EA has announced that it will be releasing a standalone FIFA World Cup 2014 game for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 will be released on the 17th April in the UK and across Europe, and a few days early on the 15th in North America.

The game won't be coming out on PC, PlayStation 4 or Xbox One in an effort to get the game to as many people as possible while balancing development resources.The game's producer Matt Prior told IGN, "We've got to focus development on where there will be biggest for the buck. So obviously 360 and PS3 are still, by far, the most popular games consoles right now."Over time that’s likely to change. But right now they have the biggest market penetration and we wanted to get this game to as many people as we possibly could."Another reason for development focussing on PS3 and Xbox 360 was to reach emerging markets, such as the tournament's host nation. "It’s going to be a huge game in Brazil. Gen 4 penetration there is pretty much zero. So we want get our game to as many people as we possibly could. Right now that’s PS3 and 360."You can read more from IGN's interview with Prior below, in which he talks in more detail about the changes made to FIFA's gameplay, how those improvements will roll back into the next FIFA, and how the World Cup will aim to make the experience more accessible for novice players.

Play in authentic Brazilian stadiums, and recognise the support of newly rendered crowds and patriotic presentation to replicate the passion of the World Cup

New control systems with more responsive dribbling, and pinpoint passing on the agenda. Change direction on and off the ball with purpose

New Set piece tactics

Adidas ball Physics – we’ve partnered with adidas to deliver the most realistic ball physics system on Xbox 360 and PS3, taking data from the adidas Innovation Lab in Herzogenaurach, Germany, to implement it into the game to give the Brazuca and other adidas balls true-to-life flight and grass friction

England fans rejoice... or not - new penalty kicks! With new save and animations and shot tuning that puts players in control of their nation’s fate. Goalkeeper antics to throw off your opposition including wobbly-knees, matador and shoot-it-there animations.

EA SPORTS Talk Radio – receive dynamic tournament updates from your choice of Andy Goldstein and Ian Darke, or Michael Davies and Roger Bennett (Men in Blazers) as you play through various offline modes. Over 50 hours of recorded audio keeps the narrative fresh and entertaining.

Teams – 203 teams sanctioned by FIFA

– 203 teams sanctioned by FIFA Players – 7,469 players in the game

– 7,469 players in the game Managers – 19 officially licensed managers

– 19 officially licensed managers Stadiums – 21 new stadiums, including all 12 authentic stadiums in Brazil

– 21 new stadiums, including all 12 authentic stadiums in Brazil Commentary – Over 15 hours of added in-game commentary

Road to the FIFA World Cup – the most immersive tournament mode in EA SPORTS history, you can choose from any of the 203 National Teams sanctioned by FIFA and play through qualifying and through to the group stages of the World Cup

– the most immersive tournament mode in EA SPORTS history, you can choose from any of the 203 National Teams sanctioned by FIFA and play through qualifying and through to the group stages of the World Cup Captain your Country – one of the most popular FIFA modes of all time

– one of the most popular FIFA modes of all time Road to Rio de Janeiro - Progress across a map of Brazil’s 12 host cities. Compete in Online Stages with any of the 203 National Teams to advance, remain in a city, or be relegated. Win the final of 12 stages to hoist the FIFA World Cup Trophy

- Progress across a map of Brazil’s 12 host cities. Compete in Online Stages with any of the 203 National Teams to advance, remain in a city, or be relegated. Win the final of 12 stages to hoist the FIFA World Cup Trophy Online FIFA World Cup – compete in Group and World Cup Finals online

– compete in Group and World Cup Finals online Story of Qualifying – over 60 scenarios that happened in real world qualifying

– over 60 scenarios that happened in real world qualifying Story of Finals (online) – activated at the start of the tournament and updated throughout, play challenges on the narrative of the day’s real world events

(online) – activated at the start of the tournament and updated throughout, play challenges on the narrative of the day’s real world events Additional modes: 2014 FIFA World Cup, Kick Off, Skill Games, Online Friendlies, EA SPORTS Football Club

The game will build on the gameplay of FIFA 14, but will make considerable improvements, based on fan feedback and a desire to make the game more accessible to a wider audience, reflecting the mass appeal of the competition itself.The game will also feature new modes:

Interview with Matt Prior, lead producer

"When we ship, we will be the best football game on 360 and PS3," says Matt Prior, the game's lead producer.He's obviously confident. But he's starting with a great foundation – FIFA 14. "Obviously we want to build on that. It's an evolution of the game engine really. It gets evolved from FIFA to FIFA, and then we come in and get involved."Some of these improvements are directly based on recent fan feedback on FIFA 14. The dribbling's been tightened up and player movement is more responsive. Those are just a couple of the many tweaks. And these aren't changes just with the summer in mind. When I ask Prior what will happened to these innovations, Prior tells me, "Yes, all of that will feedback into FIFA."The World Cup license provides a unique proposition for EA. Much like the fabled competition itself, the tie-in game appeals to both diehard fans of the FIFA series but also taps into a much wider audience, reaching those who infrequently buy an entry in the FIFA series. Potentially, this poses a dilemma..."We want to make sure that anyone who is coming to this game from FIFA notices a difference and improvement in gameplay," Prior explains the predicament to me. "But the World Cup is a unique product in that it splits the market 50-50 in terms of who buy. So about 50% of users are brand-new to FIFA – they have never played it before. And obviously that’s the mass appeal of the World Cup."By having the game rooted in FIFA's engine, it's likely the experience will satisfy those intimately-acquianted with the series. But Prior and his team have made a concerted effort to acknowledge and welcome those who find FIFA, with its multitude of controls, rather overwhelming."We know a lot of people play FIFA and don’t play it for that long," admits Prior. "Primarily potentially that’s one of the reasons. They’re just not good enough at the game, and they want a positive experience. And even at the lowest difficult level – amateur – they’re still not having much fun. So we’ve made big strides to focus on these players. So we've actually introduced a brand new difficulty level specifically for those people called 'Beginner'. Which is very much an entry level difficult, which allows you to have that positive experience. It’s not a skill level that we anticipate people stick with for a long, long time. It’s very much considered an entry level position."If you’ve never played FIFA before, this is definitely the product to get on board."

Daniel is IGN's UK Games Editor. He sometimes writes about movies, too. You can be part of the world's most embarrassing cult by following him on IGN and Twitter