2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Preview

This is what it's all about

As we take a left outside Fulham Broadway tube station and trot along the Kings Road towards Stamford Bridge - the home of the next Premier League champions - we overhear a group of lads discussing England's World Cup chances. "If Rooney plays like he did last night, we'll win it" insists one. "Nah. Spain will win it. They're too good," retorts his mate. We imagine similar conversations are happening up and down the country: excitement is building, and there is genuine hope for success.

It's this hope - however misguided - that EA hopes to tap into with its World Cup 2010 game. And there can be no doubt that millions will succumb, buoyed by football fever. But, hanging over World Cup's head like a storm cloud is a groundswell of cynicism from FIFA's more discerning fans. Why should I fork out yet another 50 quid on yet another FIFA game only seven months after the last one?

Line producer Simon Humber has the answer, and it comes in the form of a long list of gameplay improvements the team in Vancouver has implemented that they reckon eradicate all doubt: World Cup will be a better game than FIFA 10. No small feat - remember, FIFA 10 is, for many - including us - the best football game ever created.

Humber, a Brit whose relaxed, affable style makes for easy listening, begins his presentation by revealing the number of teams that will be included in the game: 199. Some of the more bookish football fans among you might know that there are 208 FIFA member nations. So, why aren't the other nine teams in the game? Well, four didn't enter, and five were thrown out for failing to organise their opening matches properly. Ouch.

Fans have been dramatically improved

There's a reason Humber begins with this John Motson-esque stat: the Cup games, as opposed to the main FIFA games, have always had fewer teams. This is perhaps fans' chief bugbear: why should I buy a new FIFA game with less teams than the last one? Quite. Well, that's just the way it is; this is the way of the FIFA-licensed world. But at least 199 nations are in there.

Humber then moves onto what he calls "visual authenticity". His slide shows a number of "star heads". Ashley Cole in FIFA 10 versus Ashley Cole in World Cup - the speedy left back's face looks more detailed, but the only thing that's changed is the lighting. "We went to our player and environment lighting," he says. "We took it apart, we worked out what was doing things well, what wasn't particularly functional, put it back together again and came out with this result." Every player in the game will be subject to this natural rise in quality through the new lighting techniques.