Fight Night Knocked Out in June Sales
by 
Fight Night has proven one of the few sports franchises that has mainstream appeal. Fight Night Round 3 represented the second strongest franchise in US sales for EA Sports behind only Madden. After taking a few years off Fight Night Round 4 came out last month though it was difficult to judge the buzz around the game. Discussion online primarily centered around the controversial decision to remove the optional button control scheme and UFC 2009 Undisputed had released to high praise.
We now have the official sales numbers for FNR4 from NPD and can look at what it means for the franchise.
Comparing numbers to the previous iteration with Fight Night isn’t as simple as it is with franchises that have been releasing on a yearly basis. FNR3 released just a couple of months after the 360 came out and had to wait until the end of that year to be a launch title on the PS3. While the 360 was somewhat supply strained at the time it was a game that was used to promote “next-gen” and came out in a relatively dead period for releases. Now there is some strong competition from UFC to contend with.
So because of those variables it wouldn’t make much sense to go into analysis on the growth from 3 to 4. It would be reasonable to expect FNR4 to show an increase in sales but how large for it to be a positive indication would’ve proven difficult to judge. As a sequel there is always that guaranteed fan base and the potential to build on it especially given how highly regarded FNR3 was. Less than strong numbers would show a weakness for the series in future years.
With the official numbers out the news for FNR4 is not good. The game sold a solid but far from spectacular 260,800 on the 360 and 210,300 on the PS3 for a combined 471,100 sold in June. That number falls far short of even what NCAA Football has been opening at the last few years.
The most embarrassing part of all this has to be that UFC 2009 Undisputed outsold Fight Night for the month on the 360 and in total. Yes, UFC’s second month outsold Fight Night’s first. I don’t think anyone would ever have predicted that. UFC 2009 Undisputed sold 1.14 million combined in its first month and that was the first game in the series which makes the numbers that much more astonishing. The total for the second month is estimated at just over 500,000 with the 360 accounting for 338K of that.
So what could have been the reason for the disappointing sales of Fight Night Round 4? Certainly the bad buzz generated from the removal of the button control scheme has to be considered. That dominated discussion about the game prior to release. However the main factor has to be the competition from UFC. Sure they are different sports but most consumers, including myself, view them as fighting games and that made it less likely that they would pick up both of them.
With the UFC gaining in popularity and boxing continuing its decline it is not a surprise that UFC would take over as the top licensed simulation fighting game. What does make for a surprise is that it happened on the first go round and in such a dominant way.
July 16, 2009 at 10:52 pm
I think you hit the nail on the head – to most non-purists, they're both fighting games. I was jazzed for Fight Night, but after picking up UFC I didn't need another fighting title. I've since rented Fight Night and enjoyed it, but won't be buying any time soon.
I can't help but wonder if the low sales numbers have something to do with Peter Moore tipping his hand that Fight Night would be an "every other year" title to coincide with EA MMA. When I heard this I decided to wait on Fight Night, figuring it would see a decent price drop in the upcoming months and I could buy it later for a cheaper price and not have to worry about it becoming outdated next year.
July 16, 2009 at 10:54 pm
ive already traded mine in i got bored with it after a week
July 16, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Interesting, hadn't considered that either. I wouldn't think that would be a big factor but its something to think about. Maybe it'll have decent legs or sell a lot of used copies.
July 16, 2009 at 10:57 pm
BUTTON CONTROL BUTTON CONTROL BUTTON CONTROL I CAN'T SPEAK FOR EVERYBODYELSE BUT THATS THE REASON I DIDNT BUY THIS GAME I PLAYED THE DEMO AND WAS LIKE CAN'T DO IT
July 17, 2009 at 2:20 am
theyre coming in september on DLC. to me though, TPC feels a lot more natural. I have to think what button is what punch but using the analog stick, the action is basically the same as the actual punch so its a lot easier for me.
July 17, 2009 at 3:36 pm
and in september i i will be at gamestop with my $ 60.00 in hand until then nba 2k 10 all day
July 16, 2009 at 11:10 pm
The sad part is everytime EA attempts to make a game more realistic…It has alot of criticism. FNR4 is EA's best boxing game to date…The analog control is spot on and exactly the way to go. Eliminating the button mashing was a great decision IMO…The reality is most gamers don't want realism..They claim they do but at the end of the day when EA implements vision cones (Madden) or any other realistic principle relted to a specific sport…The so called sim players shun it and cry foul.
July 16, 2009 at 11:12 pm
@ PASTA any word onb MADDEN SSM hav deer bin any UPGRADES 2 da PRESENTATION like NCAA 10 or has dat mode ONCE again gon untouched
July 16, 2009 at 11:13 pm
people who don't like this game will be button mashers who just want to throw haymakers and punches in bunches for 10 rounds. FNR4 is not that game…So if you want mindless fighting…Play Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter and shoot flames from your knuckles…If you want that Sweet Science and happen to understand Boxing then you will be able to appreciate FNR4
July 17, 2009 at 3:23 pm
amen brother!
