UFC and Fight Night: The Waiting Game - Wiggy's Blog

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Wiggy's Blog

UFC and Fight Night: The Waiting Game Stuck

Posted on May 9, 2013 at 04:10 PM.

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In the deluge of financial information that EA revealed this week, it was noted that there won't be a UFC product until after March of 2014. I'd say this is a bit of surprise, as EA's fighting products have been lurking in the shadows for a while now. This means that the earliest we're likely to see a UFC product from EA is the summer of 2014, but it is conceivable that it could be pushed to the fall. Still, the spring/summer seems likely, especially with there not being a Tiger Woods game next spring.

On the surface, this is probably good news for those who are waiting on the next big MMA game release. It means that the title is assuredly going to be a next-gen game all the way, and it will benefit from a few extra months of key development time. A UFC game could have definitely gone next-gen if it had released this fall, but it would've likely used legacy artwork and minimal processing power from the new consoles. This way, we will (hopefully) get a product that has learned from some of the new consoles' launch titles.

There is also the possibility that EA is a bit protective of its first next-gen release, since this UFC game would likely fall as the first example of EA's prowess with the new technologies available. It's been pretty much confirmed that none of the usual sports titles from EA this fall will be released on the new machines, so they might be a bit wary of the first game out of the next-gen chute, since that is going to have some extra attention and emphasis placed on it. This probably explains why they shuffled the next Tiger Woods game around as well, since they already don't put as many resources on that title as their flagship releases, and that team likely needs the extra time to really leverage the next-gen muscle.

The knock-on effect of delaying the new UFC product to sometime in 2014 is that the next Fight Night game is left in the wind, searching for a relevant moment to make its return. Back in early 2012, EA confirmed that there would be no Fight Night release in 2012, inferring a likely 2013 return. But with the acquisition of the UFC license, you have to wonder where that leaves Fight Night. Hell, even the NHL series is picking the bones of Fight Night right now, taking some of code for its new "enforcer engine."

Stil, all of this could end up being a good thing for Fight Night, especially if a core team is still in place. We do know that EA is using core Fight Night developers to help make the new UFC game, so hopefully those learnings get brought back to a Fight Night release if it's going to happen on every other year or something like that. In this way, a Fight Night game might have the best of everything, as you've got the core Fight Night team who is learning the new hardware on a different game and then bringing it back to what they started with, all the while having an extended dev time and less expectations. Then again, EA could catch fire with the UFC brand and cast Fight Night aside. It's definitely touch and go for Fight Night at this point, I'd say.

I certainly don't mind waiting for quality games; in fact, I almost prefer it most of the time. I liked it when the NHL team took a year off before releasing a game on the Xbox 360, and that brought along some great visuals and the amazing skill stick. UFC Undisputed 3 was the beneficiary of extended development time as well, and this brought a better overall presentation, some new striking depth and the addition of PRIDE mode.

My sense is that for anyone into fighting games, we just want to know that the developers that are working on these games are good stewards of the sport -- people who care about what they're making. The business realities of video games as well as both the sport of boxing and MMA mean that EA will have to get creative with how and when they release these games. Let's hope that our patience is rewarded in full.

Comments

# 1 SHAKYR @ May 9

This means the Fight Night series is basically done. The delay will kill off the series because it seem like EA is more concerned with the UFC and Fight Night will be it's next sacrificial lamb to go from it's lineup.
This means I have to push 2K/Visual Concepts and other companies more. I have been campaigning for years. Companies may see this as a huge opportunity and they should grasp it immediately.

# 2 Wiggy @ May 9

Quote:


	SHAKYR @ May 10 (49 Minutes Ago) This means the Fight Night series is basically done. The delay will kill off the series because it seem like EA is more concerned with the UFC and Fight Night will be it's next sacrificial lamb to go from it's lineup. This means I have to push 2K/Visual Concepts and other companies more. I have been campaigning for years. Companies may see this as a huge opportunity and they should grasp it immediately.

I agree. There's no reason a boxing came can't co-exist with an MMA game, let alone the deluge of other sports titles that are out there. I really hope it's just a delay and not a complete cancellation, but until we hear more, it's hard to be certain. It doesn't look good.

# 3 Dazraz @ May 10

I would like a different developer to work on a new boxing game. I've owned every Fight Night game & although they're fun at first everyone of them becomes stale too quick.

# 4 bigdoc85 @ May 10

I'm not convinced we will see another Fight Night -- I just don't think there is a market for it.

# 5 SHAKYR @ May 10

No market for boxing?!? Yeah, no market for the arcadey versions. Boxing is a sport and EA hasn't giving the sport and boxers the justice it deserve. If Operation Sports did a poll like I have done numerous times you would see the market is there fans just want a better product.

# 6 Money99 @ May 10

How did FNC do for sales? I know round 4 was a huge success.
It shows EA that there is money to be made in boxing.
I think where they missed the boat was pouring all their cash and resources into a static story mode.
If they had used those same resources for a deep and engaging career mode, I think it would have done extremely well critically and financially.
I still have to laugh that 20-year old Evander Holyfield Boxing still has a better career mode than the FN series.

# 7 kisstopher5 @ May 11

Only thing that bothers me is that EA isn't doing anything with UFC 3. When THQ went under and WWE went to 2K, 2K gave an update online, they work on the servers, and they even released the game with their logo. I don't understand why EA can't at least keep up with the Undisputed 3 servers. UFC 3 is fun now, but by this fall, it'll be a long 6-8 months without a current UFC game.

# 8 SHAKYR @ May 12

The Next-Gen systems are coming out in October or November there is no excuse for us to have waiting so long for the UFC game or Fight Night.

# 9 DaveDQ @ May 16

EA is ignoring huge potential profit if they don't release a UFC game in 2013 on the next-gen system. Remember how Fight Night was celebrated when the 360/PS3 first came out? It was one of the games that got many excited about the newer systems. These new console releases are huge potential for brand games like UFC, and EA would stand to gain from a launch or Spring release.