EA Sports - FIFA 11 Event Markerting Tour heading to a town near you

With all the hype surrounding the 2010 FIFA World Cup I had to go out and purchase what at the time was the latest and most up to date version of the storied EA Sports soccer franchise title. But with the debut of FIFA 11 on Tuesday, the franchise took a huge leap forward by unleashing its new and improved title from the one released just months ago. Critics, game enthusiasts and reviews have been kind to the title thus far, but with only a few minor tweaks to the highly touted FIFA 10 release from last season, many are left to wonder if this title packs enough punch for your dollar. From what I have seen FIFA 11 and its Personality+ Plus system have all but revolutionized player control and authenticity. For one, players stay true to their abilities on the field, allowing for a look and feel that is true to specific players. While the system has a high degree of clarity for the more popular players like Kaka, Rooney and Iniesta to name a few, the ability to draw comparisons from real life matches and seeing players perform or react like they would in real life is a fascinating element that truly adds value to the game. Gamers will also be introduced to a new 360 degree fight for possession system. Not only will bigger and more physical players be able to dominate the pitch, but this new footwork element is a tremendous step up from the 8 way player movement system that has been used in years past and will alow for an increased level of smooth, more realistic play. This system, along with a new long distance passing element, or Pro Passing, will make individual playing style and freedom much more intuitive during actual game play. A few additional tweaks round out the FIFA 11 changes with new user controlled celebrations, a user friendly penalty kicking system (the easiest and most fluid to date) and as stated above the new Pro Passing system. With Pro Passing, pass accuracy is determined by a gamers ability on the control pad, player skill, game situation and urgency on the pitch. With all the hoopla surrounding its release, EA Sports hasn't spared any expense either from a marketing perspective either. Having launched its Event Marketing Tour for FIFA Soccer 11 yesterday in New York City, fans and players came together for a once and a lifetime experience. The event included a 12 man New York Red Bulls playoffs style tournament, industry professionals, fans and of course the FIFA 11 title all complete with systems and screens to allow for an incredible one of a kind gaming environment. But not to worry, the FIFA 11 Event Marketing Tour is set to come to a town near you. According to a September 22 press release by IGN.com this tour will be comprised of, "a nationwide, 13 city, five-week long program that showcases EA's acclaimed FIFA Soccer 11 video game and PlayStation 3 (PS3) computer entertainment systems." In addition, EA Sports will offer fan incentives for those who choose to tag along and participate. "Throughout the five weeks, two vehicles outfitted with 15 TVs along with 15 PS3 systems, plus a full-time crew, will travel the East Coast while another team will visit West Coast cities. At each Tour stop, fans will have the opportunity to play FIFA Soccer 11, as well as receive free prizes courtesy of EA SPORTS and PlayStation, including Adidas-branded FIFA Soccer 11 T-shirts and the chance to win a PSP (PlayStation Portable)go system or a PS3 system." In my eyes this integrated on the go marketing campaign is just what the doctor ordered and its no surprise that sports gaming juggernaut EA Sports is behind all the madness. With the debut of the FIFA 11 Official Sound Track, another key characteristic and newly acquired model used by EA set to supplement the release, look for them to make a splash and continue to change the way gamers experience the titles with which they crave. EA's ability to add value to the fan by inviting out MLS players during the Event Marketing Tour is also a fantastic way to increase brand loyalty, awareness and serves as a great catalyst to bring the sports fan and athlete together. With a complete line up of host cities to follow during the month of October, it is my hope that the MLS and EA will continue to leverage this title and embrace cross promotion as a way to further add value to the famed title, and draw attention to the MLS as a professional sports entity here in the United States. According the IGN.com, "The EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer 11 Takeover Tour will be supported by an integrated marketing campaign, including live Twitter feeds, Facebook fan page updates, PlayStation.com and more, that will drive game and tour awareness, in addition to driving attendance at Tour stops." Utilizing social media platforms in conjunction with web based press releases like the one's found on IGN.com, Gamespot and other high traffic gaming sites, look for this tour to be a hit and for FIFA 11 to do well in its debut week here in the U.S. and overseas. EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer 11 Takeover Tour Schedule: 9/25 - 9/26 Columbus, OH, 9/25 - 9/26 Chicago, IL, 9/28 (LAUNCH) New York, NY, 9/28 (LAUNCH) Chicago, IL, 10/2 - 10/3 Boston, MA, 10/2 - 10/3 Denver, CO, 10/9 - 10/10 Baltimore, MD, 10/9 - 10/10 Phoenix, AZ, 10/16 - 10/17 Atlanta, GA, 10/16 - 10/17 Los Angeles, CA, 10/23 - 10/24 Dallas, TX, 10/23 - 10/24 San Francisco, CA, 10/30 - 10/31 St. Louis, MO and 10/30 - 10/31 Seattle, WA. *For an exclusive look at the FIFA 11 NYC Launch Event simply click on the title of this article

