14 DAY TRIAL // After confirming last week that instead of a retail release, the UEFA Euro 2012 experience would be launched as a downloadable expansion for FIFA 12, Electronic Arts has now shared a few more details about the peculiar move, saying that it's designed to enhance the very popular football (soccer) simulator.
FIFA 12 appeared last year and has since become the most successful entry in the long running football series from Electronic Arts, selling well over 10 million copies around the world.
Since then, EA launched FIFA Street, a reboot of its older franchise that focused on tricks, while getting ready to deploy FIFA 13, the next iteration in the series.
Last week, however, we heard that the game dedicated to the upcoming UEFA Euro 2012 competition this year won't be released as a retail title, like previous Euro entries, appearing instead as DLC for FIFA 12.
EA's Communications Manager, Steve Frost, told Gamasutra that this change is due to the popularity of FIFA 12 and the company's desire to keep things fresh for active players.
"We felt this was the best way to extend that experience and deliver fresh new content to our fans," he said. "We expect football fans will want the opportunity to play UEFA Euro 2012 and experience what it takes to win the tournament under the same conditions their favorite nation will face in the weeks ahead."
There's still a problem, as some people who've been looking forward to UEFA Euro 2012 might not have FIFA 12, and are forced to buy both the old game and the upcoming expansion, but Frost is confident many will see it as a good investment.
"We expect that some fans who may not have FIFA 12 will want to play Euro 2012 and therefore purchase both, but the bigger opportunity for us is to offer our loyal and passionate FIFA fans new content," he added.
UEFA Euro 2012 will be released later this month on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.