FIFA Soccer 12 Message Board

It's time for the 2nd leg of our Spanish SuperCup simulation! Last time we saw Real Madrid pull a 2-1 victory over Barcelona. Will 'Barca' make a comeback to win it all? Or will Madrid seal the deal?

Just in time for the Spanish SuperCup, we simulate the first leg of the "SuperCopa" between Real Madrid and Barcelona. Which of these two behemoths of European football is set to take the cup home?

Every four years, EA releases a soccer game based on the UEFA championship. EA renewed the license for the franchise long enough to make a 2012 version. However, there won't actually be a standalone UEFA release this year -- instead, EA is putting out UEFA Euro 2012 on April 24 as a DLC pack for FIFA 12. EA still refers to it as the "officially licensed videogame," but it's a downloadable expansion.

Why relegate the UEFA to expansion pack status? Mostly because FIFA 12 has been so popular, EA communications manager Steve Frost told Gamasutra. "We felt this was the best way to extend that experience and deliver fresh new content to our fans," he said. Releasing UEFA as DLC helps keep players engaged in FIFA longer.

"We expect that some fans who may not have FIFA 12 will want to play Euro 2012 and therefore purchase both," he said later in the interview, "but the bigger opportunity for us is to offer our loyal and passionate FIFA fans new content." Chances are, if you like soccer, you'd be interested in FIFA anyway, so this seems like a win-win.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has released its nominations for the 2012 Video Game Awards, which honors the top games from 2011 as chosen by the charity. The British stand-outs differ from our Yankee choices slightly, stressing the brilliance of Batman: Arkham City, which also made our Top 10 of 2011 list, but also including L.A. Noire, which hit our Best of the Rest, and FIFA 12, which... well. Just because we share a language doesn't automatically mean we share interests.

Check out the entire list below:

EA's increased success with FIFA 12's DLC revenue-driven FIFA Ultimate Team, coupled with our continuing coverage of consumer complaints over the "FIFA hack," stood out as an awkward juxtaposition during yesterday's EA third quarter financial call.

"The innovation that makes this franchise so unique is FIFA Ultimate Team," President of EA Labels Frank Gibeau said yesterday on a call with investors. "In just three months, FIFA Ultimate Team generated $39 million in microtransactions. That's 69 percent more than it generated in the same period last year."

Gibeau went on to say that because Ultimate Team is a microtransaction-based system, the company is able to generate a sizable number of big-spender consumer behaviors and it becomes a business that scales much more aggressively than other traditional DLC models.

Chief Financial Officer Eric Brown added, "To put some rough numbers on this, if we compare the total digital revenue from FIFA 11 Ultimate Team to what we expect from FIFA 12 Ultimate Team in this fiscal year, we're looking to see a 25 percent increase franchise to franchise. The overall package goods units sold is not increasing by 25 percent year over year, so we are expanding by a decent margin the microtransaction revenue per user of FIFA."

We continue to receive complaints nearly every day of non-FIFA players having their accounts hacked to purchase Ultimate Team DLC. EA previously responded to this by saying that "a small number" of gamers continue to report being impacted by fraudulent activity related to FIFA Ultimate Team on Xbox Live.

Additional reporting provided by Xav de Matos, Senior Editor for Shacknews. Following an increasing occurrence of Xbox Live account hack reports, we are growing concerned over Microsoft's Windows Live ID system, the only layer of protection between a hacker gaining access to a person's Xbox Live account and their information. In our research, the only consistency we saw across users who were hacked was the general inconsistency of what email and payment method was used on their account. Hotmail, Gmail and school emails were used for their Windows Live ID, while payment methods used were credit cards and PayPal. Other than a compromised Windows Live ID, there wasn't a common thread we could identify.

It's been several months since we started following the "FIFA hack," a rather blunt scam that saw Xbox Live accounts drained so thieves could purchase in-game FIFA 12 'Ultimate Team' cards for use and sale. We have been tracking the FIFA issue and following up on other tips that weren't necessarily rooted in the FIFA hack, but related in that users saw exploitation of payment methods tied to their account. A recent Shacknews editorial detailed accounts compromised by the FIFA exploit.

Over the last few months IGN's been visiting some of the UK's top football clubs and seeing just how good the pros are when it comes to FIFA 12. Bookmark this page and we'll continue to update it with every tournament after we film it...

