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Champions League (video game)
Encyclopedia
The UEFA Champions League
video game license has been used by four different companies, with a surprising irregularity, given the competitions' fan-base and popularity. Debuted in 1996, the series has only had five games published so far, and after being in the hands of Krisalis Software
, Silicon Dreams
and EA Sports
, the license now lies in the hands of Konami
.
had a strong history of football video games in the past, and inclusively released European Club Soccer
, a game that simulated the old knockout format in 1992. With the official branding, Krisalis worked on a 3D engine, fitted with the Tacti-grid and gameplay in the line of their older games. It had all 16 teams present in the 1996/1997 Champions League with the actual groups, plus national teams. Only one title was produced, distributed by Philips Media.
, who also developed the World League Soccer series, Champions League had four titles, 98-99, Season 1999-2000,Season 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 released, aimed mostly at the PlayStation
, but PC releases existed for the games. It replaced the national teams with finalists of all competitions since 1960, also including scenarios (in 98-99, with fake settings, in 1999–2000, based on the previous finals, including the 1999 final last minutes). The first two games were published by Eidos Interactive
, whilst the last two were published by Take-Two Interactive
.
announced the licensing deal and further development of the game, which was published before the second round on the 2004–2005 competition started. It uses the same FIFA
engine, and was now the fourth licensed football title EA has in its catalog.
UEFA Champions League 2004-2005 was released in 2004 and had licenses to many leagues in Europe, stadiums including Stamford Bridge and Anfield and also licenses to the players for the clubs.
Andy Gray and Clive Tyldesley did the commentary for the game and the graphics and gameplay had been taken from FIFA 2005.
A career mode was made into the game where a player had to win the Champions League with various scenarios.
EA sports talk radio, which was incorporated into the career mode, included the voice of ex-footballer Tony Cascarino, with his former radio partner at TalkSPORT
, Patrick Kinghorn.
UEFA Champions League 2006-2007 was released by EA Sports on March 23, 2007. There are four versions of the game, one for the PS2, one for the PSP, one for the PC and one for the Xbox 360. The game modes differ among PS2, PSP and 360. The PSP, PS2 and PC versions were developed by HB Studios
while the Xbox 360 version was developed by EA Canada.
officially released the news that they had secured a four-year deal for the rights of the Champions League starting with Pro Evolution Soccer 2009
and ending with Pro Evolution Soccer 2013. The deal will allow Konami to use the details of the UEFA Champions League
in a separate game mode within the game, although not all teams in the competition have featured in the game so far.
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
video game license has been used by four different companies, with a surprising irregularity, given the competitions' fan-base and popularity. Debuted in 1996, the series has only had five games published so far, and after being in the hands of Krisalis Software
Krisalis Software
Krisalis Software Ltd. was a video game developer and publisher founded by Tony Kavanagh, Peter Harrap, and Shaun Hollingworth in 1987 under the name Teque Software...
, Silicon Dreams
Silicon Dreams Studios
Silicon Dreams Studios Ltd. was a British software house established in 1994 in Banbury, Oxfordshire, who specialized in sports games, distributed in most part by Eidos Interactive....
and EA Sports
EA Sports
EA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...
, the license now lies in the hands of Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
.
Krisalis (1996—1998)
KrisalisKrisalis Software
Krisalis Software Ltd. was a video game developer and publisher founded by Tony Kavanagh, Peter Harrap, and Shaun Hollingworth in 1987 under the name Teque Software...
had a strong history of football video games in the past, and inclusively released European Club Soccer
European Club Soccer
European Club Soccer is a 1992 soccer/football video game by Krisalis Software released for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and is mostly based on Manchester United Europe, released one year before for the Commodore Amiga, among other platforms...
, a game that simulated the old knockout format in 1992. With the official branding, Krisalis worked on a 3D engine, fitted with the Tacti-grid and gameplay in the line of their older games. It had all 16 teams present in the 1996/1997 Champions League with the actual groups, plus national teams. Only one title was produced, distributed by Philips Media.
Silicon Dreams (1998—2002)
With Silicon DreamsSilicon Dreams Studios
Silicon Dreams Studios Ltd. was a British software house established in 1994 in Banbury, Oxfordshire, who specialized in sports games, distributed in most part by Eidos Interactive....
, who also developed the World League Soccer series, Champions League had four titles, 98-99, Season 1999-2000,Season 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 released, aimed mostly at the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
, but PC releases existed for the games. It replaced the national teams with finalists of all competitions since 1960, also including scenarios (in 98-99, with fake settings, in 1999–2000, based on the previous finals, including the 1999 final last minutes). The first two games were published by Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
, whilst the last two were published by Take-Two Interactive
Take-Two Interactive
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a major American publisher, developer, and distributor of video games and video game peripherals. Take-Two wholly owns 2K Games and Rockstar Games. The company's headquarters are in New York City, with international headquarters in Windsor, United Kingdom...
.
EA Sports (2002—2008)
In November 2002, Electronic ArtsElectronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
announced the licensing deal and further development of the game, which was published before the second round on the 2004–2005 competition started. It uses the same FIFA
FIFA Series
FIFA, also known as FIFA Football or FIFA Soccer, is a series of association football video games, released annually by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label...
engine, and was now the fourth licensed football title EA has in its catalog.
UEFA Champions League 2004-2005 was released in 2004 and had licenses to many leagues in Europe, stadiums including Stamford Bridge and Anfield and also licenses to the players for the clubs.
Andy Gray and Clive Tyldesley did the commentary for the game and the graphics and gameplay had been taken from FIFA 2005.
A career mode was made into the game where a player had to win the Champions League with various scenarios.
EA sports talk radio, which was incorporated into the career mode, included the voice of ex-footballer Tony Cascarino, with his former radio partner at TalkSPORT
TalkSPORT
Talksport , owned by UTV radio, is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters, offering a sports and talk radio service broadcast from London to the United Kingdom....
, Patrick Kinghorn.
UEFA Champions League 2006-2007 was released by EA Sports on March 23, 2007. There are four versions of the game, one for the PS2, one for the PSP, one for the PC and one for the Xbox 360. The game modes differ among PS2, PSP and 360. The PSP, PS2 and PC versions were developed by HB Studios
HB Studios
HB Studios is a video game development company, founded in July 2000 by Jeremy Wellard, and located in Nova Scotia, Canada.-History:HB's headquarters are located in the small town of Lunenburg on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. The company started with nine developers working on Cricket 2002 for...
while the Xbox 360 version was developed by EA Canada.
Konami (2008—2012)
On November 9, 2008, KonamiKonami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
officially released the news that they had secured a four-year deal for the rights of the Champions League starting with Pro Evolution Soccer 2009
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 is a football video game in the Pro Evolution Soccer series, which was made by Konami...
and ending with Pro Evolution Soccer 2013. The deal will allow Konami to use the details of the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
in a separate game mode within the game, although not all teams in the competition have featured in the game so far.