The official box art for FIFA Street 3 has been revealed - it features football superstars Ronaldinho, Peter Crouch and Gennaro Gattuso all posing for the camera.

The stylized versions of these players have been used on the cover to signify the game’s distinct playing styles - Tricksters, Playmakers, Finishers and Enforcers - according to EA.

“FIFA Street 3 is about turning football icons into eye-popping characters through the game’s stylized art direction for an over-the-top arcade soccer experience,” said producer Joe Nickolls. “Ronaldinho, Crouch and Gattuso represent three of the different types of players available in our game and we were able to exaggerate their qualities to really create larger-than-life characters.”

The game is due out on PS3, Xbox 360 and DS on February 15, 2008 in Europe and in North America on February 18.

FIFA, EA and SCEE have announced the new season of the FIFA Interactive World Cup, the world’s only officially FIFA sanctioned global football gaming competition. Participants across the world will compete using FIFA 08 on the PS3.

The tournament will kick off early in October 27 and will culminate in the Grand Final in Berlin’s Sony Centre in May 2008. This year, players will be able to compete at one of more than 20 physical FIWC 08 Qualifier Events across the globe or online via the PlayStation Network in over 25 countries. Finalists will compete to be crowned the ultimate champion and win a cash prize of USD 20,000.

Interested players can find more details and register on the tournament’s official website.

EA has unveiled the next-gen version of FIFA 07, which is now exclusive to the Xbox 360 for a year. The next-gen version will use a dynamic new engine that has been in development for two years and is driven by physics and data. It will offer individuality of player movement, authentic athletic motion and an “unprecedented” level of responsiveness.

The new engine creates a decision-making layer in FIFA 07 that gives each individual player a ‘football brain’ - a level of intelligence never before seen in a videogame. Player characteristics are now based on brand-new traits and twice the number of attributes, so no two players move in exactly the same way. Instead, they behave like the individual athletes we see gracing the pitch week-in, week-out.

FIFA 07 allows players to recognize their favorite athletes by the way they move. The human biomechanics of each athlete are taken into account and replicated in the game because the new engine is data-driven — the player motion is driven by individual attributes, physical characteristics and for the first time, traits.

FIFA 07 also introduces new ball physics, a central component to the feel and finesse of a football game. For the first time, the ball is alive with its own independent physics, resulting in truly unpredictable gameplay. Now any type of pass or shot is possible and goals will feel natural and unique.

Bringing the football experience beyond the videogame to truly deliver a complete media package for football fans is the online component to FIFA 07 which streams up-to-the-minute match results via real-time podcasts and news ticker. Nowhere else will football fans find such a comprehensive destination for football stats, information and real-world news.

With this new engine and licenses from the top leagues around the world, FIFA 07 on the Xbox 360 will create the most refined football gameplay experience to date.

FIFA 07 will hit stores this Fall on the Xbox 360. It will also be released on a multitude of current-gen platforms as well.

Roping in all the football stars out there, EA announced that they have gotten the rights to “match-winning line-up” of players who will take to the field in FIFA 07. Out across Europe on September 29, the game will feature Ronaldinho of Barcelona, as well as Landon Donovan, Francisco Fonseca, Lukas Podolski, Juninho Pernambucano, among many others.

The publisher also revealed that it has secured exclusive rights to the F.A. Premier League for an additional four years up to and including the 2010/11 season. This deal allows EA Sports sole rights to include every Premier League club along with player likenesses in the game.

Following the much talked-about final match between France and Italy in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, EA has announced FIFA 07, the latest in its annual series of football games.

