So I'm playing the demo for EA's UEFA soccer game...

[cartman]

I just picked up a XBox 360 and was poking around the XBox Live Marketplace. I see that I can try out the demo for EA's new UEFA soccer game for free. I've always liked the FIFA series more, but thought I'd check it out.

The graphics are stunning. The demo is a half between Arsenal and Barcelona. The players are recognizable even while playing the game, with Ronaldinho's ponytail quite visible. The stadium is even more impressive. But imagine my surprise when quite a few of the banners at the edge of the playing surface are ads for...

Playstation 3

:D

[Logan]

Sounds like smart marketing. You're playing it on a 360...they're not banking on you buying another. :)

It would make even more sense if the PS3 version had 360 ads.

[DaddyTorgo]

console only game?

sometimes I enjoy a lil joystick-jockey futbol

[SirFozzie]

console only game?

sometimes I enjoy a lil joystick-jockey futbol

I hear that causes hairy palms

[cthomer5000]

this is the Champions League game that comes out Friday i suppose? I've noticed while watching the CL games that they are sponsored competition-wide. PS3, Heineken, and something else I can't recall right now have been the advertising boards at every single game.

edit: took a look at some video...

Ford
Heineken
Mastercard
Sony
Vodafone

those seem to be the only CL sponsors. PS3 must have paid a shitload knowing it would be in all versions of the game for all platrforms

[MIJB#19]

this is the Champions League game that comes out Friday i suppose? I've noticed while watching the CL games that they are sponsored competition-wide. PS3, Heineken, and something else I can't recall right now have been the advertising boards at every single game.

edit: took a look at some video...

Ford
Heineken
Mastercard
Sony
Vodafone

those seem to be the only CL sponsors. PS3 must have paid a shitload knowing it would be in all versions of the game for all platrformsBingo. PlayStation (1/2/3?) has been one of the big loyal sponsors ("partners!") of the UEFA Champions' League the past years, so I suppose they have some sort of exclusive rights to be mentioned in simulations of the real CL as well.

In the same fashion, PSV (Eindhoven) has close ties with Phillips and it's a pain in the you-know-where to see Sony having exclusive rights to advertise in the Phillips Stadium during UEFA tied games. In fact, the name of the stadium is not allowed to be officially mentioned. Last season's UEFA Cup final was played in the "Eindhoven Stadium", which sounds even weirder since the city of Eindhoven has a second pro soccer club in FC Eindhoven.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Yeah, I saw that Bill Harris took EA to the woodshed after playing that demo......

http://dubiousquality.blogspot.com/2007/03/i-see-future-and-future-is-ugh.html

I See The Future And The Future is Ugh

I played the UEFA Champions League 2006-2007 demo for the 360 last weekend.

Electronic Arts hasn't put out anything resembling a great soccer game in a long, long time, so my expectations were low. The gameplay was entirely forgettable on the pitch, but one feature really caught my attention: an elaborate trading card system.

What?

These cards can do just about anything: heal injuries, give temporary performance boosts, performance decrements (for opponents), improve team chemistry, extend player contracts, and just about anything else you can imagine. And there are apparently hundreds of different ones.

You actually assemble a deck, and you can purchase card packs (bronze, silver, or gold quality) from points you earn during matches.

This was a real head-scratcher. Why would designers of a team sports game add a card deck element as a vital part of the game?

The demo mentioned the card packs several times, and at the end they mentioned that cards would also be available on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Oh.

Don't want to wait to earn points in matches to buy your card packs? Gold packs require so many points that it would take forever to play enough matches?

No problem, I'm guessing. Just whip out that credit card and buy them.

Here's the future: EA Sports is going to redesign every single sports game they have to maximize the amount of additional content they can offer via the Xbox Live Marketplace. The entire design focus is going to be on monetizing the game after we buy the game.

$59.99? That's just the buy-in price, baby.

I don't think this would bother me nearly as much if they were improving their sports games, but they're not. Their games rarely get better from year to year. They all have framerate issues. They all have few user options. Some, incredibly, have ONE camera angle. With only rare exceptions, they have abysmal A.I.

Doesn't matter to them, though, because if it did, this wouldn't have gone on for years. They can talk all they want about how they're going to improve quality, but the hard truth is that when it comes to quality, they haven't changed a damn thing.

[Oilers9911]

Winning Eleven > EA Soccer Games.

[finketr]

SI likes the gameplay in Winning Eleven better tan FIFA... but FIFA just looks so much sharper and nicer.

[Desnudo]

Pro Evo/WE will always be better for someone who wants a simulation. I don't think EA has it in their gene pool to make a decent game oriented towards that type.