Normally I would be livid but considering the rate at which people buy the new EA games, it gives a signal that very few are playing the old ones. This could apply to FIFA, however, being a 2 year old game, it’s not ethical to close severs even if there are a 1000 guys playing it and forcing them to move on to the new one.

Here’s what they had to say about it.

“The decisions to retire older EA games are never easy. The development teams and operational staff pour their hearts into these games almost as much as the customers playing them and it is hard to see one retired,” they wrote on their website.

“But as games get replaced with newer titles, the number of players still enjoying the older games dwindles to a level — fewer than 1% of all peak online players across all EA titles — where it’s no longer feasible to continue the behind-the-scenes work involved with keeping these games up and running. We would rather our hard-working engineering and IT staff focus on keeping a positive experience for the other 99% of customers playing our more popular games.  We hope you have gotten many hours of enjoyment out of the games and we appreciate your ongoing patronage.”

These are the games whose servers were closed.

January 19, 2013 — Online Services Shutdown

• Trenches II for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch

January 14, 2013 — Online Services Shutdown

• The Sims 2 for PC/MAC and TheSims2.com

January 11, 2013 — Online Services Shutdown

• FIFA Soccer 11 for PC, PS3, Wii & Xbox 360
• FIFA Soccer 11 Ultimate Team for PS3 & Xbox 360
• Madden NFL 11 for PS3, Wii & Xbox 360
• Madden NFL 11 Ultimate Team for PS3 & Xbox 360
• NBA JAM for PS3 & Xbox 360
• NBA LIVE 10 for PS3 & Xbox 360
• NCAA Football 11 for PS3 & Xbox 360
• NHL 11 for PS3 & Xbox 360
• NHL 11 Ultimate Team for PS3 & Xbox 360

January 3, 2013 — Online Services Shutdown

• FIFA Manager 11 for PC

December 31, 2012 — Online Services Shutdown

• World Series Superstars for Facebook

December 5, 2012 — Online Services Shutdown

• The Simpsons: Tapped Out for 1st and 2nd generation iPhone and iPod touch

November 15, 2012 — Online Services Shutdown

• Troublemakers for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch

November 1, 2012 — Online Services Shutdown

• The Sims 3 Pets for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

October 25, 2012 — Online Services Shutdown

• EA SPORTS PGA TOUR Golf Challenge for Facebook

October 11, 2012 — Online Services Shutdown

• Tee Shot Live for iPhone and iPod Touch
• Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 11 for PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360

Game4u will be holding a FIFA 11 online tournament, inviting all football and gaming enthusiasts to take part. The tournament kicks off at 7 PM on Saturday, 3^rd September 2011.

Those interested in participating can share their PSN ID and register here.  Registrations close on 31^st August 2011 at 11AM. It will be a knockout tournament with one match per player, allowing each player to play for 6 minutes. The final match will be played for 10 minutes.

For rules and regulations of the tournament please log on here.

Updates will be posted on Game4u Facebook page (search: Game4u) while the tournament is being played.

Keep an eye out for the next tournament announcement.

The Ultimate Team aspect of FIFA 11 is set to see a major update soon that will introduce a new Play a Friend challenge mode as well as friends leaderboards and a supposed fifty other improvements. FIFA exec producer, Kaz Makita, said that “we have a thriving global community of over two million fans playing FIFA 11 Ultimate Team. Our commitment to these fans is that we will continue to listen to their feedback to improve and enhance their experience year round. Play A Friend Challenge and Friends Leaderboardsare both new innovations and features requested by the fans, and will enable players to better connect and compete with friends while playing FIFA 11 Ultimate Team.”

Thanks to VG247 for the info.

This week’s UK charts have been released, and Call of Duty: Blacks Ops, which reportedly has sold 8.4 million units already in US alone, has retained it’s #1 position. FIFA 11 managed to claim the second spot, while Blizzard’s newly released World of Warcraft: Cataclysm entered the charts at third position. Here are the full figures:

1. Black Ops
2. FIFA 11
3. WoW: Cataclysm
4. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
5. GT5
6. Just Dance 2
7. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
8. Donkey Kong Country Returns
9. Professor Layton and the Lost Future
10. Wii Fit Plus

Given above is the video which features the Blackout (by Linkin Park, Album- A Thousand Suns) soundtrack for FIFA 11. The video just shows a FIFA 11 template with Blackout playing in the background.

EA have told us that a lucky North American fan will get to meet the members of this famous band, and can challenge them to an onlijne face-off of FIFA 11. How? We haven’t been told.

EA have released this new trailer for it’s upcoming DLC, Ultimate Team. FIFA 11: Ultimate Team will only be available on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on November 3rd. We had a chat with the Producer of the FIFA 11: Ultimate Team, check it out here.

