With E3 on the horizon, we’re likely going to hear a lot more about all of the usual suspects in the sports genre. One of the outliers to this standard cycle is the EA Sports UFC franchise, as EA has admitted that the game won’t have a standard annualized release schedule. This has become obvious by the fact that June is nearly here and we know nothing about the next game in the franchise. Random message board posts and tweets from the dev team have confirmed that development is underway on the next game (EA Sports UFC 2? EA Sports UFC 2016?), but it’s hard to say when we’ll hear more about it.

It’s certainly possible that the EA press conference on June 15 will give us a peek at something new, but it’s hard to really be sure with PGA, NHL, FIFA, Madden and NBA needing to have their time to shine. All we can do at this point is speculate on where the devs might take the franchise. And it’s interesting to contemplate, as sales for the first game weren’t exactly blowing the doors off, and Fight Night is still waiting in the wings for a possible return. One way or the other, I’ll be curious to see what the added development time gains for a marquee sports title.

Here are five items that would be really cool to see in the next EA Sports UFC game.

Career Mode Expansion

As a purely single-player proposition, the first EA Sports UFC didn’t exactly light the world on fire with what it offered. There was a pretty standard career arc, complete with training, sponsorships and title fights. The video clips of fighters and coaches building you up were kind of cool in concept but not so much in execution. I did like the idea of starting in the house on The Ultimate Fighter, and watching your character walk out and fight while being cheered by housemates was kind of fun.

Much like the later THQ games, I think EA needs to move towards a concept where there are different fight camps that you can align yourself with. It would be intriguing to be able to work your way up to different camps and have those coaches and camp fighters actually provide you with benefits and weaknesses. There’s probably some fertile ground with the way fight bonuses and contracts work in the UFC, and the idea of having to impress the mercurial Dana White (or getting in a dispute with him) would probably result in some good NBA 2K–style fodder for a career mode. Whether the UFC would allow themselves to be portrayed in that light is another matter.

As for the challenge mode, it should probably be focused around specific and progressively harder challenges, which would tax players to actually apply advanced submission, grappling and clinch skills to succeed. Further to this, the tutorial, sparring and practice options could use a buff, with proper context for new users so that they can understand not only how to deploy certain techniques but when they should deploy those techniques. Controls are a murky topic as well, since new users clearly had a problem with the game. I don’t envy EA having to try and please the causals and the hardcores with the control scheme, but they have to do a better job of making people understand why they should be trying a given move.

PRIDE Mode (or something like it)

Beyond some improvements to career mode and the other basic offerings, it would be fun to see a major addition to the single-player package. THQ had great success with the PRIDE mode, as the entrances, in-ring announcer, commentators and camera angles were all definitively PRIDE. The alternate fighter attires and PRIDE-specific roster really sealed the deal. Then again, it was fun being able to stomp and soccer kick people, too, which served up a brutal touch to the proceedings.

There certainly is a chance that EA brings this sort of mode back, as the UFC has access to all sorts of video archives and past leagues. The outlay of effort for the presentation on a mode like this is likely quite high, so the developers would have to decide whether the time commitment is worth it for the possible audience for such a feature. Then again, EA might try and go a different route, offering a Strikeforce mode or maybe even a “classic UFC” feature, where users could compete with all of “old” stars. The more rough-and-tumble nature of the sport (and how it was presented back then) might be kind of cool when paired with classic fighters from that era, and it would serve as a nice alternative to the standard career mode.

Online Emphasis

As a big online player, I’m a bit biased when I say that I’d like to see more attention paid to the online modes and features. That said, EA started out the franchise on the right foot in terms of the basics, as the net code for EA Sports UFC is rock solid, and the championship “seasons” concept translates quite naturally for an online career progression.

One can certainly imagine where they might take things, with a possible focus on e-sports through the UFC Spotlight feature as well as stuff like Twitch and youtube. If the game actually manages to create a little more spectacle and tighten up its fighting engine, there could be a devoted audience to title fights and user-created leagues.

Another possible feature is the inclusion of online fight camps, where you could team up with a group of like-minded fighters to not only work for prestige for your camp but to share in the glory of an individual member’s triumph. I could imagine practice sessions where you could roll around in the gym and train teammates to become better, passing on striking techniques, grapple timing and special moves. Maybe you could even corner for one of your camp’s fighters, giving them voice chat advice and participating in a minigame for fixing up cuts and such (but this is probably pie-in-the-sky stuff). Custom team logos and identifiers seem like a given, too. Either way, some kind of clan/camp feature is a safe bit, I’d say.

Gameplay Evolution

Count me in the group of people who feels that EA got a lot right in their first crack at the gameplay for EA Sports UFC. To be sure, the initial game, before any patches, had some problems. There were big-time stamina issues for some fighters, and certain techniques could be spammed repeatedly for positive results. But to me, the kernel of the gameplay engine was there, as each component — striking, grappling, submissions, clinch, footwork — felt relatively appropriate. Even the novelty of the submission minigame grew on me, as I found that subs happened at about the right rate in terms of actual UFC competition. It’s hard to get a submission but easy to attempt one, and EA Sports UFC nailed that.

What needed addressing was the stamina system and move spam of certain high-level fighters, and EA did that. By implementing a combo system and some level of proper stamina decay on strikes, it’s really opened up the striking game and created three- and five-round battles that feel gruelling by the end. The addition of taunts, glove touches, kick-catching, unique takedowns and finish-the-fight moments have also been welcome, and the gameplay has benefitted a great deal from these changes.

I think a lot of users would like to see the stop-gap parry system replaced by something that didn’t come from the Fight Night universe, as that would be more appropriate to the MMA world. The weak block is also a problem, as most people just hold it down and turtle up and then counter from that. It’s fine to a point, but it’s too prominently featured in matches, and users aren’t penalized enough for holding said block. The inclusion of proper head sways (on the ground and standing) would be useful as well, adding a level of fidelity to evading that was found in the later THQ games.

Of course, I’d also love to see an increased emphasis on fighter styles, with proper differentiation between all of the combatants. Roy Nelson, for example, shouldn’t have some of the takedowns that he does, and less fighters should be able to perform head kicks. This doesn’t mean that reality shouldn’t be bent a bit, but a grappler should truly feel dominant in that regard, with specific animations and transitions based on that fighter. Also, can we possibly lose the 30 frames and motion blur and get 60 frames per second? It would be cool to see.

Devil is in the Details

As well as tweaked gameplay systems, the level of polish and detail in the title seems like a natural area to see improvement. In-arena atmosphere and presentation has been a big push for EA, so I suspect we’ll see an increased roster, more walkout music, proper coaches and even some of the new Reebok uniforms on the fighters. It’s highly probable that more arenas and referees will be added as well, as the selection in EA Sports UFC is a bit on the paltry side. Even some added camera work and shots of fighters preparing backstage (during a pay-per-view) would benefit the atmosphere.

Sponsorships are an interesting question, especially in light of the Reebok deal, so I’d be curious to see if Reebok, FOX or other sponsors make their way into the product. That could even affect camera angles, overlays and announce teams, and there’s nothing wrong with giving people more choice in how they can present the action.

Outlook

While this is hardly an exhaustive list of possibilities for the next EA Sports UFC game, I’d hope that some of these are addressed in some form or another. The extended development time gives hope to the notion that they’ll be able to do more than is usually seen in annualized sports games, and I wonder if users will be able to really feel that when they pick up a copy of the game. The first offering has continued to provide me entertainment in the online arena, so I hope they add enough depth to the single-player, feature set, gameplay depth and presentation to retain users for a longer period of time.