Not too many years ago FIFA was, for many gamers, well and truly playing second fiddle in the football game stakes to Pro Evo.  Fair play to the FIFA team though, they've come back with some strong titles and FIFA 10 has put itself back at the top of the pile.  And now, to reinforce this success, Electronic Arts has made three big announcements about the game.

Firstly, that FIFA 10 has sold more than 4.5 million units worldwide since launch, 26% percent higher than the same period a year ago with FIFA 9.  This was boosted of course by it also becoming the fastest selling sports based game ever, with 1.7 million flying off the shelves in it's first week.

Secondly, FIFA 10 has set new records for the franchise with the quantity of online games being clocked up.  With over 3 million games played online every day and 113 million in total across the PS3 and 360, these are impressive figures – not just for FIFA but also for the online gaming industry.  Game Hub has looked in the past about in-game advertising and with these kind of figures going on a company like EA could open up substantial new revenue streams.  It is also a testament to the PS3 and Xbox 360 hardware and gamer figures.

The third announcement is about the new FIFA 10 Ultimate Team feature set to be released in February next year and will bring some new things to the table to keep players interested, and no doubt pick up a few more converts.

FIFA 10 Ultimate Team is a deeper, more authentic and more dynamic version of the game mode introduced last year that means you can customize the way you build your “Ultimate Team”.  You can buy it for 400 Microsoft Points or $4.99 on the PlayStation Network from February. 

Here's a breakdown of the features you can expect to find:

• Build a team consisting of the best football superstars in the world, from 7,000 players in 27 leagues.
• Manage 1 or more squads at the same time to qualify for multiple competitions.
• Compete against other online gamers in dynamically updated online tournaments and competitions.
• Personally craft your team to take on other gamers' teams from around the world.
• Choose how to manage your team – create one big-name squad or manage multiple, bigger squads.
• Buy, Sell, Trade stars to build up your dream team.
• Redesigned chemistry system based on player relationship

FIFA 10 Producer Paul Hossack said: “FIFA 10 Ultimate Team adds a lot more authenticity to a unique game that will update with new challenges and content over time. We now have over 7,000 players from 27 leagues available, from which gamers will craft one or multiple squads to show their mastery of the revamped, more realistic chemistry system, and compete in tournaments with exciting requirements and rewards. On top of that, we’ll release new tournaments and other updates regularly to keep the experience fresh and exciting.”

Sounds good.  For an extra couple of pounds FIFA 10 players will get a brand new way to play a great game and compete in more organised tournaments and competitions.  I'm really enjoying these extra download add-ons we're seeing for a lot of games that help extend the life and playability of games, the cheaper these come the better and I personally would be happy to see these advert-funded to lower the price or make it free.