''EA Sports MMA'' is a 2010
sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
video game which was developed by
EA Tiburon
EA Tiburon is an Electronic Arts video game development studio located in Orlando, Florida, United States founded in 1994. It was formerly known as Tiburon Entertainment, which was acquired by EA in 1998. EA had already purchased a minority eq ...
and published by
EA Sports
EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" ...
. It was released for the
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
and
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
on October 19, 2010, in North America and October 22, 2010, everywhere else. Online services have been shut down since April 13, 2012 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Game details
On June 1, 2009,
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...
announced that an all-new fighting title is in development under the EA Sports brand. ''EA Sports MMA'' was released in 2010 on the Xbox 360 and PS3. Its website did not reveal any facts about the gameplay or its release date, just one link to sign up for the EA Sports newsletter and another that directs people to EA Sports' MMA forum. However, the Facebook page for the game released steady numbers of videos and amounts of preview information leading up to the release. This game has many options to create the ultimate MMA experience. The game focuses on global MMA, not restricting its gameplay to one brand or region.
It was announced that the first trailer would be shown on CBS, during ''
Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers'' on November 7, 2009. The trailer featured Emelianenko and Rogers performing a variety of attacks and defenses against each other. The trailer ended with both of the men about to punch each other in the face. It was announced that EA MMA would feature
Strikeforce
Strike Force may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game
*'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game
*'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game
*''Marvel Strike Force'', ...
as its flagship promotion.
The US cover for the game shows
Fedor Emelianenko
Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko ( rus, Фёдор Влади́мирович Емелья́ненко, r=Fyodor Vladimirovich Yemelyanenko, p=ˈfʲɵdər vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ jɪmʲɪˈlʲjænʲɪnkə, IPA; born ...
and
Randy Couture
Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American actor, former United States Army, U.S. Army sergeant, former mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and former Collegiate wrestling, collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman ...
, while the Japanese cover has
Hidehiko Yoshida
is a Japanese gold-medalist judoka and retired mixed martial artist. He is a longtime veteran of Japan's PRIDE Fighting Championships, competing in the Middleweight (93kg) and Heavyweight divisions. He won gold at the 1992 Summer ...
instead of Couture.
Gameplay
Players can move and strike at enemies. They can turn attacks into body punches, kicks or feints. Takedown/transition attempts and takedown/transition defense can be performed. Depending on the timing, the successful defense can result in a sprawl, transitional block or a reversal. Submissions can be attempted, and the defending player can prevent the hold from being applied if he reacts quickly enough. Otherwise, the fighters engage in one of two submission mini-games. Once a submission has been initiated, it is not possible to cancel out of it.
For arm and leg submissions, the players must tap either the submit or defend button several times until the defending fighter either submits or escapes. The idea is to tap the button in short bursts while maintaining the stamina at optimum levels and never letting it drain completely. For chokes, a circular image appears in the center of the screen. A colored marker moves along the circumference from clockwise to counterclockwise in unpredictable patterns and fades in and out of view. The player (whether on offense or defense) must track and match the movement of the marker with the left analog stick. The circle shrinks (while the screen fades to black) as the fighter gets closer to getting choked out and expands when one gets closer to escaping.
The game is set in venues to include boxing rings, circular cages, and hexagonal cages, and it includes multiple rule sets including Japanese, Vale Tudo, and Strikeforce rules in addition to standard Unified Rules. The game includes the ability to fight southpaw- or orthodox, execute foot stomps, soccer kicks and knees to the face on the ground, and fight on the cage, with clinch work and countering.
Mauro Ranallo
Mauro Domenico Ranallo (born December 21, 1969) is a Canadian sports announcer, commentator and mental health advocate. He is currently signed as a play-by-play announcer with MMA organization Bellator, and also performs play-by-play duties for b ...
and
Frank Shamrock
Frank Shamrock (born Frank Alisio Juarez III; December 8, 1972) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship (later renamed the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship) and ...
provide commentary, but are unable to announce most custom names.
/ref> The game also featured 'Live Broadcasts' that could be viewed from PC or consoles. The player is able to upload hype videos, which will help to increase popularity. EA Sports would choose the fighters based on their Hype videos and schedule fight cards just like in real life MMA. Real-life prizes were given out, to a certain level.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack features around 30 hip/hop and rock/metal songs from various artists through the EA Trax
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the ...
feature.
UFC controversy
UFC
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
president Dana White
Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...
declared himself "at war" with EA over the development of the ''EA Sports MMA'' video game. According to White, the UFC had hoped that EA Sports would pick up the publishing rights to the UFC's video game license, but EA Sports declined. White remarks, "EA Sports told us, 'You're not a real sport. We wouldn't touch this thing. We want nothing to do with this.'" The UFC instead partnered with THQ
THQ Inc. was an American video game company based in Agoura Hills, California. It was founded in April 1990 by Jack Friedman, originally in Calabasas, and became a public company the following year through a reverse merger takeover. Initi ...
to develop ''UFC 2009 Undisputed
''UFC 2009 Undisputed'', also known as ''UFC Undisputed 2009'', is a mixed martial arts video game featuring Ultimate Fighting Championship properties and fighters developed by Yuke's and published by THQ. The game was released for PlayStation 3 a ...
