Fifa 09

FIFA 09 is the latest installment of Electronic Arts' FIFA Series of football video games. Developed by EA Canada, it is published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label. It was released on 14 October 2008 in North America, 2 October 2008 in Australia and 3 October in Europe.

The demo was released on 10 September for PC and on 11 September for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The only difference between the PS3 and Xbox 360 demos is the stadium, PS3 features the FIWC Stadium while the Xbox 360 version features the new Wembley Stadium.

There are different covers for the regional versions of FIFA 09. All covers features Ronaldinho with different players for each region: North America version features Guillermo Ochoa and Maurice Edu, German cover features Kevin Kurányi, Italian cover features Daniele De Rossi, Irish cover features Richard Dunne, French cover features Franck Ribéry, and Karim Benzema, Hungarian cover features Balázs Dzsudzsák, Portuguese cover features Ricardo Quaresma, Spanish cover features Gonzalo Higuaín, Swiss cover features Tranquillo Barnetta and UK and Australian covers feature Wayne Rooney. After the North America cover had already been revealed, Maurice Edu signed for Scottish team Rangers F.C. and this caused the cover to be altered to feature Maurice in a US National Team shirt and Ronaldinho is changed to wearing his Milan shirt, so that a club shirt was featured.

Improvements

It has been stated in an interview with David Rutter that there are over 250 improvements on the game. Among the improvements in the new FIFA are improved responsiveness that allows for quicker release of the ball, greater urgency in the off-the-ball running, a new jostle system that takes into account the strength of the players when going shoulder to shoulder and subtle animations that enable players to take first-time shots.

Another of the edition's biggest changes is a completely revamped collision system, which calculates speed, weight and power when the players collide, as each player will have their own individual strength and power statistics depending on their body characteristics.

New goalkeeper technology has also been added which allows for better positioning, better reactions to saves and faster recovery after a save has been made.

A further improvement from FIFA 08 is the weather and time. Rain and snow can be switched on and off before games, which affects whether players wear gloves. Games can be played at either day, dusk or night, with the game eventually turning to night during games beginning at dusk, adding to the realistic feel of evening matches.

If a player is substituted during half time, the replacement player is seen warming up and running on to the pitch. However if a substitution is made during play, the players are seen approaching each other. The score of the game has an effect on this, if a player has scored then he waves to the fans and claps before being substituted, however some players react badly to being substituted for example, if they are having a good or disappointing game, or if they are a key player in the squad. Captains have more of an effect in the team. Choosing a squad member who has good captain qualities for example from the players stats under leadership will help the balance of the team.

FIFA 09 includes a '10 vs. 10' Be a Pro online game and the offline Be a Pro Mode has been extended to run for 4 seasons. It also features user-controlled player celebrations, like in UEFA Euro 2008, in the PS3 and XBox 360 versions of the game.

Adidas Live Season

On 20 August, EA unveiled the new Adidas Live Season feature that will dynamically update player form and attributes each week in-game based on the player's last game to reflect real-world ups and downs. Live Season is a premium service that will be available on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC and covers six leagues - Barclay’s Premier League, La Liga BBVA, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Serie A and Mexican Primera Division. Gamers have access to one league of their choice as a free trial that runs from the moment they activate the service to the end of the 2008-2009 season, while purchasing extra leagues will cost £4.99 each, or all six leagues can be purchased for £12.99

Leagues & Teams

There are over 500 teams and 30 Leagues in the game, as well as around 40 national teams, the same number as in FIFA 08

