The official announcement of a deal that had been weeks in negotiations was made today as EA Sports has obtained the UFC video game license from THQ.
This was announced this afternoon in Los Angeles.
THQ was trying to unload the license, which is not a good sign for the company, and EA was willing to purchase it and UFC okayed the deal. THQ had stated in a recent filing that the third edition of the game sold above expectations, but industry sources had stated sales were down from the first two editions, but that the most recent game was still profitable for THQ. But the profit margins were down.
Dana White had been heavily critical of EA in the past, particularly when EA Sports released its MMA game a few years ago using Strikeforce fighters, fighters from Japanese organizations and using Randy Couture, who had inked a personal deal with EA while out of UFC, as its headliner. The game got strong reviews but sales were poor. White during that period had recounted when EA, under different management, had rebuffed them in a way White found insulting when they tried to get a video game deal with them when the company started its popularity climb.
"We'd like to thank THQ for creating some of the most critically-acclaimed sports videogames of this console generation, and we're excited to enter a new relationship with EA that will help us deepen our connection with fighting fans around the world," said White. "There's no one better at creating authentic sports videogames than EA SPORTS, and we're excited to have a partner who shares our vision of deep, connected and multi-platform global game experience."
Brian Farrell of THQ claimed it was part of THQ's more focused strategy going forward so tranfering the license made sense to all parties.
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