LEIPZIG, Germany, Aug. 19, 2004 — FIFA, the Xbox
®
video game system from Microsoft Corp., and Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), the world’s leading interactive entertainment software company, will team up to bring a newly developed FIFA competition, the FIFA Interactive World Cup (TM) , to football lovers around the world.
In addition, Xbox will serve as the Official Licensed Video Game Console of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, which will be held from June to July 2006 in stadiums across Germany. Xbox will work with FIFA to introduce specially branded retail offers celebrating the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Xbox and Electronic Arts will be the presenting partners of The FIFA Interactive World Cup, a new series of tournaments combining online and offline football action featuring EAs
“FIFA Football 2005”
on Xbox and the Xbox Live ™
online game service. Kicking off this year, the FIFA Interactive World Cup will travel to six continents from October to December 2004, with the finals being played at the FIFA World Player of the Year Gala in Zurich in December 2004.
Throughout the three-month tournament on Xbox Live , each heat will see players in the FIFA Interactive World Cup compete on EAs
“FIFA Football 2005.”
Players will also enjoy participating in real-life football drills and tips and tricks sessions with international football experts in between heats. In addition, a host of guest appearances, prizes and musical surprises are planned throughout the tour. More details on the events will be released later this year.
“Were excited to be part of the 2006 FIFA World Cup,”
said Mitch Koch, corporate vice president of the Home Entertainment Division at Microsoft
”
The worlds most popular sporting event is teaming with the worlds most powerful and exciting video game console to give fans a whole new reason to love football ” and they can only experience it through Xbox Live . With the FIFA Interactive World Cup, were starting a new tradition of virtual football on Xbox and Xbox Live ” fans will truly understand why its good to play together.”
“This innovative project concept will enable us to exploit further opportunities to promote and develop the game of football at all levels worldwide,”
said Urs Linsi, general secretary of FIFA.
“The FIFA Interactive World Cup will be launched just as FIFA steps into the second century of its existence and will give fans an additional reason to love football. The FIFA Interactive World Cup will herald a new tradition of football games and test football players virtual abilities in a completely new way. We are proud to pay tribute to a completely new category of football player at the next FIFA World Player of the Year Gala.”
“The FIFA Interactive World Cup is going to be the place for authentic, interactive play for football fans all over the world, and were pleased to be working with Xbox and FIFA to bring it to life,”
said Jan Bolz, vice president of Marketing and Sales for EA Europe.
”
Our game enthusiasts asked us for a way to broaden the scope of their gaming challenge, and this event is for them, combining the excitement of FIFA Football 2005 from EA with Xbox Live support and real-world football tournaments, to test their physical as well as virtual abilities in a completely new and interactive way.”
About FIFA
For the past 100 years, the F
é
d
é
ration Internationale de Football Association, founded on 21 May 1904 in Paris and better known as FIFA, has continued to provide the essential leadership role to the international football family. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, the eighth FIFA President, Joseph S. Blatter (Switzerland), guides the organization today with a commitment to the evolution of FIFA as a modern and dynamic association. The basis of the worlds football family is formed by FIFAs member associations. From the founding seven in 1904, the family has today grown to 205 affiliated associations, also organized into six confederations spanning the globe. FIFAs worldwide activities go well beyond its various competitions, such as the worlds biggest single-sport event, the FIFA World Cup. In projects such as SOS Childrens Villages and the FIFA Goal Programme, FIFA gives material, financial and promotional support to develop the game and bring joy to underprivileged children worldwide.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the worlds leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, EA posted revenues of $2.96 billion for fiscal 2004. The company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers and the Internet. In 2003, EA had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. Electronic Arts markets its products under three brand names: EA SPORTS™ , EA GAMES™ and EA SPORTS BIG™
. EAs homepage and online game site is www.ea.com . More information about EAs products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com .
About Xbox
Xbox ( http://www.xbox.com ) is the video game system from Microsoft that brings people together for the most exhilarating game and entertainment experiences. Xbox delivers an expansive collection of breakthrough games, powerful hardware and the unified Xbox Live online service. The new tagline,
“its good to play together,”
captures the spirit of Xbox as the social hub of the new digital entertainment lifestyle. Xbox is now available in North America, Asia, Europe and Australia.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Microsoft, Xbox and Xbox Live are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Electronic Arts, EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS BIG and EA GAMES are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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