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The FIFA series from EA Sports has been around for ages now, but this year the series is doing something different: twelve teams from the 2015 Women's World Cup will be included in the game, making this edition the first time that women will appear in the series.
With Portland Thorns players gracing the rosters of the United States, Canada, England, Australia, and Germany, plus dear departed Veronica Boquette on the Spanish roster, there are plenty of players to look for in the upcoming release for Portland fans.
Check out the trailer that EA put out, featuring Alex Morgan, Christine Sinclair, and others:
This is a huge positive step for the women's game and its fans. How completely the women's teams will be integrated into the game remains to be seen -- there will be a tournament mode as well as online and offline friendlies according to the press release, but popular features like the create-a-player mode are not covered in the release.
The EA Sports press release:
WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAMS TAKE THE PITCH IN EA SPORTS FIFA 16
Twelve Teams From Around the World Are In The Game
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - May 28, 2015 - Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) today announced that EA SPORTSTM FIFA 16 will feature 12 Women's National Teams for the first time in franchise history when it launches starting on September 22, 2015 in North America. Women's National Teams from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Sweden, and the United States of America will all represent their respective federations in several FIFA 16 game modes including Kick Off, an Offline Tournament, as well as Online* Friendly Matches. To see Women's National Teams in the game, visit http://easports.com/fifa/women and watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siVeBCaYeko.
"Bringing some of the best women's players and teams in the world to our franchise is a massive event for EA SPORTS, and we are equally excited about bringing millions of fans a new way to play," said David Rutter, VP and GM, EA SPORTS FIFA. "We're making sure fans get an authentic experience when playing with Women's National Teams thanks to our innovative player capture and reference tools, as well as the sophisticated gameplay platform which we will continue to innovate on in FIFA 16."
From all new player movement and likeness, to realistic animations and attributes, the FIFA development team have authentically recreated 12 of the top-ranked teams in the world. Capturing all new player movement was done with meticulous detail and supported by a motion capture session at EA Canada with four top players from United States Women's National Team: Sydney Leroux, Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, and Megan Rapinoe. The players' movements helped to build new locomotion for women in FIFA 16 including new walks, runs, sprints, and horizontal movement. Soccer Canada also visited EA to provide full-player references captured using the 360 degree body scanning rig - the references were then used to develop new player models. And the mobile headscanning unit travelled to a variety of tournaments and events around the world to capture facial features including hairstyles to ensure players look as realistic as possible in FIFA 16. Players in the game will look and move in game like they do on the pitch when representing their country.
"I honestly can't believe all of the science and technology behind the game itself, let alone getting us into the motion capture suits and eventually into the game," said Abby Wambach, world record holder for International goals scored and forward, United States Women's National Team. "We're all excited to see ourselves in the game, but even more excited to see the reaction from all of the fans, including the fans of our team that maybe wouldn't be expecting something like this from EA SPORTS."
FIFA 16 with Women's National Teams** will be available when the game launches on OriginTM on PC, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, Xbox 360® games and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems.
For more information about EA SPORTS FIFA 16 visit www.easports.com/fifa or join the EA SPORTS community at http://www.facebook.com/easportsfifa. Follow us on Twitter @easportsfifa and use the hashtags #INTHEGAME and #FIFA16. The game is not yet rated by the ESRB.
EA SPORTS is one of the leading sports entertainment brands in the world, with top-selling videogame franchises, award-winning interactive technology, fan programs and cross-platform digital experiences. EA SPORTS creates connected experiences that ignite the emotion of sports through industry-leading sports videogames, including Madden NFL football, EA SPORTS FIFA, NHL® hockey, NBA LIVE basketball, Rory McIlroy PGA TOUR® golf, SSXTM and EA SPORTS UFC®.
*Internet connection and Origin account required. Must be 13+ to create an account.
**Not all features available on all gaming platforms.###
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The Company delivers games, content and online services for Internet-connected consoles, personal computers, mobile phones and tablets. EA has more than 300 million registered players around the world.
In fiscal year 2015, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.5 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for a portfolio of critically acclaimed, high-quality blockbuster brands such as The SimsTM, Madden NFL, EA SPORTSTM FIFA, BattlefieldTM, Dragon AgeTM and Plants vs. ZombiesTM. More information about EA is available at www.ea.com/news.
EA SPORTS, Battlefield 4, Battlefield, The Sims, Dragon Age, Origin, SSX, and Plants vs. Zombies are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. and its subsidiaries. John Madden, NFL, NHL, NBA, Rory McIlroy, PGA TOUR and FIFA are the property of their respective owners and used with permission. "PlayStation" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.