07:36 AM - October 25, 2010 by Steve_OS
According to CVG, EA Sports MMA hasn't sold many copies and with THQ and Zuffa, LLC extending their exclusive UFC videogame license through 2018, it might be one and done, for EA Sports MMA.
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EA Sports MMA News Post
07:36 AM - October 25, 2010 by Steve_OSAccording to CVG, EA Sports MMA hasn't sold many copies and with THQ and Zuffa, LLC extending their exclusive UFC videogame license through 2018, it might be one and done, for EA Sports MMA.
EA Sports MMA Videos
Member Comments
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For instance, two of my buddies. HUGE MMA fans. But not huge gaming guys did not even know the game was coming out. They came to my house this weekend for Brock vs Cain. Never even knew EA had a MMA game in the works. Now they are going get it because the game impressed them.
I have spoke with so many guys who did not even know what EA MMA was. Not from a mix martial arts perspective but more they did not even know it was being developed. This is partly why I think it is a marketing issue. Plus with what I have seen on TV, nothing has impressed me that people will run out to buy it.
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I've seen the commercial for the EA several times on various networks and it's really well done. My wife, who follows MMA very casually (only b/c I'm a big fan), even commented on how good the commercial was and how good the limited glimpses of gameplay looked.
But you are right in that the casual MMA fan is likely to go with the "brand" name over the "better" game. We saw the same thing in 2007 with Madden 08 and APF 2K8. Sorry to bring those games into this discussion but it certainly fits. One would be hard-pressed to successfully argue that Madden 08 was a better game ON THE FIELD than APF 2K8. But, Madden had the NFL License. Yes, APF had legends but only the hardcore football fan (and one that truly cares about the history of the game) really knew who Lester Hayes, Night Train Lane, Paul Hornung and Jackie Smith were. The casuals didn't know and didn't care to find out, so they passed on the game, especially once it was revealed that there was no franchise mode.
I think that's what is happening with EA's game. It's a shame too b/c while I don't own the game, I do plan on purchasing it very soon. From the impressions I've read from long-time mods and users I respect and have gamed (is that a word? It is now.) with in the past, it really sounds like EA did a bang-up job for a first-time effort and it would be real nice to see the developers given an opportunity to build on this base.
# 43
inkpimp007 @ 10/25/10 06:32 PM
Seems that the EA brand is more of a negative then anything even when they do get a game right.
# 44
Gotmadskillzson @ 10/25/10 06:45 PM
EA MMA suffers from one thing and one thing only that matters and that is bad release timing. It came out at the same time of Fallout: New Vegas and too close to the COD: Black Ops release date.
Being the masses was going to buy Fallout, they weren't going to turn and buy EA MMA when they knew COD: Black Ops was on the horizon. And it is also true that the poor demo drove the casual consumer away.
Ads were plentiful.......But to say unrecognized fighters....I don't know about that.
Frank Shamrock, Ken Shamrock, Bas, Tim Silvia, Jeff Monson, Nick Diaz, Robbie Lawler, Frank Trigg, Arlowski, Dan Henderson, and one other fighter who I forget his name....ALL came from the UFC.
So unless you just started watching UFC in the past 2 years then yeah you might not have known all those fighters started off in the UFC. Plus people got to keep in mind this is a global market, not just a USA market. Average american might not know a lot of MMA fighters, but as long as this game sales well in Europe and the rest of the world, it will continue to be supported by EA.
It is the same thing as FIFA. FIFA never sell well in the USA, but in Europe, it goes platinum every year. So in theory, it can be 2 MMA games at the same time.
Stranger things have happened. People thought the Wii wouldn't last in the generation of uber HD graphics, but the Wii is selling strong.
Being the masses was going to buy Fallout, they weren't going to turn and buy EA MMA when they knew COD: Black Ops was on the horizon. And it is also true that the poor demo drove the casual consumer away.
Ads were plentiful.......But to say unrecognized fighters....I don't know about that.
Frank Shamrock, Ken Shamrock, Bas, Tim Silvia, Jeff Monson, Nick Diaz, Robbie Lawler, Frank Trigg, Arlowski, Dan Henderson, and one other fighter who I forget his name....ALL came from the UFC.