Just like the thrill of collecting and swapping football cards on the playground, building an Ultimate Team is extremely addictive. Each team is personal, with the style of the owner naturally seeping through in their strategy, shape, and overall effectiveness. Below, we've put together a squad that...

EA's net performance during its second fiscal quarter, ended September 30, 2011, was either good or bad, depending on which net you're referring to. EA reported a net loss of $340 million, but scored a significant goal in shipping "nearly" 8 million copies of FIFA 12 -- half of the 16 million shipped in the game's lifetime. Overall sales of the footie franchise improved 25 percent year-over-year.

Madden NFL 12 was another standout performer during the quarter, shipping more than 3 million units. EA also pointed out continued strong performance of 2010's Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (with shipments at 11 million so far). In a follow-up investor call last night, EA predicted similar fortunes from this quarter's Battlefield 3 launch, with store shipments already hitting 10 million.

Though EA's bottom line certainly didn't improve for the quarter (net loss for Q2 2010 was $201 million), revenue was up overall to $715 million. The biggest increase was in net digital revenue -- the realm of add-ons and online passes -- which rose over 40 percent to $234 million compared to the same period last year.

EA's next Q3 will provide a crucial look at the company's future, as it'll divulge Battlefield 3 sales and an early performance indication for BioWare's big-huge investment in Star Wars: The Old Republic.

The arrival of a new PSP hardware bundle may seem ill-timed with the impending launch of the Vita, but Sony isn't about to stop catering to the gift-craving siblings, cousins and nephews of the world this holiday. And we don't know about you, but we don't have any nephews that are worth spending two hundred and fifty dollars on.

Instead, for $160 you can pick up the new PSP Entertainment Pack, which includes a PSP-3000, 2GB Memory Stick Pro DUO, a UMD copy of soccer smash FIFA 12 and a download voucher for Cars 2 (a racing game, we'd venture). The bundle should be available on November 15th.

If you're jumping into PlayStation Portable gaming now (and feel free to use the "nephew" excuse we fabricated above), you should keep an eye out for the Mega Man and Monster Hunter packs at Gamestop. That is, if you're willing to add UMD clutter to your life -- with an uncertain shot at backwards compatibility.

Despite the PlayStation Vita looming on the horizon, Sony has announced a new bundle for the PSP. The bundle comes alongside the announcement of Cars 2: The Video Game, which will be released for the PSP in November...

Remember when OnLive first debuted, and we were violently pulled from our provincial timescape and thrust into a future which, while notably devoid of flying cars and jetpacks, did have streaming video games? Well, hold onto your butts because the internet done did it again.

Streaming service Gaikai has always had a different business model than OnLive; instead of a direct-to-consumer platform, Gaikai wants to get you into a demo as effortlessly as possible. If you like what you play, the "Order Now" button is happy to connect you to a retailer. As a part of that mandate, Gaikai founder Dave Perry was "excited!" to announce that "Gaikai is the first ever to power 3D Games (FIFA 12) on YouTube." That would be the same YouTube that streams a bajillion videos of whatever to people every day.

If you follow this link and click on the "PLAY THE DEMO" banner above the video, you can see what all the fuss is about for yourself. When you're done, take a few minutes to remind yourself it's still 2011, and you weren't controlling the game with a bioport installed on your spine. The future is still a long ways out.

A team from Indonesia claims it has successfully jailbroken the PS3 with a new dongle it's calling "JB2." JB2 is supposedly based on the original jailbreak key produced by GeoHot and works on firmware version 3.55 consoles, but plays games up to the current version, 3.73, PS3Crunch reports (as of writing, the PS3Crunch website is down, whether from server overload or more purposeful action is unclear).

The dongle will play titles burned onto Blu-ray discs via HDD, including FIFA 12, Driver: San Francisco, God of War: Origins Collection, Pro Evolution Soccer 2012, X-Men Destiny and Sniper Ghost Warrior, PS3Crunch says. The dongle is now circulating in Indonesia and will be sold globally for roughly $45, reports say.

The above video supposedly shows the JB2 in action, booting up to a developer-build screen and expanded option set. Personally, finding and buying the JB2, getting BD-Rs and burning copies of new games seems like more work than we'd ever invest in an illegal, temporary piece of hardware. Maybe that's just us -- given, we're extremely smart, well-informed, good-looking and all-around cool people -- but again, that's just us.

EA has released a FIFA 12 console patch, which removes the goalkeeper exploit which has been imbalancing online encounters...

