Fight Night Round 4 Predicts Pacquiao Over Hatton (Press Release)

EA SPORTS FIGHT NIGHT ROUND 4 PREDICTS KNOCKOUT
VICTORY FOR MANNY PACQUIAO OVER RICKY HATTON

11th Round KO Ends Back and Forth Bout

Manny Pacquiao will win his highly anticipated May 2nd bout against Ricky Hatton with a convincing 11th round knockout, according to the official EA SPORTS™ simulation conducted using Fight Night Round 4. Available June 30, 2009, for the Xbox 360® video game system from Microsoft and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Fight Night Round 4 is the latest entry in the critically acclaimed boxing series from Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS).

According to the simulation, an aggressive attempt by Hatton to limit Pacquiao’s movement early on was unsuccessful. Pacquiao’s used his speed and control of the ring to take advantage of Hatton’s aggression, picking his punches and keeping out of range. The tide turned in Hatton’s favor in Round 4 when he found some success trapping Pacquiao in the corner. With little room to work with, Pacquiao was forced to trade blows on Hatton’s terms. This relentless exchange proved to be too much for Pacquiao who went down to a powerful left hook at the end of Round 6. The later rounds saw the revival of the quick moving Pacquiao, who outpaced and out boxed Hatton yet again. Lightning fast left jabs wreaked havoc on Hatton through Rounds 7, 8 and 9 before a commanding right hand brought him to the mat in Round 10. Badly hurt and looking sluggish, Hatton was unable to beat the count after falling to another deadly right hook from Pacquiao in Round 11.

Round by Round Scoring:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Totals
Ricky Hatton 9 9 9 10 10 10 9 9 9 8 - 92
Manny Pacquiao 10 10 10 9 9 8 10 10 10 10 - 96

The simulation was conducted using Fight Night Round 4’s all-new AI (Artificial Intelligence) system. Dubbed R.E.A.L (Record, Evaluate, Adapt, Learn) AI by the development team, the system re-creates each fighter’s ring strategies in the game based on their real life counterparts. Built with adaptive logic, the system triggers fighters to change their tactics based on their success, or failure, throughout the course of a bout.

One of the most anticipated video games of 2009, Fight Night Round 4 features unique boxer styles and an all new physics based engine that creates one-of-a-kind bouts between over 45 licensed boxers, including Hatton and Pacquiao. Fans will have the chance to recreate this May 2nd bout with the Fight Night Round 4 Demo, which is scheduled for release in late-May.

This game has been rated T by the ESRB. For more information, log onto http://fightnight.easports.com.