Rugby 2004 is the 2003 installment of Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...

' Rugby

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

video game series. The game was developed by HB Studios

HB Studios

HB Studios is a video game development company, founded in July 2000 by Jeremy Wellard, and located in Nova Scotia, Canada.-History:HB's headquarters are located in the small town of Lunenburg on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. The company started with nine developers working on Cricket 2002 for...

 and released by EA Sports

EA Sports

EA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...

. It was released on September 16, 2003 in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, on September 19 in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, and on October 20 in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The game is a follow-up to 2001's Rugby

Rugby (video game)

Rugby is the 2001 installment of Electronic Arts' Rugby video game series. The game was developed by and released by EA Sports. The game is EA Sports' first rugby union game on PlayStation 2, and is succeeded by Rugby 2004,. Rugby features over 20 teams, over 500 players and over 20 stadiums...

, and is succeeded by Rugby 2005, Rugby 06

Rugby 06

Rugby 06 is the 2006 release in the Rugby series by EA Sports. The game allows players to play as many Rugby nations, both major and minor, and includes many tournaments, such as the Rugby World Cup, the Tri Nations, the Six Nations, and the Super 14....

and Rugby 08

Rugby 08

Rugby 08 is the 2007 release in the Rugby series by EA Sports. The game allows players to play as many Rugby nations, both major and minor, and includes many tournaments, such as the Rugby World Cup, Tri Nations, Six Nations, Guinness Premiership and Super 14.Rugby 08 was released prior to the...

. Rugby 2004 features over 60 teams, over 1500 players and over 65 stadiums. The game's commentators are BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

's John Inverdale

John Inverdale

John Inverdale , is an English radio and television broadcaster who works for the BBC, mainly covering sporting events.-Biography:...

, and Channel 7

Seven Network

The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...

's Gordon Bray

Gordon Bray

Gordon Bray AM has risen to prominence as one of Australia's leading sports commentators, earning himself the title, "The Voice of Rugby"....

. The game's soundtrack is provided by INXS

INXS

INXS are an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. Mainstays are Garry Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on guitar/keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar and Kirk Pengilly on guitar/sax...

. It supports up to 4 players playing on the PlayStation 2

PlayStation 2

The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...

 via Multitap

Multitap

A multitap is a video game console peripheral that increases the number of controller ports available to the player, allowing additional controllers to be used in play...

, and also utilises the console's online multiplayer function.

Game modes

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

Event	Known as
Rugby World Cup Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....	World Cup
Six Nations Championship Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....	Six Countries
Tri Nations
Tour
Super 12
Heineken Cup Heineken Cup The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...	European Trophy
World League

• World Cup
  Rugby World Cup
  The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
  
  
• Six Countries
  Six Nations Championship
  The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
  
  
• Tri Nations
• Tour
• Super 12
  Super 14
  Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...
  
  
• European Trophy
  Heineken Cup
  The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...
  