We've begun hearing reports that Xbox Live users are finding their accounts accessed without their permission, with the hackers using the ill-gotten accounts to purchase Premium Gold Pack DLC for FIFA 12, and other FIFA content. Ars Technica has gathered a few user reports, including one from a victim who found his or her account used to buy over $100 in Microsoft Points, which were then applied to the full game of FIFA 12 and DLC.

We contacted Microsoft to see if it's aware of this rash of hacks. The publisher sent Joystiq a statement saying "We do not have any evidence the Xbox LIVE service has been compromised," and indicating that these unauthorized logins have only occurred for "a limited number of members," with whom MS is working directly. The full statement is after the break.

EA has announced that a new update is coming to FIFA 12's console versions. In the latest FIFA 12 Podcast, senior community manager Romily Broad confirmed that a patch is coming within the next month...

As was foretold, FIFA 12 had the largest first-week sales of any sports game ever and of any video game in 2011 to date -- meaning, the window in which Gears of War 3 held that title was even smaller than expected. Electronic Arts estimates FIFA 12 sold 3.2 million units between September 27 and October 2.

EA also estimates that FIFA 12 sales are up approximately 23 percent over last year's record-breaking launch. Other stats from the publisher include FIFA 12 for iPhone and iPad selling 879,000 units, and October 1 being the busiest day for online gaming in EA Sports history. 10 million EA Sports game sessions were played, with eight million of those being FIFA 12.

If EA gets lucky, it'll double-dip some FIFA success within a year when FIFA Street launches in March.

EA has announced that FIFA Soccer 12 sold over three million copies in its first week...

Video games have a rich history of vaguely emulating sports while being subject to the limitations of the systems we play them on. Sports gamers are accustomed to repetitive animations, unnatural movement, and broken mechanics, all ripe for players to take competitive advantage of.

Somewhere along the lines, we lost the authenticity of sports in our video games. FIFA 12 does a magnificent job of depicting the sport of soccer in video game form, with all of its beautiful and natural imperfections.

Walking down the tunnel, FIFA 12 3DS should be more than confident about its chances. Compared to PES 2011 3D, its main opposition, it's positively bursting with features and gameplay modes. And for those who own the console version of FIFA 12, rest assured the 3DS title isn't a diluted version of t...

Last year FIFA consolidated its reputation as the pre-eminent football video game, but nothing wilts faster than laurels rested upon. That said, a pitfall awaiting such annual franchises is the pressure to innovate simply for the sake of it, to make this year's iteration substantially different from...

GameStop will host a huge FIFA tournament in partnership with EA and Virgin, the company announced today...

FIFA 12 features an all new Player Impact physics engine, and EA claims that it "processes decisions continuously in real-time at every point of contact on a player's body." YouTube user Kennybastards has found that the engine doesn't have a 100% success rate...

It's nice to know that Team Ninja isn't the only development house out there pioneering the field of bounce-physics. EA Sports, for instance, is more than happy to let FIFA 12 animator Kantcho Doskov and his surprisingly excellent football skills explain the simulator's fancy footwork.

With the Premier League in full swing and the nights already drawing in, it's time once again for FIFA to take over our collective gaming lives. IGN's experts have spent the last week playing FIFA 12 to death, testing out the new features and going in-depth with the career mode to know everything ab...

IGN recently caught up with David Rutter, the line producer of FIFA, and hit him with a very simple proposal give IGN's readers some tips to help them prepare for this year's game. What do they need to know? What has changed? He gave us some great info, so check it out! ON THE BALLDavid Rutter: ...

It's a hard life being a celeb. Not only do you get paid to do what you love, get given free stuff, and have people falling at your feet - now you get to play games before everyone else too...

This year's FIFA has a slew of improvements, but one of the biggest new additions is the EA Sports Football Club, an online mode designed to give supporters of teams all over the world a level playing field to show just which group of supporters is the most dedicated...

Your Madden-loving friends may not give your passion for FIFA the credit it's due the rest of the year, but at least today was a very good day to be a footie fan. For starters, EA announced at Gamescom that the strategic Ultimate Team mode would be included on FIFA 12's disc (a first for the series). Also, a demo for the soccer juggernaut will arrive on Sept. 13 (though the demo will not include Ultimate Team).

What's that? Still haven't gotten enough? How about the brand new trailer above? We think you'll get ... a kick out of it. You know ... like in soccer?