Quicker than we ever could have imagined the FSB calendar has rolled round to April 24th which means just one thing – UEFA Euro 2012 launch day!

The much debated FIFA 12 DLC component is live now on Xbox 360 and PC so get yourselves over to the relevant store and start that download. Remembering of course that it will set you back £15.99 and you will require a copy of FIFA 12 to be able to play. If you experience any problems with the download, there are some tips here.

PS3 users are going to have to hang on until 4am (25th April) UK time. Don’t ask us why, but we’ll let you know as soon as it’s out.

*WARNING* Some users have reported issues downloading and installing Euro 2012 on Xbox 360. As with the last patch the issue can be resolved by deleting all User Generated Content from Creation Centre and trying again.

Once you’ve had a chance to get to grips with the DLC and you’ve read our Review, hit the comments and share your thoughts on Euro 2012. What’s good, what’s bad and is it worth the entrance fee?

February 28th has finally arrived and we’ve just had it confirmed that the FIFA Street Demo is Out Now on Xbox Live so get online, get downloading and get playing.

PS3 users in Europe will have to hold on for another 24 hours though as the Playstation Store always updates on a Wednesday but we’ll of course let you know as soon as it becomes available.

Here’s a link to the product page on Xbox.com, you can add the demo to your download queue from there.

Most importantly though Xbox 360 owners, what are your first impressions of FIFA Street?

As well as this being good news for those effected by hacked VP’s in FIFA Pro Clubs this is also a bit of an advanced warning because if you have a hacked VP EA want to give you the opportunity to do the right thing and delete it, before the inevitable happens. These people won’t necessarily get off scot free either as temporary suspensions may still be dished out to those who have already done considerable damage.

“The bans are EA account bans, so it will affect their online play in all EA games. Also, these people should be aware that hacking the Xbox is an offense Microsoft takes very seriously, and they should consider the risk of full console bans as well”

There you have it, you have the chance to repent your sins but you do not have long. Don’t think you’ll get away with it either as EA have changed the in-game telemetry so that any modified VP’s now stand out like sore thumbs.

The clock is ticking…

Whilst we were playing FIFA Street the other day, we took some time out to write down the achievements, hoping to learn a little more about the game from them. For the most part they’re fairly standard, but there are a few clues of what to expect in here, especially for the online side of things, which we didn’t get to see.

The full list is as follows:

15G – Ultimate humiliation – Score a goal with a Panna

15G – Got Any Nutmeg? – Nutmeg your first opponent

25G – Very Entertaining – Score at least 1500 style points without losing possession

25G – Rush keepers! – Score a goal while controlling your goalkeeper

25G – Sightseer – In any game mode win a match/event in 50% of the venues as the lead profile

95G – Globetrotter – In any game mode win a match/event in every venue as the lead profile

20G – Geometry was good for something – Score a goal by deflecting the ball off a wall

10G – Are We There Yet? – Reach the world tour map screen for the first time as the lead profile

15G – New Champion - Win a world tour tournament for the first time as the lead profile

20G – Regional Street Champion – Win stage 1 of world tour as the lead profile

25G – National Street Champion - Win stage 2 of world tour as the lead profile

50G – European Champion – Win stage 3 of world tour as the lead profile

100G World Grand Champion – Win stage 4 of world tour as the lead profile

30G – World Tour Around the World – Win any world tour tournament online as the lead profile

20G – Challenge the Pros - Win a street challenge against an authentic club team in stage 4 of world tour as the lead profile

20G – Street Legend – Defeat Messi in a street challenge game as the lead profile

25G – Local Heroes - Win the final national tournament with at least 8 created players on your team as the lead profile

15G – Who Brought the Snacks? - Win a tournament with a local co op player as the lead profile

40G – Mighty Heroes - Have a team with at least 8 created players that are level 50 or above as the lead profile

25G – Career Milestone - Score 100 goals with your created player in any game modes as the lead profile