Set for release on September 29 across every-freaking-platform, the game will cover the world’s top leagues, including MLS and Mexican 1st Division in North America, and 26 others from over 20 nations. This year will see players given the power to shape their favorite club’s destiny in Interactive Leagues, a new online mode that lets players pit their clubs against supporters of other clubs. It will feature the FA Premier League, Bundesliga, French League and Mexican 1st Division. Here’s more:

This year, new intelligent A.I. ensures that your 11 men on the pitch make realistic decisions finding space and passing like professionals. A complete overhaul of the game engine now means that you have to employ real world tactics, make split-second decisions and think like a player in order to win matches. Watch as your players jostle and collide realistically while trying to win balls. Experience the realism of the world’s superstars who come to life with signature moves and authentic playing styles and a more sophisticated shooting mechanic that gives you greater control to produce finesse shots, for pin-point accuracy, or powerful laces shots. Plus you have the ability to apply topspin or backspin to the ball for more creative set-pieces.

Take on the updated and improved challenge of the Manager Mode. Player values and wages have been tuned to be even more realistic. Managerial decisions have even more tangible effects on player performance and welfare. Smarter CPU decisions mean rival managers are even more strategic in their own pursuit of silverware. Experience the emotional highs & lows of your club 24hrs a day, seven days a week with new connectivity between a PlayStation®2 and a PSP® (PlayStation® Portable) system that enables you to begin your managerial career on either console and continue your campaign anywhere.

In development at EA Canada in Vancouver, B.C., FIFA 07 will be released for PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, DS, GBA, PSP, PC and mobile. Next-gen versions haven’t been announced yet.

Below are screenshots from the PS2 version of the game. Further details after the jump.

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And to think my country didn’t even qualify for the event…

DHAKA (Reuters) - A Bangladesh university has postponed exams until after the World Cup finals after hundreds of students lay siege to the vice-chancellor’s office.

“The classes will remain suspended until July 14,” an official at the university in the capital said Monday.

This shows you how passionate we are about things we can’t even qualify for.

For the frugal gamers out there who’ve been holding out on Xbox 360 games can now get them for cheaper. Initially, third-party games for the console launched at an exorbitant price of $60, but now, some games will see price reductions to a reasonable $40. These games include:

• Burnout Revenge
  
• FIFA Soccer 06: Road to FIFA World Cup
  
• Madden NFL 06
  
• NBA Live 06
  
• The Outfit
  
• Peter Jackson’s King Kong
  
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06

Seeing as how lackluster the sales of Xbox 360 has been in Japan, Microsoft, in collaboration with FIFA, EA and Adidas, has announced the release of a limited edition Xbox 360 bundle in the region to coincide with the launch of the FIFA 2006 game in Japan.

The limited edition bundle will feature the regular console package along with a Adidas Japan blue faceplate featuring the colors of the Japanese football team, an Adidas Japan blue bandana and a copy of the footie game.

April 27 is the day for Japanese football fans to look forward to the bundle, which, according to various reports, will see a limited run of 10,000 units; it will also be open-priced, giving retailers the chance to price the package accordingly.

Coming up in June is the 2006 FIFA World Cup event in Germany, and in anticipation, EA announced today that it will release 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany for all platforms including Xbox 360 this April.

The 2006 edition of the game will feature 12 official stadiums; 100 of the world’s superstars, capturing their playing styles and individual likenesses; 127 national teams, and more. 2006 will also see the introduction of new modes of play, including the Global Challenge that will recreate classic moments in FIFA World Cup history. Additionally, the game now supports up to eight-way multiplayer matches.

In development at EA Canada, 2006 FIFA World Cup will be hitting PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360, Gamecube, DS, GBA, PSP, PC and mobile platforms this April.

EA has announced that FIFA Street 2 has officially gone gold for the PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, PSP and DS. It will ship to stores on February 28.

The second in the series, FIFA Street 2 builds upon the arcade style of the original, offering a larger selection of tricks, including in-game juggling and a new way to win with “Gamebreaker”. A new Trick-Stick control has also been implemented, along with all-new signature moves and 10 new venues.

Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United is the new face and spokesperson for the game and his image will be on the packaging on all platforms worldwide. Ronaldo has been nominated for FIFA World Player of the Year in 2004; he will make his World Cup debut for the Portugese national side this coming June.