FIFA, EA and PLAYSTATION Crown FIFA Interactive World Player 2008

Berlin played host to intense soccer action, as the virtual soccer season came to an explosive end at the FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC) Final at the Sony Centre on Saturday. Thirty-two of the world’s best interactive soccer players met face to face to compete for the ultimate title of FIFA Interactive World Player 2008. Following an incredible display of tactics and skill on EA SPORTS™ FIFA Soccer 08 on PLAYSTATION®3, Alfonso Ramos beat Michael Ribeiro from New Jersey 3-1 in front of a cheering crowd, securing the title and the $20,000 US prize money. Ramos also received an invitation to attend the FIFA World Player Gala in Zurich on January 12, 2009 where he will rub shoulders with real life soccer heroes. A fantastic day of soccer culminated in the two best players facing off for what turned out to be a nail biting final full of world class skill and great emotion. The game got off to an electric start as Ramos’ Barcelona side took the lead with a beautiful header and he solidified his dominance with a decisive finish early in the second half. Ribeiro, also playing as Barcelona, responded emphatically with a classy goal to bring the score back to 2-1, but Ramos showed his determination and with less than ten minutes to go, restored his 2-goal lead. Ribeiro came back strongly but in the end Ramos’ defense proved too strong and the game finished 3-1. The third and fourth playoff was contested between Brazil’s Andre Casagrande Buffo and Austria’s Dominik Posch. In a closely fought encounter, the Austrian came out on top with a 2-1 victory. "I came here to do my best but really didn’t believe I would make it this far. It’s been an absolutely fantastic day – to test myself against the world’s best virtual soccer gamers is what this tournament is all about,” said Alfonso Ramos.” I’m really proud to be the first Spaniard to be crowned FIFA Interactive World Player and look forward to defending my title next year.” As the sun was setting over Berlin, 20,500 spectators shared the excitement of the biggest virtual soccer event which provided the very best in real and virtual sporting action. Adding to the buzz were appearances by German hip-hop artist Das Bo. Anthony Baffoe, a former Ghanaian international and the first African player in the German Bundesliga co-hosted the event. "The FIFA Interactive World Cup Grand Final was a marvelous event. It featured everything that a FIFA World Cup event should have: fair-play, excitement, a sense of fun social happening mixed with world-class soccer action. In my opinion, all the gamers who participated in Berlin have many things in common with those who display their skills at any other FIFA World Cup. They obviously were dedicated in training for the event, they were focused and determined individuals and their skills have made them the best in the world. I offer my congratulations to everyone who took part”, said Thierry Weil, FIFA’s Marketing Director. "Congratulations to Alfonso Ramos, the fourth FIFA Interactive World Player of the Year, who impressed us all with his skills,” said Romain Rossi, Marketing Director, EA SPORTS. "This tournament is a fantastic demonstration of the passion we all hold as soccer fans and has really managed to bring the emotion of the real game to the virtual world. It’s been a great season and together FIFA and PlayStation we cannot wait to see the kick-off of the FIFA Interactive World Cup 2009 later this year.” ”This year has been the first year PlayStation has been involved in the FIFA Interactive World Cup and it has very much lived up to all of our expectations,” said Darren Carter, Vice President of Consumer Marketing, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. "This tournament has truly highlighted the wonderful technology of PS3, where real soccer and virtual soccer are closer than ever before, as well as the fantastic connectivity provided by the PLAYSTATION®Network. We look forward to continuing our partnership with EA and FIFA in the years to come and heartily congratulate Alfonso on his tremendous win.” This year’s Grand Final marks the end of the fourth annual FIFA Interactive World Cup, which saw seven months of intense competition on the virtual soccer pitches of EA SPORTS™ FIFA Soccer 08 on PLAYSTATION®3. Players spanning the globe from Australia to South Africa, Brazil to Korea to the USA and Italy dribbled and scored their way through the tournament’s 20 live qualifiers, while over 25,000 players competed in the online leg. Only the 32 best players were invited to the Grand Final, to take part in the ultimate battle for interactive football supremacy. For more information on the FIFA Interactive World Cup, including a list of the 32 finalists, please go to www.FIFA.com/fiwc Pictures of the FIFA Interactive World Cup Grand Final can be found at: ftp://62.116.167.207 click on "file” and login with username: infotainment and password: fifa15 Notes to Editors: For further information please contact: Electronic Arts Bettina Munn (bmunn@ea.com) Tel: +41 22 316 1327 Steve Frost (sfrost@ea.com) Tel: 604-456-5067 FIFA FIFA Media Department Delia Fischer (delia.fischer@fifa.org or media@fifa.org) Tel.: +41-43/222 7272 Fax: +41-43/222 7373 SCEE Nick Caplin (nick_caplin@scee.net) Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd Tel: + 44 207 859 5349 Fax: + 44 207 859 5036 About Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTSTM, EATM, EA SPORTS Freestyle TM and POGOTM. In fiscal 2008, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.67 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com. Electronic Arts, EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS Freestyle, and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. About FIFA For more than 100 years, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, founded on 21 May 1904 in Paris and better known as FIFA, has continued to provide the essential leadership role to the international football family. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, the eighth FIFA President, Joseph S. Blatter guides the organisation today with a commitment to the evolution of FIFA as a modern and dynamic association. The basis of the world’s football family is formed by FIFA’s members. From the founding seven, the family has today grown to 208 affiliated football associations, also organised into six confederations spanning the globe. FIFA’s worldwide activities go well beyond its various competitions, such as the world’s biggest single-sport event, the FIFA World Cup™. In football development projects such as the FIFA GOAL Programme as well as in corporate social responsibility activities (including the Football for Hope movement to support through football social and human development) FIFA makes material, financial and promotional contributions to develop the game and make the world a better place. For the Game. For the World. To find out more about FIFA and its initiatives please check out www.FIFA.com. About Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE), based in London, is responsible for the distribution, marketing and sales of PLAYSTATION®3, PlayStation®2, PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable) and PLAYSTATION®Network software and hardware in 99 territories across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Oceania. SCEE also develops, publishes, markets and distributes entertainment software for these formats, and manages the third party licensing programs for the formats in these territories. Since the launch of PLAYSTATION 3 in November 2006, over 10.5 million units have been sold globally and continue to be sold at a record level. Maintaining its position as one of the most successful consumer electronic products in history, PlayStation 2 has sold over 127 million consoles worldwide. Since its launch at the end of 2004, over 34 million PSPs have been sold globally, highlighting the importance of the portable entertainment market. With the huge increase in interest and accessibility of network applications and network gaming, over 5 million people have registered to the PLAYSTATION Network, the free-to-access interactive environment, and 81 million items downloaded. More information about PlayStation products can be found at www.playstation.com or visit the Virtual Press Office at www.scee.presscentre.com. PlayStation, PSP and the PlayStation logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. UMD (Universal Media Disc) is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.