THQ has blamed Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption for hampering UFC Undisputed 2010's sales, which have so far failed to meet expectations.
Speaking to trade mag MCV, THQ's UK marketing director, Jon Rooke admitted that Rockstar's Western swallowed up most of the public's cash in May and UFC was one of the victim's of its success.
"Our sales were softer than where we would have liked them to be," Rooke told MCV. "We know our UFC and MMA fans have bought it, but we haven't delivered the broader sales yet.
"That's largely down to Red Dead Redmeption. Rockstar have probably taken a fair amount of our market share. They shipped 5m units, taking a lot of consumer dollars."
The THQ man's comments match up with those of analyst Colin Sebastian, who pointed to Red Dead as a possible cause for UFC's performance last month.
Rooke claims that Undisputed 2010's lower-than-expected sales are due to "a change in circumstances" compared to when 2009 was released, but reckons that sales will pick up in the coming months.
"Last year, we had the perfect storm," he said. "This year Rockstar did. That's not to say our sales were in any way disappointing. We still managed to ship 2.6m units, which is a fantastic achievement, and that figure is still growing.
"And we've got a long tail with that product," he said. "We absolutely believe we will deliver our initial sales expectations for UFC and the 2010 edition has been a phenomenal success."
Speaking to trade mag MCV, THQ's UK marketing director, Jon Rooke admitted that Rockstar's Western swallowed up most of the public's cash in May and UFC was one of the victim's of its success.
"Our sales were softer than where we would have liked them to be," Rooke told MCV. "We know our UFC and MMA fans have bought it, but we haven't delivered the broader sales yet.
"That's largely down to Red Dead Redmeption. Rockstar have probably taken a fair amount of our market share. They shipped 5m units, taking a lot of consumer dollars."
The THQ man's comments match up with those of analyst Colin Sebastian, who pointed to Red Dead as a possible cause for UFC's performance last month.
Rooke claims that Undisputed 2010's lower-than-expected sales are due to "a change in circumstances" compared to when 2009 was released, but reckons that sales will pick up in the coming months.
"Last year, we had the perfect storm," he said. "This year Rockstar did. That's not to say our sales were in any way disappointing. We still managed to ship 2.6m units, which is a fantastic achievement, and that figure is still growing.
"And we've got a long tail with that product," he said. "We absolutely believe we will deliver our initial sales expectations for UFC and the 2010 edition has been a phenomenal success."
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