http://www.operationsports.com/MMChr...nt-there-more/
Boxing Games: Why aren't there more?
Posted on March 12, 2009 at 10:46 AM.(14)
Fight Night Round 4 is coming later this year, which should be very exciting news for boxing fans the world over. Unfortunately, in a sport where exclusivity doesn't make sense, where is the competition?
That is a question that was recently posed to me and as I started to look, I began to draw a few conclusions of my own. Why aren't there more boxing games? Here are a two very good, practical, and very related reasons I could come up with:
1)The sport itself is in a severe downturn and has no marketable names. Since the interest in boxing overall has waned significantly across America, and since there isn't anyone worthy of marketing the game around (at least a current star) many companies probably balk at the ideal of making a boxing game with no real current interest in the sport.
2)Licensing the old names is costly. And if the lack of a modern set of stars wasn't enough, licensing former greats such as Tyson, Ali, Foreman, etc. is not a cheap task. Only the biggest of the big in the sports gaming universe (EA) has been willing to pony up the money for so many former greats. It also doesn't bode well for the sport that all of the most marketable names in boxing are either retired (Ali/Tyson), dead (Joe Louis, James Braddock) or fictional (Rocky Balboa).
So what can companies do to make a boxing game that is marketable, profitable and realistic enough to compete with Fight Night? Let's hear your thoughts!
Boxing Games: Why aren't there more?
Posted on March 12, 2009 at 10:46 AM.(14)
Fight Night Round 4 is coming later this year, which should be very exciting news for boxing fans the world over. Unfortunately, in a sport where exclusivity doesn't make sense, where is the competition?
That is a question that was recently posed to me and as I started to look, I began to draw a few conclusions of my own. Why aren't there more boxing games? Here are a two very good, practical, and very related reasons I could come up with:
1)The sport itself is in a severe downturn and has no marketable names. Since the interest in boxing overall has waned significantly across America, and since there isn't anyone worthy of marketing the game around (at least a current star) many companies probably balk at the ideal of making a boxing game with no real current interest in the sport.
2)Licensing the old names is costly. And if the lack of a modern set of stars wasn't enough, licensing former greats such as Tyson, Ali, Foreman, etc. is not a cheap task. Only the biggest of the big in the sports gaming universe (EA) has been willing to pony up the money for so many former greats. It also doesn't bode well for the sport that all of the most marketable names in boxing are either retired (Ali/Tyson), dead (Joe Louis, James Braddock) or fictional (Rocky Balboa).
So what can companies do to make a boxing game that is marketable, profitable and realistic enough to compete with Fight Night? Let's hear your thoughts!
....give it a face lift and a couple of tweaks and bring it state side for a multi-console release.
Comment