FIFA 09 Ultimate Team Announced
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FIFA 09 has been a tremendous seller for EA worldwide. The Online Team Play especially was extraordinary and has been credited with the uptick in online activity. Well EA Sports isn’t done with FIFA 09 as they have announced that come March 19th a new downloadable game mode will be offered for the PS3 and 360 called Ultimate Team.
Collect, trade and play your way to global supremacy by building your ultimate football club from over 4,000 available stars or creating and developing yourself in game to captain your team to glory. Collect bronze, silver and gold virtual cards to build your club, choosing everything from your squad members to your match strategy. Play games to earn coins to acquire new packs of virtual cards, trade or auction unwanted ones and trawl the market for the cards you need to complete your winning team. Plus, acquire additional packs of cards using Microsoft points from XBOX LIVE Marketplace or purchase them from the PlayStation Network.
While its unlikely this is something I would get into it does offer a glimpse of what EA might be headed towards with their other titles, whether that be as a built in online mode or a downloadable post-release offering such as this. Online play is going to continue getting more attention with how it has exploded in the last year. We earlier found out that NHL 09 had 60% of its users playing online which was very significant, and now specifics for FIFA 09 as it shot up 321% over FIFA 08. 141 million online matches have already been played. Online Franchise/Dynasty, Online Team Play, and modes such as Ultimate Team are becoming a focus and it is paying off for both EA and the consumers who are getting more longevity out of the titles than ever before.
No word yet on how much the Ultimate Team will cost but you will be able to try it out with the first five matches being free. Continue on for the full feature list of the mode.
Key Features
Build Your Ultimate Team: Collect Players, Managers, Head Coaches, Goalkeeper Coaches, Physiotherapists, Fitness Coaches, Tactics, and Gameplay modifiers, and then foster team chemistry through effectively organizing your squad. Accumulate Staff, Fitness and Medical cards to gain the tactical edge, and then deal Gameplay-influencing cards at key moments during a match.
30 Types Of Cards: Collect, trade and play 30 different types of cards to form your ultimate team and your best strategy to win. Categories to collect include: Players, Managers, Staff, Player Contract, Advanced Training, Injury Healing, Formations, Tactics, Team Talk, Arenas, Crowd, Celebrations, Stadia, Kits, Badges and more.
Develop Team Chemistry: Determine the direction of your team by collecting players to fit your system or designing a system around your players. Organize players in preferred positions, preferred formations and alongside countrymen to boost your player attributes and give your team a tactical advantage. Acquire Contract cards to keep your team on the winning track.
Complete Customization: Live the ultimate dream. Create yourself in game, line up alongside your heroes and captain your squad to glory. Personalize your player with thousands of new items, including new hairstyles, tattoos, and bandanas. Listen to the broadcast team call your name while your created player steps into the spotlight. Customize everything from players and stadiums to the kits and badges, creating the world’s next great football club.
Acquire New Cards: Play games to earn coins to acquire new cards, trade or auction unwanted ones and trawl the market for the cards you need to complete your winning team. Plus, acquire additional packs of cards using Microsoft points from XBOX LIVE Marketplace or purchase them from the PlayStation Network.
New Leaderboards: Compete with your squad against the rest of the world in league matches and watch your club climb the leader boards.
Knockout Tournaments: Here is the ultimate test. Compete in 36 different tournaments while connected online against CPU-controlled football clubs or a legion of challengers. Face your toughest competition in knockout tournaments for the most coveted trophies, where the opposition becomes more difficult after each victory.
New Interactive Celebrations: Score a goal and then control your player’s movements to celebrate the way you want to with 20 new user-controlled celebrations.
The Collection: Amass a collection of players, trophies, league badges, boots and balls which unlock extra coins.
PS3 Trophy Support: For the first time, FIFA 09 Ultimate Team includes Trophy support for PS3.
FIFA 09 Ultimate Team delivers a new level of depth and strategy to EA SPORTS FIFA 09, winner of 25 international game quality awards, and the second highest rated sports game of all-time on PS3 and Xbox 360.
Feel a rush of adrenaline as you step onto the pitch and live the ultimate fantasy in club football. Collect the most talented players in the world, shape them into your dream team and then prove yourself against a legion of challengers in FIFA 09 Ultimate Team, a strategic new downloadable game mode designed exclusively for the award-winning FIFA 09 on the PLAYSTATION 3 and Xbox 360.
Collect, trade and play your way to global supremacy by building your ultimate football club from over 4,000 available stars or creating and developing yourself in game to captain your team to glory. Collect bronze, silver and gold virtual cards to build your club, choosing everything from your squad members to your match strategy. Play games to earn coins to acquire new packs of virtual cards, trade or auction unwanted ones and trawl the market for the cards you need to complete your winning team. Plus, acquire additional packs of cards using Microsoft points from XBOX LIVE Marketplace or purchase them from the PlayStation Network.
Collect 30 different types of virtual cards, including Player, Staff, Contract, Formations, and Tactics, to create the ultimate team. Strategically collect and manage players and different types of cards, and then set the match strategy to win. Carefully select or trade for the right Manager, then choose the best Tactics and Formations that forge the team chemistry necessary to take your club to the top. Plus, deal Gameplay cards on your opponent at key moments of any match for a tactical advantage.
Live the ultimate dream in FIFA 09 Ultimate Team. Create yourself in game, line up alongside your heroes and captain your squad to glory. Customize everything from players and stadiums to the kits and badges, creating the world’s next great football club. Climb the league table and compete in knockout tournaments for the most coveted trophies, where the opposition becomes more difficult after each victory.
Feel the exhilaration as you take your carefully assembled squad into matches and cup tournaments against real, CPU-controlled football clubs or online against the most formidably talented teams ever assembled – and out play them. Here is the ultimate test of your skills as a player and manger. Write your own legend with FIFA 09 Ultimate Team, available for download into FIFA 09 on PS3 and Xbox 360 beginning March 19.