So unless you just started watching UFC in the past 2 years then yeah you might not have known all those fighters started off in the UFC. Plus people got to keep in mind this is a global market, not just a USA market. Average american might not know a lot of MMA fighters, but as long as this game sales well in Europe and the rest of the world, it will continue to be supported by EA.
It is the same thing as FIFA. FIFA never sell well in the USA, but in Europe, it goes platinum every year. So in theory, it can be 2 MMA games at the same time.
Stranger things have happened. People thought the Wii wouldn't last in the generation of uber HD graphics, but the Wii is selling strong.
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Sad, really, I know.
good discussion in here for sure.
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I think something that also hurt this game was how generic it sounds. EA MMA just sounds kind of blah. For me though, I could care less. I love the fact that we have various rule sets. I thoroughly enjoy the game and the only reason I would care about sales is so that the guys that made the game get to stick around and be rewarded in continuing to work on the game for future iterations.
# 47
Gotmadskillzson @ 10/25/10 08:01 PM
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But I like you would rather have the variety of rules sets then a brand name of one league only. I mean soccer kicks and head stomps are the shiznit.
# 48
TheWorldIsYours @ 10/25/10 08:09 PM
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The most appropriate example we have in this regards (IMO) is when EA overpaid for the WCW license in 1998. At that time, the WWF (now WWE) was on the rise with the more widely known stars like Stone Cold, The Rock, ManKind/Mick Foley. While it can be argued that the WWE games at the time were better (due to being developed by AKI Corp), the argument made from EA's side was that the license didn't matter. Also keep in mind that the TV ratings for WWF vs WCW were about 4 to 1 so it was even close when comraing which was the more popular promotion. It was WWF, duh. WWF is synonymous with pro wrestling as UFC is with MMA. As Coke is to cola beverages. As Levi's are to blue jeans. As Ford is to pickup trucks.
Is there a minority of the total number of gamers who follow all MMA and will greatly appreciate what EA has done? Absolutely. And they should. EA has done a pretty decent job.
But to say that the UFC license doesn't matter if EA's game is good enough is pretty naive. Maybe that's how individuals on O/S feel and they're projecting their own judgement of "preferring a better game over the license, any day!"
But yeah, there is NO WAY the EA Sports MMA game will ever outsell it's UFC counterpart unless there is a significant price difference.
And IMO, MMA is more analogous to a sports game rather than a fighting game. MMA games trade on the rosters, the logos, and the licenses. That's what the publishers pay for.
Is there a minority of the total number of gamers who follow all MMA and will greatly appreciate what EA has done? Absolutely. And they should. EA has done a pretty decent job.
But to say that the UFC license doesn't matter if EA's game is good enough is pretty naive. Maybe that's how individuals on O/S feel and they're projecting their own judgement of "preferring a better game over the license, any day!"
But yeah, there is NO WAY the EA Sports MMA game will ever outsell it's UFC counterpart unless there is a significant price difference.
And IMO, MMA is more analogous to a sports game rather than a fighting game. MMA games trade on the rosters, the logos, and the licenses. That's what the publishers pay for.
I think the biggest mistake they made was the release date. There was no reason to release it now, in a year where october/november is ultra packed with quality titles. They could have easily waited until march or april, or some other time when a lot of games aren't flooding onto store shelves, and been more of a featured title.
# 51
CaptainZombie @ 10/25/10 09:22 PM
To me its the release date..........if this came out in September or even late August, would have been perfect timing.
Then my #2 beef has to do with the name of the game. EA MMA is cool and all, but centralizing this around say a promotion like Strikeforce would have been better even though Strikeforce is not as known by the casuals. Give us all the Strikeforce branding as the main part of the game.....but still keep Brazil and Japan in there as is. Place Couture and Shamrock on the cover....two guys known in the MMA community. If some of the Strikeforce women were in here too, it would have helped a bit giving this game something different.
I played the full game tonight as my brother was renting it from gamefly.........I am sold and this is going to be an instant purchase for me.