FIFA 11’s Ultimate Team mode is coming on November 3rd and we had an opportunity to speak with Paul Hossack, producer of .FIFA 11 Ultimate Team. Check out the interview below.

GB: FIFA 11’s doing great, and it already has a plethora of features. With Ultimate Team, the experience is become only meatier. Do you have any other features like this in mind for the future? Or are they in store for FIFA 12?

Hossack: That’s a good question. I think there is a lot of untapped potential in FIFA Ultimate Team—there are so many ways to play it. The more popular it gets, the more we’ll experiment with different ways of delivering it. Essentially, I work with the team on figuring out what the FUT gamers want and prioritizing all the ideas. As for FIFA 12, the team is already into its design stage, reviewing all the feedback from fans and looking at ways to improve the experience but we are not prepared to share any of those ideas just yet.

GB: Ultimate Team in FIFA 10 was already great, and with the new Play-A-Friend compatibility, it looks even better. But can you please delve upon this new online functionality with Ultimate Team?

Hossack: First, the Play-A-Friend feature is really exciting for the team because it’s what we know the gamers have been asking for. Essentially, you can invite any of your friends for a head-to-head online match in FUT 11. When you are matching up, you can both pick which squad you will use, and can see the name and rating of the squad they are picking so you can get an even match-up. In Play A Friend matches, your players do not use up any contracts so you can play against your mates as much as you like. Also, no coins are awarded in Play A Friends matches to avoid exploits – so these matches are truly “Friendlies” (sorry for the pun).

We have some great online functionality on the web. With the FIFA Ultimate Team Web Tool ([www.easportsfootball.com/ultimateteam|http://www.easportsfootball.com/ultimateteam]) any FUT gamer can go to this web site and manage their team while they are away from their console (e.g. sneak in a little FUT while at the office or in class). We’ve expanded the functionality to include managing all your squads (great for getting a squad ready for the matches you’ll play when you get home), showing off your squad to friends online, full auctions for all item types. We also have some new features for returning FUT gamers. Starting Oct. 27 they can go to [www.easportsfootball.com/ultimateteam|http://www.easportsfootball.com/ultimateteam]and open their FUT 11 starter pack before the console game has even launched. On top of that, they can open up their loyalty gift (2 free gold packs). Each day they come back to the web up to Nov. 3, they will get a random daily gift (like packs, coins or bid tokens). Finally, we are introducing a new web-only feature called FUT Generations, where returning gamers can create a web squad where they can put both their best FUT 10 and FUT 11 players on the same squad and show it off to the world. We’re really excited about this last feature because we wanted to let all our FUT gamers know that all the effort they put into FUT 10 is still around and valuable.

GB: Do you have a mode where you have all the Ultimate Teams battling it out to emerge as the winner, like the Online FIFA World Cup in 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa?

Hossack: We do not have one single tournament to determine one winner but there will be new dynamic tournaments released weekly in which gamers can challenge themselves against the best players in the world or the AI. This can get really exciting as we vary the entry requirements for your squad each week as well as the pay off for winning.

GB: Why is it that Ultimate Team is an exclusive feature for the PS3 and Xbox 360? I mean, the PC can easily handle such features, and the FIFA 11 website already allows players to make an Ultimate Team then and there.

Hossack: I wish it were as easy as cutting and pasting code and features from 360/PS3 to PC but the reality is the focus this year on PC was to customize the next gen engine specifically for PC. It was an enormous undertaking to customize the NG engine for PC and unfortunately we are not able to develop NG and PC features in parallel. We waited until the engine was mature enough and the gameplay had reached a high enough quality to begin the process. What the future looks like for PC and this feature I can’t say at this point.

GB: Can Ultimate Team can be used across all FIFA 11 modes, single player or multiplayer?

Hossack: Your Ultimate Team is designed to be used within Ultimate Team. We do have lots of ways to user your team (online and single-player dynamic tournaments, Play-A-Friend, one off matches), but you can’t take it into other FIFA mode.

GB: What kinds of weekly challenges will players be getting? Will they be all new modes, or will they be normal challenges as we have seen in the PSP FIFA games?

Hossack: There will be new dynamic tournaments released weekly which vary the entry requirements and pay-out each week. This adds a lot of variety as you have to craft different squads tailored for different tournaments … and building a team is half the fun in FUT. We are continuing with the Team of the Week feature – with an added featured that TOTW players will have a different look in-game making them much easier to spot when you open new packs or find them on the auction market.

GB: Can Ultimate Team can be shared online with our friends?

Hossack: From the FUT Web app, you can share your squads with your friends. There are 3 ways: post to Facebook, tweet the link, or copy the link to your squad and paste it anywhere (like in your forum sig, email to friends, etc.).

GB: Is there anything else you want to add about Ultimate Team?

