We are proud to present our interview with Kudo Tsunoda, Executive Producer of Fight Night 2004.

Operation Sports: How responsive is the Total Punch Control Scheme, compared to using the classic configuration?

Kudo Tsunoda: The main design goal for Total Punch Control from the very beginning was to make sure the analog control system was more advantageous to use then just button mashing. Total Punch Control allows you to actually control your fists instead of just playing punch animations. When you move the analog stick, you see your fists making the same movement on screen. Punches flow more intuitively and freely when punching with the analog stick. Instead of only being able to throw entire full punches, you can set up your shots by “feinting” or faking a punch. You can start throwing one punch, pull it back, and quickly score with a different punch. Having total control of your fists also allows you to quickly and easily block incoming punches. All you have to do is move your fists in the way of incoming punches and you can block them with your fists, arms, and elbows. The Total Punch Control system really allows you to box and win as opposed to button mashing. Punching, blocking, bobbing and weaving all work seamlessly with the analog controls. This is why button press punching is still offered to the person playing the game. You can use it if that is what you want to do, but overall the Total Punch Control system gives you the best feeling and biggest advantages while playing.

Operation Sports: What role does stamina play in the game? Will it be an "analog masher"(instead of a button masher) meaning that you just constantly move the stick to throw punches?

Kudo Tsunoda: The energy system has always been one of the most difficult things to tune in any boxing game. Nobody has really captured the true ebb and flow that happens during a fight. In real life, boxers have to pick and choose when to full on attack and spend their precious energy reserves and when to lay back and recoup a little. In games though, not being able to punch or move around effectively because you are tired is a really frustrating mechanic. Fight Night 2004’s energy system has two main components: a maximum energy and a current energy.

As you fight during a round, your current energy drops and replenishes quickly. So if you stand in front of your opponent and non-stop throw punches, you will quickly get tired and become vulnerable. Low energy means your punches are slower, less powerful, and you are less able to take a punch. But if you back off for a second or so, your energy will fill back up to its maximum. Your overall maximum energy decreases from round to round based on how much energy you use while fighting. If you are constantly throwing punches, your maximum energy will decrease over the first several rounds making you much more vulnerable in the later rounds. Defensive tactics like the rope a dope actually work well in the game. Use your defense to tire your opponent out, and you will be able to knock them out in the later rounds.

Like most things in the game, we did not artificially eliminate the non-stop punching strategy. If somebody wants to play the game that way, it should be available to them. Just like some novice fighters come storming out of the game in the first round wildly throwing punches. But the core gameplay of Fight Night 2004 gives the advantage to the person who boxes more intelligently and uses boxing tactics to win. The button / analog mashing gameplay strategy is very simplistic and easy to beat in the game with defense and counter punching.

Operation Sports: Career mode will last how many years?

Kudo Tsunoda: Our career mode spans over (20) years. You can play your career as any of our licensed boxers or you can build your own boxer from our extensive create a boxer system. There are (6) different weight classes you can fight in ranging from featherweight to heavyweight. There are (50) ranked boxers in each weight class. You start off at the bottom of the rankings and have to fight your way up. You train in (1) of (4) mini-games before each fight and are able to customize your boxer’s ratings and physical attributes depending on how you do during training. As you are moving up through the rankings, all the other fighters are fighting each other, moving up and down the rankings in a dynamic boxing sim environment. Older fighters retire and new younger guys enter the rankings. New guys entering the rankings get their physical ratings set based on where your boxer is in their career. If you are still at the bottom of the rankings, easier guys are created. If you are already a title holder, boxers with super high ratings are created. This means once you win a title, there are always new and different guys coming up through the ranks to challenge you.

Operation Sports: Any flash knockdowns?

Kudo Tsunoda: Yes, there are flash knockdowns in Fight Night 2004. This is an element of boxing that has always been painfully missing from other boxing games. One punch being able to change a fight keeps you on the edge of your seat for the entire bout. There is the one basic true-ism of fighting, never let your guard down. But in most boxing games, you can always have your guard down unless your health meter is low. You are given great defensive abilities in Fight Night 2004. You better use them or you can quickly end up laying on the canvas.

Operation Sports: What is the create-a-boxer like? How in depth is it going to be? In Knockout Kings and previous games, it was not very good or in-depth at all.

