THQ and Zuffa have officially announced an extension of their exclusive video game licensing deal to continue publishing their UFC branded franchises through 2018.
THQ Inc. today announced that it has extended its exclusive, worldwide agreement with Zuffa, LLC to publish videogames based on the Ultimate Fighting Championship(R) (UFC(R)) brand through 2018.
“We’re very excited to extend our relationship with Zuffa and the Ultimate Fighting Championship,” said Danny Bilson, Executive Vice President, Core Games, THQ. “Working closely together with Dana White and the incredible team at UFC, we plan to continue to deliver outstanding interactive UFC experiences to gamers around the world in all new ways, including social, mobile and brand extensions.”
“THQ has delivered the quality demanded by UFC and its fans with the first two Undisputed(TM) games and we are about to broaden the UFC brand experience among gaming fans through social and mobile apps,” said Dana White, UFC President. “We are impressed by the passion that THQ brings to making great games and we look forward to working together to create even greater gaming experiences for our fans in the future.”
Under the terms of the agreement, THQ has obtained the rights to create videogames for all current and next-generation consoles, PC and handheld platforms, in addition to certain social media and wireless rights, including iPhone and iPad. Rights also include online, downloadable and multi-player capabilities in connection with the various gaming systems.
Payout Perspective:
The deal was struck just a few months after UFC Undisputed 2010 fell short of expectations, shipping 2.7 million units for gaming consoles, trailing UFC Undisputed 2009 who shipped 3.5 million units the year before. Due to the drop in sales, THQ decided to delay the next UFC Undisputed release and move the development for the title into a 15-to-21 month cycle instead of the originally planned yearly release. Since the next Undisputed release is not scheduled until the first quarter of 2012, THQ and Zuffa are planning to release UFC Trainer (a motion-sensored workout game) in January of 2011 for the Wii, PlayStation Move, and the Xbox 360’s Kinect.
The move to extend the licensing agreement with THQ was a bit of a surprise for some industry insiders, who expected Zuffa to shop around for the highest bidder. Instead, UFC and THQ agreed to an extension which would guarantee at least 4-5 more Undisputed titles and plenty of other side projects such as the UFC Trainer game within that period. The deal also guarantees exclusivity for the UFC brand to be developed into video games for the PSP, iPhone, and iPad mobile devices, which will be a vital market to target within the next few years. Last month, THQ released Undisputed 2010 on the Sony PSP mobile platform.
Well the old deal was with the expectations of 1 game per year. When you switch to 18 months then THQ would have lost out on at least 2 released if they dont extend the partnership.
Yuke’s just isn’t the powerhouse developer that the UFC franchise needs to push the games to the next level. Remember, THQ is merely the publisher, but the games are made by Yuke’s, a studio of 189 employees in Osaka, Japan. From what I’ve read, the EA MMA game is of higher quality (the control scheme for the grappling is a BIG improvement over Undisputed IMO, plus the authentic ring entrances kick ass). This is a bit of a disappointment.