Will EA Sports MMA Be a Casualty of the UFC Strikeforce Buyout?
by Nate Wilcox on Mar 14, 2011 4:35 PM EDT
in UFC Analysis
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We've covered a lot of the angles of the UFC's surprise acquisition of Strikeforce, but there's a big one we have not covered. The implications on the video game business. The UFC has partnered with the smaller THQ to publish UFC Undisputed which was a huge hit in 2009. They re-upped for an exclusive contract running until 2018, despite the surprising flop of UFC Undisputed 2010.
EA Games, left out of the party, partnered with Strikeforce. Video games site Kotaku talks about what will likely happen now:
The acquisition could mean only one MMA video game going forward.
Last year's EA Sports MMA was licensed by Strikeforce, using its rules, many of its fighters, and venues where major Strikeforce cards have been fought. The two had a hand-in-glove promotional relationship leading up to the game's release, including bouts fought during E3 under Electronic Arts' sponsorship.
Though EA Sports MMA did not perform to analysts' sales expectations, a producer vowed in November that the publisher would make a sequel. That may be off now; UFC President Dana White has made no secret of his contempt for EA Sports. Further, the UFC and THQ, publisher of the UFC Undisputed Series, have an exclusive partnership lasting through 2018.
If EA Sports does drop its MMA line, I wonder what will happen to the video game likeness rights of those fighters, like Fedor Emelianenko and Randy Couture who signed with EA.
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if real fights that i want to happen happen, i'm entirely ok with this
but i’d like more for the UFC to drop THQ, i question their ability to make a good game
"I have smoked weed with alot of UFC champions" - Joe Rogan
"Você ta fudido. Se vai levar muita porrada, ta ligado?" - Anderson Silva
THQ can make a good game.
They have made good games in the past. Both of the undisputed games were rushed to market by their 12 month production cycle, and honestly, they weren’t that bad if you didn’t end up in a match against a guy who liked to use exploits.
They have already decided to ditch the 12month production cycle and hopefully they will be releasing a much much better follow-up game. The game has a lot of potential.
I liked both UFC games.
And the EA game was fun in a different way.
Kinda like the UFC/PRIDE both good, if different ways.
Learn JiuJitsu, it's fun.
I can't cry too much since I thought EA Sports MMA wasn't as good as the UFC offerings
Now, maybe we can see some of those cool venues and training sessions int eh UFC games?
Slightly bummed out but it's nothing I'll lose sleep over.
I felt that EA put out a superior product. If they end up dropping MMA altogether I hope THQ at least tries to assimilate some of the popular features of EA’s game instead of making Undisputed 2010 shinier and updating the roster. I get the feeling THQ will opt for the latter though.
"[UFC]’s a great rush, eh? It makes your sphincter get real tight." - Harold Howard
by lowellthehammer on Mar 14, 2011 4:46 PM EDT reply actions
UFC Undisputed is developed by Yuke's
who have something of a reputation for franchise stagnation (well, that’s a trend in the Japanese games industry as a whole really).
Yeah.
Haven’t played any of the SVR games in forever but I hear they’re basically all the same with different rosters and upgraded paint jobs. It’s a shame Dana turns everything into a grudge, I’d love to see what EA could do with the UFC’s backing.
"[UFC]’s a great rush, eh? It makes your sphincter get real tight." - Harold Howard
by lowellthehammer on Mar 14, 2011 5:03 PM EDT up reply actions
2007 was ok
but they stopped breaking new ground in an exiting way in 2006. now it’s the same clunky gameplay, only shinier and prettier, with kinda cool online options.
by Victor Rodriguez on Mar 14, 2011 9:04 PM EDT up reply actions
In my opinion, the biggest casualty to this buyout is Womens MMA. Seeing that the sales of the EA MMA game were not good, I just don’t find this to be much of a casualty. While the publisher vowed to make a sequel, I don’t feel that anyone is really looking forward to a possible sequel to begin with.
Check out the C&D Channel on YouTube for MMA reviews, predictions, analysis, and other MMA related content.
Yeah, it’s sad that more people have mentioned EA MMA than WMMA. I have yet to see a bloodyelbow article on that. WMMA is by far the biggest potential loser in all of this—multiple divisions will be affected, not just individual fighters,
I play EA MMA every day. To me it is the far superior product, only thing holding it back is the name isnt EA UFC.
