Fighting Game News: Fight Night's Fate, EA UFC and WWE 2K14 - Wiggy's Blog

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Fighting Game News: Fight Night's Fate, EA UFC and WWE 2K14 Stuck

Posted on May 28, 2013 at 03:34 PM.

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With E3 just around the corner, the big three fighting games are all in different places on the spectrum. Amusingly, we haven't really actually seen anything from the upcoming games, even though we're hearing a lot about them.

The Fate of Fight Night

In a recent statement, EA has directed some cynicism towards its generally well-liked Fight Night brand, and the company seems to have shifted its focus towards the world of UFC for the time being. EA Sports head honcho Andrew Wilson said: "Do I see a future for Fight Night? You know, sure. But right now, UFC is where our fighting focus is." It really is a shame to hear such a non-committal response in regards to boxing, even if Fight Night has faltered a little bit in recent iterations.

At this point, it seems like EA is content to pass the gloves to EA UFC and let the chips fall where they may. If the UFC product takes off, especially with its next-gen features, that might leave Fight Night as the odd game out in EA's portfolio.

For boxing fans, it definitely stings a bit, as the promise of new technology was right around the corner. With the future of Fight Night looking pretty dim, it's up to some other developer(s) to pick up the pieces and make something compelling to get players excited about a boxing experience again.

EA UFC Feature Tease

The EA UFC twitter (@EASPORTSUFC) is conducting a guessing game where they are allowing users to pontificate on possible features for the upcoming game. Each day over the next eight days, they are posting a picture with a clue. All of these features will be revealed once E3 rolls around (June 10-14).

To me, day 1 looks to be alluding to realism, particularly in the character faces. The tagline "witness the effort" seems to go hand-in-hand with the shot of Dan Henderson grunting away. My sense is they'll probably have some enhanced detail in the faces that really captures the exertion required for the sport.

Day 2's picture seems to point towards some sort of flash KO or momentum system. It refes to one strike being able to change the course of the match. This is probably emphasizing a revised striking engine that is meant to surprise, hopefully creating Kongo vs. Barry moments from time to time.

What do you guys think?

WWE 2K14 Goes Next-Gen?

There seems to be some conflicting reports about whether WWE 2K14 will be going to next-generation platforms. Several sites and twitter accounts are going with the story, but there doesn't seem to be any official press release or confirmation from other outlets.

Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if WWE 2K14 made a next-generation appearance, especially to catch some cheap heat for the brand, but I don't think 2K would be well served by doing that. The development cycle for the game hasn't been long enough to do anything meaningful with a next-gen product, and it would just end up souring users on the brand in general. I hope they wait till next year to make more meaningful strides for new hardware.

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Follow me on Twitter: @glennwigmore

Comments

# 1 SHAKYR @ May 28

You are on point with this articl, especially the Fight Night part. It's a very sad day for us boxing fans.

# 2 smithdynasty @ May 29

EA may be the worst video game company of All Time

# 3 drewst18 @ May 29

Not buying a game cause your bitter seems stupid to me especially if the game you are not buying is superior. You are really the one who would be losing out the most.

That being said, there are some sports that aren't the most exciting to watch but it seems that video games were made for that sport. Boxing is one of them, FN3 was one of the best video games I have ever played and boxing dates back to some of the earliest video games cause its a sport made to be played as a video game. It is a shame that both UFC and FN can't be successful games as I would take both over an EA wrestling game which everyone I have played has been TERRIBLE!

# 4 statum71 @ May 29

BINGO!!!!! on your take on WWE 2K14.

# 5 believeinnow @ May 29

I know people are complaining that EA is "dumb" for not making another boxing game but the cold-hard fact is that the sport isn't as popular as it once was and doesn't justify having more frequent releases. You can still throw in FNC and feel as though you're playing a new game. Part of the reason why FNC contained a storyline was because it needed something different. We'll see more Boxing games in the future, but just not in the next 18-24 months.

# 6 htskr21 @ May 29

UFC over the "sweet science"? Wow. What. A. Shock.
Pandering to the lowest common denominator in society.
We really are de-evolving.

# 7 SHAKYR @ May 30

A great game will sell no matter what. People keep making excuses for EA. FNC did not represent boxing. The game's gameplay wasn't realistic. If you think FNC represented boxing you don't know boxing. The producer doesn't think realism can carry the series. What proof do they have of this?
Fight Night Champion lost fans because they expected more from the series. I have done podcast after podcast, fans want a deep representation of boxing. EA Fight Night series sold to more casual fans and most of the other fans passed on FNC.