Top Five Stories of 2013: Tiger Woods and Fight Night Take a Break

Feature Article

Submitted on: 12/24/2013 by Glenn Wigmore

Tiger Woods, a video game mainstay, won't be that way any longer.

One of the major developments in the sports game space this year that kind of slipped under the radar was the suspension of both the Tiger Woods and Fight Night franchises. EA decided that each game needed to take a break for 2014 at least, with Fight Night's future looking even more uncertain.

It was interesting to read comments from John Riccitiello after he departed from EA, especially his cynicism about "opportunists who are there to make money." Since EA has pretty much written the book on how to monetize their entire game library, especially sports, it's hard not to see him as a frustrated guy who was unable to control the ultimate direction of the company. To that end, it's not surprising to see EA now culling the herd and focusing on a lean stable of franchises, specifically in regards to EA Sports.

Pumping the brakes on Tiger Woods for a year or so allows EA to create distance from their "mutual" break-up with the turbulent golf star, and it allows the dev team to see what's working for the next-gen "Ignite" engine as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each new machine. It doesn't make it any less frustrating for those who want a full-featured simulation golf experience. I guess titles like Powerstar Golf will have to fill the void.

Fight Night Round 4.

Fight Night -- and boxing in general -- is more of a worrying hiatus, as EA seems to have no concrete plans for when the series might return. A conversation I had at E3 gave me some reassurance that EA wouldn't just turf a multi-million seller like Fight Night altogether, but I got the impression that the franchise could be on ice for a while.

With UFC taking over as the de facto "combat" sport these days, it's not surprising to see EA put all of their eggs in that basket. This requires poaching many of the people who worked on the Fight Night dev team, and it means going with a safer bet. The fractured and decentralized nature of boxing today makes it a trickier marketing challenge, and that goes against EA's corporate mandate of 2013-14.

EA Sports' current marching orders are clear: focus on the sports that are going to sell copies and resonate with lots of people. Madden, FIFA and NHL are all evergreen, even though their audiences are quite different in size, and UFC and NBA are markets where EA wants to get a foothold. Fight Night just ends up cannibalizing what UFC is trying to do, and Tiger Woods doesn't generate enough sales to justify an immediate next-gen release (with TW: PGA Tour 2013 selling under one million copies).

It'll be an interesting 2014 for fans of both golf and boxing, as there looks to be a large gap that won't be filled for some time.

Member Comments

# 1 bxphenom7 @ 12/24/13 02:31 PM

NO! I was looking forward to a next-gen boxibg game. So disappointed. Another reason why there must be multiple games to choose from for a sport.

# 2 SHAKYR @ 12/24/13 08:29 PM

Yeah, EA can't put together a proper blueprint to capture boxing fans attention. I have expressed numerous times to the Fight Night producers that fans want depth and realism across the board. They are trying to get arcade fighter and casual fans but lost many of it's hardcore boxing fans. There is a older demographic that want a sim boxing game and will support a boxing title if it's handled correctly.

# 3 Coolade @ 12/25/13 11:15 AM

Boxing fans need not fear, the punching pugilist chael sonnen is here.

# 4 SHAKYR @ 12/25/13 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coolade


	Boxing fans need not fear, the punching pugilist chael sonnen is here.

It's still not boxing no matter what stand up moves they do. Boxing fans want boxing not MMA! I'm going to tell you like I told the Fight Night producers I don't do MMA/UFC!

# 5 pk500 @ 12/26/13 12:02 AM

I have zero desire for an MMA game, regardless of its realism. I'm a hardcore boxing fan and detest MMA. I want a realistic boxing game, period.

# 6 SHAKYR @ 12/26/13 02:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pk500


	I have zero desire for an MMA game, regardless of its realism. I'm a hardcore boxing fan and detest MMA. I want a realistic boxing game, period.

Exactly! You should follow the campaign for realism. I'm want sim boxing with depth! I can bet you the producers for Fight Night use over 50% of what I sent them in a document for the new UFC game but in MMA fashion.
EA is hoping they can starve boxing fans into becoming MMA/UFC fans. The hardcore fans of the sport will wait or not buy it at all.

# 7 HunterK13 @ 12/26/13 09:01 AM

MMA is more popular with young men than boxing these days. I only hear people talk about boxing if Floyd's involved, but all my friends and co-workers talk up the PPV UFC fights. I miss Fight Night too, but it's not smart business right now, and as much as people like to jump on EA, it's one of the few smart decisions they'be made recently.

# 8 SHAKYR @ 12/26/13 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HunterK13


	MMA is more popular with young men than boxing these days. I only hear people talk about boxing if Floyd's involved, but all my friends and co-workers talk up the PPV UFC fights. I miss Fight Night too, but it's not smart business right now, and as much as people like to jump on EA, it's one of the few smart decisions they'be made recently.

MMA/UFC is mostly popular with the wrestling fans. I deal with children everyday and MMA/UFC near really come out their mouths. I hear about Mayweather, Broner, and a few other boxers. I'm guess it's the race demographic that likes these sports too.
Fight Night Champion was a good game plain and simple. It was not boxing and the game had no depth to it. The game sales had nothing to do with the sport popularity....at all! I have interviewed boxers and fans who said they didn't like EA Fight Night Champion.

# 9 SHAKYR @ 12/30/13 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fourlifeent


	Don't worry, A manager at Gamestop told me that in 2015 we will see a new Fight Night...I bet we will hear something by E3.

The manager at Gamestop doesn't work at EA Canada and from my personal communication with the EA staff be it producers or other members close to the title nothing is certain or on the table right now for the Fight Night series.

# 10 Critical Kills @ 01/27/14 08:47 AM

I have never gotten into UFC, I want a boxing game. I may buy UFC if reviews are good but even if I did I'd still buy a boxing title as they are not the same thing, nor, in my opinion, even really all that close..

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