Fight Night Boxing Franchise on Indefinite Hold, Focus is on EA Sports UFC

[Dos_Santos]

Quote: Originally Posted by JerseySuave4

Here's the problem. Boxing is dying. As much as hardcore boxing enthusiasts don't want to admit it, it is. NFL, NBA, MLB, NASCAR, NHL, Soccer, PGA, UFC all are more followed daily in the United States than boxing is. Floyd Mayweather may be the highest paid athlete yearly but he fights 1-2 times per year and is irrelevant the rest of the time. You ask a casual boxing fan, meaning someone who doesn't follow it much but watches the big fights, who someone like Canelo Alvarez is and they couldn't tell you. And that's the guy everyone wants Mayweather to fight. The truth is Floyd Mayweather is the last relevant boxer in the United States. Pacquiao is fighting over in China, no one really cares about him anymore because he got dropped cold. Heavyweight division is a joke. And the guys who are really worth watching are these young guys nobody knows and isn't going to take the time to invest in. Boxing does a terrible job promoting the sport. Not enough boxing coverage. The explosion of the UFC came because you began to see UFC on FX all the time. They had The Ultimate Fighter but they were also showing old fights constantly. It helped people to learn the sport and more importantly know the brand. With the explosion of the sport, more young wrestlers and athletes are more interested in learning MMA than boxing. Boxing will never truly die. It will always have appeal Internationally. But in terms of American popularity, boxing is easily behind all of those other sports. Part of what contributed to the fall is Promoters and too many weight classes/belts. There are 100 different weight classes and 50 different belts per weight class. Now that's an exaggeration but the point is that boxing has become a clusterf**k to keep up with in terms of who is champion, who is in what weight class, etc. You got Promoters setting up guys with 15-20 cupcake, hand picked fights to build a resume, then they get some alphabet belt. You don't get the fights you want, when you want them. You do in the UFC because fights are made by the organization, the promoters & fighters don't pick and choose. In terms of Fight Night, there's just not enough of a demand to make a boxing game. If there was then games would be getting made. You can't keep throwing in the same rosters they've had in because most of those guys are retired so basically it becomes a Legends game just so you can have some guys in the game people recognize. They can't afford Mayweather so the 1 guy everyone would want in the game wouldn't be in the game. SHAKR, you are one of the hardcore boxing fans. You are the exception. That twitter thing you showed didn't even have 1,000 followers. yes boxing websites exist. The sport is still out there and there is a fan base that needs to get their info from somewhere. None of those things prove there is a high demand for a boxing game. Within your circle and the websites you visit there is obviously a demand for it because you are going to specific types of websites. Floyd Mayweather vs Robert Guerrero didn't even break 1 million PPV buys despite what Showtime will tell you. Showtime & Mayweather will tell you it broke $1 million in the same way the Mets will announce they have 25,000 people at the game when the stadium is empty. I'm a boxing fan, i enjoyed the Fight Night series although I skipped the last game because I wasn't feeling the whole story mode type thing. But I think you when you say there's a huge demand for a realistic boxing game you're basing it on the boxing websites, boxing-gaming websites you go to which will obviously be calling for the same thing. But there's not a high demand for the sport at the moment from the general public and there's even less of a demand for a boxing game from the general public otherwise someone would be making a game. Truth is if you went up to any casual sports/combat sports fan and asked if they'd rather have a UFC or boxing game they'd most likely say UFC because it's something they see and are familiar with more often.

Lol. Was this typed with a serious face?

Boxing was dead after Ali...then the Big 4...then Tyson...then Lewis/Holyfield...then De La Hoya...then Pac...then Mayweather, etc...

Some of you guys need to not post about things you don't understand. It is like the people in the states who make fun of soccer.

Who cares that this franchise is on hold as it was a terrible product. They didn't even have enough sense to not put a random actor on the cover of the last game.

I feel really sorry for my MMA brethren who are getting hyped about UFC EA. The chances of it being a fun, quality product are so slim that there is zero reason to follow it with the smallest chance of being surprised.

[N51_rob]

A little part of the sports gamer in me died today. I guess i better go grab a copy of FNC. Thanks EA.

[SHAKYR]

A good game is a good game. Word of mouth is a fire that can spread or die. I know plenty of games I'm not a fan of, but just from hearing people talk about them made me want to play them.

Sports games that I would play but I'm not a fan or huge fan of the sport it's self..

NFL(I watch a game here and there..definitely the playoffs)
NBA(I watch it but not faithfully)
MLB(maybe the playoffs and World Series)
UFC(A few fights here and there, mostly major fights)
Soccer(can't watch it)
PGA( only when Tiger Wood's play)
NHL(Can't watch it)
Tennis(Can't watch it, but I love Serena and Venus Williams)
Wrestling(I was a huge fan back in the days but I don't watch it anymore)

The reason I can play some of these sports games is because they are make very close to the sport contains. If the game doesn't have it, it doesn't have it and I move on. I loved NFL 2K and it set the bar in many areas that the Madden series was/is lacking. NBA 2K amazes me every time around, NBA Live left a bad taste in my mouth so I left the series alone.
The point I'm making is that the sport doesn't necessarily has anything at all to do with a badly made game.