I’d love for EA MMA to be both ufc and strikeforce fighters + everyone else they signed but I doubt Dana would ever do that since I guess he would view it as co promoting.
by Tats16 on Mar 14, 2011 4:48 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
EA made a fundamentally better game
the striking is more intuitive, the ground game is cool, and the submissions system makes a hell of a lot more sense. it’s a shame Dana hates them so much for what their previous management team and their nearsightedness had to say about MMA.
by Victor Rodriguez on Mar 14, 2011 9:06 PM EDT up reply actions
It might be a better game that is balanced so the better player wins, but if I got some friends over and they want to play undisputed is basic enough that anyone can play from just telling them “this is punch, this is kick, and hold this for power”. If I have to start explaining every aspect of the game just so they can throw 1 punch then they say forget it lol.
With all due respect
your friends sound kinda dumb…….
remember I said ‘with all due respect.’
Learn JiuJitsu, it's fun.
But they wont sit through 60 seconds of instruction.
That’s kinda dumb.
Learn JiuJitsu, it's fun.
by RolloTomasi on Mar 15, 2011 11:04 PM EDT up reply actions
The Sad Thing Is
Kotaku was the first place I read about the buy out.
“Whhhhhhhhuuuuuuut?” :o
If Zuffa is smart
and they are. They make amends with EA. They are a far superior company to THQ and so is their actual game. Let the EA game grow and when the contract with THQ is done put in the much more capable hands of EA.
Didn’t they sign some really long contract though? I thought I read about them resigning until like 2016 or something..
A few years ago, I'd have agreed with you
but EA have been making some impressive strides towards being a fine publisher. Their sports division is still a little shitty, but the big push to develop new and original IPs rather than run old ones into the ground was a great move. Dead Space, Mirror’s Edge (perhaps too ambitious) and others.
Activision have really taken over the role of “terrible game publisher” with their hijinx surrounding Infinity Ward and the general fuck you attitude towards consumers.
They didn't get better; Activision just got worse.
by Kuroko Shirai on Mar 14, 2011 5:11 PM EDT up reply actions
This
Why I never joined a frat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-KNVrZaN8M
"Don’t quote old fucks to me" – Brent Brookhouse
"A samurai would bite your cock off if you tried that shit on the battlefield." - Kid Nate
by Chris Barton on Mar 14, 2011 5:38 PM EDT up reply actions
EA didn't have a huge influence in the development of Mass Effect 2 or any Bioware game for that matter
When a developer consistently makes games that generate good revenue, the publisher usually takes a more hands-off approach.
You can probably thank EA for all the DLC in that game, though! Publishers looooove pushing DLC. Haha!
This is part of what tells us that EA has improved though.
“EA” and “hands off” didn’t used to belong in the same sentence.
Madden may be stagnating, but FIFA has been phenomenal. Fight Night is doing great as well and EA MMA is a far superior gameplay experience to me.
by Victor Rodriguez on Mar 14, 2011 9:08 PM EDT up reply actions
I wonder if they can
it likely depends on what the “exclusive” part of the THQ contract entails.
Why I never joined a frat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-KNVrZaN8M
"Don’t quote old fucks to me" – Brent Brookhouse
"A samurai would bite your cock off if you tried that shit on the battlefield." - Kid Nate
by Chris Barton on Mar 14, 2011 5:39 PM EDT up reply actions
I find it strange people keep bringing EA MMA up. The series was in trouble as soon as THQ re-upped with Zuffa for an extended period, and it already had poor sales. When EA started signing exclusive contracts with sports leagues, killing a variety of sports franchises, that was a far bigger gaming upheavel. I enjoy seeing EA getting a taste of their own medicine.
by TheRage on Mar 14, 2011 4:52 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs
:'(
It’s a shame because dispite its flaws EA MMA is a much much better game designed by better game designers and a better studio. I mean come on son you can’t even throw a 3 strike combination on the UFC Game….:/
SCREW EA!
I’ve owned plenty of their games in my lifetime and could care less if they are involved in the UFC games. I bought the first UFC game and enjoyed it.
