The Pit Report: THQ Releases UFC Next-Gen Game Trailer

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I had mentioned a long time ago, I forget in which column, that I wanted a next-gen UFC game. I said that I wanted to see a publisher like EA or THQ get the rights and create a game that combined the realism and intensity of the Fight Night series with the fun and wealth of features of the WWE Smackdown vs. Raw series.

Well, kids, Uncle Sick just got his wish. Take a look at THQ’s trailer for the tentatively titled UFC 2009 for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

This is only a teaser trailer. It may not reflect actual gameplay footage (in fact not much information is available yet), but it looks f*cking amazing. If this game is anything like the trailer, it’s damn near the exact game I wanted. Granted, it’ll be some time before we get a list of features, but I’m willing to bet there will be a career mode and a create-an-Ultimate Fighter feature.

I would actually love to see two different career modes. One where you can choose a current UFC fighter and fight your way to the top. The second mode would be based on The Ultimate Fighter where you create your own fighter and have to compete for a UFC contract. That of course would open up the option to take your newly signed fighter and enter regular career mode. But that’s just me, and I’m a f*ckin’ gaming nerd.

Word has it that THQ’s UFC titles will be annual, much like the Madden series (or the aforementioned WWE titles), and the company has the rights to publish UFC games until 2011. THQ will be producing games for consoles, portable systems, and wireless devices.

The prospect of a “good” UFC game is very exciting. There have been three UFC games in the past: UFC Throwdown for the Playstation 2 and UFC Tapout for Xbox were both released in 2002, and UFC Tapout 2 for the Xbox in 2003. None of them were good. Hell, they were atrocious. In Zuffa’s defense they really had no clue about video games at the time. I think they saw the popularity of video games and just wanted to cash in. As you might expect, the games did not sell very well.

Now that the UFC is so popular, and the technology is there to make a truly great game, they can finally cash in on something that the fans will truly appreciate, and will actually spend their money on.

UFC 2009 is expected to be released in the first half of 2008. We will keep you updated on this story as it develops. As for me, I’m off to reserve a copy of this bad boy…