Last week we had a chance to sit down and talk with David Rutter, one of the producers on EA's FIFA Soccer 09; which will be released into retails stores in the US next week (already out in Europe). It is obvious that the team is very passionate about the soccer title and is looking to impress old FIFA fans as well as bring in a few new ones. EA Sports also sent over a few brand new exclusive screenshots of the game, you can check them out by clicking
here. Stay tuned for our full review of FIFA Soccer 09 real soon, until then grab a drink and read on; thanks to David and all the guys at EA Sports for hooking us up with the game access.
PX360: Tell us a bit about your position and your history with the FIFA franchise?
My name is David Rutter and I was appointed Line Producer of the EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer 09 franchise on Xbox 360 and PS3 in October 2008. I’m responsible for the strategic and creative direction of the game working out of the largest EA studio at EA Canada in Burnaby, BC. The FIFA team is comprised of individuals from 18 different countries, who speak 20 different languages, all united by a passion for football. Every day I am overwhelmed with the passion of the people who make the game. A day doesn’t go past where someone doesn’t do something that amazes me and everyone else.
I’ve worked on 15 videogame titles during my career – of which only 2 were non football simulations (Lego Football Mania and Lego Island: Extreme Stunts). Before joining EA I worked for Beautiful Games Studio where I was responsible for the development of Championship Manager, a football management title popular throughout Europe. I’m a life-long football fan who supports Leicester and more recently, Hitchin Town.
PX360: Soccer is slowly gaining popularity in America, what are you doing (features, etc.) with FIFA 09 to help bring in more gamers to the sport?
For me the important thing is that online gaming is massive in North America and with FIFA leading the way for EA SPORTS it should attract more players to the sport. New players will want to experience this because 10 vs 10 in a sports game has never been done before. A newcomer will probably get a bit of a battering from some young upstart in Europe who knows the game and sport inside out. With 10v10 you can team up with your friends and share the humiliation or the success. Basically it gives you some hands to hold in the online space, and it’s a great deal of fun, even if you don’t take it too seriously.
PX360: There were some inaccuracies with the skill level of both AI players and the skill of famously sub-par teams in previous FIFA games, will these be fixed in 09 and what can you tell us about it?
We have a global network of football scouts who work with us every year to make sure the FIFA franchise includes the most accurate player and team data. Our data base of player attributes are updated regularly to reflect the real world and this year we are introducing a new premium service called adidas Live Season. For first time ever you will receive real-world form for football players that have played that weekend through adidas Live Season. Our player evaluations will be downloaded weekly into your game to reflect the real world. Every week our scouts around the world will take that form, pass it on to our data collection experts and put it into your game so the abilities and attributes of the players in FIFA 09 will be affected.
We are supporting the English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Mexican top divisions this year. You’ll be given a code entitling you to one of those leagues with your game and if you want additional leagues you will be able to purchase them. Once you download the information you’ll be able to see the rankings of players in different positions rise or fall, look at the top teams of the week and look at the improved or decreased attributes of players within a number of different game modes – quick match, online ranked and interactive leagues. We have a world wide network of football experts-- both amateur and professional --who provide us with the information of how players performed that weekend which we will make available on a weekly basis. The only data that changes on a weekly basis is the form of a player. No other data will be changed weekly; we will however be making adjustments to the data with the ‘Day 1’ update and the winter update where necessary based on player performances. On a weekly basis, players will be assigned a “player form” rating, which can be one of five ratings: bad, poor, neutral (no change), good, and excellent. For the four non-neutral form settings, we update a variety of that player’s attributes based on what position the player plays and what form setting they were assigned. Form is relative to how players are rated in our player database.