EA shot themselves in the foot pissing DW off… Serves them right to be smashed by the little engine that could, THQ!
The lives of all of us have been moulded largely by induction through suggestion.
I actually don’t think they have committed to Bi-Annual release. I could be wrong, but I think they are working on a more traditional schedule now, which is a bit less rigid.
With a Annual (and Bi-Annual) schedule, the way the game development is approached is usually “We have X months to make the game, how many features can we implement in that time?.”
With a traditional schedule, the game development approach is usually “we have X features we want to implement, how many months will that take?”
Most games are made in about 16-18 months, so it wouldn’t surprise me if it was close to a Bi-Annual schedule, though.
I think they have a workout game releasing
in the same genre as the ea fit title. It’s called UFC Trainer or something like that. They came out with an Undisputed 2 on PSP not that long ago. Beyond that, nothing has been confirmed for the next iteration of Undisputed. It was stated that because of the poor sales reception and fan reaction to the awful online offering of Undisputed 2 for weeks after launch that the UFC would have a longer dev cycle.
UFC extended the rights of the undisputed franchise to THQ until 2018
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/10/19/thq-extends-ufc-rights-until-2018/
Info on the longer dev cycle that THQ is looking into
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/08/09/thq-looking-at-longer-development-cycle-for-next-ufc/
UFC Trainer delayed
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/02/02/ufc-trainer-grappling-with-delays-launching-in-june/
UFC Undisputed 2’s bad sales
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/08/09/thq-report-30m-q1-loss-ufc-undisputed-2010-moves-2-7m-units/
by Johnnynumber5 on Mar 14, 2011 10:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Does it mean that our only source of MMA games will be restricted to Rock'em Sock'em Robots? That blows...
As a fighting engine, EA MMA was a much better product and one they could’ve built on.
I don’t understand why they would drop EA. If UFC/Strikeforce are remaining two separate entities until 2014 then I don’t see why not. White is maintaining the “business as usual” stance for legal purposes I’m assuming cutting off Strikeforce sponsors and partners indicates business is NOT usual and opens himself up for some type of lawsuit.
I think EA would drop the license
why build a brand / game when you know it won’t go anywhere and will be squashed soon anyway? Maybe if EA had assurances from UFC that they would retain them for future UFC games after the license expires with THQ in 2018.
by Johnnynumber5 on Mar 14, 2011 10:46 PM EDT up reply actions
Well it seems that ZUFFA wants to promote the Strikeforce brand for the time being. I haven’t seen any indication yet of the contrary so eliminating EA would really hurt the Strikeforce brand. The EA MMA sales were disappointing but now that Strikeforce will be under the ZUFFA banner and will be more visible there could definitely a potential up swing in sales for EA. Again thats if it’s really “business as usual”.
EA MMA had a much more fluid stand up, their ground game was absolutely horrible though. I loved how they handled the blood too, smearing it all over everything/everyone.
To whom the likeness rights belong?
If its SF then its easy it now belongs to Zuffa if to EA then I guess a deal must be made.
EA MMA is clearly a far far superior game to the UFC games
Groundwork is way more fluid, reversals are perfect, career is a million times better
Would be a shame to see a much better game get scrapped
The only reason the game didn’t sell was because it didn’t have the UFC name behind and that can be fixed now, with the Zuffa promo machine behind it it will sell way more
looks like they’ll scrap it though :(
Well this sucks
If you’ve played any of the SVR titles you will see why this is a major step backwards for the MMA gaming community. In addition to lackluster updates with each new game, THQ and Yukes have some of the worst online support.
Need I remind you all of UFC 2010, the Round 2 glitch? You know, the one where 9 times out of 10 if an online fight went to Round 2, it would disconnect? Sounds like fun right.
EA MMA was/is an amazing game. It’s been the SOLE title in my disc tray since the day it came out. The online is crap now because there’s hardly any fights and it is STILL the best MMA game on the market by a long margin.
Fuck Dana, ruining the potential for an amazing sequel.
by lolsupimsogood on Mar 14, 2011 5:38 PM EDT reply actions 4 recs
There wasn’t going to be another EA Sports MMA game. The sale has no effect on it whatsoever.
