THQ recently sold the UFC license to EA and the reason for that was due to the latest UFC game from them failing to break even.

UFC Undisputed 3 sold 1.5 million copies and generally you would think this is a great performance for a sports game, but THQ’s management has revealed to Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter (via Gamasutra), that the game actually needed to sell 2 million for them to break even on it.

It was released in February this year and even charted in the NPD. UFC president Dana White came on the stage during EA’s press conference and mentioned what a great opportunity it was to be working with a new partner.

The studio that made UFC Undisputed 3 suffered massive lay-offs during E3, probably done on purpose by THQ to keep the noise down.

THQ’s new president Jason Rubin, formerly the co-founder of Naughty Dog, has mentioned that he will take more risks but also make sure that the company breaks even on each game published. They are also targeting the free-to-play market and intend to make it a major contributor to the company’s revenue.

“All the action, intensity and prestige of the Ultimate Fighting Championship with intelligent and intuitive combat, fighter customization, robust career progression, challenging gameplay modes and explosive ad-hoc wireless play.” said THQ core games VP and all-round badman, Danny Bilson.

“UFC Undisputed 2010 raised the bar for sports games earlier this year with an impressive feature set and unbeatable gameplay experience on high-definition console gaming platforms.”

“We believe this franchise has the ability to flourish in a handheld format and look forward to delivering the game this fall for the PSP system.”

“The UFC Undisputed franchise has made an incredible impression on videogame and fight fans around the world over the past two years.” said UFC boss, Dana White.

“UFC Undisputed 2010 for the PSP system will, without question, be a must-purchase for anyone who wants to experience the action, authenticity and intensity of the UFC inside the virtual Octagon in a format they can take with them anywhere.”

Source

Speaking to trade magazine MCV, THQ’s UK marketing director Jon Rooke talked about the various factors as to exactly why the latest UFC game, generally received well by the critics, could have sold so poorly. As per him, Rockstar’s western open world epic, Red Dead Redemption, is largely to blame for the same.

“Our sales were softer than where we would have liked them to be. We know our UFC and MMA fans have bought it, but we haven’t delivered the broader sales yet.

“That’s largely down to Red Dead Redmeption. Rockstar have probably taken a fair amount of our market share. They shipped 5m units, taking a lot of consumer dollars.”

Rooke also admits that there was a change in market conditions that probably caused lower than expected sales for the game. More specifically, the month of May has always been slow for software sales. However, this year, UFC had its task cut out for it, with many other major titles releasing in the same time frame, including Red Dead Redemption, Super Mario Galaxy 2, ModNation Racers, Alan Wake and Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands.

“Last year, we had the perfect storm,” Rooke said. “This year Rockstar did. That’s not to say our sales were in any way disappointing. We still managed to ship 2.6m units, which is a fantastic achievement, and that figure is still growing.

“And we’ve got a long tail with that product. We absolutely believe we will deliver our initial sales expectations for UFC and the 2010 edition has been a phenomenal success.”

UFC Undisputed 2010 released in May earlier this year, retailing for the PS3 and the Xbox 360.

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Any one who is a mixed martial arts fighting fan can probably think back to match that may have followed this same script, those who have played THQ’s UFC UNDISPUTED may have actually had matches very similar to this as well. Well, I can assure you those who haven?t yet played this game and think it’s nothing more than “just another fighting game”? You couldn’t be more wrong.

The career mode starts off with you creating your own fighter. Everything from height, weight, which will automatically assign you to a weight class (so don’t think you can create a monster like Brock Lesnar to fight in the lightweight division).  You can also customize your fighter with an assortment of tattoos, trunks, ankle/knee braces and what color mouthpiece.  You can give your fighter a name,where he was born, what city you fight from, and pick a nickname from a list already in the game, announcers will only call you by your nickname? My favorite was The Grim Reaper as Michael Buffer seems to put a little heart in announcing that one. After you’ve spent all that time into creating you fighter, it’s time to get thrown to the lions and see if you have what it takes to make it in the UFC. You get greeted by Dana White, who pretty much lays it on the line and tells you straight up what he?s looking for. If you can’t deliver, I guess there’s always Mario Kart.

Overall THQ exceeded my expectations, I remember a number of years ago having a PRIDE Fighting game on the Playstation console that in my opinion was horrible. All I can remember from that game, was if the computer got you down, that was it. Most of the fights were over in a matter of seconds. In UFC UNDISPUTED, the fights go pretty much as they do in real life, so the UFC?s motto ?As real as it gets? definitely carries over intothe game quite nicely. As you progress through your training in the career mode, you unlock abilities to pull off reversals, new striking moves, and submission holds. Each fight you are awarded points which accumulate to unlock sponsors, who?s logo?s can be added to your trunks and earn more points per fight (more on that to come soon), also the points unlock the ability to upgrade the equipment in the he gym to allow your training between fights to be more beneficial and boost your attributes.

Now, aside from the fan favorites included in the game, fighters like BJ Penn, George St. Pierre, Rich Franklin, Chuck Liddell, and the aforementioned Brock Lesnar, just to name a few of many who are included in the game. Most fighters characters look really close, everything from unique tattoos and hair styles, right down to the cauliflower ear on Wanderliei Silva. During fights, cuts open up and with each shot to that area, a sprinkle of blood will cascade onto the canvas. After some fights I’ve had,there’s been a little as if someone suffered a small paper cut, or to the other extreme where the cage should be roped off as a crime scene..

Game play is fairly easy and quick learning curve is in place. Depending on the style of fighter you choose (wrestler, Brazilian Ju-Jitsu, Muay-Thai, kickboxing, judo, or boxing). If you bring up the list of moves available see how many different combinations there are, it may seem overwhelming. After a while, you’ll find a few select combinations or moves that are easy to pull off during a match and work for you. Before you know it, Dana White will be putting the championship belt around your waist it’s up to you after that to make sure it stays there..

A few things that are a turn off and hopefully if another UFC game is to come, these issues are addressed. Between matches, training feels really empty. You can spar and earn attribute points to boost your fighter?s skills, and you can also accept an invitation to train with another fighting camp in which you can unlock new moves. Actual training though is nothing more than deciding if you want to do cardio, strength, or speed training. You then must make sure to keep track of how many weeks until your next fight to be sure you allow enough time to rest, otherwise your next fight could be a short one, and you may not like the out come. Some sort of mini game for these types of trainings may have filled this void. Adding logos to your shorts to earn additional sponsorship points almost doesn?t seem worth the hassle as navigating the menus the do this feels very cumbersome and make the whole task seem like it?s not worth the extra trouble.

To sum up, UFC Undisputed is a must for the fighting fan, especially UFC fighting fans With the few little quirks that are easy to look past,  Graphics are good,the hit detection my be a little off at times, voice over work from regular UFC announcers Joe Rogan & Mike Goldberg and ring announcer Bruce Buffer is great, so over all I’d say definitely worth dropping into the tray and giving it some time.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.