Kotaku
Fight Night is back! And so is Mike Tyson! The ear-chewing ex-convict who hasn't made a video game appearance since Codemasters largely reviled Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing will be featured in Fight Night Round 4, now in development at EA Canada. Said to sport a "re-written gameplay engine" and "all-new physics-based animation system that recreates the full spectrum of true-to-life punch impacts, giving boxers a devastating arsenal of punches, blocks and ring movement" Fight Night Round 4 is planned for a 2009 release on the Xbox 360 and PS3.
This is exciting stuff. I used to kick Iron Mike's ass pretty regularly—as Lil' Mac, of course—but was terrified when I ran into him last year at a party. I shall take my revenge on him next year for giving me such a fright. I may even go so far as to say that his heart/children will be eaten, should the game allow it. You hear that, Tyson?!
The Champ Is Back! EA Announces EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4Mike Tyson Featured in First Boxing Videogame in Nearly a Decade
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Electronic Arts Inc. (Nasdaq:ERTS) announced today that EA SPORTS™Fight Night Round 4 is in development at EA Canada in Vancouver under the EA SPORTS brand. EA SPORTS Fight Night is back with the most realistic "in the ring" experience to date, featuring some of the greatest boxers in history fighting in their prime.
"The EA SPORTS Fight Night franchise has always been synonymous with quality and innovation that raised the bar for the sports videogame genre", said Kevin Wilkinson, Executive Producer, EA SPORTS. "EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 3 was a platform defining game as the industry transitioned to next generation consoles. EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 will change how boxing games are played and measured in the future."
Featuring a re-written gameplay engine, EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 will add a variety of fighting styles and boxer differentiation to authentically emulate the greatest fighters of all time. Pressure your opponent with the brawling inside style of young Mike Tyson, bobbing and weaving to set up powerful hooks and uppercuts. Capitalize on Muhammad Ali's reach, hand speed and fleetness of foot to bewilder your opponent with lightning fast jabs and straights from the outside. For the first time in history, EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 gives you the opportunity to pit these legendary heavyweights against one another and name a true champ.
No fight will be the same with an all-new physics-based animation system that recreates the full spectrum of true-to-life punch impacts, giving boxers a devastating arsenal of punches, blocks and ring movement. The new physics system allows for missed punches, glancing punches, knockout blows and for the first time ever, rough and tumble inside fighting. Fatigue, adrenaline, footwork and timing all come into play as you hammer away at your opponents.
EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 will be available for the Xbox 360™ system and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and ships to retailers in 2009. The game has not yet been rated by the ESRB or PEGI.
EA SPORTS™ is the leading interactive sports software brand in the world, with top-selling titles and franchises including Madden NFL Football, FIFA Soccer, NHL® hockey, NBA LIVE basketball, NCAA® Football, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® and NASCAR® racing.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS™, EA™, EA SPORTS Freestyle™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2007, EA posted revenue of $3.09 billion and had 24 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS Freestyle, and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. John Madden, NFL, FIFA, NHL, NBA, NCAA, Tiger Woods, PGA TOUR and NASCAR are trademarks of their respective owners and used with permission. Microsoft and Xbox 360 are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. "PLAYSTATION" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
Comments
First to say "I can't EFF'ING wait!"
/cues ear bite comments.
oh wtf?! RELEASE IT FOR WII AND USE THE BALANCE BOARD YOU PUSSIES!
WHOO!
Can't wait to punch Mike with realistic face-jiggling!
OOOOHHH WHAT THE FAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKk
RELEASE IT ON WII AND USE THE BALANCE BOARD YOU HACKS!
it'd be so awesome if they had the original Mike Tyson's Punch out Theme playing when he fights.
that sonng brings back fond memories.
i have to go play it on the piano now..
mmm sorry for the double/triple post...thought it didnt go through for calling the good people at EA pussies...and, might i add, with very much sand in their crotches.
I hope EA doesn't mess this one up too, now that it's with a new team.
Fight Night was the only EA sports title I liked. Even though I was terrible at it... seriously dodging and parrying were not freaking intuitive! damn left stick and right stick felt real screwy!
Back in 6th grade, I really wanted to write a letter to Mike Tyson about what kind of books he liked to read. It was for a reading class of course, but my teacher didn't want any part of that. True story.
