Fans of soccer are spoilt for choice in the videogame arena, with two excellent titles in the form of FIFA and Winning Eleven releasing like clockwork each year.

Rugby fans, on the other hand, have very little to choose from in the way of game adaptations of this sport. There were a couple of rugby titles on the PS2, Xbox and PC but nothing has come our way for a number of years now.

That’s all set to change later this year, when Rugby World Cup 2011 releases for Xbox 360 and PS3 in August to coincide with the official tournament taking place in New Zealand (go Bokke!).

The title is being published by 505 Games and developed by Canadian-based HB Studios. The latter were responsible for the EA Sports Rugby games for the last generation of consoles. Obviously sales were not as brisk as EA would have liked, otherwise EA would surely have pounced on the opportunity for a World Cup tie-in.

The game’s description reads as follows:

“RUGBY WORLD CUP 2011 will challenge players to pick from the 20 Rugby World Cup 2011 participating countries, and attempt to lead their team through the pool phase progress to the Final and the opportunity to lift the prestigious Webb Ellis Cup. National rivalries, venues and player personalities are perfectly captured as participants will fight for the pride of their nation in either solo play or with up to three friends in local multiplayer matches. For the first time, HB Studios will give players the chance to fight for the glory of their country online by challenging other players to one-on-one matches on Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network.”

Rugby World Cup 2011 has an official site which is looking a little static right now, as well as a Facebook page which is also pretty devoid of content. However, this should change in the coming months as anticipation for the real-world event reaches fever pitch.

Keep your dial tuned to El33tonline for more information about this sports simulation rarity (i.e. a rugby game), and hopefully some screenshots or footage of it in motion will be released soon.

Source: Strategy Informer