As I’ve said before, I have no interest in watching people beat each other to a bloody pulp. But there are obviously tons of people who do; that’s been evinced by the recent rise of the UFC. Accordingly, we’ve seen a number of reportedly mediocre UFC video games; last January, though, THQ obtained exclusive rights to UFC games, and now we’re seeing the first fruits of that agreement.
The debut trailer for THQ’s first UFC game, UFC 2009 Undisputed, can be viewed above -- feel free to cringe and grimace along with Forrest Griffin and Quentin “Rampage” Jackson as they duke it out in the Octagon™. THQ has also sent over ten screenshots that can be viewed in the gallery below, and the announcement press release is after the jump. Of course, Nick linked it in his June 20th Scraps post, so you’ve all seen it already...right?
Just nod politely for your own sake, lest you suffer Mr. Chester’s wrath. UFC 2009 Undisputed is set for release in the spring of 2009 for the PS3 and 360.
LEADING FIGHTING GAME PUBLISHER THQ SET TO ENTER THE FAMED OCTAGON™ WITH UFC® 2009 UNDISPUTED
Debut Videogame Based on Ultimate Fighting Championship® Poised to Deliver an Extensive Roster, Commanding New Game Engine and Powerful Features
AGOURA HILLS, Calif. – June 20, 2008 – THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) today announced that UFC® 2009 Undisputed, the company’s debut videogame based on the renowned Ultimate Fighting Championship® mixed martial arts organization, is in development for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and mobile devices. Featuring an authentic and comprehensive UFC atmosphere, including an extensive roster of the best mixed martial arts fighters in the world, UFC 2009 Undisputed is expected to begin shipping to retail outlets worldwide in spring 2009.
“As the leading fighting videogame publisher*, we feel the rising popularity of the UFC brand and its incredible mixed martial arts experience make UFC 2009 Undisputed the perfect addition to our expanding portfolio,” said Bob Aniello, senior vice president, worldwide marketing, THQ. “UFC 2009 Undisputed is certain to be the most realistic fighting game to date, including advanced collision detection and AI systems that incorporate individual fighter styles.”
“UFC offers the fighting videogame genre a fresh and innovative look inside today’s most exciting live sporting event in the world,” said Dana White, president, UFC. “UFC 2009 Undisputed represents a significant opportunity for us to expand our growing, global audience and allow fans to step into the virtual Octagon™ to compete against the world’s most prominent mixed martial arts fighters.”
*THQ Inc. is the leading fighting videogame publisher according to The NPD Group / Retail Tracking Service; January 2005 through December 2007
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can't wait. looks like there are a lot of possible ways to win, let's hope it is hard to pull of those moves but not too hard. like scoring in fifa or something
It looks really good. Excellent character models, and it seems as though THQ has realized the importance of jiu jitsu in the game.
Also, it's not just 2 guys beating the hell out each other. It's a chess match. If you know what you're looking at, it's highly entertaining to watch 2 skilled opponents fight.
@RICHARD BLOCKER: I know that. I just say that UFC and boxing don’t interest me because I get a little...queasy. Not literally...but I don’t enjoy watching people in pain.
I don't really like UFC games. I still haven't even touched the one I have on dreamcast. Its still in the plastic. This one looks like it would be a blast in 2 player mode, but the single player mode in games like this are not very fun to me.
Same with the Fight Night and Knockout Kings series. I loved the multiplayer, but hated the single player. I think the only boxing game I liked the single player was the Ready to Rumble series.
Hope they fix the pacing of fights ending. Big part of MMA is that a fight could end in the first 5 seconds or it could go 5 rounds.
Most MMA games (including PRIDE FC, which I reckon was probably the best, at least as far as gameplay), recognise fights can possibly end quickly and engineer it in a way that very few fights ever make it to the end of the first round.
Hopefully they'll fix it with this one (and the IGN preview suggests they might) otherwise it's just going to be another prettier version of a game with a fundamentally flawed mechanic.
Don't underestimate THQ... they made all of the awesome wrestling games for the N64. Specifically WCW vs. NWO, and Wrestlemania 2000. I hate professional wrestling, and I loved those games. I actually enjoy UFC... well at least older UFC before everybody and their brother started training the exact same fighting styles.
The man graduated from my local high school, and he trained with my current kickboxing teacher. He came in and did some sessions with us and it was awesome.
Was that video from the PS2 ver. of the game? If not, then I'm sorry, because the game looks downright U-G-L-Y. There should be tons of fixes down between now and Spring '09 so I'll hold back on any criticism about the gameplay looking pretty stunted and potentially frustrating/broken.
I might be in the minority here, but I tend to think that ultimate fighting in general won't translate well to a video games simply because of its fluid nature. It'd take a helluvan engine to handle it proper.
i would love to see this game work out being a big ufc fan for quite some time now, but honestly i dont know if they can turn the ufc into a good video game because theres so many demensions to the sport and i dont think theres even enough buttons on a controller to carry out the multiple fighting styles. The ufc game on xbox was horrible! it was way to easy to win, especially by submission, and the worst part was you could do it with anyone. Its still early for this game, so i hope ill see some convincing evidence to make me buy this game
That looks spectacular! I don't think for a second they can realistically pull off all of the intricacies of the sport in a game. That being said, I still can't wait to play it!
I've been an MMA fan for quite some time and when it comes out, the first thing I'm going to do is put BJ Penn against Dan Henderson. 1st dream fight of many. Thats what will make the game for me. Being able to make my dream match ups happen. Wanderlei Silva vs Anderson Silva. Or Chuck Lidell vs GSP. Even better, Matt Sera vs Quinton Jackson, lol! The list in my head never ends.
If the game is halfway decent, I could see myself having a lot of fun. Cautiously optimistic.
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Contest:
5:41 PM on 06.22.2008
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Also, it's not just 2 guys beating the hell out each other. It's a chess match. If you know what you're looking at, it's highly entertaining to watch 2 skilled opponents fight.
Emo fight
Same with the Fight Night and Knockout Kings series. I loved the multiplayer, but hated the single player. I think the only boxing game I liked the single player was the Ready to Rumble series.
Most MMA games (including PRIDE FC, which I reckon was probably the best, at least as far as gameplay), recognise fights can possibly end quickly and engineer it in a way that very few fights ever make it to the end of the first round.
Hopefully they'll fix it with this one (and the IGN preview suggests they might) otherwise it's just going to be another prettier version of a game with a fundamentally flawed mechanic.
The man graduated from my local high school, and he trained with my current kickboxing teacher. He came in and did some sessions with us and it was awesome.
I also go to the same college, UGA!
I might be in the minority here, but I tend to think that ultimate fighting in general won't translate well to a video games simply because of its fluid nature. It'd take a helluvan engine to handle it proper.
I've been an MMA fan for quite some time and when it comes out, the first thing I'm going to do is put BJ Penn against Dan Henderson. 1st dream fight of many. Thats what will make the game for me. Being able to make my dream match ups happen. Wanderlei Silva vs Anderson Silva. Or Chuck Lidell vs GSP. Even better, Matt Sera vs Quinton Jackson, lol! The list in my head never ends.
If the game is halfway decent, I could see myself having a lot of fun. Cautiously optimistic.