Free-to-Play Soccer Game on Facebook Called EA SPORTS FIFA Superstars Now Available

First Game From EA/Playfish Partnership Brings World’s Most Popular Soccer Videogame Franchise to Hundreds of Millions of Fans

EA today announced that EA SPORTS has created its most popular franchise for the hundreds of millions of soccer fans on social gaming sites just in time for the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Developed by Playfish, EA SPORTS FIFA Superstars is a free-to-play^ social game that has launched on Facebook. It will be available on additional social networks in the future.

“We are leveraging our soccer expertise with the experience of our partners at Playfish to create a casual soccer game for a broader audience,” said Matt Bilbey, vice president of soccer, EA SPORTS. The EA SPORTS FIFA franchise has sold over 90 million units lifetime and FIFA Soccer 10 is the highest rated* sports videogame on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in the world.

“Soccer fans have a voracious appetite for their sport so we are creating interactive soccer entertainment in new ways and on new platforms to meet the interest,” continued Bilbey. “We are excited to broaden our reach from the console that touches our core audience of 10-20 million fans to the hundreds of millions of soccer fans and casual gamers using social networks.”

EA SPORTS FIFA Superstarsis the first social game developed through the EA/Playfish partnership and the first sports game developed by Playfish, who leads social gaming in innovation and creativity with award-winning category defining games designed for friends to play together. Playfish hits include Pet Society and Restaurant City.

“On the eve of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, we’re introducing into social gaming an entirely new category and game play style built around the most popular sports franchise in the world,” said Kristian Segerstrale, vice president and general manager of Playfish. “EA SPORTS FIFA Superstars captures all the magic and passion of the beautiful game, enabling players to build and manage a team of the world’s greatest soccer players and compete against their friends. We’re looking forward to working with our players and evolving the game in many exciting ways through the FIFA World Cup and beyond.”

FIFA Superstars will leverage EA SPORTS soccer licenses for 30 leagues, 500 teams and 15,000 players. Fans will be able to create a fantasy club side by collecting or trading players, challenging friends head-to-head and competing in leagues, or searching out broader leader boards to compete against the best. To capitalize on the worldwide soccer fever driven by the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, players can predict the outcomes of games in the 2010 FIFA World Cup to win valuable in-game coins. For more information visit the Official Website.

^ Internet connection and a Facebook account required
*Source www.metacritic.com, June 5, 2010