''. "We put our asses on the line, THQ, and the UFC, to make a video-game deal in the worst economy in the world," White told reporters in July 2009. "We go out there and do this thing, and it's successful, and now EA Sports wants to do a video game.
White warned the fighters who intend to be included in the upcoming ''EA Sports MMA'' game release, claiming that "If you do business with EA, you won't be in the UFC". Former UFC heavyweight champion
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
s Tim Sylvia
Timothy Deane Sylvia (born March 5, 1976) is an American retired mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, professional wrestler, and a former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion. He has competed as a Super Heavyweight and Heavyweight. While he is best kno ...
and Andrei Arlovski
Andrei Arlovski (born 4 February 1979) is a Belarusian-American professional mixed martial artist, actor and former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and ho ...
, as well as Frank Trigg
Dewey Franklin Trigg III (born May 7, 1972) is an American retired mixed martial artist, color commentator, pro wrestler, MMA referee and TV host. Trigg is a veteran of the UFC, Pride Fighting Championships, Rumble on the Rock, Icon Sport-(Icon S ...
and Vladimir Matyushenko
Vladimir Vladimirovich Matyushenko ( be, Уладзімір Уладзіміравіч Мацюшэнка, ''Uladzimir Uladzimiravič Maciušenka''; born 4 January 1971) is a Belarusian retired mixed martial artist. A professional from 1997 u ...
confirmed their presence in the ''EA Sports MMA'' video game. Fan favorite Randy Couture
Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American actor, former United States Army, U.S. Army sergeant, former mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and former Collegiate wrestling, collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman ...
was under contract with UFC before agreeing to be a part of ''EA Sports MMA'', but was able to take part in the game due to never signing over his likeness to the UFC for use in video games. White has since changed his standpoint on this subject.
Game launch and reception
''EA Sports MMA'' launched on October 19, 2010, with a public launch party for fans and media. At the gatherings, UFC Hall of Fame fighter Randy Couture
Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American actor, former United States Army, U.S. Army sergeant, former mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and former Collegiate wrestling, collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman ...
and former Pride champion Fedor Emelianenko
Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko ( rus, Фёдор Влади́мирович Емелья́ненко, r=Fyodor Vladimirovich Yemelyanenko, p=ˈfʲɵdər vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ jɪmʲɪˈlʲjænʲɪnkə, IPA; born ...
, both of whom grace the cover of the game, finally got the opportunity to fight each other, albeit via their video gamer personas. Fedor went on to win via TKO in the game.
Initial reviews have been positive with Metacritic giving the Xbox 360 version a score of 79% after 55 reviews (78% after 42 reviews for the PS3 version) and Game Rankings giving the Xbox360 version a score of 80.5% after 39 reviews (78.2% after 25 reviews for the PS3 Version). While ''EA Sports MMA'' remains a critical success thus far, it hasn't had the same success financially. According to a Cowen & Company analyst, sales of ''EA Sports MMA'' have been poor, with analyst Doug Creutz saying it's “more or less dead on arrival at retail".
iOS
On October 21, 2010 ''EA Sports MMA'' was released as for the iOS platform. It is a scaled-down version of the game, featuring 24 fighters from five different weight class, create-a-fighter mode and career mode.
Sequel
On June 4, 2012, Dana White
Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...
, along with THQ
THQ Inc. was an American video game company based in Agoura Hills, California. It was founded in April 1990 by Jack Friedman, originally in Calabasas, and became a public company the following year through a reverse merger takeover. Initi ...
, announced that the UFC
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
game license had been transferred to EA Sports
EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" ...
, who produced the next cross-platform UFC game. On June 17, 2014, ''EA Sports UFC
''EA Sports UFC'' is a mixed martial arts fighting video game developed in a collaboration between EA Canada and SkyBox Labs, and published by EA Sports for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It is based on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) brand ...
'' was released as a spiritual successor to both ''EA Sports MMA'' and ''UFC Undisputed 3
''UFC Undisputed 3'' is a mixed martial arts video game featuring Ultimate Fighting Championship properties and fighters developed by Yuke's and published by THQ. It was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is a sequel to '' UFC Undisputed ...
''.
See also
*EA Sports UFC
''EA Sports UFC'' is a mixed martial arts fighting video game developed in a collaboration between EA Canada and SkyBox Labs, and published by EA Sports for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It is based on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) brand ...
References
External links
''MMA'' official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ea Sports Mma
2010 video games
Products and services discontinued in 2012
EA Sports games
IOS games
Mixed martial arts video games
PlayStation 3 games
Xbox 360 games
Inactive multiplayer online games
Video games developed in the United States