At first I was confused. Then a little frightened. Then it dawned on me.
EA has a lot of money. EA likes to use some of that money to slap celebrity endorsements on their otherwise completely banal and uninspired shovel-ware. This is easy enough for golf. But when it comes to boxing, I don't really think there has been anyone as recognisable to the general public as Mike Tyson since his heyday.
I don't follow boxing and I'd imagine a lot of other people don't. Mike Tyson, bizarrely, is still better associated with the sport than anyone else I can think of in my fuzzy, non-boxing oriented brain.
I guess it makes sense, in a kind of ear-biting convicted rapist sort of way.
I'm trying to think of where OJ might fit into EA's product line, but it's not coming.
Lets all promote the people who killed Boxing, maybe we should make a Don King game... oh wait.
I'm pumped, I've been wanting a new Fight Night announced for awhile. I had thought they weren't going to make one after Facebreaker was announced. Now they not only announce FN4, but they say Iron Mike Mother Fucking Tyson is going to be in it as well.
It already sounds epic, it is bringing back my many nights and day when I was young playing Punch Out.
Even though Tyson has fallen pretty hard, I've always liked the guy. Hes crazy and fun to watch, you never know what the guy will do. But then seeing interviews of him hes just a cool and calm character with some seriously messed up personality flaws and wrong choices in life.
CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS GAME!
Can you hear that knocking EA? That's opportunity, it's at the door and has something to tell you, listen to TP/\C SHKR:
@VonDante: Now you know we're talking about EA here. They won't let any money-making franchise die, even if they say they would.
And Fight Night will never compare to Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!. The redux with Mr. Dream, maybe, but not the original.
Are they going to use Younger ear-gnawing Mike, or older, out of shape, jumps-on-top-of-taxi-and-punches-it Mike?
@McWhertor: Did you really run into tyson at a party?
@Dannon: Pls. I need some justification for my purchase of the Wii.
This is what the Wii was made for IMO.
I hope its mike tyson in his prime when Cus D'amato and Kevin Futch were training him. After he fired futch he became a one note headhunter and thats why he got blown away by douglas. Tyson in his prime was pretty much unstoppable.
Tyson? Fight Night? Im frikkin sold! Hope the game is as good concidering orginal studio from Chicago is no more...
Yes! Fight Night: Round 3 was absolutely fantastic, but since I hadn't heard any news of a sequel for a while, I was worried that the series was done with, especially with the announcement of Facebreaker, also from EA.
Not particularly thrilled about the Mike Tyson announcement, but I guess it might be fun to kick his ass.
@Pezdispenser: hopefully younger
"OOOOHHH WHAT THE FAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKk
RELEASE IT ON WII AND USE THE BALANCE BOARD YOU HACKS!"
@TP/\C SHKR: xactly wat i was thinkin when facebreaker was announced... Both Should utilize the balance board and wii remote/nunchuk
I'll be buying this one on day one.
1 hit KO's! Uwe Boll watch out!
hell yes.
low blows and headbutts for the win.
@Earthslide: lawls, they should make Uwe Boll an unlockable character.
Then again, this is EA, and they'll probably charge you 300 MS Points to unlock him.
We need a serious boxing game on the wii. The system was made for it. EA, do not fail me!
I wonder if Tyson will wink before he knocks you on your ass.
"This is exciting stuff. I used to kick Iron Mike's ass pretty regularly-as Lil' Mac, of course-"
Suuuuuure you did! And I can beat Contra AND Kid Icarus without dying once BOTH in less than 3 hours!
One of my most played games finally gets some sequel loving. YES!
@psycoking: Unfortunately, people are still going to look like fools flailing around with the Nunchuk wire slapping them in the face.
@psycoking:
Teleroboxer on VC?
Get it? Virtual...console...
Ahem.
@Josimba: Man, I know what you mean. My Wii just sits there collecting dust unless someone comes over that hasn't played with it yet. Does that sound dirty?
@cordsie: i don't think that placing a guy who got off killing his wife would make it into any game. at least Tyson only truly harmed his own career. and now Tyson will be immortilaized forever on fight night.
This is a two for one announcment!
