UEFA Euro 2004 (video game)

UEFA Euro 2004 is the official licensed video game of UEFA Euro 2004 football tournament hosted in Portugal. The game was developed by EA Canada and published by EA Sports. It was released for Microsoft Windows, Xbox and PlayStation 2.

UEFA Euro 2004: Portugal
Developer(s)EA Canada
Publisher(s)EA Sports
SeriesUEFA Euro
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Xbox, PlayStation 2
Release
  • NA: May 4, 2004
  • EU: May 7, 2004
Genre(s)Sports, Football
Mode(s)Single-player, Multiplayer

It is the second game from EA Sports based on the quadrennial UEFA European Championship and features all 51 national teams from the respective qualifying round.

The commentary is provided by John Motson and Ally McCoist.

Gameplay
A friendly match between Portugal and England. The lighting, saturation and weather system were improved to better resemble Portugal's Mediterranean climate.[1]

UEFA Euro 2004 uses a tweaked and improved version of the graphics engine from FIFA 2004 and introduces many new gameplay features and game modes to both the UEFA Euro and FIFA series.[2][3]

Development

Electronic Arts made the game's development public on February 6, 2004, when it announced that it had signed an agreement with UEFA to develop, publish and distribute the official game based on UEFA Euro 2004 championship that would begin on June 12 of that same year in Portugal.[4]

The game was developed by EA Canada, the studio behind the development of the FIFA series of video games.

For the soundtrack, the developers specifically chose rock-based tracks due to the genre's big resurgence in Europe at the time.[2]

Reception

UEFA Euro 2004: Portugal received "generally favorable reviews" on all platforms except the Xbox version, which received "average" reviews, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[5][6][7] GameSpot favored its gameplay and options in comparison to FIFA 2004 and praised the Windows version in particular for the improved visuals and online multiplayer.[11] IGN specially praised the sound design of the game, stating that "the commentary is spot-on and not often repetitive, as we've come to expect. What's really impressive, however, is the crowd noise. Country-specific chants are a nice touch, and the din of the crowd overall is synched well with the action on the field."[18]

However, the PlayStation 2 version was criticized for its inferior graphics, frame rate issues, and lack of online multiplayer when compared to the Xbox and PC versions respectively.[12]

Sales

UEFA Euro 2004: Portugal was a commercial success, selling over one million units during the first month after release.[23]

References
  1. de la Fuente, Derek (April 20, 2004). "Exclusive: UEFA Euro 2004 Interview Feature". TotalVideoGames.com. TVG Media. Archived from the original on December 4, 2008. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  2. "Official UEFA Euro 2004 Interview #1". Electronic Arts. 2004. Archived from the original on August 18, 2004.
  3. "Official UEFA Euro 2004 Key Features". Electronic Arts. 2004. Archived from the original on August 18, 2004.
  4. "Electronic Arts Signs Exclusive Licensing Agreement With UEFA". GameZone. February 6, 2004.
  5. "UEFA Euro 2004: Portugal for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive.
  6. "UEFA Euro 2004: Portugal for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive.
  7. "UEFA Euro 2004: Portugal for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive.
  8. Reed, Kristan (June 15, 2004). "UEFA EURO 2004 PORTUGAL (Xbox)". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on August 11, 2004. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  9. Kato, Matthew (July 2004). "UEFA Euro 2004 Portugal (PS2, Xbox)". Game Informer. No. 135. GameStop. p. 112. Archived from the original on October 31, 2005. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  10. Funky Zealot (June 3, 2004). "[UEFA] Euro 2004 [Portugal] (PS2, Xbox)". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  11. Calvert, Justin (June 28, 2004). "UEFA Euro 2004 Review (PC)". GameSpot. CBS Interactive.
  12. Calvert, Justin (June 28, 2004). "UEFA Euro 2004 Review (PS2)". GameSpot. CBS Interactive.
  13. Calvert, Justin (June 28, 2004). "UEFA Euro 2004 Review (Xbox)". GameSpot. CBS Interactive.
  14. Fryman, Avi (May 11, 2004). "GameSpy: UEFA Euro 2004 [Portugal] (PS2)". GameSpy. Ziff Davis.
  15. Tha Wiz (May 19, 2004). "UEFA EURO 2004 - PC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on February 18, 2008. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  16. Zacarias, Eduardo (May 4, 2004). "UEFA EURO 2004 - PS2 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on February 18, 2008. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  17. Bedigian, Louis (May 18, 2004). "UEFA EURO 2004 - XB - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on January 20, 2008. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  18. Carle, Chris (May 7, 2004). "UEFA Euro 2004 Review (PC, PS2)". IGN. Ziff Davis.
  19. "UEFA Euro 2004: Portugal". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. Ziff Davis. July 2004. p. 97.
  20. "UEFA Euro 2004: Portugal". Official Xbox Magazine. Future US. August 2004. p. 82.
  21. "UEFA Euro 2004: Portugal". PC Gamer. Future US. July 2004. p. 65.
  22. Wapshott, Tim (May 8, 2004). "Uefa [sic] Euro 2004". The Times. News UK. Archived from the original on July 26, 2008. Retrieved March 11, 2018.(subscription required)
  23. "EA Reports Strong Q1 Results". EA. July 22, 2004.
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