What a difference a few years makes. In 2009, head of UFC, Dana White, made it clear he didn’t like EA, and for good reason. He tried to have a meeting with them to discuss his idea for an MMA-based videogame. He thought it would work because the WWE had been successful for a long time with their games.
EA, on the other hand, refused to meet with him because they claimed that MMA disgusted them. He, of course, later went to THQ, who produced the official UFC game from their San Diego studio.
EA went on to make their own MMA game, unlicensed. Needless to say, he was not happy about this, and threatened to ban any fighter who appeared in EA’s MMA title. Suffice it to say, it was a pretty big surprise to see Mr. White standing on EA’s stage announcing his exclusive partnership with the company that had stabbed him in the back. Obviously EA was not happy with their non-existent sales, so they purchased the contract away from THQ, who has much less of a sports background than EA. I would imagine we will see new EA-powered UFC titles later in the year.
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