Kudo Tsunoda: Like most features in Fight Night 2004, we have given the user a lot more hands on control for sculpting their created boxer then you have ever seen in other sports games. Every feature of your boxer’s head and face can be sculpted like clay using your controller. We have thousands of base options you can start with and then it can be fully customized right on your model in real time. The interface is completely visual as we have gotten away from the data driven sliders you see in most create a character systems. Plus, once you have created your own personal model there is no better game to use it in than Fight Night 2004. It is one thing to see a character you have built to look like you riding around on a skateboard or something, but it is another thing to see yourself in a ring boxing and getting beat up. With our damage system, you get to zoom in close up and see all the cuts, swelling, and bruises you have suffered during a fight. Seeing it on your own face in game is hysterical. You can also take your own created boxers online.

Operation Sports: Will different boxers have different types of footwork...faster.... slower...etc.?

Kudo Tsunoda: I remember playing a previous version of knockout kings and fighting Butterbean vs Sugar Ray Leonard. They both had the exact same hand and foot speed. Basically there was no difference between them besides their graphical look. This is something we fixed immediately in Fight Night 2004. Each boxer has individual physical ratings and attributes based on their real life counterparts. Besides basic physical advantages and limits, each boxer also has different animations based on their fighting styles and use different tactics during a fight based on what they are good at. So if there is a fight between Roy Jones Jr. and Joe Frazier, Roy Jones will not be successful if he tries to slug it out with Smokin’ Joe. He needs to stick and move, and make himself a hard target to hit. While more powerful, Joe Frazier does not have nearly the hand or foot speed to keep up with Roy Jones. Frazier needs to trap Roy in a corner and wail away on him while they are in close. The physical ratings, style, and tactics of a boxer are all well integrated and you will need to use each boxers strengths and avoid their weaknesses to win in Fight Night 2004.

Operation Sports: Do the judges use the 10-point must system?

Kudo Tsunoda: All fights are scored by (3) judges on a (10)-point must system. But not each of the judges score the fights exactly the same. Some judges put more emphasis on total punches landed. Some value punch efficiency more. Some score more based on number of power shots landed and damage done. So while scores are fairly consistent, you can get a wide spread of scores depending on how the fight goes. Much like real boxing, you never know who won the fight until it is read off the cards. The surest win is a knockout! There is never any question about that.

Operation Sports: For PS2 online play, will there only be one champion? Will there be a heavyweight, lightweight champion etc? Or is it just "champion" in thought only, meaning the guy is ranked #1 but that's it? Will there be a belt or anything like this for online?

Kudo Tsunoda: I am really happy with our online play. We have set up online to work basically like career mode in the 1p game. There are the same (6) weight divisions to compete in and each division has a set ranking list you need to fight your way to the top off. The champion of each weight class and difficulty level is the belt holder for as long as they can keep it!

Operation Sports: Is it possible for you to briefly explain the licensing process of fighters? Many fans are curious about how the business works and why it can be hard to license particular fighters.

Kudo Tsunoda: The biggest difference between licensing athletes for boxing as opposed to any other sport is that there really is no central body you have to work with to get the athletes in the game. You deal with each boxer individually. This means you can more pick and choose which boxers you want to work with. It gives us the flexibility to create a roster of licensed boxers that is a good mix of current champs, new up and comers, and old school legends. It was a little difficult to track down some of the boxers as many of them tend to spend their non-training and boxing time in pretty remote locations. And it is a lot harder to get business done with boxers once they are getting ready for a fight. But overall, we got to work a lot closer with the boxers as individuals which was great fun and really helped add to the boxing authenticity of the game.

Operation Sports: Knockout animations. How many are there? Knockout Kings 2002 was plagued by the infamous "fetal position" knockdown. Please consider not even including the fetal position in this year's boxing game.

Kudo Tsunoda: Ahhhhh…..the infamous “fetal position” knockdown of Knockout Kings 2002. Yes, this knockdown animation is completely gone from the game. It haunted us all ever having to look at it. One of our biggest features this year was specifically implemented to eliminate that kind of knockdown reaction. Not only are we not including the “fetal position” animation, we have completely eliminated all animation from our knockdowns. This year, every single knockdown in Fight Night 2004 is (100%) completely physics based. This means you can knock a guy down a million times and get million different knockdown reactions. Each knockdown is unique based on the type of punch, the angle of the punch, the force of the punch, and how both boxers bodies were moving when the punch connected. The knockdowns are great…..I just never get tired of seeing guys bodies go limp and fall to the canvas. Especially when you are the person who just knocked them out. If you are really good at the game, you can get in a couple of more punches as your opponent is defenseless falling to the ground.

Thanks so much for letting me talk about Fight Night 2004 on your site! Being a huge sports gamer, I check your site out all the time and have found it a great resource for keeping up to date with all going on in the world of sports gaming. For anybody who likes sports or multiplayer competition, check out the Fight Night 2004! It is the ultimate head to head battle in video games. I hope you have as much fun playing it as we did making it!!