Since the grand reveal of the all new EA SPORTS Football Club at E3 details have been a tad scarce on FIFA 12’s newest addition, so we set about changing that with an exclusive FSB interview. A few weeks ago we managed to grab some time with the EA Football Live team out in Canada and they kindly obliged to answer some of our questions. There were a few questions which they sadly couldn’t answer, but I’ve left those in as the replies give a hint at what we can expect further down the line.
[FSB] How does the tracking of EASFC stats between friends work, which features/statistics will actually be compared?
We’ll be revealing more information on the functionality and features of the Leaderboards as we approach launch.
[FSB] It’s been mentioned that “real world storylines” will drive EASFC, how does this differ to the Scenario mode seen in FIFA World Cup 2010?
Challenges will be similar to the Scenario Mode in FIFA World Cup 2010 in that they follow real-world storylines, but as EA SPORTS Football Club will run season-long and cover the entire world of football, there will be a greater volume of challenges and timely storylines delivered by a dedicated EAS Live Team working within our FIFA dev organization.
[FSB] How frequently will real world story challenges be updated?
We haven’t set the exact number of challenges that will be injected into the game at launch, but will be able to speak about this closer to launch. Our plan is to have challenges based on key matches in a season available hours after matches finish, so ‘Manchester United just beat Chelsea to all-but guarantee the Premier League title….can you help Chelsea avenge this defeat?’
[FSB] Will you receive notifications when friends beat your scores in EASFC challenges?
Performances are recorded and uploaded to Friends and Global Leaderboards on easportsfootball.com for you and your friends to check. You can also share results and your progress on sites like Facebook.
[FSB] Will EASFC track and compare the stats of all the game modes in FIFA 12 or is it an individual mode of its own?
It’s not an individual mode. It’s a live service that will track your progress at all times whether you’re online or playing against the CPU.
[FSB] Is there any social media integration with Facebook and or Twitter?
Yes, you’ll be able to share your progress and achievements on social networking channels.
[FSB] How will EASFC make the FIFA experience “persistent”?
In a few different ways:
- EA SPORTS Football Club will be a connected service that continues on into future FIFA titles. Our vision for the future is that whenever you play, and whatever you play on, you’ll be earning rewards and achievements that fuel your one single identity …across platforms and through the years.
- It will also be persistent through its existence across our website easportsfootball.com and multiple platforms – Xbox 360, PS3 and PC for FIFA 12, with a vision to connect all the FIFA experiences our fans enjoy on all platforms.
- Your performance will be tracked both online and offline.
[FSB] Will you have the ability to change your favourite club once selected?
We’re not revealing the deeper feature set on Support Your Club until we get a bit closer to launch.
[FSB] What happens to EASFC once the football season is over? Will challenges and club battles continue?
We haven’t finalised our plans for EASFC out-of-season yet. But the football calendar runs pretty much 12 months a year and there’s always activities and challenges being generated by the real world of the sport.
[FSB] Will EASFC allow you to send challenges to friends the same way Autolog does in NFS: Hot Pursuit?
That’s a good question for later this year. We will be revealing lots more information on Challenges as we get closer to launch.
Huge thanks to the EA Football Live Team for taking the time to answer our questions and also to European FIFA Community Manager, Alistair Reid who helped out massively.
