Rugby 2004

Rugby 2004
Developer(s)	HB Studios
Publisher(s)	EA Sports
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, Windows
Release date(s)	NA September 16, 2003 EU September 19, 2003 AUS October 20, 2003
Genre(s)	Sports
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer

Rugby 2004 is the 2003 installment of Electronic Arts' Rugby video game series. The game was developed by HB Studios and released by EA Sports. It was released on September 16, 2003 in North America,^[1] on September 19 in Europe,^[1] and on October 20 in Australia.^[2] The game is a follow-up to 2001's Rugby, and is succeeded by Rugby 2005, Rugby 06 and Rugby 08. Rugby 2004 features over 60 teams, over 1500 players and over 65 stadiums.^[2] The game's commentators are BBC's John Inverdale, and Channel 7's Gordon Bray.^[2] The game's soundtrack is provided by INXS.^[3] It supports up to 4 players playing on the PlayStation 2 via Multitap,^[4] and also utilises the console's online multiplayer function.^[2]

Game modes

The following game modes are available to play in Rugby 2004:

Teams

National teams

Flag	Name	Home Stadium
	Argentina	Buenos Aires
	Australia	Australia Stadium
	Canada	Vancouver
	England	Twickenham
	Fiji	Suva
	France	France Stadium
	Georgia	-
	Ireland	Dublin
	Italy	Rome
	Japan	Tokyo
	Namibia	Windhoek
	New Zealand	Auckland
	Romania	Buchanest
	Russia	Moscow
	Scotland	Murrayfield
	South Africa	Johannesburg
	Spain	Madrid
	Samoa	Apia
	Tonga	Nuku'alofa
	Uruguay	Montevideo
	United States	San Francisco
	Wales	Cardiff

Domestic teams

Nat.	Team	Known as
	Rugby Viadana	Viadana
	Rugby Leonessa 1928	Brescia
	Glasgow Warriors	Glasgow
	Edinburgh
	Swansea
	Newport
	Neath
	Llanelli
	Cardiff
	Ulster
	Munster
	Leinster
	Stade Toulousain	Toulouse
	Stade Français	Paris
	USA Perpignan	Perpignan
	ASM Clermont Auvergne	Montferrand
	Castres Olympique	Castres
	Biarritz Olympique	Biarritz
	Sale
	Northampton
	London Irish	London Exiles
	Leicester
	Gloucester
	Bristol
	Hurricanes
	Crusaders
	Stormers
	Sharks
	Lions	Cats
	Bulls
	Chiefs
	Highlanders
	Blues
	Reds
	Waratahs
	Brumbies

Other teams

Nat.	Team	Known as
	New Zealand Māori rugby union team	NZ Maori
	British and Irish Lions	British Isles
	Barbarian F.C.	Barbarians

Stadiums

Murrayfield, home to Edinburgh Rugby & Scotland appears in the game.

Newlands Stadium, home to the Stormers appears in the game under the name 'Cape Town'.

the Stadio Flaminio in Italy appears in the game under the name 'Rome'.

Nat.	Name	Stadium
	Buenos Aires	Estadio José Amalfitani
	Adelaide	Adelaide Oval
	Brisbane	Suncorp Stadium
	Canberra	Canberra Stadium
	Docklands	Docklands Stadium
	Gosford	Central Coast Stadium
	Homebush Bay	Stadium Australia
	Launceston	York Park
	Melbourne	Telstra Dome
	Perth	Subiaco Oval
	Sydney	Aussie Stadium
	Townsville	Dairy Farmers Stadium
	Woolongabba	QSAC Stadium
	Wollongong	WIN Stadium
	Vancouver	Whitecaps Waterfront Stadium
	Bristol	Memorial Ground
	Gloucester	Kingsholm Stadium
	Leicester	Welford Road
	London	Madejski Stadium
	Northampton	Franklin's Gardens
	Sale	Salford City Stadium
	Twickenham	Twickenham Stadium
	Suva	National Stadium
	Biarritz	Parc des Sports Aguiléra
	Clermont-Ferrand	Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin
	Castres	Stade Pierre-Antoine
	France Stadium	Stade de France
	Paris	Stade Jean-Bouin
	Perpigan	Stade Aimé Giral
	Toulouse	Stadium Municipal
	Belfast	Ravenhill Stadium
	Donnybrook	Donnybrook Stadium
	Dublin	Lansdowne Road
	Munster	Thomond Park
	Brescia	Invernici Stadium
	Milan	Stadio Luigi Zaffanella
	Rome	Stadio Flamino
	Tokyo	Ajinomoto Stadium
	Windhoek	Hage Geingob Rugby Stadium
	Auckland	Eden Park
	Christchurch	Lancaster Park
	Dunedin	Carisbrook
	Hamilton	Waikato Stadium
	Wellington	Westpac Stadium
	Buchanest	Arcul de Triumf Stadium
	Moscow	Slava Stadium
	Glasgow	Hughenden Stadium
	Murrayfield	Murrayfield Stadium
	Myreside	Myreside Stadium
	Apia	Apia Park
	Madrid	Stade Pierre-Antoine
	Bloemfontein	Free State Stadium
	Cape Town	Newlands Stadium
	Durban	Kings Park Stadium
	Johannesburg	Coca-Cola Park
	Port Elizabeth	EPRU Stadium
	Pretoria	Loftus Versfield Stadium
	Nuku'alofa	Teufaiva Sport Stadium
	Montevideo	Estadio Centenario
	San Francisco	Boxer Stadium
	Cardiff	Millennium Stadium

Reception

Reception
Rugby 2004
Review scores Publication Score GameSpot 5.0[3] GameSpy PS2: [5] PC: [6] IGN 7.3[7] About.com [8] PALGN 7.0[9]

The game received disappointing to favourable reviews, with the game being congratulated for its team licensing but criticised for its below-par graphics.

References