  
• World League

Domestic teams

Nat.	Team	Known as
	Rugby Viadana	Viadana
	Rugby Leonessa 1928 Rugby Leonessa 1928 Rugby Leonessa 1928 is an Italian rugby union club currently competing in Italy's Serie A. They are based in Brescia in Lombardy.The team was formed in 2002 after the merger of A.S. Rugby Rovato and Rugby Brescia...	Brescia
	Glasgow Warriors Glasgow Warriors The Glasgow Warriors, formerly Glasgow Rugby, are one of two professional rugby union teams in Scotland, Edinburgh being the other. They play in the RaboDirect Pro12 and their home ground is Firhill Stadium, also the home of Partick Thistle Football Club.-History:Glasgow Rugby were created to...	Glasgow
	Edinburgh
	Swansea Swansea RFC Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. Its home ground is St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea. The team is sometimes known as The Whites because of the primary colour of the team strip...
	Newport
	Neath Neath RFC Neath Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The first team is known as the Welsh All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a white cross pattée as an emblem...
	Llanelli Llanelli RFC Llanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded in 1875 and its senior team is one of the leading club sides in Wales. The club began the 2008-09 season at their historic home ground of Stradey Park in Llanelli, but moved in November 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent...
	Cardiff Cardiff RFC Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...
	Ulster Ulster Rugby Ulster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Ulster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Belfast, representing the Irish province of Ulster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...
	Munster Munster Rugby Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish...
	Leinster Leinster Rugby Leinster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Leinster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Dublin, representing the Irish province of Leinster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro 12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...
	Stade Toulousain Stade Toulousain Stade Toulousain, also referred to as Toulouse, is a French rugby union club from Toulouse in Midi-Pyrénées. Toulouse is one of the finest rugby clubs in Europe, having won the Heineken Cup four times – in 1996, 2003, 2005 and 2010. They were also runners-up in 2004 and 2008 against London Wasps...	Toulouse
	Stade Français	Paris
	USA Perpignan USA Perpignan Union Sportive des Arlequins Perpignanais or Unió eSportiva Arlequins de Perpinyà , generally abbreviated as USAP in both languages, is a French rugby union club that plays in the city of Perpignan in Pyrénées-Orientales. The club currently competes in the Top 14, the top level of the French...	Perpignan
	ASM Clermont Auvergne ASM Clermont Auvergne Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne are a French rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system, ASMCA are the were the 2010 France Top 14 Champions. It is the rugby section of the multi-sport club...	Montferrand
	Castres Olympique Castres Olympique Castres Olympique is a French rugby union club located in the Midi-Pyrénées city of Castres and currently competing in the top level of the French league system.Founded in 1898, the club took its current name in 1906...	Castres
	Biarritz Olympique Biarritz Olympique Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque is a French professional rugby union team based in the Basque city of Biarritz, Aquitaine which competes in the Top 14 and the Heineken Cup...	Biarritz
	Sale Sale Sharks Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the...
	Northampton Northampton Saints Northampton Saints are a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The Northampton Saints were formed in 1880. They play in green, black and gold colours. They play their home games at Franklin's Gardens, which has a capacity of 13,591....
	London Irish London Irish London Irish RFC is an English rugby union club based in Sunbury, Surrey, where the senior squad train, the youth teams and senior academy play home games, and the club maintain their administrative offices. The senior squad play home games at the Madejski Stadium in Reading and compete in the top...	London Exiles
	Leicester Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
	Gloucester
	Bristol Bristol Rugby Bristol Rugby is a rugby union club based in Bristol, England. The club currently plays in the RFU Championship and competes in the British and Irish Cup. They rely in large part on the many junior rugby clubs in the region, particularly those from 'the Combination'...
	Hurricanes Hurricanes (Super rugby franchise) The Hurricanes are a New Zealand professional Rugby union team based in Wellington that competes in the Super Rugby competition...
	Crusaders
	Stormers Stormers The Stormers, for sponsorship reasons referred to as DHL Stormers, are a South African rugby union team based in Cape Town competing in the Super Rugby competition . Despite their lack of silverware over the years, their home stadium, Newlands, typically draws the highest average attendance figures...
	Sharks Sharks (rugby franchise) The Sharks are a South African rugby union team competing in the Super Rugby competition...
	Lions Lions (rugby franchise) The Lions, known as the Cats between the 1998 and 2006 seasons, are a South African rugby union franchise that competes in the Super Rugby competition. From 2011 they are known as the MTNLions for sponsorship reasons. They have not achieved great success in this competition, finishing at the bottom...	Cats
	Bulls Bulls (rugby franchise) The Bulls, for sponsorship reasons known as the Vodacom Bulls, are a South African rugby union team competing in the Super Rugby competition. They are based in Pretoria and play their home matches at Loftus Versfeld...
	Chiefs Chiefs (Super rugby franchise) The Chiefs are a professional Rugby union team based in Hamilton, New Zealand. Their home ground is Waikato Stadium. The Chiefs play in black, red and yellow coloured jerseys...
	Highlanders
	Blues
	Reds Queensland Reds The Queensland Reds represent Queensland in the sport of rugby union in the Southern Hemisphere Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996 they were a representative team selected on merit from the rugby union club competitions in Queensland...
	Waratahs New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs are an Australian rugby union football team, representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super 15 Super Rugby competition...
	Brumbies Brumbies Rugby The Brumbies are a Super 15 rugby union team based in Canberra, Australia and named for the wild horses which inhabit Canberra's hinterland...

Other teams

Nat.	Team	Known as
	New Zealand Māori rugby union team New Zealand Maori rugby union team New Zealand Māori is a rugby union team that traditionally plays teams touring New Zealand. A prerequisite for playing in this team is that the player is to have Māori whakapapa or genealogy. In the past this rule was not strictly applied. In the past non-Māori players who looked Māori were often...	NZ Maori
	British and Irish Lions British and Irish Lions The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...	British Isles
	Barbarian F.C. Barbarian F.C. The Barbarian Football Club, usually referred to as the Barbarians and nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain...	Barbarians