25G – Mister Entertainment - Earn 100,000 style points with your created player in any game mode as the lead profile

25G – Attributed Success - Upgrade one of your created players to max as the lead profile

20G – It’s Tricky - Unlock 10 tricks on a created player as the lead profile

50G – 5 tool player - Upgrade 5 attributes on a created player to maximum as the lead profile

15G – Time to Celebrate – Unlock a created player celebration and perform it in game as the lead profile

10G – Shopping Spree - Wear an unlocked item in any game mode as the lead profile

25G – Moving On Up - In a street season obtain promotion to the next division as the lead profile

20G – Online Enthusiast - Win a game of 5 a side, 6 a side and futsal online as the lead profile

25G – Online Cup Champion - Win any online cup as the lead profile

100G – Online Dominance - Win all 9 online cups as the lead profile

20G – Video Proof - Upload a saved video as the lead profile

15G – Friendly Publicity - Watch a video posted by one of your friends as the lead profile

15G – Making New Friends – Add a friend using the new friend reccomendation feature as the lead profile

20G – Watching Film – Watch a gameplay tutorial as the lead profile

That’s right folks, you’ll finally be able to sample FIFA Street yourselves when the demo releases on February 28th, or if you prefer just 17 days!

You’ll be able to download the demo on Xbox 360 and PS3 but the exact release times will be dependent on when the relevant stores update for your region. The contents of the FIFA Street Demo in terms of teams, match types, arenas, etc are still TBC but we’ll bring you that information as soon as we get it.

We can’t wait for you guys to try FIFA Street and hopefully you’ll be as fond of it as we were in the limited time we had with the game a few weeks ago.

So who’s excited?

But anyway, apology aside these are the PS3 and Xbox360 covers for FIFA Street you can expect to see in stores March 13th when you’ll all be able to get your hands on retail copies of the game. You’ve all seen the screenshot before I’m sure but doesn’t it look prettier on the front of the box?

This isn’t a great indicator as to which game is/was more popular in general because FIFA 11′s 2010 release months aren’t taken in to consideration. But it offers an interesting insight none the less in to the popularity of FIFA on the Xbox 360 and the strong start FIFA 12 made in 2011. Here’s the top ten based on global unique users:

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
3. Modern Warfare 2
4. Halo: Reach
5. Battlefield 3
6. Skyrim
7. Gears of War 3
8. FIFA 12
9. FIFA 11
10. Madden NFL 12

The FPS was certainly the weapon of choice for Xbox 360 gamers in 2011 but after that, FIFA was next on your list. Thoughts?

The most obvious sign of hacking so far has been missing MS points but also achievements gained for FIFA 12, when some people haven’t even played or purchased the game. The achievements are those which relate to Ultimate Team, in particular the achievement for opening 100 packs.

I guess this is as good a time as any to remind people that being secure and safe online is paramount and with phishing scams everywhere, you need to sharp and aware at all times. Here are some good resources for staying safe online.

Xbox Live Account Security

FIFA 12 Ultimate Team: Stay Safe

We’ll be using this post to announce when things go live. Currently the expected times, according to EASPORTSFIFA are as follows:

PS3 (N America) – 13th Sept *from* 2pm PST

PS3 (EU) – 14 Sept *from* 5pm

The PC demo was expected from 10am, but it’s already live. Link below. It’s from the EA website and it’s the one I’ve downloaded.

*UPDATE* The 360 demo is now live on the dashboard. Access it as follows: Game Marketplace -> Titles A-Z -> E – EA Sports FIFA 12

*UPDATE 2* A few users have experienced issues with installing the FIFA 12 demo with FIFA 11 still installed on their machines. The simplest fix is to back up your FIFA 11 saves, uninstall, then install the demo. Thanks to JC in the comments for his help figuring that out.

*UPDATE 3* There have also been issues with downloads stopping at 99%. One fix we’ve seen is to turn your XBOX off, then try to download again, it should skip to 98% then straight to 100%. Thanks to BlueOggster from the FVPA for that. Let us know if it works for you.