Quote: Originally Posted by JerseySuave4

Here's the problem. Boxing is dying. As much as hardcore boxing enthusiasts don't want to admit it, it is. NFL, NBA, MLB, NASCAR, NHL, Soccer, PGA, UFC all are more followed daily in the United States than boxing is. Floyd Mayweather may be the highest paid athlete yearly but he fights 1-2 times per year and is irrelevant the rest of the time. You ask a casual boxing fan, meaning someone who doesn't follow it much but watches the big fights, who someone like Canelo Alvarez is and they couldn't tell you. And that's the guy everyone wants Mayweather to fight. The truth is Floyd Mayweather is the last relevant boxer in the United States. Pacquiao is fighting over in China, no one really cares about him anymore because he got dropped cold. Heavyweight division is a joke. And the guys who are really worth watching are these young guys nobody knows and isn't going to take the time to invest in. Boxing does a terrible job promoting the sport. Not enough boxing coverage. The explosion of the UFC came because you began to see UFC on FX all the time. They had The Ultimate Fighter but they were also showing old fights constantly. It helped people to learn the sport and more importantly know the brand. With the explosion of the sport, more young wrestlers and athletes are more interested in learning MMA than boxing. Boxing will never truly die. It will always have appeal Internationally. But in terms of American popularity, boxing is easily behind all of those other sports. Part of what contributed to the fall is Promoters and too many weight classes/belts. There are 100 different weight classes and 50 different belts per weight class. Now that's an exaggeration but the point is that boxing has become a clusterf**k to keep up with in terms of who is champion, who is in what weight class, etc. You got Promoters setting up guys with 15-20 cupcake, hand picked fights to build a resume, then they get some alphabet belt. You don't get the fights you want, when you want them. You do in the UFC because fights are made by the organization, the promoters & fighters don't pick and choose. Promoters are partially the blame, 5, 7 or 10 most boxers in history fought opponents to build a record or let the public see what they were capable of. Too many weight classes?!? The weight argument would have worked 20 or 30 years ago. Weight can be deadly in today's boxing, even some of the greats who fought bigger opponents got their tails handed to them. In terms of Fight Night, there's just not enough of a demand to make a boxing game. If there was then games would be getting made. You can't keep throwing in the same rosters they've had in because most of those guys are retired so basically it becomes a Legends game just so you can have some guys in the game people recognize. They can't afford Mayweather so the 1 guy everyone would want in the game wouldn't be in the game. As I keep stating the demand is high. Fight Night didn't fall off because of the so-called state of boxing(I'm seeing plenty of amateur boxers in tournaments and local shows), Fight Night wasn't boxing and many of the old fans passed on it. I got dismissed from EA forums as a Senior Moderator because I was telling the producers and the Administrators how me and many of the fans who used to email me felt. SHAKR, you are one of the hardcore boxing fans. You are the exception. That twitter thing you showed didn't even have 1,000 followers. yes boxing websites exist. The sport is still out there and there is a fan base that needs to get their info from somewhere. None of those things prove there is a high demand for a boxing game. Within your circle and the websites you visit there is obviously a demand for it because you are going to specific types of websites. Those numbers jumped up there once it was official that there would be another game in a few weeks. I think I had 300 or so a week ago Floyd Mayweather vs Robert Guerrero didn't even break 1 million PPV buys despite what Showtime will tell you. Showtime & Mayweather will tell you it broke $1 million in the same way the Mets will announce they have 25,000 people at the game when the stadium is empty. The Mayweather Jr. VS. Guerrero numbers on who or what you want to believe. I'm a boxing fan, i enjoyed the Fight Night series although I skipped the last game because I wasn't feeling the whole story mode type thing. But I think you when you say there's a huge demand for a realistic boxing game you're basing it on the boxing websites, boxing-gaming websites you go to which will obviously be calling for the same thing. But there's not a high demand for the sport at the moment from the general public and there's even less of a demand for a boxing game from the general public otherwise someone would be making a game. Truth is if you went up to any casual sports/combat sports fan and asked if they'd rather have a UFC or boxing game they'd most likely say UFC because it's something they see and are familiar with more often.

It depends on the areas or demographic. Boxing is doing well on the amateur level. So these children are getting interested from somewhere. My son doesn't like UFC and only a couple of his friends watch it because they are wrestling fans and it reminds them of it.