Hopefully EA releases another game in 2 years, yet continues to update this one with patches and also giving us DLC content for fighters that leave or are fired from UFC or anyone else they might not had been able to sign.
Then my #2 beef has to do with the name of the game. EA MMA is cool and all, but centralizing this around say a promotion like Strikeforce would have been better even though Strikeforce is not as known by the casuals. Give us all the Strikeforce branding as the main part of the game.....but still keep Brazil and Japan in there as is. Place Couture and Shamrock on the cover....two guys known in the MMA community. If some of the Strikeforce women were in here too, it would have helped a bit giving this game something different.
I played the full game tonight as my brother was renting it from gamefly.........I am sold and this is going to be an instant purchase for me.
Hopefully EA releases another game in 2 years, yet continues to update this one with patches and also giving us DLC content for fighters that leave or are fired from UFC or anyone else they might not had been able to sign.
# 52
aholbert32 @ 10/25/10 09:42 PM
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Also none of those fighters will sell games. Thats like me saying people will buy the UFC game because of Chris Lytle. Yes, UFC fans should know who he is but fans arent buying the game because Chris is in it.
The FIFA comparison doesnt work because soccer is much more popular in the rest of the world. I think MMA's popularity in the US is on par with it in Japan right now. The game may sell well in Japan though because of the named fighters like Aoki and others.
No doubt EA released MMA thinking that the UFC license would be on the cards for them. No way will they release another MMA titled game. Leave the genre to THQ & focus more on getting it right with the Fight Night series.
# 54
KabutoRyder @ 10/26/10 10:46 AM
I would have loved to have seen women in the game. Strikeforce respects women's MMA and gives them TV time so I was hoping they would get them in the game as well. Hell I'd love to play as Cyborg and stomp the hell out of Carano again and again....and again....
# 55
Boilerbuzz @ 10/26/10 11:54 AM
Not the biggest fan of the sport. But exclusive licenses suck any way you slice it. This is NOT good news. But I will admit to a small chuckle that it's EA.
# 56
CaptainZombie @ 10/26/10 12:04 PM
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# 57
TheShizNo1 @ 10/26/10 12:44 PM
I have friends who say they know what UFC is, but don't know what MMA is........
# 58
Mossfan8480 @ 10/26/10 01:50 PM
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# 59
Lakers 24 7 @ 10/26/10 03:30 PM
I think that's the biggest factor here, to most MMA doesn't exist, to them MMA IS Ultimate Fighting.
Also, maybe it's not so much about knowing the athletes, rather it's brand recognition. For instance I don't follow the NHL and I don't know any of the athletes in the sport, but if there's a hockey game out there that I like I'll buy it. I know the NHL is the pinnacle of the sport, so I know what I'm getting.
With StrikeForce and the fighters in EA MMA, there's no brand recognition, thus they probably feel as if they're paying for 2nd tier content. Which as fans we know isn't the case, but to them the UFC is the be all end all to MMA. I told my cousin about the game not long ago, his first question was who's in the game, when I told him it was mainly StrikeForce fighters he immediately lost all interest in the game. EA and StrikeForce needs to do more in order to bolster their brand and their fighters. Showcase these athletes and convince the world that they're just as good as the UFC guys.
Also, maybe it's not so much about knowing the athletes, rather it's brand recognition. For instance I don't follow the NHL and I don't know any of the athletes in the sport, but if there's a hockey game out there that I like I'll buy it. I know the NHL is the pinnacle of the sport, so I know what I'm getting.
With StrikeForce and the fighters in EA MMA, there's no brand recognition, thus they probably feel as if they're paying for 2nd tier content. Which as fans we know isn't the case, but to them the UFC is the be all end all to MMA. I told my cousin about the game not long ago, his first question was who's in the game, when I told him it was mainly StrikeForce fighters he immediately lost all interest in the game. EA and StrikeForce needs to do more in order to bolster their brand and their fighters. Showcase these athletes and convince the world that they're just as good as the UFC guys.
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Not knocking Strikeforce, I actually enjoy watching it, but they don't have the same level talent of the UFC.
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