Hossack: All your favourite packs from FUT 10 will be returning, and with no increase in price (either in coins or real money). We are introducing some new pack types. I won’t spill all the beans now, but there will be more variety, including mini-packs and some higher-value packs. We’ve also got a couple new pack promotions we think gamers will like. If you didn’t play FUT 10 much, most days there would be at least one limited-time and/or quantity pack promotion in the store. It really paid off to come back regularly to find special packs and great deals.Finally, we have added two new leagues (MLS and the Russian Premiere League) to the game, giving us 30 leagues in all and more than 8,000 players

For die hard Steve Nash fans, EA have released a behind the scenes video. Check it above.

And for all FIFA 11 fans, stay tuned with GB for an exclusive interview on FIFA 11 Ultimate Team.

Sure, there’s going to be plenty of competition what with Medal of Honor, Call of Duty Black Ops, Fable III and Gran Turismo 5 on the horizon – and that’s not to mention the impact of the motion controllers Kinect and Move on the market – but, after playing FIFA 11 non-stop since I got a copy, I reckon there’s a pretty good chance it could top the Holidays league table.

FIFA plays better than ever

A matter of days after launch, EA Sports announced estimated sales of 2.6m copies in Europe and North America, making it the fastest selling sports game ever. Not only that but more than 11m games were played online in the first two days after its launch.

Those bookmakers seem to know what they’re talking about, eh?

Thanks to the World Cup tournament in the summer, it’s not been long since the previous FIFA release but rest assured, there are still enough improvements in this edition to make it a worthwhile purchase.

Without doubt, this is the best looking of the FIFA series – the visuals are crisper, cleaner and more realistic than ever before. The licenses – from the team and player names, strips and grounds – are accurate and updated as you’d expect, and being an EA Sports title, the presentation is predictably spot on. From the menu screens with their catchy tunes, to the increasingly lifelike players and the reassuringly familiar commentary from Andy Gray and Martin Tyler… it’s typical FIFA.

Perhaps the most noticeable changes are EA’s efforts to up the game’s realism. Not only does the AI seem a little more impressive this time round but the addition of Personality + is a real step forward, replicating the abilities of the real-life players… Drogba is deadly in front of goal – defenders literally bouncing off him as he readies himself to strike, Rooney is wiley and creative, Cahill great in the air and Fabregas is the heart and soul of the team, accurately distributing the ball about the pitch. More than ever before, teams now actually play differently and the players have noticeably different attributes and traits.

Pro Passing is another welcome addition, putting you very much in control of what happens onscreen. It certainly takes some getting used to, as you try to weight the pass and add just enough power and direction to ensure the ball goes where you want it to, but it is so much more rewarding when you pull off that killer pass – more than a little reminiscent of Pro Evolution Soccer in its heyday. Depending on the skill of both you and the pixel-based player you control, the ball can now easily be intercepted or mis-hit, which certainly adds to the realism and tension.

Pro passing is a welcome addition

Get past the intro screens and you can dive straight into a single match or start a 15-season career as player, manager or player manager. Then, of course, there are the celebrated online options – from the simple head to head games to the 11v11 games.

A new game mode allows you to don the gloves and stand between the sticks for an entire match if you fancy too. Be A Goalkeeper is a welcome option but one I imagine will quickly be overlooked… as it can get pretty dull watching most of the action take place higher up the pitch. Nonetheless, it’s the perfect opportunity to hone your skills and enjoy a previously overlooked aspect of the game.

Whether you’re a hardcore FIFA fan or like a kick about on a more casual basis, the latest instalment is well worth the outlay. This year’s effort has not had a major overhaul but instead tweaks a winning formula. It’s clearly the best in the long-running series so far and comes highly recommended.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.

FIFA 11 has not only made it to the top of the UK chart, but it is also officially the third biggest launch ever.

The title is right behind Modern Warfare 2 and GTA IV with the biggest launch.

FIFA 11 has overthrew last years FIFA by over 21 percent, and revenue sales are up by 36 percent.

When it comes to the list, FIFA 11 topped the chart, with F1 2010 in second place, Dead Rising 2 in third, Halo: Reach in fourth, and the new Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock took the fifth place.

Check out the list below:

1. FIFA 11 (EA Sports, EA)
2. F1 2010 (Codemasters Birmingham, Codemasters)
3. Dead Rising 2 (Blue Castle Games, Capcom)
4. Halo: Reach (Bungie, Microsoft Games Studios)
5. Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock (Neversoft, Activision Blizzard)
6. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 (EA Sports, EA)
7. Sports Champions (Zindagi Games, Sony Computer Entertainment)
8. Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft)
9. Toy Story 3 (N-Space, Disney Interactive Studios)
10. Civilization v (Firaxis Studios, 2K Games)

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