New FIFA soccer game debuts Tuesday, Guinness celebrates

Tuesday, one of the most popular sports videogame series renews with 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.

The Guinness World Records 2010 Gamer's Edition (yes there is a "world book" for videogaming) has highlighted some soccer records.

• Best-Selling Soccer Franchise: FIFA (EA, 1993 to present) EA has shipped more than 65 million copies, well ahead of Konami's PES (48 million). PES, however, debuted in 2001, eight years after FIFA.
• Largest Multiplayer Sports Game: FIFA 09 (EA, 2008) Allowing up to 20 gamers to play a match together, EA's FIFA 09 can accommodate more players than any other sports game. In online 10-versus-10 matches, each player assumes one of the 10 outfield positions on his team and plays there for the duration of the game. The only player not available is the goalkeeper.
• Fastest-Selling Title in the FIFA Series: FIFA 09 (EA, 2008) EA's FIFA 09 sold 1.2 million copies in the game's first week of release in October 2008.
• First Videogame to be Licensed by a Soccer Club for Recruiting Purposes: Football Manager 2009 (SEGA, 2008) In November 2008, the English Premier League's Everton Football Club signed a deal with game developer Sports Interactive to make use of the Football Manager 2009 database. Everton wanted to use the database to help with the scouting of new players, making the game the first to be officially used by a major soccer club for recruiting purposes.
• Most Real-Life Players to Appear in a Sports Game: Football Manager 2009 (SEGA, 2008) When Sports Interactive and SEGA released Football Manager 2009in November 2008, it featured over 5,000 playable clubs from over 50 countries, and at least 370,000 players and staff from around the world. Sports Interactive believes it has accurately predicted the rise of several world soccer stars, including Argentinean Lionel Messi.
• Longest-Running Soccer Series: Championship Manager (Eidos, 1992 to present) Management-focused soccer game Championship Manager has enjoyed an unbroken run of annual updates since its first release on September 1, 1992, a year before EA launched the FIFA series.
• First Soccer Game to Use the "Stadium" Viewpoint: NASL Soccer (Mattel Electronics, 1982) The first soccer videogame to offer a side-on, or "stadium", viewpoint was Mattel's pioneering NASL Soccer, which arrived on the Atari 2600 in 1982. This viewpoint has since become the default perspective for many of the leading action-focused soccer games, including the two genre-defining series FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer.

Man loses part of finger in iPad mall robbery

Be careful coming out of the Apple store with your iProducts.

Tim Tebow cover athlete for NCAA Footballl 11 videogame

Former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow will be featured on the cover of EA Sports' NCAA Football 11, which hits stores July 13.

Tebow was the first sophomore in history to win the Heisman Trophy following his 2007 season as the Florida Gators’ starting quarterback. In that season, Tebow became the first player in NCAA history to rush and pass for at least 20 touchdowns in a single year. Tebow is one of the most decorated college quarterbacks in history, winning the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s best quarterback in 2007 and becoming only the second player in NCAA history to earn the Maxwell Award, given to the nation’s top football player, which he won twice.

As for the game, NCAA 11 will, for the first time, reflect the real playing style of every NCAA Division I school. So running teams will run. Passing teams will pass.

The game, being developed in Orlando, will be available for PS3, PS2 and Xbox 360 at launch.

Get online Masters coverage early today (Woods in featured group)

Can't wait for ESPN's second round Masters coverage to sign on at 4 p.m. today?

Online coverage begins this morning at 10:45 a.m. with live coverage from Amen Corner. At noon, Masters Live will follow today's featured grouping of Tiger Woods (-4), K.J. Choi (-5) and Matt Kuchar (-2).

The Featured Group channel on Masters Live provides live video of selected pairings as they play at Augusta National. With the Woods, Choi & Kuchar pairing set to tee off Friday at 10:35 a.m, they should reach Hole No. 10 sometime between Noon and 1 p.m. ET. Viewers should be able to see at least half the round online.

