UFC Moves to Exclusive Deal With EA SPORTS - The UpStream

UFC Moves to Exclusive Deal With EA SPORTS

posted Tuesday Jun 5, 2012 by Scott Ertz

UFC Moves to Exclusive Deal With EA SPORTS

What a difference a few years makes. In 2009, head of UFC, Dana White, made it clear he didn't like EA, and for good reason. He tried to have a meeting with them to discuss his idea for an MMA-based videogame. He thought it would work because the WWE had been successful for a long time with their games. EA, on the other hand, refused to meet with him because they claimed that MMA disgusted them. He, of course, later went to THQ, who produced the official UFC game from their San Diego studio.

EA went on to make their own MMA game, unlicensed. Needless to say, he was not happy about this, and threatened to ban any fighter who appeared in EA's MMA title. Suffice it to say, it was a pretty big surprise to see Mr. White standing on EA's stage announcing his exclusive partnership with the company that had stabbed him in the back. Obviously EA was not happy with their non-existent sales, so they purchased the contract away from THQ, who has much less of a sports background than EA. I would imagine we will see new EA-powered UFC titles later in the year.

So, what of THQ? They believed it was in the best interest of everyone involved to transfer the rights to EA. Everyone except the employees of their San Diego studio. Unfortunately, THQ has confirmed that they will be closing the studio. They plan to cherry pick the best of the best for other projects and let the rest of the team go. Maybe they can find a new home at EA.

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