Links:

PC Demo EU Link – 1.5GB

PC Demo NA Link – 1.5GB (Thanks to Dude Dudette for the NA link)

XBOX 360 Marketplace Link – 1.42GB

The FIFA 12 code we have access to is on the PS3, we expect these trophies to be exactly the same on Xbox 360 however we don’t know the allocation of Microsoft achievement points (G). But from the PS3 gold, silver, bronze breakdown you get a pretty good idea.

Bronze Trophies

Precision Tackler – Obtain a successfull tackle percentage of 80% with a minimum of 5 tackles in a game.

Don’t Blink – Score within the first five minutes of a game in a game against the cpu.

Comeback Kid – Win after being 3 goals down in the 2nd half against the cpu.

10 vs 11 – Win from a draw or behind while down a man against the CPU.

Ruud Boy – Score a goal on the volley.

Block Party – Manually block five shots whilst defending in a single game.

Massive Signing – Sign a player better than anyone else on your club in the transfer window.

Youth is Served – Sign a player to your youth squad in career mode.

Puppet Master – Talk to the press in Career Mode.

Sweet Music – Have custom audio play in FIFA 12.

All my own work – Win a match using manual controls (including tactical defending).

Warrior – Score a goal after suffering a non-contact injury with a player.

Quickly Now! – Score shortly after a quick throw-in.

EASFC Youth Academy – Reach level 5 in the EA Sports Football club.

Challenge Accepted – Complete an EA Sports Football Club Game Scenario Challenge.

Path to the Cup – Win a cup game in head to head seasons.

Friends Now Enemies? – Win an Online friendlies season.

Being Social – Play an Online friendlies match.

Look Sharp – Use a Creation Centre team in an online game.

3 points – Win a season game in head to head seasons.

Virtual Debut - Play an online Pro Club or pro ranked match with your Virtual Pro.

New Club in Town – Create your FIFA 12 Ultimate Team club.

Legends Start with Victories – Win a match with your FIFA 12 Ultimate Team club.

Tournament Victory – Win a tournament in FIFA 12 Ultimate Team.

I’ll Have That One – Open your first pack in FIFA 12 Ultimate Team.

Friendly – Finish a match against a friend in FIFA 12 Ultimate Team.

Growing Club – Achieve a club value of 85,000,000 in FIFA 12 Ultimate Team.

Procrastinator – Sign a player on deadline day in Career Mode.

Happy  20th EA Sports! – Score 20 match goals in FIFA 12 to celebrate 20 years of EA SPORTS.

Silver Trophies

EASFC Starting 11 – Reach level 20 in the EA SPORTS Football club.

Century of goals – Score 100 goals in FIFA 12 match play.

Campaign Complete – Complete a season in head to head seasons.

Marquee Signing – Purchase a gold player from the trade market for 15,000 or more coins using buy it now.

“Big Cup” Squad – Enter an Ultimate Team tournament and finish a match with an overall squad rating of 85 or higher.

We’ll Need a Larger Trophy Case – Win your 10th trophy in FIFA 12 Ultimate Team.

Trophy time - Win the league title in any league in Career Mode.

Fully Formed – Have three players be in full form at the same time on your club in Career Mode.

Virtual Legend – Play 50 matches with your Virtual Pro.

FIFA for Life – Spend 50 hours on the pitch.

Megged – Successfully dribble the ball through a defenders legs.

Riding Bikes – Score with a bicycle kick.

Legendary – Win a game vs the CPU on legendary difficulty against a club of the same or higher star rating.

Gold Trophies

Pack King – Open 100 packs in FIFA 12 Ultimate Team.

Platinum Trophies

Football Legend – Unlock all other  trophies (excluding additional content trophies).

Hidden Trophies

Hidden: There are 3 hidden trophies to collect.

Which leaves us with just one question, who’s going for Platinum?