Phase 2 of the 2010 FIFA Interactive World Cup Online Competition kicks off today
05/01/2010 11:00 - Phase 2 of the 2010 FIFA Interactive World Cup Online Competition kicks off today, Over 400,000 football gamers have played in the online competition of FIWC 2010 20 places still up for grabs for the FIWC Grand Final in Barcelona on 1 May 2010
Geneva, Switzerland, 05 January 2010 - FIFA, the world’s governing body of football, Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: ERTS) and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced the official kick-off of the second phase of the 2010 FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC) online competition. This year’s FIWC season has been split into two phases to ensure that even more players have the opportunity to compete in the tournament. The first phase, which concluded on 18th December 2009, saw over 400,000 players from around the world compete online on EA SPORTS FIFA 10 on the PlayStation 3 (PS3), via PlayStation Network to secure the first 11 places at this year’s FIWC Grand Final, which will take place at Port Olympic in Barcelona on 1st May 2010.
The online leaderboard from the FIWC 2010 phase 1 has now been wiped clean, giving those players who weren’t able to participate or didn’t make it into the top ten another shot at claiming one of the remaining 11 online Grand Final spots*. To participate in the FIWC 2010 online, players can register directly inside the retail version of EA SPORTS FIFA 10 on PS3 from 5th January 2010 and start competing right away. Alternatively, live qualifier events for an additional nine Grand Final places will take place at:
| Host Country | Host City | Date |
| Australia | Sydney | 9th – 11th April |
| Brazil | Sao Paulo | 27th March |
| France | Paris | 12th-14th March |
| Italy | Milan | March |
| Japan | Tokyo | 21st March |
| Denmark | Copenhagen | 13th March |
| Poland | Warsaw | 6th February |
| Russia | Moscow | 6th-8th November |
| South Africa | Johannesburg | 6th March |
| UK | London | March |
Following the culmination of this year’s competition in Barcelona, the FIWC World Champion will be crowned officially at the FIFA World Player Gala 2010, a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet the real life football stars in person. For photographs of FIWC World Player 2009 Bruce Grannec’s experience at the FIFA World Player Gala on 21 December 2009, go to www.fifa.com/fiwc.
* For full FIWC 2010 tournament terms & conditions, please see www.fifa.com/fiwc
About Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE), based in London, is responsible for the distribution, marketing and sales of PLAYSTATION 3, PlayStation 2, PSP (PlayStation Portable) and PlayStation Network software and hardware in 99 territories across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Oceania. SCEE also develops, publishes, markets and distributes entertainment software for these formats, and manages the third party licensing programs for the formats in these territories. Since the launch of PLAYSTATION 3 in November 2006, over 16.8 million units have been sold globally and continue to be sold at a record level. Maintaining its position as one of the most successful consumer electronic products in history, PlayStation 2 has sold over 137.7 million systems worldwide. Since its launch at the end of 2004, over 44.5 million PSPs have been sold globally, highlighting the importance of the portable entertainment market. With the huge increase in interest and accessibility of network applications and network gaming, over 13 million people have registered to PlayStation Network, the free-to-access interactive environment, and over 236 million items have been downloaded. More information about PlayStation products can be found at http://www.playstation.com or visit the Virtual Press Office at http://www.scee.presscentre.com.
