This week, the UFC launched a website for its upcoming video game, UFC 2009 Undisputed. The game is set to be released on the Xbox 360 and PS3 sometime in the second quarter of next year – a time period that might also coincide with the UFC’s centennial show, UFC 100.
If the UFC continues to hold one PPV event each month, we can expect UFC 100 to be held sometime in September 2009. The possibility of two shows in one month could mean that we see UFC 100 as early as July or August of 2009.Â
UFC 100 represents a monumental milestone for the company and it makes sense to give the event a massive push in order to make it the biggest UFC event ever. Planning the release of Undisputed in the months, if not days, leading up to UFC 100 will add tremendously to that push and pay huge dividends for the company.
Take a minute to consider the following statistics of the game industry:
- Forty-nine percent of video game players are aged 18-49
- Sixty percent of video game players are male.
- Thirty-eight percent of homes in American own a video gaming console.
- In 2007, game console software sales revenue totaled $6.6 billion.
- From 2003 to 2006, the entertainment software industry’s annual growth rate exceeded 17 percent. Over the same period, the entire U.S. economy grew at a less than four percent rate.
Not only will the video game help push interest in UFC events, but UFC events – in particular UFC 100 – will also help push interest in the video game.
Judging by the fact that the UFC and Gaming Industry share a core demographic and the spectacular growth of the video game industry since 1996, it’s fair to assume that the UFC stands to make a lot of money from Undisputed.
Furthermore, if timed properly, UFC 100 in conjunction with UFC 2009 Undisputed could also vault the company and the sport of MMA into a new stratosphere of popularity in America.