Seeing Double: FC Barcelona 'Dream Team' doubles as World Cup Squad

Another road test, another victory for reigning Spanish Primera Division (La Liga)Champion FC Barcelona in what many thought would be a challenging match against league rival Atletico Madrid. Having lost in their three previous trips to Vicente Calderon 2-1, 4-3 and 4-2, Barca was able to reassert itself and come away with a 2-1 victory in front of packed crowd in Madrid. FC Barcelona earned all three points and it earned them it style with two first half goals from stars Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique. The first came in the 13' when a beautiful through ball found a streaking David Villa was sent off the right post. The deflected shot was corralled by a Spanish player who hit a cutting Lionel Messi at the top of the box, and well the rest is history. Messi laid a beautiful one touch and struck it with his outside left, sending the ball towards the far post and into the back of the net for the first goal of the match. While Barca looked to take charge early with an aggressive combination of precision passing, ball control and off the ball skill, Atletico Madrid answered in the 25' with a beautiful set piece from the corner that saw Raul Garcia go sky high for the header, knocking it into the back of the net. With momentum clearly lost, Barca didn't waste anytime answering back with a perfect set piece of its own, this time from the left side. In the 32' Gerard Pique lined up near the far post, settled the corner off his chest and one touched it far post to put Barca up 2-1, eventually sealing the game for the Spanish club. All things aside this was a very up tempo game that was controlled largely by a superior and far more athletic Barca squad, a team that has seen its fair share of success in recent years. Coming off of a 2009-10 campaign that saw the club win their second consecutive La Liga title and their 20th in club history, Barca looked in mid season form early and never looked back. The 2009 season was also a dominating one for the club, finishing with a 31-6-1 record and +74 goal differential. Its only loss came to this same Atletico Madrid team 2-1 last season, but this time they were sent home packing after a tough loss yesterday afternoon. But how does a squad, in an elite futbol conference like La Liga put up such astonishing numbers, equal to that of say a 15 year old cracked out on Mountain Dew playing hours of FIFA 10 on end. FC Barcelona's roster is a great place to start and upon further inspection it becomes apparent that theres is a strong correlation between their recent World Cup and La Liga success and the players with the team fields. A team that cruised its way to the 2010 FIFA World Cup title, having only lost its opening round Group Stage match against Switzerland 2-1, Spain ripped off an amazing streak of textbook, ball hawking possession style futbol that saw them win their last four games by a final score of 1-0. This aggressive, yet controlled form of play was made easy by a group of professionals with years of experience and countless hours of play that could have only been done by a squad with this much collective experience. To further back this point, FC Barcalona's Roster boasts a handful of its 2010 World Cup squad including David Villa, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Pedro Rodriguez, Victor Valdes, Xavi, and Andre Iniesta to name a few. Having concocted what many could consider a "Dream Team" amongst club soccer fans worldwide, its easy to see how the recent successes of Spanish soccer could be easily tabulated from looking at this trend in player/personnel acquisition and development. I guess Pat Riley and Co. were not that far off in their ability to turn international success (2008 Olympic Gold) and lasting friendships into a so called Super Team, set to dominate the NBA regular season in always popping Miami, Florida. To say that they were the first to sign large contracts and "conspire" to play together would be an understatement, as it seems the Spanish are on pace to continue to dominate the world of soccer using similar, yet effective tactics. While I am not saying that I oppose such a move, because I feel that teams like this are great for sports fans and are often entertaining, the mere fact that Spanish soccer is at the forefront of International and Club play should not come as a surprise. One could only hope that similar soccer frenzied countries should find a way to do the same. Keeping their local talent in house and on the same team would only serve to benefit clubs and national teams as a whole, because we all know at the end of the day that practice makes perfect and there is a strong correlation between flawless execution, team chemistry and good old fashion home grown talent.