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EA CEO: Publisher may skip a year between future UFC games
Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson recently contemplated a bi-annual release schedule for future MMA games that follow EA Sports UFC, which is slated to launch on Xbox One and PS4 this year. In an interview with CNN's Fortune Tech, Wilson described the frequency of some games and the "appetite" players have for them, noting that the UFC brand "feels like it's in that every-other-year mix" without committing to that release schedule as a guaranteed development plan. "We get a new GTA game every four or five years, but there is an immense appetite. What we're looking at right now is how long is it going to take us to build a truly innovative game in that genre, and when do we think gamers are going to be ready for that next one," Wilson said. EA announced the acquisition of the UFC license at E3 2012 following the demise of THQ, which published three UFC games. THQ's crack at the series began with annual releases in UFC 2009: Undisputed and UFC Undisputed 2010 prior to a two-year absence in the series. THQ's final game, UFC Undisputed 3, reportedly failed to "break even" at two million units sold as of June 2012. "Do I think that UFC would be an every year game? I don't know," Wilson said. "It feels like it's in that every-other-year mix, but in all honesty we haven't made that decision yet. That really comes down to how long it's going to take to make a great game and when do we think the audience is ready." EA Canada's Fight Night team is behind EA Sports UFC's development, led by creative director and Fight Night Round 4 and Fight Night Champion gameplay designer Brian Hayes. Wilson previously noted that the Fight Night series is "on hold" while the developer works on EA Sports UFC. [Image: EA Sports]
EA Sports UFC trailer gets knocked down, but it gets up again
One of the lacking aspects of previous mixed martial arts games like THQ's UFC 3 is the true sense of physical contact between the fighters on screen. EA Sports UFC will attempt to close that gap on next-gen consoles, if the game's latest trailer is any indicator. Creative Director Brian Hayes discusses the interaction between fighters and their surroundings in the gameplay trailer, putting skin-rippling kicks and arm-wrenching submissions on display. It also shows the effects of a "full-body deformation system" in which "flesh displaces flesh," which sounds pretty gross the more we think about it. EA Sports UFC will launch sometime this year for Xbox One and PS4. [Image: EA Sports]
EA Sports UFC footage details fighter likeness
If there's one major selling point for EA Sports UFC, it's the detailed likeness of its fighters. The publisher touted as much in its latest trailer for the PS4 and Xbox One MMA game, which is due out this spring.
Get up close and personal with these new EA Sports UFC screens
EA Sports recently added a few names to the EA Sports UFC roster, joined by some in-game shots of fighters from the neck up. The fighters playable in the game and seen in the included gallery are former light heavyweight champ Forrest Griffin, "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung, Costas Philippou, Minotauro Nogueira, Demetrious Johnson, Rashad Evans and Chael Sonnen. Those fighters join the likes of co-cover athletes Jon "Bones" Jones and Alexander Gustafsson, Georges St-Pierre as well as female fighters Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate, who were confirmed for the game in September. Certainly, athletes included in the 16-person cover fighter vote that began in November will be in the game as well, such as Chris Weidman, Dominick Cruz, Junior Dos Santos and Urijah Faber. The screens are meant to show the details of each athlete's likeness, but we just can't stop staring at Griffin's puffy cauliflower ears. Don't you want to poke at them? Boy, we sure do. EA Sports UFC will head to Xbox One and PS4 this spring.
Alexander Gustafsson selected as EA Sports UFC co-cover fighter
Swedish fighter Alexander "The Mauler" Gustafsson won EA Sports' cover athlete fan vote for EA Sports UFC. As a result, the number one UFC light heavyweight contender will stand next to current reigning light heavyweight champion Jon "Bones" Jones on the cover of the game, who is also shown in two new screens for the game issued by EA this week. Gustafsson beat Georges St-Pierre in the final round of the voting process, which accumulated over 11 million votes during the entire campaign, according to EA. The cover athlete vote began in early November with 16 fighters, which included heavy favorites like Ronda Rousey and Johny Hendricks. EA Sports UFC will launch in spring 2014 on Xbox One and PS4.
EA Sports UFC cover vote hits final round
EA Sports UFC's four-round co-cover athlete vote entered its final round today. The last two contestants left are Georges St-Pierre and Alexander Gustafsson, one of which will join reigning light heavyweight champion Jon "Bones" Jones on the cover of the PS4 and Xbox One game in 2014. The cover vote began earlier this month with 16 fighters, with heavy favorites like Ronda Rousey and Johny Hendricks exiting the fan vote in the first and second rounds, respectively. St-Pierre may be the new favorite to win a spot on the game's cover following his decision to step away from mixed martial arts for an undisclosed time after his successful welterweight championship defense against Hendricks at the UFC 167 event in Las Vegas. Coincidentally, St-Pierre's fans voted him past Hendricks in the second round of the EA Sports UFC cover athlete vote, which ends on December 1.