Schedule for Masters Live Video on CBSSports.com and Masters.com for 4/9/10

Featured Group*

Friday, April 9: 12:00 Noon - 7:30 PM

Amen Corner Live*

Friday, April 9: 10:45 AM - 5:45 PM

15 & 16 Live*

Friday, April 9: 11:45 AM - 6:45 PM

Masters Extra

Friday, April 9: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

The Masters in 3D and bonus coverage options

Masters Golf fans will get multiple TV treats during this week's tournament.

-- The tournament will be streaming live in 3D at masters.com/3D

To view it, make sure to get all of the latest drivers and 3D Vision Video Player that supports video streaming. Check here for a quick guide on how to fire up the player.

2010 Masters Tournament 3D Live Broadcast Schedule (from www.masters.com/3D)

• Wednesday, April 7: 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
• Thursday, April 8: 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
• Friday, April 9: 4:00 - 6:00 p.m
• Saturday, April 10: 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m
• Sunday, April 11: 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Note: replays of the live 3D broadcast will be available throughout the week.

Time Warner Cable customers throughout the Carolinas can view daily highlights in 3D on Demand. To see it, you must have a 3D TV and an Time Warner HD box with an HDMI output.

-- DirecTV is offering dedicated Masters Channels 700-705 all week, free to customers. HD version are also available. One channel will show the main network feed. Another will focus on Amen Corner, and a third on a featured group (think that might be Tiger's?).

--

Tiger Woods online video game out today

One day after Tiger Woods' official return to golf at the Masters, EA Sports has released the online version of his new video game.

The console versions (Wii, Xbox, PS3) will hit stores June 8.

EA Sports says "Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online is the most authentic and feature-rich golf game you can play through a web browser." The game features HD graphics and requires no installation of software.

I was able to get up and going in about three minutes. And after you download an optional piece of software for better resolution, you pick one of the available courses and you're off and running. You can see how many other golfers are "playing" your course and chat with them. The game controls are simple. There's a mouse click to start the swing and another to stop it.

It takes about five swings to get the hang of it. And this is the kind of thing that could get you into trouble at work. The graphics are very realistic and the game involves wind and rain and greens that are fast and slow -- just like real golf. If you like the sport at all, this game will grab you fast.

In addition to the free areas, players can buy a monthly membership for $9.99, or an annual for $59.99 to get unlimited access to all the courses. You can earn points in the game to buy things in the golf shop, like new equipment and clothes for your golfers, but you can also buy points, too, for $9.99, $19.99 or $39.99.

Annual members will get a package of points to be used in the virtual pro shop.

Of course, better clubs allows you to hit the ball farther and more accurately, but I think you'll be able to earn points pretty quickly, rather than break out the credit card to buy them.

In addition to single player modes, EA Sports is also offering group tournaments. You will play with others throughout the world. Group leaders can set up personalized criteria for their tournaments, like picking your course -- and your playing conditions.

You can also instant message other players

This is well executed online game. I still prefer playing on a console with a wireless controller in my hand, but this is an awful nice distraction until the new console versions come out.

HP Tablet to challenge iPad?

Hewlett Packard released a new video showing off its upcoming Slate tablet computer. The video makes a point of showing off a direct USB connections and memory card inputs, things the iPad doesn't offer.

Could be interesting.

Apple sells more than 300,000 iPads on Day One

Apple released a statement today saying it had sold more than 300,000 iPads on Saturday, when the touchscreen computing device hit U.S. stores.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs said new owners downloaded more than one million apps and more than 250,000 e-books Saturday as well.

Some analysts predicted Apple would sell twice as many or more iPads, but considering this was Easter weekend, a family event that would keep most out of stores, that's not a bad start.

Also I think potential users are waiting on 3G models to arrive later this month (only Wifi models went on sale this weekend) and others might be waiting to hear initial reviews from consumers, instead of the journalist-driven ones, which have been largely positive.