3 February 2011, Australia and New Zealand – EA SPORTS™ today announced a major new update for FIFA 11 Ultimate Team; the new way to play FIFA 11 via a downloadable game mode on PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system.

The update, which includes the new features Play A Friend Challenge and Friends Leaderboards plus over 50 improvements, will be live on 18 February. This is the first time major new features for FIFA Ultimate Team have been developed after the game mode release, as the FIFA franchise continues to lead the way in digital experiences for EA SPORTS.

“We have a thriving global community of over two million fans playing FIFA 11 Ultimate Team,” said Kaz Makita, Executive Producer for FIFA. “Our commitment to these fans is that we will continue to listen to their feedback to improve and enhance their experience year round. Play A Friend Challenge and Friends Leaderboards are both new innovations and features requested by the fans, and will enable players to better connect and compete with friends while playing FIFA 11 Ultimate Team.”

FIFA 11 Ultimate Team is a free-to-play, multiplayer trading and team building football game. Gamers and football fans are challenged to build a squad of the world’s best players by earning, buying, selling and even trading players with other FIFA 11 Ultimate Team gamers. Players can take their strategically crafted squads onto the pitch to compete in online and single-player tournaments which are updated weekly. FIFA 11 Ultimate Team gamers can access their console experience from the web for full auction and trading systems at www.easportsfootball.com/ultimateteam/play.

After only three months, FIFA 11 Ultimate Team continues to grow due to constantly updated weekly tournaments and daily item promotions. The game now boasts more than 65 million* game sessions played, 171 million* trades made and 275 billion* coins spent in the auction house. FIFA 11 Ultimate Team is available for free** and can be downloaded through the main menu in FIFA Soccer 11 on any connected PlayStation3 and Xbox 360.

The new update includes:

Play A Friend Challenge

Play A Friend Challenge enables you to test your skills against your friend’s Ultimate Team, even when your friend isn’t online. Take on your friend’s squad whenever you like with the CPU controlling their squad. Results are recorded and presented to your friend the next time they log onto their console. Now you can prove who has the best Ultimate Team whenever you are ready to play. Plus, when you return to your console, you can see who played your squad, left you a message, and challenge them to a rematch when you want to play.

Friends Leaderboards

Compare your progress in FIFA 11 Ultimate Team against friends automatically with personalised leader boards. Regardless of how you choose to play, you can now compete and compare your progress whether you are a trader, expert team builder, top entrepreneur in the auctions, or simply want to compare the value of your club.

The update also includes over 50 additional refinements that were included based on the feedback from the FIFA community. Some of the additional changes include updates to the auctions to make it easier to track auctions or repost expired items. Power Passing assistance is now switched off by default in online matches, and a number of general stability improvements have also been made. For a full list, please visit the News & Media section on www.easportsfootball.com

Visit www.easportsfootball.com/ultimateteam for more information about the game and join the EA SPORTS FIFA community at http://www.facebook.com/easportsfifa.

EA SPORTS is one of the leading sports entertainment brands in the world, with top-selling videogame franchises, award-winning interactive technology, global videogame competitions and breakthrough digital experiences. EA SPORTS delivers personal access to the emotion of sports through industry-leading sports simulation videogames, including Madden NFL football, FIFA Soccer, NHL® hockey, NBA Elite basketball, NCAA® Football, Fight Night boxing, EA SPORTS MMA, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® golf, and EA SPORTS Active.

* according to internal data
**Restrictions and conditions apply. Please see back of pack for details.