July 16, 2009 at 11:19 pm
wow pasta you tore FN4 a new one.
July 16, 2009 at 11:30 pm
If you think the Vision cone is realistic you've been playing too much Madden.
July 20, 2009 at 8:14 pm
I agree that the vision cone is a bad reference however FN4 is a damn good game. Much better than the demo and all the pre-release articles suggest.
I think an April release may have been better. Too close to the release of NCAA and Madden, in my opinion, hurt sales. With the economy in a crunch, people are now choosing which games to buy and which games to pass up. I think FN4 falls into this category.
I also agree that the lack of button controls may have added to the surprisingly low sales numbers. Even if people didn't use the button scheme, I think the lack of it as an option paints a bad perception.
Overall, FN4 is a great game visually. However, I can see if people aren't comfortable with the controls, the prettiness gets overlooked….
July 16, 2009 at 11:33 pm
What language is that?
July 20, 2009 at 8:14 pm
Portuguese
July 16, 2009 at 11:36 pm
UFC had a strong demo which created significant positive word of mouth. The Fight Night demo by comparison was a pretty weak effort showcasing a lot of what was wrong with the game. Despite what some people at EA seem to think demos sell games. People will trust their own experience of a product more than they'll ever believe a press release!
July 16, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t FNR4 come out last week of June? So if that’s correct comparing the sales of the two for that time is a bit unfair
July 17, 2009 at 1:18 am
Not much difference. UFC released with 11 days left in its month and sold well over a million. For a sequel like Fight Night that'll be even more heavily frontloaded.
July 16, 2009 at 11:44 pm
I think the combination of the recent mainstream popularity of MMA and UFC's first jump into next gen did great for sales. FN4 is the better game IMO, but boxing is no longer the most popular fighting sport.
July 17, 2009 at 12:15 am
I finally played the demo of FNR4 and was not impressed. For people that will concentrate on 1 or 2 games at a time, which enables you to get really good I don't think Fight Night has good legs. Too many flaws, the button scheme wasn't smart and the online play is wrecked. Futhermore; Madden will be here before you know it, then NBA 2K, I simply don't have time for another game and if I did it definitely would be one that doesn't have the schematic flaws that FNR4 has. Sorry, to the guys that claim everyone that doesn't care for this game is a button masher. Some just don't feel like it's worth their time.
July 17, 2009 at 12:43 am
I can't stand this black background.. I thought it was only used by new people making home pages in the early 90's
July 17, 2009 at 12:55 am
I agree please lighten up the page… this is the Pasta Padre page you know peach backround etc etc..I guess I hate change! love FN but my problem with it is the online matches are a joke with most people throwing way to many punches at a time..if a patch comes and fixes that problem with the stamina I will be happy. I rented UFC and didnt care for the game but it has sold great. To each his own!
July 17, 2009 at 1:06 am
Should've added face buttons.
July 17, 2009 at 1:07 am
I am not surprised that the UFC sales are better. I think UFC is more appealing to the casual sports fan that just want to see people fight and are not into a more restricted form of fighting that boxing is.
Does not mean that UFC is a better game. I think it is just going to sell more to casual sports fans and fans of wrestling/fighting games than Fight Night.
July 17, 2009 at 1:58 am
UFC's gameplay is just superior, someone stated before Demos sell games I played the ufc demo and I was blown away then I played the fight night demo and I was dissapointed! Every boxer looks fat, and middleweights have the body type of a heavyweight. Another problem I have is EA should have had DLC boxers ready for the day the game was released, Big time boxers like floyd mayweather, evander hollyfield and so on and so forth. I love the direction fnr4 is going with the right analog stick though they just need to fix the fatigue problem with a patch.
July 17, 2009 at 2:06 am
I agree brotha. The UFC demo was awesome. FN4 sucked. I bought both and play UFC more.
July 17, 2009 at 2:12 am
This article is wrong just to let you guys know. Fight Night is selling better than UFC. Read this: http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/265091.pag...
July 17, 2009 at 2:25 am
Well UFC did really GREAT numbers…. I just think that calling 400k in sales in a week below expectations a bit premature. Also I overall I think that a better comparison to numbers should be shared between the UFC and WWE games. The UFC is a brand, and have a lot of parallels with the WWE.
July 17, 2009 at 3:13 am
I don't think that's a very good comparison. WWE is fixed entertainment, whereas UFC is a sport.
