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Samsung adds UFC fights and more live events to Gear VR
Soccer. Basketball. Golf. While plenty of sports are being shot in 360-degree video, the format is still the exception, rather than the rule. For Samsung, which wants to sell as many Gear VR headsets as possible, that just won't do. To solve the problem it's teamed up with the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), the X Games and concert organiser Live Nation for a slew of VR programming called "VR Live Pass." The first events will be available from June through the Samsung VR app, with near-global access provided you have a headset handy and a stable internet connection.
UFC doesn't want you posting Ronda Rousey fights on Instagram
The running joke about a Ronda Rousey fight is that you can fit the whole thing into a 15-second Instagram video, if not a 6-second Vine -- she's so good that her opponents usually crumble in seconds. You may not see many of those bite-sized clips from her title bout this weekend, though. In a first, UFC is discouraging the press (not just the general public) from sharing unauthorized footage of the fight on the internet, whether it's a GIF animation or a looping video. There's no official explanation, but it's easy to see the concern: the league is worried that you'll skip that pay-per-view purchase knowing that a fan site could recap everything in a tweet.
UFC pay-per-view comes to the Roku Player
The Roku Player's beefed-up Netflix channel was certainly a nice addition, but the company's latest partner is a little more fierce: pay-per-view UFC is coming to the little streaming media player, starting with Rampage vs. Evans on May 29th. Fight pricing hasn't been announced yet, but users will also have access to archived fights, as well as live access to pre-fight events and post-fight press conferences. Full PR after the break.
THQ investor presentation reveals release windows for Super Hero Squad, Master Mind
THQ, despite receiving some bad press regarding their bottom line, still has investors -- as such, they still have presentations explaining to their investors how breathtaking their games are. We usually gloss right over said morsels of self-congratulation, as they rarely contain anything other than boring sales charts and demographic research, but a recent THQ investor informer actually contained some new, worthwhile information concerning the company's plans for next year.Skipping past the slightly humorous claim that Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 is the unattributed "#1 Fighting Game", THQ revealed release windows for three of their "bigger" properties: an entry in their long-held but never used Ultimate Fighting Championship franchise (Spring '09), their youth-oriented crime fighting title Marvel Super Hero Squad (Fall '09), and a Fall 2010 release window for their adaptation of Dreamworks' upcoming film Master Mind, echoing the movie's initial release date. This information was immediately followed by hopeful sales charts to prove that the company will, in fact, still be in operation in 2010.
New UFC game confirmed by company President?
Over at the MMA.tv boards, a member by the name of "Kneeblock" asked Dana White about the future installments of Ultimate Fighting Championship games, and pointed out his opinion that added fighters to the same game four times over isn't innovation. Much to everyone's surprise, Dana White actually responded saying that THQ would be taking the helm of the next UFC game and promised that it will set a new standard for the series. Unfortunately, the thread has since been removed, but that just adds fuel to the proverbial fire, right? So, THQFC (phonetically a portmanteau) sounds pretty promising, considering the last time we played a UFC title was on an Official Dreamcast Magazine demo disc. What do you think about it, though?[Thanks, un1qu3 n3wy0rk]
THQ sees future in UFC license
THQ has reached a deal with Ultimate Fighting Championship to secure the video game rights to the mixed martial arts brand through 2011. Both Crave Entertainment and TDK Mediactive have published UFC titles in the past (all of those games received mixed to poor reviews).The agreement will span all console and portable systems, in addition to the PC platform and certain mobile content. The UFC partnership comes amidst a deteriorating relationship with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which sued THQ back in October 2004, alleging bribes were used to obtain the wrastlin' organization's license, and then sued the publisher again this past October, accusing THQ of improper sales in Asia.