Since Mike Tyson looks like King Hippo now.
We can get a King Hippo/Mike Tyson Super Boss!
Punch him in the mouth when he winks and his pants fall down to show a band-aid on his man parts.
http:/www.tmz.com/media/2007/07/0717_mike_tyson_flynet.jpg
About damn time EA makes a new version of the best sports game out there
I hope B is the bite button and R is the .....ok i think i gone to far with that joke. sorry.
@Len Bias Cocaine Surplus:
Amen to that brother.
@zanzibarlegend: Tyson had a great career, lots of publicized screw-ups in his personal life, and a memorable video game on the NES... if he's going to "be immortalized forever," it won't be by some random video game in 2009.
I worked on FNR2 and FNR3. We tried like hell to get Tyson signed as one of the boxers, but corporate balked at the fee Tyson requested. Plus there was some problem with featuring a convicted rapist as a cover boy. I wonder if Tyson lowered his fee or EA decided to suck it up and pay? And forget about the whole rapist thing.
@TP/\C SHKR: To be honest, I wouldn't want to simulate being in the ring with Mike Tyson. I like my ear.
@zanzibarlegend: Opposed to half the roster of All-Pro that was full of wife murdering, child support dodging, coke heads and others with criminal records.
@Ex_EA_Slave: I'm guessing with the way his life has gone he has lowered his fees considerably.
i Hope that ear biting in one of Tyson's illegal moves
Awesome awesome news!
I still say FN3 is the best party game there is for when you have a couple friends over who accidently bring a shitload of beers!
I hope they have more boxers in this one. Every other EA Sports game they drop the big bucks to get licenses and yet there were some glaring omissions in FNR3.
Apart from that I really hope they increase the depth of the career mode. Need more than just a series of fights and minigames.
Dear God it is about fucking time. I have made this single complaint about all the Fight Night games... "Where the hell is Mike Tyson?!"
The pencil-necked paper pushers figured it out I guess.
Finally! Now I won't have to create him like every other Fight Night game.
EA's already making "Facebreaker".
It seems overkill to make another cartoony/comical boxing game so soon after.
That's assuming they stay true to Punch Out's roots & keep it that way. They already have Fight Night for the realistic boxing simulator.
hmmmm
I actually have to approach this with a bit of caution. EA Canada haven't made a boxing game since Knockout Kings-- they did make the two good Def Jam games, and the older, wonderful SSX titles, not to mention SKATE, but their output is laced with recent stinkers-- the next-gen NBA Live games, SSX On Tour, NFS ProStreet, Madden 07 for Wii, and Marvel Nemesis.
I'm not saying any of those were shit titles, and their body of work is usually very proficient technically, but they all seemed to be plagued by really bad ideas implemented just for the sake of change. I'd say there's a fifty percent chance FNR4 will be saddled with some seriously unnecessary and/or gimmicky new core idea or mechanic.
Tyson is wicked awesome. But I'd feel a lot better about this game if EA Chicago still existed, and Tsunoda was heading this up.
Awesome.
Funnily enough, I hate the sport of boxing, but I spent hours on Fight Night 3. Not since Punch-Out has a boxing game entertained me that much.
@cordsie: Madden 09 obviously along with Chris Henry, Mike Vick, Pacman Jones...
@zanzibarlegend:
"at least Tyson only truly harmed his own career."
I would think Evander Holyfeild would have something to say to you about that... not to mention the rape charge...
They need to remake Punch Out Fight Night style! Bring back Sand Man, Bald Bull, Soda Popinski, Don Flamenco....!!!
007 373 5963
It's about time they finally give respect to my favorite boxer of all time.
Mike Tyson would make a great Mortal Kombat character, he could bite your ear off for a fatality.
Mike Tyson once said "I'll hit you so hard your kids testicles will be showing." BassForever don't you mean Mike will do something he's been arrested for before as a fatality?
EA Canada is gonna use the Euphoria engine, watch.
@ "You hear that, Tyson?!"
He doesn't hear you, but the ear in his mouth does.
@Chef: LULZ.
@Mr. Fap☆Fap!: I did! I used to be pretty good at Punch Out!! *and* Contra. My recent attempts to beat even Mr. Sandman, though, aer just pathetic.