Quote: Originally Posted by JayBee74

Casual boxing fan, oblivious to everyone except Floyd Mayweather? I don't get the casual boxing fan tag. You are either a fan or someone not interested in the sport. I know some boxing fans, I don't know any casual boxing fans.

A Casual fan is just what they are. They don't have a huge interest in the sport and may watch a major event. Casual fans can care less about a sport's history or facts. They can care less about historic value of certain events and they don't debate if something is wrong about the sport or game.


If boxing is dead I saw alot of people at it's repeated funeral.

[JayBee74]

Quote: Originally Posted by SHAKYR

A Casual fan is just what they are. They don't have a huge interest in the sport and may watch a major event. Casual fans can care less about a sport's history or facts. They can care less about historic value of certain events and they don't debate if something is wrong about the sport or game.

Then just call them "casuals" because they're not fans.

[SHAKYR]

Quote: Originally Posted by JayBee74

Then just call them "casuals" because they're not fans.

You are right.

[Money99]

Fight Night Round 4 sold very well. It proved that a good boxing game can and will sell.
FNC didn't sell well. Why? Because instead of proving a truly sim experience of what it takes to train a boxer in and out of the ring, they focused on a canned and linear story mode.

If they had built off of FNRd4 by tweaking the gameplay and then adding in features that are present in their NFL and NHL games, such as a Manager mode, I'm positive FNC would have eclipsed Rd4 sales.

I hope that MMA fans realize what they're going to get with EA's new UFC game.
I wouldn't be surprised if the team, instead of focusing on the training, managing and promotion of fighters, gives gamers another linear storymode that will mimic the movie "Warrior".

But with my bad luck, EA UFC will provide an incredibly deep and versatile managers/trainers mode that I would have given my left leg to have in FN.

[SHAKYR]

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

Fight Night Round 4 sold very well. It proved that a good boxing game can and will sell. FNC didn't sell well. Why? Because instead of proving a truly sim experience of what it takes to train a boxer in and out of the ring, they focused on a canned and linear story mode. If they had built off of FNRd4 by tweaking the gameplay and then adding in features that are present in their NFL and NHL games, such as a Manager mode, I'm positive FNC would have eclipsed Rd4 sales. I hope that MMA fans realize what they're going to get with EA's new UFC game. I wouldn't be surprised if the team, instead of focusing on the training, managing and promotion of fighters, gives gamers another linear storymode that will mimic the movie "Warrior". But with my bad luck, EA UFC will provide an incredibly deep and versatile managers/trainers mode that I would have given my left leg to have in FN.

Money99 they actually have Dana White over their shoulders making sure they don't mess this game up. Dana White is very hands on with his product. He even said it. We might get the as the saying goes,"step-child treatment"

[JerseySuave4]

Quote: Originally Posted by JayBee74

Casual boxing fan, oblivious to everyone except Floyd Mayweather? I don't get the casual boxing fan tag. You are either a fan or someone not interested in the sport. I know some boxing fans, I don't know any casual boxing fans.

You don't know casual boxing fans? A casual boxing fan is someone who doesn't follow boxing on a regular basis but when there's a big fight they'll watch. That line about being a fan or not isn't true. You can be a casual fan of something. I wouldn't call myself a fan of soccer but I follow it because I need to for work so even though I won't watch MLS matches most of the time, i'll watch Premier League when it's on.

Quote: Originally Posted by Dos_Santos

Lol. Was this typed with a serious face? Boxing was dead after Ali...then the Big 4...then Tyson...then Lewis/Holyfield...then De La Hoya...then Pac...then Mayweather, etc... Some of you guys need to not post about things you don't understand. It is like the people in the states who make fun of soccer. Who cares that this franchise is on hold as it was a terrible product. They didn't even have enough sense to not put a random actor on the cover of the last game. I feel really sorry for my MMA brethren who are getting hyped about UFC EA. The chances of it being a fun, quality product are so slim that there is zero reason to follow it with the smallest chance of being surprised.

And you need to make sure you read things before you comment on them. I specifically said boxing will never die because of hardcore fans and the popularity of the sport internationally. But boxing in the United States is behind the NFL, NBA, MLB, UFC, NHL, Nascar and Soccer in terms of relevance.

Mayweather is the last name remaining that casual fans are interested in paying to see. Boxing has done a TERRIBLE job over the years building up new names. Go ask a someone who says they watch boxing every now & then who Canelo Alvarez is and most wouldn't know. My brother i'd consider a casual boxing fan and when I was over his house to watch the Mayweather fight he asked me who would he fight next and I rattled off 3 different names and he knew none of them other than Amir Khan. Will boxing go on after Mayweather? Of course. But tell me who is drawing in the casual fan?

The Mayweather-Guerrero fight was advertised during March Madness, they had a 24/7 type show on Showtime, they had advertisements in magazines, but it still couldn't do 1 million PPV buys.