European Football Championship video games
Encyclopedia
Not unlike other sports events, the UEFA European Football Championship
has its own video games licensed from European football's governing body, UEFA
. Four games have been released so far, with the first game released in 1996.
Originally held by Gremlin Interactive
, like many other licenses it's now held by Electronic Arts
in their EA Sports
label.
was the first game to replicate the European Football Championship, and using all the hype behind the Football is coming home campaigns, the Sheffield
company modified some parts in their Actua Soccer
title, including the 16 teams present in the final stage with accurate rosters and stadiums, as well as Euro 96 mode, Exhibition Match, Practice Penalties, and Practice game.
It was sold for both Windows, DOS
, and the Sega Saturn
, which had a well-known bug where crowd blocks flickered or disappeared.
, a major hit two years before. Euro 2000 uses a modified version of the FIFA 2000 engine,
One of the major flaws credited to the game was the lack of the official groups: while it had all teams and allowed to play in the qualifying stages, there wasn't a predefined setting to choose one of the teams present in the final competition, and skip the qualifying stage (except the organizing teams, Belgium and the Netherlands). The same flaw (plus uneditable players) was pointed in the classic mode, which provided the semi-finals but playing the actual final relied only on luck. Those bugs made the game to be so short-lived, and forced the gamers around to world to wait for FIFA 2001 to came out. It was better than its UEFA counterpart, but, also, it wasn't perfect. Also, the gameplay was almost the same as in FIFA 2000, but no one complained about that, because it was good at that time. The graphics were decent, and were 3D, an important feature for a game at that time.
Paul Oakenfold
provided the soundtrack, with the songs:
, PlayStation 2
and Xbox
on May 7, 2004. There was also going to be a version for Nintendo GameCube
but it was canceled.
Player can choose from 51 national teams and it includes more game modes then UEFA Euro 2000, such as a fantasy mode, where two teams composed by hand-picked players square-off with each other, leagues and a knock-out "home and away" friendly match and a penalty shoot-out mode, as well as Euro 2004 qualifying, and Euro 2004 itself.
, PlayStation Portable
, Xbox 360
, and PC on April 17, 2008. It featured all 53 teams of Europe.
UEFA European Football Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
has its own video games licensed from European football's governing body, UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
. Four games have been released so far, with the first game released in 1996.
Originally held by Gremlin Interactive
Gremlin Interactive
Gremlin Interactive was a British software house based in Sheffield and working mostly in the home computer market.- History :...
, like many other licenses it's now held by Electronic Arts
Electronic 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...
in their 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...
label.
UEFA Euro 1996
Euro'96, by Gremlin InteractiveGremlin Interactive
Gremlin Interactive was a British software house based in Sheffield and working mostly in the home computer market.- History :...
was the first game to replicate the European Football Championship, and using all the hype behind the Football is coming home campaigns, the Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
company modified some parts in their Actua Soccer
Actua Soccer
Actua Soccer is a football video game series that was developed by Gremlin Interactive as part of their Actua Sports series, and was the first football game to use full 3D graphics...
title, including the 16 teams present in the final stage with accurate rosters and stadiums, as well as Euro 96 mode, Exhibition Match, Practice Penalties, and Practice game.
It was sold for both Windows, DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
, and the Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
, which had a well-known bug where crowd blocks flickered or disappeared.
UEFA Euro 2000
After EA purchased the license, it was expected the game would be as good as World Cup 98World Cup 98 (video game)
World Cup 98 was the first official FIFA World Cup game developed by EA Sports after obtaining the rights from FIFA in 1997. Unlike the previous World Cup games, which were in 2D and showed a bird's-eye view, World Cup 98 was the first in the franchise to use a 3D engine, utilising DirectX for the...
, a major hit two years before. Euro 2000 uses a modified version of the FIFA 2000 engine,
One of the major flaws credited to the game was the lack of the official groups: while it had all teams and allowed to play in the qualifying stages, there wasn't a predefined setting to choose one of the teams present in the final competition, and skip the qualifying stage (except the organizing teams, Belgium and the Netherlands). The same flaw (plus uneditable players) was pointed in the classic mode, which provided the semi-finals but playing the actual final relied only on luck. Those bugs made the game to be so short-lived, and forced the gamers around to world to wait for FIFA 2001 to came out. It was better than its UEFA counterpart, but, also, it wasn't perfect. Also, the gameplay was almost the same as in FIFA 2000, but no one complained about that, because it was good at that time. The graphics were decent, and were 3D, an important feature for a game at that time.
Paul Oakenfold
Paul Oakenfold
Paul Mark Oakenfold is a British record producer and a trance DJ.-Early Career: 1979–84:Paul Oakenfold's career was set to be a chef, after having hopes of becoming part of a band. He describes his early life as a "bedroom deejay" in a podcasted interview with Vancouver's 24 Hours, stating he grew...
provided the soundtrack, with the songs:
- The Hub
- Headcharge
- Tribe
- Hand of God
- Bunker
- Formula
UEFA Euro 2004
The game was released on PCPersonal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
on May 7, 2004. There was also going to be a version for Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
but it was canceled.
Player can choose from 51 national teams and it includes more game modes then UEFA Euro 2000, such as a fantasy mode, where two teams composed by hand-picked players square-off with each other, leagues and a knock-out "home and away" friendly match and a penalty shoot-out mode, as well as Euro 2004 qualifying, and Euro 2004 itself.
UEFA Euro 2008
The game was released for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
, Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, and PC on April 17, 2008. It featured all 53 teams of Europe.
See also
- FIFA (video game series)
- Actua SoccerActua SoccerActua Soccer is a football video game series that was developed by Gremlin Interactive as part of their Actua Sports series, and was the first football game to use full 3D graphics...