• A-League
  
• Austrian Bundesliga
  
• Belgium Pro League
  
• Liga do Brasil
  
• Česká Liga
  
• SAS Ligaen
  
• Barclays Premier League
  
• Football League Championship
  
• Football League One
  
• Football League Two
  
• Ligue 1
  
• Ligue 2
  
• Bundesliga
  
• 2. Bundesliga
  
• FAI Eircom League
  
• Serie A
  
• Serie B
  
• K-League
  
• Primera División
  
• Eredivisie
  
• Tippeligaen
  
• Polska Liga
  
• Liga Portuguesa
  
• SPL
  
• La Liga
  
• Liga Adelante
  
• Allsvenskan
  
• Axpo Super League
  
• Turkcell Süper Lig
  
• Major League Soccer

Rest of World

• AEK Athens
  
• Boca Juniors
  
• Corinthians
  
• FC Lausanne
  
• FC St.Gallen
  
• Fortaleza
  
• Juventude
  
• Kaizer Chiefs
  
• Olympiacos CFP
  
• Orlando Pirates
  
• Panathinaikos
  
• PAOK
  
• Paraná
  
• Ponte Preta
  
• River Plate
  
• São Caetano
  
• Servette FC
  
• Zagłębie Lubin
  
• Classic XI
  
• World XI
  

National Teams

• Argentina
  
• Australia
  
• Austria
  
• Belgium
  
• Brazil
  
• Bulgaria
  
• Cameroon
  
• China PR
  
• Croatia
  
• Czech Republic
  
• Denmark
  
• Ecuador
  
• England
  
• Finland
  
• France
  
• Germany
  
• Greece
  
• Hungary
  
• Italy
  
• Korea Republic
  
• Mexico
  
• Netherlands
  
• New Zealand
  
• Northern Ireland
  
• Norway
  
• Paraguay
  
• Poland
  
• Portugal
  
• Republic of Ireland
  
• Romania
  
• Russia
  
• Scotland
  
• Slovenia
  
• South Africa
  
• Spain
  
• Sweden
  
• Switzerland
  
• Turkey
  
• Ukraine
  
• United States
  
• Uruguay

Stadiums

Here is a complete list of the stadiums featured in FIFA 09 on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. There are also designated stadiums for clubs in England, Scotland and Australia.

England

• Anfield (Liverpool F.C.)
  
• Emirates Stadium (Arsenal F.C.)
  
• St. James' Park (Newcastle United F.C.)
  
• Old Trafford (Manchester United F.C.)
  
• Stamford Bridge (Chelsea F.C.)
  
• Wembley Stadium
  

France

• Parc des Princes (PSG)
  
• Stade Gerland (Olympique Lyonnais)
  
• Stade Velodrome (Olympique de Marseille)
  

Italy

• Stadio delle Alpi (Juventus F.C., Torino F.C.)1
  
• Stadio Olimpico (A.S. Roma, S.S. Lazio)
  
• Stadio San Siro (A.C. Milan, Inter Milan)
  

Germany

• Allianz Arena (Bayern München, 1860 München)
  
• Signal Iduna Park (Borussia Dortmund)
  
• HSH Nordbank Arena (Hamburger SV)
  
• Olympiastadion (Hertha BSC)
  
• BayArena (Leverkusen)
  
• Veltins Arena (Schalke 04)
  

Spain

• Estadio Mestalla (Valencia C.F.)
  
• Estadio Vicente Calderón (Atlético Madrid)
  
• Camp Nou (FC Barcelona)
  

Mexico

• Estadio Azteca (Club América)
  

Wales

• Millennium Stadium
  

Generic Stadiums

• Aloha Park
  
• Closed Square Style
  
• Crown Lane
  
• Div1 Euro Style
  
• Div2 Euro Style
  
• Div3 Euro Style
  
• Div1 UK Style
  
• Div2 UK Style
  
• Div3 UK Style
  
• El Bombastico
  
• El Medio
  
• El Reducto
  
• Estadio de las Artes
  
• Estadio del Pueblo
  
• Estadio Latino
  
• Euro Arena
  
• Euro Park
  
• FIWC Stadium
  
• Football Ground
  
• Fussball Stadion
  
• Generic Modern
  
• Ivy Lane
  
• Modern Euro
  
• Modern South America
  
• O Dromo
  
• Olimpico Generitico
  
• Open Square Style
  
• Oval Style
  
• Square Ground
  
• Stade Kokoto
  
• Stade Municipal
  
• Stadio Classico
  
• Stadion 23. Maj
  
• Stadion Europa
  
• Stadion Hanguk
  
• Stadion Neder
  
• Stadion Olympik
  
• Town Park

Platform Information

• Wii version
  The Wii version of the game is titled FIFA 09 All-Play and was launched under EA Sports' new All-Play brand exclusive to the platform. Even though it features has the normal 11 vs 11 football match like the other consoles, a new exclusive feature was introduced, called 'Footii Match', which is a 8 vs 8 football match. The object of this feature is to beat certain teams from around the world and unlock their 'superstar team captain'. For the first time FIFA '09 on this platform features 'Manager Mode' as found on the game on other platforms.
  
  
• DS and PSP
  The PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS versions will include a Be a Pro mode for the first time.
  
  
• PS3 Version
  The PS3 exclusive game mode is a built-in FIFA Interactive World Cup. This will enable gamers to track their progress & play games through the game rather than relying on the website. FIFA 09 for the PS3 also supports rumble with the DualShock 3.
  
  
• PC and PS2
  The Computer and PlayStation 2 versions features a special Tournament Mode, where there are be a total of 61 tournaments, including 42 officially licensed ones and the player can create their own tournaments.