsoft and its third party developers are making a hard push for motion and voice-controlled games on the Xbox 360. Popular EA Sports franchises Madden NFL, FIFA World Cup, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour will all join the motion-gaming parade. No longer will you have to punch obscure sequences of buttons to pick plays, you'll actually be able to call out running patterns to your offensive line. Plenty of others are also getting in on the shouting and arm-flailing action, including Mass Effect 3, Forza Motorsport 4, Fable: The Journey, and Ghost Recon -- in fact, we were told, "all future titles in the Tom Clancy franchise will leverage Kinect." Crytek also offered a sneak peak at Ryse, a Roman-era brawler that will have you headbutting the air to take out baddies. Looks like you'll have to start stretching before firing up your console from now on. The following games will also be coming to Xbox 360 with Kinect Support: Minecraft Disneyland Adventures Kinect Star Wars Sesame Street Once Upon a Monster Kinect Fun Labs Kinect Sports: Season 2 Dance Central 2 Update: We've got a slew of demo videos of Kinect Fun Labs after the break -- it's Kinect hacks for the masses! %Gallery-125414% %Gallery-125428%
Brazil's World Cup host cities first in line to get 4G upgrades
Well, it looks like folks in Brazil that live in one of the twelve host cities for the 2014 FIFA World Cup now have another reason to be glad their city was chosen. The Brazilian government has just announced that those cities will be the first in line to get 4G service when the country's long overdue network upgrades eventually begin. Unfortunately, it's still not clear exactly when that will happen -- a government official only said that companies will go through a bidding process to win the contract for the network, which should presumably roll out sometime before the World Cup kicks off in three years' time.
Online operators avoid balls-up with football trademarks
The last time we saw any statistical data on overall awareness of intellectual property issues, it seemed that awareness of copyright and trademarks was quite appallingly low – and actual accurate knowledge about them was a very rare thing indeed. Surprisingly few people seem to know their way around the don't-do basics, and with record numbers of trademarks being registered in recent years, it is actually nice to see that some online operators have got a firm grip on things this year. Honestly, if you tossed a press release on our collective desk touting your virtual environment or MMOG having items or outfits available in support of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ ... well, it'd probably cause an avalanche of pizza boxes ... but after we got the mess cleared, we'd probably assume that your promotional stuff was littered with unlicensed FIFA trademarks. It's happened before.
Exclusive: a look around ESPN's 3D Master Control room
Not sure if you knew, but today marks the launch of ESPN's first dedicated 3D channel, predictably titled ESPN 3D. For now, the channel will only be active whenever 3D sporting events are being aired, starting with a full 25 FIFA World Cup matches from the Republic of South Africa. It's a pretty monumental launch for the world leader in broadcast sports, and it's obviously taking a pretty big leap with only a smattering of 3D sets available and an obviously limited amount of content at its disposal. That said, there's hardly a better way to enjoy 3D content than to see sports in the third dimension, which makes the appeal of this new station that much stronger. We're here live at the company's kickoff event in Bristol, Connecticut, and we'll be bringing you lots of coverage from behind the scenes. One important piece that has yet to be revealed to the public is exactly how this material is getting from the field to the consumer, with Comcast, DirecTV and AT&T (U-verse) signed on from day one. During our shooting for The Engadget Show (don't worry -- we'll be cutting it up and getting it live as soon as possible!) we were able to stop by ESPN's 3D Master Control room, a box no larger than the average American kitchen but infinitely important in the grand scheme of things. Amazingly enough, the room pictured in the gallery below didn't exist six weeks ago, and in an insanely short period of time ESPN has managed to create a control room that sucks feeds in from all over the world, adds graphics (along with a specialized ESPN 3D "bug"), ensures that everything is aligned properly and then pipes it out to the aforesaid carriers. %Gallery-94971%
ESPN 3D officially launches with FIFA World Cup coverage: live from Bristol
It's official, one of the most popular networks in the US (if not the world) kicked off its 3D branch in style today, and we made the trek to ESPN's campus in Bristol, Connecticut to experience it first hand. Put simply, the campus is any gadget or sports nerd's paradise; technology is oozing from every corner of every building, including the one we gathered with other press today in order to witness the start of a monumental three-dee journey. At the front of the large conference room was a 72-inch Samsung DLP, which was delivering the 2010 FIFA World Cup kickoff in 3D from Johannesburg, South Africa. It should be noted that none of the 25 World Cup matches that'll be delivered in 3D aren't being shot by ESPN; instead, FIFA has contracted HBS to shoot and distribute a "world feed." We didn't notice too many glitches during the opening match, but ESPN assures us that native transfers will look even better once they kick things off here in the homeland with the MLB Home Run Derby from Anaheim on July 12th. As for the tech side of things, ESPN was taking in the 1080i50 side by side 3D signal and converting it to the US-friendly 1080i60 side by side, and since DLP sets expect the checkerboard 3D format, a RealD POD was used to make the link between the cable set-top-box and the TV. The glasses were supplied by XpanD, but not the same universal shutter glasses that we expect to be available at retail soon. Afer we took in the setup, we sat down to enjoy the match, which was opened with a handful of pristinely shot 3D commercials -- of course. A Sony spot kicked off with a soccer team practicing, and naturally ended with a goal exploding in slow motion; without a doubt, this was one of the more spectacular uses of 3D that we've seen, though we're guessing that the budget for the ad was somewhere near the stratosphere. The other commercials weren't any less impressive, with another trio concerning a Gillette razor, Toy Story 3, and a downright comical 'This is SportsCenter' ad where Niel Everett gets a little too close to a pricey 3D camera with his trusty Louisville Slugger. We'll be bringing you more coverage from here in Bristol as the day continues, with the grand finale coming in a special Engadget Show segment that should go up next week. For now, head on past the break for a few impressions from the 1-1 draw. %Gallery-94968%
Samsung announces Adidas-branded N150 Plus netbook
The big technology news out of the World Cup this year may be 3D broadcasts, but any sporting event of this size wouldn't be complete without some product tie-ins, and it looks like Samsung has now come through on that front with a little help from Adidas. They've announced this new Samsung N150 Plus Adidas Special Edition netbook, which is apparently identical to Samsung's regular N150 netbook, with the exception of an Adidas design on the lid, and the addition of a Bluetooth 3.0 module -- not to mention a matching mouse and "gift pouch." No word on pricing or availability just yet, but we have a sneaking suspicion it will be limited to places that play "football" instead of "soccer."
