THQ Considering a Longer Development Cycle For Next UFC Game

[JerseySuave4]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gotmadskillzson

Yeah they do that......and watch 1/2 their base jump ship to EA MMA. Because without a doubt, EA has the money and people power to do it annually. THQ's problem was they got greedy and stretched themselves too thin. Making it for the PSP was a waste of time, money and people power. I mean seriously how many people still use their PSP ? PSP isn't hot. I say nowadays maybe 1 out 10 people still rocking a PSP on a regular basis. During the 2 year break in between games, they better do patches and roster updates or something. Have anybody else notice that in 2010 the octagon mat don't change anymore like it did in 09 ? Remember back in 09 everytime a new UFC event was coming up, the octagon had it written everywhere ? this year there is none of that at all.

I doubt EA will make a new game annually. There really is no reason to make MMA games annually, its not like football, basketball, baseball games where the rosters change year to year so there is more of a demand for a new game each year. I wish those sports games would go to every other year as well because then the quality of games would be better but people would become inpatient and they make more money putting out a new game each year. Its not like i need to have a new UFC game every year so i actually like this if it means a much better game in terms of quality.

[bkfount]

Quote: Originally Posted by DaveDQ

I think EA's brand is pretty strong too. EA Sports usually has a cart all to itself in my town's GameStop, among other types of adds. I'm already seeing a strong showing of EA MMA. Having UFC is a huge factor, but at the same time THQ did something wrong with it for them to be evaluating their development cycle and possibly changing things, and I think EA can make a dent if they put out a game with quality and depth.

Of course EA will use its brand to push their MMA game, because they'll have to. They're playing the underdog in this genre, as the UFC game has the mainstream appeal. Neither game needs to be a yearly release though, and it's looking like EA will actually cycle between Fight Night and EA MMA.

[JerseySuave4]

Quote: Originally Posted by DaveDQ

I think EA's brand is pretty strong too. EA Sports usually has a cart all to itself in my town's GameStop, among other types of adds. I'm already seeing a strong showing of EA MMA. Having UFC is a huge factor, but at the same time THQ did something wrong with it for them to be evaluating their development cycle and possibly changing things, and I think EA can make a dent if they put out a game with quality and depth. It's the same thing they did with Smackdown vs Raw. Annual releases just don't hold up when not much has changed or innovation and creativity lack. I think these annual games that are seeing low sales are beginning to realize that having the power-brand isn't cutting it.

i dont think they necessarily did something wrong but if they released a new game next year and it was just a slight improvement over last year then people would become frustrated in the series and then they would see a more noticeable decline. Sports games for the NFL, NCAA, MLB & NBA come out yearly because of the change in rosters and teams year to year and because there is a higher demand for those games. But MMA isnt something that has a season and a offseason.

It makes life a lot easier for a company knowing they have 2 years instead of 1 to improve and get a game out. It also will benefit the cosumer because we should then see more of an improvement from game to game.

The UFC brand most likely holds more water than the EA brand when it comes to MMA games. Casual fans may recognize EA and might see the game in the store and pick up the game with interest, but once they look at the back and see whos in the game and see that it isnt UFC, that will turn some off. Now EA did a good job getting Randy Couture because he's a UFC guy so that can trick some people, but casual fans wont know a lot of these guys even though us that follow MMA know them all.

EA's game will do good numbers but i doubt it outsells UFC. The UFC brand is strong.

[Gotmadskillzson]

I don't know........that will be a tough one to call whether or not EA MMA out sells UFC. Can go either way really. We all know EA has the money to flood the air waves with commercials for their games. Even have the money to pay for a 30 minute infomercial for their game.

Last night on Spike they had a 30 minute infomercial for Madden 11 basically. Even had an all day Madden event in New Orleans, that included a Madden parade, madden float and concerts. EA got money to burn.

So who is to say they won't do the same thing for EA MMA ? And if their demo is hot, word of mouth going to spread like wild fire. One thing IMO that is going to attract a lot of casuals to EA MMA is those Vale Tudo rules when you fight in Brazil.

Nevertheless competition is a good thing, a great thing. Because in the end, it is a win win for consumers.

[JerseySuave4]

because EA MMA is not Madden. NCAA doesnt even get that Madden treatment and its a better game. Same with Fifa. Expect the MMA game to get the type of attention Fight Night typically gets. They arent going to go too over the top promoting a game for a sport with more of a hardcore fan base.

[mgoblue]

Quote: Originally Posted by aholbert32

You underestimate the power of the UFC brand. Most casual MMA fans dont know more than 5-6 fighters featured in EA MMA (Couture, Fedor, Sylvia, Shamrock, maybe Overeem and Shields) and they know most of them because of the UFC. I dont see UFC fans jumping to another game just because the game is on a longer dev cycle. Also EA MMA is on a 2yr cycle to and there is no guarantee we will get a sequel to that game.

I'm more than a casual fan and while I know a lot of the guys EA has gotten, I'm not really hyped to play as 90+% of them.

I'm probably getting EA MMA because I enjoy the sport and want to see what they do, but I'll always want to be fighting as the guys I know and follow in the UFC. It's like pro football games...I don't want to play as some generic guys, I want real NFL players.

[sammy g]

This is a good thing cause they really need to make this game better. UFC 2010 was almost unplayable for me, so I hope this greatly improves the next UFC game

[LingeringRegime]

EA already said a while back that they are on a bi-annual basis with their combat sports games.