As if they weren’t happy enough with their relatively successful WWE Smackdown vs. Raw titles, THQ have gone ahead and revealed a brand new wrestling title, WWE Legends of Wrestlemania.
In development for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the title will not replace Smackdown vs. Raw, but will be “joining” the successful franchise. In the press release announcing the title, THQ reveal no real details about the title, other than that it is set to ship in March of 2009 to coincide with Wrestlemania 25, which is set to take place in Houston, Texas.
It’ll be interesting to see what direction the game will take; in the press release THQ’s vice president of global brand management Peter Matiss refers to “fighting videogames,” which may or may not be a hint as to how the game will play. Anyone remember the dreadful Legends of Wrestling titles Acclaim release last generation? Clearly the developers of those titles had their hearts in the right place, with their strong focus on classic and legendary wrestlers. (You know, “back when wrestling was good.”) Let’s hope if that’s the direction THQ is going with Legends of Wrestlemania it’ll have the gameplay to back it up.
Prepare to Relive, Rewrite or Redefine History with WWE(R) Legends of WrestleMania(R)
Publishers of the Renowned WWE(R) SmackDown(R)/SmackDown(R) vs. Raw(R) Franchise To Establish New Property for Next Generation Systems
AGOURA HILLS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May 6, 2008–THQ Inc. (NASDAQ:THQI) and JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK) today announced that WWE(R) Legends of WrestleMania(R) is currently in development for the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system. Joining the distinguished WWE(R) SmackDown(R)/SmackDown vs. Raw(R) franchise, which has shipped more than 37 million units worldwide since 2000, WWE Legends of WrestleMania is scheduled for release in March 2009 to coincide with the annual pinnacle of sports entertainment, WrestleMania(R) 25, in Houston, Texas.
“We have generated significant year-over-year growth in key global territories with WWE-licensed videogames, including tremendous success with the WWE SmackDown vs. Raw franchise,” said Peter Matiss, vice president, global brand management, THQ. “The development capabilities afforded by next generation hardware, combined with our established history and deep understanding of fighting videogames, allow us to leverage the strength of the WWE brand to further extend our leadership in the fighting videogame genre and bring this new property to market.”
“JAKKS Pacific is pleased to introduce a new WWE videogame property to the fighting genre,” said Nelo Lucich, senior vice president of interactive, JAKKS Pacific. “The WWE SmackDown vs. Raw franchise has captured a collective audience of WWE fans, game enthusiasts and casual players, and we are confident that WWE Legends of WrestleMania will be poised for great success.”
