FIFA Online has already been launched in certain parts of Asia, but today the folks at EA Sports said that they will be bringing the free-to-play soccer title to worldwide audiences. Fans will simply need a broadband Internet connection and an average spec laptop computer or desktop to be able to play the game, and EA said it will call on soccer fans and gamers to help shape features during closed beta testing prior to its English language European open beta release in June 2010.
“Listening to and engaging soccer fans has been one of the driving forces behind the success of our FIFA franchise and now we are inviting European football fans--in mass numbers and earlier than we ever have before--to help us develop a new soccer game,” said Executive Producer Kaz Makita. “Fans will determine the features that matter most, and at the end of this process, our goal is to deliver a game for fans looking for a quick soccer fix at home or at work.”
“There are a large number of soccer fans who do not want a console gaming experience due to time and other priorities in their personal lives but they still want to be able to play a top-quality soccer videogame,” explained Makita. “FIFA Online will be designed specifically for them.”
FIFA Online will not be released simultaneously worldwide. The English language version will become available first this June, and then over the next 12 to 24 months FIFA Online will launch in other languages across Europe and then in North America.
In related news, EA Sports also revealed that FIFA 10 has surpassed 2 million sold in the U.K. and could become the best selling FIFA game ever. "There’s no denying FIFA 10 is the best football game ever and the innovations we have brought to the genre over the years have helped get us to where we are now,” EA Sports’ marketing manager Trevor Uzice told MCV. “We’re all massive football fans and that definitely comes across in our campaigns. All departments work closely to make sure we’re taking the game to the right audiences and maximise every opportunity.”
