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E3 Preview of UFC 2009 Undisputed for the XBOX 360

July 15, 2008

E3 Day 1 at the Los Angeles Convention Center-Los Angeles, California

Once again, I would like to thank THQ's Jaime Jenson for giving me the first look at the current build of UFC 2009 Undisputed at this year's E3 Media and Business Summit.

Of the 3 THQ title's I saw at E3, this is the one that is the farthest away from release. It is currently set for release in the April-June 2009 window for the XBOX 360 and PS3. However, it already looks great. The developers are intent on making it into UFC experience that is, "As real as it gets." That means this game is not for kids and is going to get tagged with the M for mature rating. The last UFC game for the original XBOX was Tapout 2, which was subtitled "Real Fighters, Real Fighting." THQ readily admitted that Tapout 2, which was made by TDK, was not in fact real fighting. It was more of a sanitized product to earn a T for Teen rating to try an earn a larger mass market appeal. That turned out to be a failure, which THQ is not going to repeat.

The developers this year are focusing on making UFC 2009 Undisputed as similar to the product in the Octagon as possible. They are watching every fight a minimum of 5 times to try and pick up any new move that is being created in the rapidly evolving spot of MMA. They have done advance facial and body scans of all of the UFC fighters. They have done a lot of work so fighters show realistic damage consistent with the type of match they are having. The match I witnessed was the updated build of the same match the developers had played for the press had been shown before UFC 86, Forrest Griffin vs. Quinton Jackson. That match saw Jackson knockout Griffin standing with a punch in round 2. In this match Forrest did a lot better. He battered Jackson and had the former Pride fighter's face looking like a mess, before eventually loosing via knockout to a standing right hand from Rampage in round 3 or 4. The developer who won was quite happy at the crashing tree like effect his punch caused the virtual Griffin to do and the numerous great replays of the event that ensued.

The game will feature a roster of over 80 fighters. They updated the announced roster on Tuesday to include: Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Anderson Silva, Matt Hughes, BJ Penn, Roger Huerta, Wanderlei Silva, Michael Bisping and Quinton Jackson. (I stopped by the THQ booth on Thursday and talked to the developers behind the UFC game, but did not waste either of our time asking about Jackson. They are however are a funny group.) The game's roster will be limited to fighters currently on the UFC roster. That means people should not be looking for UFC Hall of Famers like Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie to be in the game. However, THQ has not officially confirmed that. THQ also appears very tired of being asked this question, so stop it. The same goes for Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture, THQ is not prepared to make any announcement as to whether they are in the game. It is unlikely THQ will make it public whether they are in the game or not for quite a while. THQ is having fun with the fans by parceling out the releases of information in tiny bits to tide people over for the near year long wait they will have for the game, but knock it off with the repetitive questions they cannot answer.

The game will have online play and there will be downloadable content for the game. THQ was unprepared to announce what they have in mind for DLC, yet. Internally they are kicking around a lot of different concepts that likely included increased rosters, an expanded career mode, and apparently a lot of other interesting ideas. They are similarly unprepared to announce what they have in mind for career mode. The game will feature the sponsored apparel you would expect UFC fighters to wear in the Octagon. THQ was unable to specify what sponsored apparel would appear in the game. There are obvious reasons for this, see Affliction apparel. The sponsored apparel that will be featured in the game, will probably be one of the last details finalized before shipping.

For fans of WEC, none of the WEC fighters will appear in this game. There is the potential of WEC fighters being part of the downloadable content or appearing in a future version of the game. Also, Zuffa's other high profile asset, Pride, will not be in this game. UFC wants this to be a UFC specific game. Pride may live again in future versions of this series, but there will be no ring or Saitama Super Arena in this game.

Similarly, players will not be able to tamper with the rules to create gimmick matches that can create a Pride-like experience. Matches are restricted to the unified rules of mixed martial arts. However, the developers promised other "modes". I asked about best 2/3 or a submission only match. Again, they responded that only matches under the unified rules of mixed martial arts will be allowed, but then made another odd reference to the other "modes" that will be in the game they cannot discuss, yet. They said there will be some practice set ups that the developers are only vaguely able to talk about. The developers again referenced the "modes" that they are apparently very excited about, but still unable to officially talk about. Their caginess and enthusiasm on the "mode" issue should have fans excited.

The developers promised that several prominent and well known arenas to UFC fans will be in the game. However, they are still securing the licensing rights and are unable to announce any of the venues. UFC fans should be able to guess a few venues in Las Vegas without trouble, though.

  

Finally, the most exciting feature of this game for me is that this game may serve as the way to determine the definitive top 10 rankings in the UFC. Joe Silva is working with the developers to determine the fighter attributes. Therefore, if the game says Chuck Liddell is the number 2 contender to Forrest Griffin at Light Heavyweight, that means that is what Silva thinks. The attributes of the fighters will be determined based on Silva's assessment of their talent. In the fluid world of the UFC, where a fighter is only as good as his last fight, THQ is trying to get a system in place by launch that would enable updated fighter rankings and statistics throughout the year. Therefore, if Wanderlei Silva were to beat Chuck Liddell and Joe Silva then thought Wanderlei is the new number one contender and should get the next title shot, an update over XBOX Live or the PlayStation Network could come out on Monday dropping Liddell down and moving Wanderlei up. Fans would not have to guess at who should get the next title shot, just turn on their consoles and see the new rankings. Then on Monday every fan who owns a copy of the game knows who is better then whom and who gets a title shot.

This would give the UFC an ability to give their fans a consistent and updated top 10 rankings at all times in their living rooms. This would be a first in the history of sports and video games. It would make the video game, more then just a video game, but an essential part of being an informed UFC fan. Joe Rogan's speeches about guys being in the top 10 and such would no longer be in a mythical vacuum. If you ever had any questions to see what impact the fight you saw had on the standings you would just have to turn on your console and that will tell you who is better then who and by how much. The fighters in the game, would then change with the fighters in real life. It could also be used to build great fighter rivalries, with people being disrespected by their rankings in the game. Then they would instantly be rewarded by winning. You would now have standings where wins and losses matter. IF UFC and THQ can do this, this may be one of the most revolutionary things in recent sports video game history. I hope they hold the game long enough to implement at least a portion of this feature. If they are able to fully implement this feature, this could be one of the most important games in sports gaming history. It would probably become the most significant sports game since Madden '04 for the XBOX which popularized online play in sports game.