Heavy.com -- Associate Editor
Houston Chronicle's Brawl Sports
Not publicly, no.
You’ll get the official word soon enough.
Heavy.com -- Associate Editor
Houston Chronicle's Brawl Sports
you have some kind of source online for that
or you just pulling it out of think air? EA MMA was a new IP in an still growing sport with less popular fighters so I seriously doubt the game performed well below expectations. It makes sense for EA to now drop the license after the acquisition but making it seem as if this was a foregone conclusion prior to the announcement is revisionist history.
by Johnnynumber5 on Mar 14, 2011 10:57 PM EDT up reply actions
EA MMA needed work
They needed more things to do on the game
by rscott94 on Mar 14, 2011 6:07 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
ea mma is a great base to build on, i liked it better than ufc but the grappling was so boring
one button to deny and one to advance=lazy developers PLAIN AND SIMPLE
UFC is not better, i have been saying this for fuckin ever to make video game grappling better
Use the left joystick to lean your weight a certain directions and then you have four buttons which will do a variety of things depending how your weight is leaned vs where the opponent is leaning his weight. This would open the grappling up to many more animations and moves, not just 5 or 6!!! Doesn’t that sound like it would be fun. It could almost use a balanc system like when you do grinds on THPS or the Skate games. You would want to balance in certain sweet spots to perform certain moves. THQ needs to hire my ass for cryin out loud because they are going to do it again and disappoint us all, screw mma games.
The PS3 is a powerful gamesystem that hasnt even had its capabilities tested, i know they can design what im describing but yeah yeah its more expensive. Well dont complain when you have a game out for only 3 months and it is being sold at 30$ and being returned left and right!!!
People want to have fun grappling each other or they would just buy fight night or marvel vs capcom
thq and ea are like “oh yeah we brought in all these world class black belts to design our grappling, so it’s awesome, yeah hahaha”
Bring in some video game nerd grapplers like me if u want to make a good game, i really am sick of the way these companies market the games and then release it to find out it’s garbage
grappling in real life is all about control through the use of positioning which leverages your weight, the grappling needs to be based on this kind of system, if you dumb it down to just pushing buttons, you lose the essence of grappling that you are trying to mimic through a video game controller
when i train if i want to escape a certain position i need to put my weight somewhere so i can get the opponent to react to that weight(meaning he then has to move his weight somewhere, somewhere that i want, and then i go ahead and execute the technique once i have myself where i want and I am in control, techniques could be executed via button combos like one button to try to grab each limb and once you grab then more buttons, ud have to follow a sequece while adjusting your weight with the left stick, the opponent would try to move his weight to throw you off
this people is real grappling and i dont see why it cant be done through a video game controller
im a little into this subject because i waited like a little kid for christmas for ea mma only to be hugely dissappointed, plus this happened right after ufc 2010 dissapointed me, the grappling ruined both those games. They were too basic and therefor boring! Make games like they used to be…impossible to beat…haha
It's a video game
Unless you work for EA, who cares.
http://MustacheRevival.blogspot.com/
by Mustache Revival on Mar 14, 2011 6:49 PM EDT reply actions
me and oll the other video game nerds
by zuffazombie on Mar 14, 2011 6:50 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
I really liked EA: MMA
Had a steep learning curve, but once I got it down, I played it for weeks. I preferred it over the THQ UFC games which were just press a press b type games to me.
Don't mean to be flippant but
do many people who aren’t EA employees care? I’m biased; I don’t play many games anymore and hate monotonous sports games in general, but I tried the first UFC game and it sucked. I would have to be very bored to try any mma game again.
Uh, of course people care.
Just because you don’t play the games doesn’t mean others don’t.
just the people that found EA's offering to be
exponentially more enjoyable.
by Victor Rodriguez on Mar 14, 2011 9:22 PM EDT up reply actions
I thought the EA game sucked honestly, I think THQ game was better.
And if SF/UFC merge imagine the game in 2012/2013?
They could do UFC cage, Pride ring, even SF or WEC cages just for the fuck of it, 300 fighters if they could fit them, atleast 200 guys, WEC fighters, Aldo, Faber, Reem, Diaz the SF roster, imagine the game the UFC could make now?
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