Sony and FIFA release more details on World Cup 2010 3D broadcast
Sony and FIFA have just released a list of World Cup 2010 games that'll be broadcast in 3D, with ESPN taking care of the US audience, Sogecable for Spain, and more partners to come (including eight matches for selected 3D cinemas around the world). Out of all ten stadiums, only five of these -- Soccer City and Ellis Park in Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth -- are chosen for the 3D broadcast, which sadly leaves out Rustenberg and its England-USA match that most of us here anticipate. Each venue will have seven 3D-camera positions with three above the pitch and four on pitch level, and don't forget the two "3D Outside Broadcast" trucks that'll be busy shuffling between stadiums to process the footage for us all. If you end up totally loving the 3D experience, a Blu-ray 3D compilation disc will be available within 2010. This souvenir should go nicely with the updated PS3 by then -- we were told by Sony that its console's expecting its 3D upgrade around the same time as the launch of its 3D TVs, which just so happens to be around E3 as well. Boy, June sure going to be a fun one this year.
EA Sports' FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa announced
Footy aficionados fancying themselves some world class football will get just that in EA's newly announced spinoff, FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa. Simultaneously releasing on Xbox 360, PS3, PSP and Wii, this special installment -- only once every four years people! -- in EA's ongoing franchise features all of the 2010 World Cup's 199 qualifying round national teams and all ten of the official South African event stadiums. There's also an online-enabled World Cup Mode, where you can take any national team (dibs on Brazil!) and progress from the qualifying rounds right up to the final match. Wii players will get "an art style that celebrates the cultural vibrancy of the first FIFA World Cup to be held in Africa" (so, pretty much, it'll look like a cartoon) and their own special game mode in Zakumi's Dream Team, where players create custom teams and take their virtual squads on the road against the 32 participating World Cup teams. No specific PSP version features have been revealed. FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa is being developed by EA Canada in Burnaby, B.C. and is scheduled to hit the pitch on April 27 in the US and April 30 in Europe and Asia. %Gallery-84006%
Sony and FIFA team up to make the World Cup 3D
It's no secret that plenty of companies are hoping that 2010 will be the year of 3D, and it looks like Sony has now gotten a big boost by lining up a partnership with one of the biggest events of the year: the FIFA World Cup. As the pair have announced today, the new arrangement will see at least 25 World Cup matches produced in 3D using Sony's 3D cameras, which will be viewable through a variety of means. That includes special public viewing events in seven cities around the world (none in North America, unfortunately), an "Official 3D Film" that will be previewed at Sony Stores and other retail outlets and, last but not least, a Blu-ray of said film that will be made available at some point following the World Cup. This won't be the first time a soccer match has been broadcast in 3D, however, and it looks like it won't be your only option for catching some games in 3D next year either. [Thanks, Matt]
South Africa to host 2010 FIFA World Cup, not see it in HD
What, is this some sort of sick joke or something? The host nation of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, South Africa, will be unable to watch the action happening in its own backyard in high-definition. According to a recent report from Johannesburg, the SABC "has no plans to broadcast the 2010 FIFA World Cup in high-definition for South Africans." Instead, Switzerland-based Host Broadcasting Services (HBS) will film the games in HD for other countries. The trouble is that an overwhelming amount of South African citizens would need to procure a digital set-top-box in order to view the content in high-def, and considering that HD adoption in the nation is already low, it's simply not a high enough priority to bother with. Of course, political pressures could lead to change in all of this, and for the sake of the locals yearning for more high-def (and technological progress in general), we certainly hope so.
11 vs. 11 possible for EA's FIFA 2010
EA is hoping to support 11 vs. 11 play in time for their FIFA 2010 World Cup edition. This will allow them to have a "Virtual World Cup" with 11 of the best players from each country representing. FIFA 08 producer Joe Booth says, "In the long term we have big plans. We'd like for the 2010 World Cup to have a virtual World Cup at the same time, and build an organization in each territory that finds the best 11 players and flies them out to South Africa, and have a full-on tournament there." Booth says that over the next two iterations of the game they're focusing on a "Be A Pro" feature which has the player taking care of one man on the field. Booth says they're trying to get something that feels "offline." It would be cool after EA finishes the whole tournament in 2010 they edit the footage to get the best angles possible for the game and put it on the marketplace ... for free. That might be fun to watch.
Raving Rabbids, rabid World Cup fans [update 1]
"Allez les bleus!" cried the French fans after their team defeated Portugal -- and before that Brazil -- in the 2006 World Cup. The battle cry translates to "go blue," referencing France's blue uniform.France's win over Brazil sent fans into elation, and French developer Ubisoft was more than happy to show its support. Inspired by the wacky Rayman Raving Rabbids videos, we present to you "Allez Les B(le)unnies."France will face off against another blue-clad team, Italy, in the World Cup finals this Saturday Sunday.See Also:Raving Rabbids all about "love and power!"