July 17, 2009 at 2:31 am
Yeah I agree this article is skewed….To say a game got knocked out in sales in a month when it outperformed every other game while it was on the shelf for the same time period is a little weak
July 17, 2009 at 3:05 am
This is what happens when you take away user options (button punching). It would be very interesting to see the sales in september when the button punching patch comes out…
July 17, 2009 at 4:41 am
Shogun is right. FNR4 sold nearly 500,000 copies in the final week of June (released June 25). I wouldn't consider that a 'knockout.' I think those are pretty impressive sales figures over a 6 day period.
July 17, 2009 at 4:44 am
Shogun is right. FNR4 sold nearly 500,000 copies in the final week of June (released June 25). I wouldn't consider that a 'knockout.' I think those are pretty impressive sales figures over a 6 day period. I think maybe July sales will be more revealing numbers.
July 17, 2009 at 5:21 am
Pasta, you need to take this article down. This was from one week in sales for Fight Night Round 4. Pretty impressive if you ask me.
July 17, 2009 at 7:11 am
Oh dear. Pasta, what are you thinking?
FNR4 had one week of sales in June, and didn't release until July in some countries, yet you still claim that it is 'embarrassing' that UFC sold more throughout June?
Wow.
July 17, 2009 at 9:00 am
LOL. Never heard of this site before, but considering that the first article I read on it was complete bullshit I doubt I'll ever visit again.
How can you talk so much shit when it's obvious that FNR4 was released in the last week of June?
July 17, 2009 at 9:17 am
the lack of button options at the release hurt the sales somewhat of a great game.
July 17, 2009 at 11:41 am
How on earth is this a valid argument when UFC was out the whole month of June and Fight Night Round 4 was released on June 25th. ????????????????? This means that FN4 made those numbers in 5 days. Your argument holds no weight. THIS ARGUMENT IS BS.
July 17, 2009 at 12:56 pm
I always thought UFC would outsell FNR this year but I personally prefer FNR's gameplay. It takes ages to finally get in the ring in UFC and boom in less than 10 seconds, there's a TKO.
Nothing like slugging with Fraiser into the 12th..buttons or not!
July 17, 2009 at 1:03 pm
I must also point out that this is a flawed comparison…one game (UFC) has the entire month to accumulate sales, while the other (FN R4) had just one week. Kinda unfair to compare the two…
As for the quality of the games, I used UFC as part of GameStop's "trade 3, get FN R4 free" deal…I couldn't stand the shallow career mode (only allowed to fight for 7 years, your fighter never ages, menus are clunky). I am glad I made that decision and I am enjoying FN R4 much more than I enjoyed UFC.
July 17, 2009 at 1:03 pm
I must also point out that this is a flawed comparison…one game (UFC) has the entire month to accumulate sales, while the other (FN R4) had just one week. Kinda unfair to compare the two…
As for the quality of the games, I used UFC as part of GameStop's "trade 3, get FN R4 free" deal…I couldn't stand UFC's shallow career mode (only allowed to fight for 7 years, your fighter never ages, menus are clunky). I am glad I made that decision and I am enjoying FN R4 much more than I enjoyed UFC.
July 17, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Game is great but… Mike Tyson is on the game, I still cant forget when OJ Simpson was on APF and you made 10 fucking post about it… You said absoulely nothing about that stuff, but all in all that button mashing sux but… Causal people who play WANT THAT, so they will not buy it
July 17, 2009 at 9:04 pm
Umm too bad Fight NIght Round 4 was released on June 23rd so their "first month" of sales was a week long. Multiply that by 4.5 weeks that consisted of June and you have an average of 2.12 million copies or TWICE what Undisputed sold.
Padre, when did you become THQ's bitch?
July 17, 2009 at 11:02 pm
i'm a purist. i love boxing as a sport. i respect MMA as a new sport, but am a much bigger fan of boxing. that being said, purist or not, forcing analog control on people is a terrible idea. i don't like button mashing, but its better than not knowing what punch i'm gfonna throw cuz the stick betrayed me. there are sim lovers in every genre (madden and fight nite for me) but i believe gaming is about getting a controller to do what u want. thats what it was at the dawn of video games, and it reamins that way today
July 18, 2009 at 2:42 am
this is stupid. fight night round 4 had a week of sales compared to ufc's a whole month sale. i played both games, and i like fight night way better.
and ufc is starting to suck big time, i'll still prefer boxing over mma any day. sick of ground humping crap
July 19, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Ummm, Fight Night was only available for purchase for one week in the month of June. Whoever wrote this article is an idiot and anyone who listened to this rabble is retarded.
September 16, 2009 at 7:05 am
I like to play the games on my pc my console and on my cell phone..
this article was not related to games but it related to technology and i had also hobby to search gadget and latest gadgets and many more so this article was really great in my opinion.
September 24, 2009 at 6:16 am
I've downloaded the patch for ufc undisputed this morning and I haven't been able to connect to anyone or create a game or play online in any form what so ever since i downloaded and installed the patch.