EA hints at mixed martial arts game

  • Posted March 15th, 2009 at 17:38 EDT by Eric Blattberg
  • 2,513 views
  • 30 Comments

Boxing is "the past of fighting," according to EA Sports head honcho Peter Moore. When IGN approached Moore at EA Sports' Season Opener in San Francisco, he hinted that the label may be working on -- or at least planning to work on -- a mixed martial arts (MMA) game.

"We keep a very close eye on where things like Mixed Martial Arts are going," began Moore. "Obviously we've got Fight Night -- we're incredibly excited about Fight Night -- but boxing, for me, sadly feels like it's the past of fighting and Mixed Martial Arts feels like it's the future of fighting. So when we look at where people's attention is going, that's something we keep a very close eye on."

THQ currently holds the license for Ultimate Fighting Championship games, much like EA Sports holds the NFL license. Still, other non NFL licensed football games exist, so it wouldn't be unreasonable to think that EA could work around the UFC license.

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What are your thoughts?

  1. bugsy_boy

    • 5:41pm GMT - March 15th, 2009
    • 1

     id rather watch and play boxing never understood the mma thing just not in to it.

  2. Jamakazi | SlapFish12

    • 5:46pm GMT - March 15th, 2009
    • 2

    If EA go to MMA. MMA will Be Ruined. EA please. Just Dont Dig your Filthy claws into this genre. PLEASE!

  3. bracomadar | bracomadar

    • 6:10pm GMT - March 15th, 2009
    • 3

    That guy in the pic looks like he's getting molested o_O

  4. Jamakazi | SlapFish12

    • 6:14pm GMT - March 15th, 2009
    • 4

    If E.A move over to MMA.. the MMA genre is screwed.

    E.A please dont dig your filthy claws into this genre

    PLEASE!

  5. PROTOTYPE

    • 6:28pm GMT - March 15th, 2009
    • 5

    i say go for it. if the game turns out to be crappy who cares, just don't buy it.

  6. x_HAWX_x

    • 6:31pm GMT - March 15th, 2009
    • 6

    Well here we go get ready for EA to muck up another genre

  7. Joker13

    • 6:33pm GMT - March 15th, 2009
    • 7

    i don't like mma so whatever

  8. Jrod | Jrod87

    • 6:39pm GMT - March 15th, 2009
    • 8

    Well Peter is somewhat right and wrong. MMA is the new highlighted fighting sport but Boxing is not old nor dead.

  9. flamingpanda

    • 7:17pm GMT - March 15th, 2009
    • 9

    There is always WEC.  WEC is a bit less popular, but if EA is going to muck up a name it will probably be WEC 

  10. chomperbull

    • 7:23pm GMT - March 15th, 2009
    • 10

    AFFLICTION fedor!!!!!!!!

  11. SonyJunkie | Bender6191

    • 7:24pm GMT - March 15th, 2009
    • 11

     This could be sweet. MMA is awesome. It could be pretty hard to make it though. We will see if they announce anything at E3.

  12. JMelillo57 | jmelillo57

    • 7:26pm GMT - March 15th, 2009
    • 12

    Please just stick to Fight Night. I can't wait for Fight Night Round 4. EA should wait and see what THQ does with UFC 09. MMA to a video game is going to be very hard to adapt on the ground and pound and all the movements associacted witht he sport.

  13. doughboyy

    • 8:13pm GMT - March 15th, 2009
    • 13

    @9, Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, own the rights to WEC so i highly doubt they'd be the company

  14. kora5551

    • 9:00pm GMT - March 15th, 2009
    • 14

     thats britney spears!!

  15. J1gs4w | d3v1ldr1v3r

    • 9:05pm GMT - March 15th, 2009
    • 15

    I think THQ will give us what we want in the MMA genre, and if they fail, chances are EA will try and snag the license.

  16. r_e_f_l_e_x | r_e_f_l_e_x

    • 9:44pm GMT - March 15th, 2009
    • 16

    it will suck so who cares?

