EA Announce FIFA 11

Football, and in particular any videogame simulation of the sport, passes me by.  And so when EA announced FIFA 11 this morning I wasn’t even sure whether the press release was six months late, or which version we’d just had.  Probably one related to the World Cup, or something.

Anyway, FIFA 11, which is the follow-up to FIFA 10, will “redefine player authenticity” using something EA are calling “Personality+”, an “all-new feature that sees individual abilities reflected in game, enabling clear differentiation for every player.”  Don’t tell Sony, eh?

“Personality+ is the evolution of individual distinctiveness that sees a footballer’s abilities on the pitch mirrored authentically in our game, creating individual personalities in FIFA 11,” rumbles Executive Producer Kaz Makita in the press release. “We have reached a level of sophistication within our game engine where footballers in our game will behave and perform as true individuals.”

How have EA managed this incredible coding voodoo?  A database.  A big one, with each player’s skill-set mapped over 36 sliders and 57 “traits”, compiled by 1700 scouts and editors around the world.  EA are calling the database “comprehensive” and we’d have to agree.

“Real Madrid’s Kaka will deliver crisp, creative passes,” apparently, and “Barcelona’s Andres Iniesta will utilize tighter turns and close control to dribble through defenses” whilst “Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney will hold off defenders and strike shots from distance with pace.”

Presumably all this will mean something to footy fans.  Me?  I’m back to Joe Danger.