EA Sports’ First MMA Game Could Be Huge for the Sport

In case you weren’t following the video game news coming out of E3 (the biggest week of gaming news each year) a couple of days ago, you probably missed some interesting news concerning mixed martial arts.  Even non-gamers have surely heard of such franchises as Madden NFL by mega-publisher EA Sports.  Now, it’s been announced that EA Sports will develop an MMA game for the first time in the company’s history.

If you’ve ever played any of EA’s Fight Night games, you know that the company has been the first to really make a boxing game that approaches the techniques and skill of the sport, so this is great news for MMA fans who like to play a video game or two.  Also, EA entering the fray will undoubtedly keep THQ honest in their future iterations of UFC games, keeping them from resting on their laurels with a monopoly on MMA game experiences.

Even if you aren’t into video games, this is a big moment for the sport in general.  EA will undoubtedly feature real MMA fighters, and since the UFC fighters obviously won’t be appearing, this leaves fighters from organizations such as Affliction, Strikeforce, Dream and Sengoku to fill the game.  Now, there has been no confirmation of who will or won’t appear in the game, but one can online imagine that a company like EA would not announce an MMA game without a good amount of fighters on board to participate.

This means that casual MMA fans (and video game fans in general) may have a chance to get introduced to fighters like the great Fedor Emelianenko, Cung Le, and who knows who else.  We could even see MMA legends in the game, which would be a smart move on EA’s part, as out of all the UFC Hall of Famers, only Mark Coleman has a video game deal with the UFC.  There have even been rumors of Randy Couture being in the game, which would explain his absence from the THQ UFC game that recently came out.

While skeptics have already wondered how an EA Sports MMA offering can compete with the UFC roster and brand name, EA Sports is a huge brand in and of itself, and if the gameplay is top-notch, people will play it.  This could lead to a whole new crop of fans who realize that the sport of mixed martial arts is not just about the UFC, but also many other organizations and fighters out there.  This would be a great development for other organizations, who will see their brand recognition and the notoriety of their fighters go up overnight.  This would also help the long-term viability of other promotions, who maybe don’t have the exposure to mainstream fans that they would like.

While fans were excited when the UFC was negotiating to get on HBO, some may not realize how big of a deal an EA Sports MMA game is.  Video games make up a multi-billion dollar industry that is quickly surpassing other forms of entertainment, such as movies, television and music.  Many people who would flip past a Strikeforce event or an MMA show on HDNet will take the time to play an MMA video game.  Not only will these games familiarize new fans with the fighters of the sport, but also the rules, the techniques, and most importantly, the ground game.

As mentioned earlier, there haven’t been any real details on EA Sports’ first foray into the world of mixed martial arts, but EA Sports does everything that they do in a big way, or not at all.  They would not be entering the running along with THQ if they hadn’t come up with some great ideas and signed some outstanding fighters.  Every now and then, you realize how far MMA has come.  When we see an EA Sports MMA game on store shelves in 2010, perhaps with someone like Fedor Emelianenko on the cover, it will be another of those moments.

by Jon Hartley for Fightmania.com

Tags: DREAM, Fedor Emelianenko, Mark Coleman, Randy Couture, Strikeforce, UFC