  17. daniel_s_02

    • 11:59pm GMT - March 15th, 2009
    • 17

    Didn't EA think that the need for speed franchise was going in a new direction. Once they went away from hot pursuite 2 on the ps3 it sucked since. EA doesn't need to think. I happen to like boxing which is a complete different sport than MMA.  EA ruins just about everything now, they're almost as bad as the sonic team.

  18. cdx000 | cdx00

    • 2:42am GMT - March 16th, 2009
    • 18

    Boxing is more interesting than most MMA, sadly.

  19. C-Carcharias | C-Carcharias

    • 2:44am GMT - March 16th, 2009
    • 19

    I can see EA releasing something Affliction/Pride based.

  20. x_HAWX_x

    • 5:21am GMT - March 16th, 2009
    • 20

    @14 no , its more like Rihanna and Chris brown to me ...

  21. Strudel | Strudel

    • 8:14am GMT - March 16th, 2009
    • 21

    EA is the cancer of the gaming world, once every resource has been consumed they spread to a new genre.

  22. O_G_H

    • 8:41am GMT - March 16th, 2009
    • 22

    What are you guys talking about?!  Muck up another genre?  Who makes a better boxing game than EA?  Who?  I'm WAITING!  If their MMA game is anywhere near as good as Fight Night, you guys are good (I say you guys because I think MMA is stupid).

  23. PsychoMantis | KuruptX

    • 9:06am GMT - March 16th, 2009
    • 23

    they will drag this game along for a boring ride like every other thing EA does. It will be game after game with slight to almost no graphically changes and modes/game play wise. They will just update the roster if there are new fighters and it will go down in flames like Madden.

  24. Lanthros

    • 9:22am GMT - March 16th, 2009
    • 24

     boxing is cool but MMA owns it. All to often boxers fight for points, thats no way to fight. You fight to WIN, not by decision if you can help it but by KO, TKO, or submission PERIOD. That being said, both EA and THQ need to leave this one alone.

  25. AZTwiztidJuggla | J6E8K

    • 11:51am GMT - March 16th, 2009
    • 25

    Wont be PRIDE or WEC.. Both owned by Zuffa

    Affliction maybe but there arent that many big names in the promotion to push the game... Fedor and a couple others really.

    MMA > Boxing. there is just so much more going on in MMA (with decent fighters)

     

  26. sithdarkess

    • 12:57pm GMT - March 16th, 2009
    • 26

    There a lot reason to love EA anf lot of reason to hate EA.What like about them is they do make good games, but they SCREWED the NFL for me. They drop the ball on NFL for a while, I have not playing there NFL games for while,so I'm worry about them making MMA games For myself. I like MMA, so I think they might ruin it for me.

  27. iceveiled

    • 3:03pm GMT - March 16th, 2009
    • 27

     After being into the UFC since it pretty much was started, I can honestly say that trying to watch boxing now is dull.  Nice clown gloves.

  28. duomtl | duomtl

    • 11:14am GMT - March 17th, 2009
    • 28

    the reason why they keep realeasing the same games every year is because millions of people still buy it every year.  If they didn't make money they wouldn't do it, and the games people should buy like mirrors edge, dead space, even bad company, all great games, but no one buys those ones, and still hates ea for NOT MAKING NEW I.P's... well what does that tell them... make more sports games?

  29. 6toes

    • 5:08pm GMT - March 17th, 2009
    • 29

     Too bad Dana is a scoundrel (not always, but at least in this situation) and he forced his fighters to sign a lifetime contract to use their likenesses in THQs games only and attempted to fire those that didn't accept...

    Still though, I wouldn't mind an MMA game that used Affliction, Dream, or even old-school PrideFC fighters..  

  30. lucky90

    • 10:45pm GMT - March 18th, 2009
    • 30

    banding EA games wont help anyting just dont buy it will make sense..lol

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