Game Talk: EA SPORTS UEFA EURO 2012

Producer Sebastian Enrique outlines what to expect from the EA SPORTS FIFA 12 game add-on.

Lead your country to European glory in EA SPORTS UEFA EURO 2012 on PlayStation 3, the game add-on for EA SPORTS FIFA 12 that is now available to download from PlayStation Store. Celebrating the real-life tournament which kicks off on 8 June 2012, the pack contains all of the teams and stadiums from the upcoming festival of football.

Here, EA SPORTS producer Sebastian Enrique talks us through the new features, and reveals how the multinational team at the developer's home in Vancouver will be following the action from Poland and Ukraine.

What's new for EA SPORTS FIFA 12 fans?

With EA SPORTS FIFA 12 we had a game that people really embraced, so rather than starting over we've decided to add to it via PlayStation Store. There's already a universe of people playing EA SPORTS FIFA 12, so it made perfect sense to add another layer to what is still popular and available.

Authentic national team kits and stadiums are included, and there are new features as well. Challenges mode lets you earn experience points to boost your EA SPORTS Football Club profile. Twice a week throughout the UEFA EURO 2012 tournament we'll be injecting real-life scenarios into the game as they occur. So, say France are playing Sweden and they go a man down, you'll then have the chance to win the match with only ten men in replayable challenges.

What can you tell us about Expedition mode?

It's a little like the Career mode in EA SPORTS FIFA 12. You start with your own team captain – someone like Steven Gerrard or Iker Casillas, perhaps – and then you build a team around him using randomly selected players. You'll customise kits and colours and so on, come up with a name to use, and then try to improve your team by winning matches.

You'll have players from all over Europe to begin with, of a fairly low level. You'll take them on an expedition through Europe, playing all comers and eventually unlocking more countries to pick players from. You'll play each country three times to unlock that region, and we think it's a nice way to keep the feeling of European competition while giving it a new slant.

How have you captured the atmosphere of UEFA EURO 2012?

We've captured the broadcast look and feel – that big match presentation. There's a new camera which provides a broadcast angle that's much closer to the action on the pitch. Plus you'll see a special flourish before each knockout game to add to the spectacle.

We love working on the games that celebrate big football tournaments. We can really focus on the coming together of nations and their star players. With the colour, noise and broadcast touches I really think this replicates what you'll be watching on TV. 

Are the team at the Vancouver campus going to be closely following the tournament?

Absolutely. The studio will be completely taken over. It's an international group which means everyone will have a team to follow. A lot of the matches are scheduled to take place at what will be lunchtime in Vancouver, so productivity may be a little slow then...

There'll be special events, we'll be staging our own tournaments, people will wear their favourite kits into work and those national rivalries will start to emerge. We've got a couple of huge cinema screens so we'll show the most popular matches on those.

Who's going to win the championship?

Common sense says Spain, but I think Germany could run away with it.

Find out if Sebastian is right by putting the German team through their paces in EA SPORTS UEFA EURO 2012. Download it to your PS3 from PlayStation Store today.

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