Dec 19, 2007 08:07

Ronaldinho, Crouch, and Gattuso Named Cover Stars for FIFA Street 3

Trio Will Appear as Stylized Action Heroes Performing Over-the-Top Trick Moves

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- Dec. 19, 2007 Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) announced today that international soccer superstars Ronaldinho, Peter Crouch, and Gennaro Gattuso will be featured world wide on the front packs of FIFA Street 3, the newest iteration of the EA SPORTS BIG(TM) street soccer arcade series.

FIFA Street 3 brings these players, and others like them, to life as stylized action heroes in a hyper-real world that merges the game's biggest stars with environments that pulsate to the music in exotic locations around the world. Ronaldinho, Crouch and Gattuso represent three of the different types of specialist players created in game, where gamers can choose to play with Tricksters, Playmakers, Finishers and Enforcers for different options on the ball and a different gameplay experience. Gamers get the chance to combine these different types of specialist players and associated skills to create the ultimate street soccer team.

"FIFA Street 3 is about turning soccer 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."

Ronaldinho, the cover athlete on the original FIFA Street, is a global megastar and the Brazilian International and FC Barcelona midfielder's list of accomplishments includes a FIFA World Cup winner's medal, the 2004 and 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year, as well as the 2005 European Footballer of the Year award.

Joining Ronaldinho will be Italian World Cup-winning footballer Gennaro Gattuso. The creative midfielder, who plays for A.C. Milan, with whom he won the UEFA Champions League title in the 2002-03 and 2006-07 seasons, continues the tradition of world-class athletes donning the FIFA franchise covers. It is Gattuso's first appearance on an EA SPORTS(TM) or EA SPORTS BIG cover.

Completing the trio of world class players will be Liverpool and England striker Peter Crouch. Liverpool's top goal scorer in the 2006-07 season, Crouch has also been a consistent goal scorer for the England national team. He will have his 6'7'' height amplified to compliment his ball-striking and finishing skills to create a new soccer experience.

Take your soccer heroes to the streets and experience the revolution in street soccer. FIFA Street 3 will be available for the Xbox 360(TM) video game and entertainment system, PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system and Nintendo DS(TM). FIFA Street 3 is scheduled to ship to stores under the EA SPORTS BIG brand on February 15th, 2008 in Europe and February 18th in North America. It is rated "E" for Everyone and 3+ by PEGI. Screenshots can be downloaded at http://www.info.ea.com.