FIFA 10 Launching Slightly Late

EA Sports' FIFA 10's release date will see a slight bump three weeks forward to October 20 in North America. The game had originally been set for an October 2 launch worldwide. Electronic Arts hasn't yet clarified whether the delay applies to the game's other territories or indicated a reason. According to a report from consumer site GameSpot, the news comes as the publisher reveals the game's official global box art. The game features different covers for different regions, and each one highlights local heroes from the world of soccer -- or football, depending on where one is from. Manchester United's Wayne Rooney, Arsenal's Theo Walcott, and Chelsea's Frank Lampard will appear on the UK cover of FIFA 10, while the North American cover features Major League Soccer's Sacha Kljestan of Chivas USA and Cuauhtemoc Blanco of Chicago Fire, joined by Lampard, who appears on all the game's versions worldwide. In Spain, Lampard appears with Barca’s Xavi and Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema. The EA Canada-developed game releases on all major console platforms including PlayStation 2, handhelds and PC. [UPDATE: Countering widespread media reports today, EA told gaming site VG247 that FIFA 10 was always planned for an October 20 US release, and the October 2 date was for European territories only. The confusion about the original release date apparently stems from an August 5 EA announcement, which said "FIFA 10 will be available in stores worldwide from October 2nd 2009" -- "from", perhaps, being the operative word.]