Jon Jones to share EA Sports UFC cover with fan-voted fighter
Falling in line with other sports games, EA Sports UFC will be embroiled in its own cover athlete contest, EA Sports announced. The winner of the four-round cover vote held on UFC's official site, which ends December 1, will share the game's box art with current light heavyweight champion Jon "Bones" Jones. The 16 candidates to share the spotlight with Jones are as follows: Demetrious Johnson, Chris Weidman, Dominick Cruz, Junior Dos Santos, Urijah Faber, Chael Sonnen, Jose Aldo, Michael Bisping, Anthony Pettis, Alex Gustafsson, Ben Henderson, Daniel Cormier, Georges St-Pierre, Ronda Rousey, Johny Hendricks and Miesha Tate. We like Rousey's odds at winning the vote as the women's bantamweight champion and the figurehead for the rising popularity of women's MMA, the representation of which is a core part of EA Sports UFC's feature set. We wouldn't be opposed to seeing a cheeky Chael Sonnen sharing the cover with the man he can't seem to overcome, however. EA Sports UFC will launch in spring 2014 on PS4 and Xbox One.
THQ sues EA, UFC: EA fed inside info to UFC owner, THQ says
THQ has sued EA and UFC parent company Zuffa, claiming EA intentionally damaged THQ's relationship with Zuffa to broker a deal of its own for the UFC license. THQ claims EA used inside knowledge about its financial situation to commit "tortious interference" with its contract, and THQ is seeking to recover the value of the UFC property, the profits of the UFC franchise and at least $10 million in damages from EA. The suit also aims to disallow Zuffa's bankruptcy claims against THQ. In early December 2011, EA considered buying THQ outright and the two companies entered negotiations, according to THQ's suit filed with the Delaware district court. THQ says it provided EA with detailed financial information, including revenue and projected stats on its UFC franchise. On December 12, 2011, EA walked away from the potential buyout, and on December 30, 2011, Zuffa sent THQ a Demand Letter expressing the intent to terminate the UFC license. Though the UFC franchise was worth $20 million, THQ settled with Zuffa for $10 million. EA snagged the UFC license in 2012. EA Sports UFC is due out in 2014 for Xbox 360 and PS4. On December 19, 2012, THQ filed for bankruptcy. Looking back, THQ puts the pieces together as follows: "Prior to the Demand Letter, EA contacted Zuffa, informed Zuffa of THQ's perilous financial condition and expressed interest in acquiring the UFC franchise directly from Zuffa, causing Zuffa to threaten termination of the UFC license." An EA spokesperson tells Polygon, "We believe these claims are without merit."
Female fighters Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate announced for EA Sports UFC [Update]
EA Sports announced that female fighters Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate will be included in EA Sports UFC's roster. This is the first time the UFC series has included women, and comes just months after the women's bantamweight division was first added to the UFC's real-life arena. Rousey was the first woman to sign with the company in November 2012. EA Sports UFC will launch in Spring 2014 for Xbox One and PS4, and is in development by EA Canada's Fight Night team. The game will run on EA Sports' next-gen Ignite Engine. Update: EA tells Joystiq that "in order to remain authentic to the sport, female fighters will not be able to fight male fighters" in EA Sports UFC and that more female fighters will be announced closer to the game's launch.
EA Sports UFC out spring 2014 for Xbox One, PS4
EA Sports UFC is coming to Xbox One and PS4 in spring 2014, EA Sports Executive Vice President Andrew Wilson announced during EA's press conference at E3. Real-life fighters Ben Henderson and Jon Jones took the stage for EA's press conference, along with UFC announcer Bruce Buffer. EA snagged the rights to the UFC franchise from THQ in 2012, prior THQ's bankruptcy.
Ignite won't power FIFA 14 on PC; Xbox One trailer was pre-rendered
FIFA 14 on PC won't use Ignite, the new engine EA Sports announced at yesterday's Xbox One conference. Ignite will power FIFA 14 on Xbox One and PS4, EA Sports Global Communications Manager Steve Frost told Joystiq. "Ignite will be the engine that drives our sports games on PS4 and Xbox One," Frost said. "It will not be used for FIFA 14 on PC." Ignite also runs Madden NFL 25, EA Sports UFC and NBA Live 14, as EA Sports said on the Xbox One stage – right before it showed off pre-rendered footage of all of these games. "The video uses assets pulled directly from the in-game engines, and was rendered to create this first look multi-product trailer," Frost said. "It's representative of where we expect our games will be when they launch." EA Communications Specialist Brad Hilderbrand promised us a closer look at Ignite at E3. "Yes, given the timing and planning required for the Xbox One reveal event the EA Sports Ignite video was developed in a pre-rendered video format," Hilderbrand said. "We'll be showing off the game using in-game assets at E3."
EA Sports' next-gen Ignite Engine shown off in trailer form
EA Sports' next-generation Ignite Engine was on display at the Xbox One reveal event at Microsoft's Redmond campus today. We have four trailers that demonstrate the engine's capabilities, three of which can be found after the break. EA Sports Executive Vice President Andrew Wilson told attendees of the Xbox One event that the Ignite Engine will perform "four times more calculations per second" than the publisher's current offerings. Wilson said the engine will allow for 3D crowds and dynamic sidelines. EA will launch four sports games for the console within 12 months, namely FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, EA Sports UFC and NBA Live 14. Each game will be powered by the Ignite Engine.
Fight Night team developing EA Sports UFC
The Fight Night team at EA Canada will develop EA Sports UFC, EA announced today. Since its surprise license acquisition reveal at E3 2012, EA has kept quiet on the UFC-based game's development.Brian Hayes, who led gameplay design for Fight Night Round 4 and Fight Night Champion, will act as Creative Director for the Ultimate Fighting title. Team and Action Sports GM Dean Richards joins Hayes at the front of the development team, bringing in additional experience from Fight Night, along with the NHL and SSX series.