Stadiums

Nat.	Stadium	Known as
	Murrayfield Stadium Murrayfield Stadium Murrayfield Stadium is a sports stadium located in the west end of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Its all-seater capacity was recently reduced from 67,800 to 67,130 to incorporate the largest permanent "big screen" in the country though it still remains the largest stadium in Scotland and one...	Murrayfield
	Hughenden Stadium Hughenden Stadium Hughenden Stadium is a rugby stadium in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the home ground of Hillhead Jordanhill RFC. During the 2005/06 and 2006/07 seasons, the Glasgow Warriors played their home games at the ground.- History :...	Glasgow
	Myreside Stadium	Myreside
	Loftus Versfeld Stadium Loftus Versfeld Stadium Loftus Versfeld Stadium is a rugby and association football stadium situated in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. The stadium has a capacity of 51,762 for rugby union and hosted the 2009 Currie Cup final...	Pretoria
	EPRFU Stadium EPRFU Stadium EPRU Stadium, also known by its original name of Boet Erasmus Stadium, is a stadium in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The stadium has a capacity of 33,852 people. The original name Boet Erasmus Stadium was named after Boet Erasmus, a former mayor of Port Elizabeth.It was used mostly for rugby union...	Port Elizabeth
	Coca-Cola Park	Johannesburg
	Kings Park Stadium Kings Park Stadium Kings Park , is a stadium in the Kings Park Sporting Precinct in Durban, South Africa, which was originally built in 1891 and extensively renovated in the 1990s...	Durban
	Newlands Stadium Newlands Stadium Newlands Stadium, currently referred to as DHL Newlands for sponsorship reasons, is located in Cape Town, South Africa.The stadium currently has a capacity of 51,900 people, but is not an all seater venue....	Cape Town
	Free State Stadium Free State Stadium The Free State Stadium , also known as Vodacom Park, is a stadium in Bloemfontein, South Africa, used mainly for rugby union and association football...	Bloemfontein
	Teufaiva Sport Stadium Teufaiva Sport Stadium Teufaiva Sport Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Nukualofa, Tonga. It is currently used mostly for rugby union and football matches. The stadium holds 10,000. It is currently the home ground of the Tonga national football team....	Nuku'alofa
	Apia Park Apia Park Apia Park is a multi-function sports complex located in Apia, the capital of Samoa. Primarily used for rugby union events, Apia Park is the home stadium of the Samoa national rugby union team, Manu Samoa....	Apia
	National Stadium National Stadium (Suva) National Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Suva, Fiji. It is currently used mostly for rugby league, rugby union and football matches. The stadium holds 10,000....	Suva
	Westpac Stadium Westpac Stadium Westpac Stadium, is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. Due to its shape and silver coloured external walls, it is colloquially known as The Cake-Tin to the locals and other New Zealanders...	Wellington
	Waikato Stadium Waikato Stadium Waikato Stadium is a major sporting and cultural events venue in Hamilton, New Zealand, with a total capacity of 25,800. Four areas contribute to this capacity: The Brian Perry Stand holding 12,000, the WEL Networks Stand holding 8,000, the Goal Line Terrace holding 800 and the Greenzone can hold...	Hamilton
	Carisbrook Carisbrook Carisbrook was a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city's main domestic and international rugby union venue, it has also been used for other sports such as cricket, football, rugby league and motocross. Carisbrook has also hosted a Joe Cocker concert and frequently hosted pre-game...	Dunedin
	Lancaster Park	Christchurch
	Eden Park Eden Park Eden Park is the biggest stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is used primarily for rugby union in winter and cricket in summer . The ground also occasionally hostts rugby league matches. To accommodate all three sports, the cricket pitch is removable...	Auckland
	Stadio Flaminio Stadio Flaminio The Stadio Flaminio is a stadium in Rome. It lies along the Via Flaminia, three kilometres northwest of the city centre, 300 metres away from the Parco di Villa Glori....	Rome
	Stadio Luigi Zaffanella Stadio Luigi Zaffanella Stadio Luigi Zaffanella is a multi-use stadium in Viadana, Italy. It is currently used mostly for rugby union and football matches. It is the home ground of Aironi for their Celtic League games....	Milan
	Invernici Stadium	Brescia
	Ravenhill Stadium Ravenhill Stadium Ravenhill Stadium is located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is used by Ulster Rugby. It has a normal capacity of 12,300 and is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union.-History:The grounds were opened in the 1923/24 season...	Belfast
	Thomond Park Thomond Park Thomond Park is a stadium located in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The stadium is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union and count Munster Rugby, Shannon RFC and UL Bohemian RFC as tenants. The capacity of the stadium is 26,500 following its large scale redevelopment in...	Munster
	Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts...	Dublin
	Donnybrook Stadium	Donnybrook
	Stadium Municipal	Toulouse
	Stade de France Stade de France The Stade de France is the national stadium of France, situated just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. It has an all-seater capacity of 80,000, making it the fifth largest stadium in Europe, and is used by both the France national football team and French rugby union team for...	France Stadium
	Stade Aimé Giral Stade Aimé Giral Stade Aimé Giral is a multi-purpose stadium in Perpignan, France. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is the home stadium of USA Perpignan...	Perpignan
	Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin is a multi-purpose stadium in Clermont-Ferrand, France. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is the home stadium of ASM Clermont Auvergne. The stadium is able to hold 18,030 people.-External links:*...	Clermont-Ferrand
	Stade Jean-Bouin Stade Jean-Bouin Stade Jean-Bouin is a multi-purpose stadium in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. The facility, across the street from the much larger Parc des Princes, is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is the home stadium of Stade Français. Through 2006, it hosted the annual Paris Sevens...	Paris
	Parc des Sports Aguiléra Parc des Sports Aguiléra Parc des Sports Aguiléra is a multi-purpose stadium in Biarritz, France. The stadium is able to hold 15,000 people. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is the home stadium of Biarritz Olympique....	Biarritz
	Stade Pierre-Antoine Stade Pierre-Antoine Stade Pierre-Antoine is a multi-purpose stadium in Castres, France. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is the home stadium of Castres Olympique. The stadium is able to hold 11,500 people.-External links:*...	Castres
	Stade Pierre-Antoine Stade Pierre-Antoine Stade Pierre-Antoine is a multi-purpose stadium in Castres, France. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is the home stadium of Castres Olympique. The stadium is able to hold 11,500 people.-External links:*...	Madrid

Reception

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