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EA SPORTS UFC THE BIG GAME


EA SPORTS UFC FIGHTING TALK


UFC is back after a two-year hiatus following the collapse of its former publisher THQ. And it’s in safe hands, too, as it’s flying under the EA Sports masthead. Greg Lockley sits down with creative director Brian Hayes to learn his lofty expectations for the promising new series


Release Date: June 20th Formats: PS4/XO Publisher: EA Developer: EA Sports


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ll of the action in UFC takes place in the Octogan. It’s a 750 square foot


enclosure that measures 30 feet across and six feet high. Within it stands UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones. It takes just seconds for the brawler to render my fighter unconcious. It’s the bread and butter of every UFC title. A bloody fist fight in a cage. Rinse and repeat. Any other game that relied on such repetitive gameplay in a confined space would surely fail. But EA has got something working heavily in its favour. Everyone loves a fight.


It’s this fact that the publisher is counting on as gamers get their hands on its first new sports franchise in over a decade. “We are excited because UFC


is the fastest growing sport in the world. It really has the potential to appeal all over the place,” says Brian Hayes, creative director on EA Sports UFC. “One of UFC’s mantras is that


everyone likes a good fight. Go to any street corner in the world and there’s probably a basketball game going on in one corner. There will be a soccer game going on in a different corner. Some guys are playing street


As much as I would love for UFC to sell as many units as FIFA in its first year – I won’t bet on it. But is the potential there down the road? Possibly.


Brian Hayes, EA


hockey in another corner. And in the other corner, two guys get into a fight. Everybody will stop playing their sports and head over to watch the guys fight. “That inherent interest in one-on-one combat is something that everybody gets, they understand it and it’s a compelling watch. The UFC is taking steps to make it a legitimate athletic endeavour. The level of skill that the guys are showing now compared to 20 years ago; it’s night and day. “There’s just a ton of appeal


to all different cultures and all different people, and it’s a


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June 13th 2014


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