DVD Talk Forum - THQ to release WWE -Legends of Wrestlemania in 2009

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THQ to release WWE -Legends of Wrestlemania in 2009

Press release:

Quote:

Prepare to Relive, Rewrite or Redefine History with WWE(R) Legends of WrestleMania(R)

AGOURA HILLS, Calif. - (Business Wire) THQ Inc. (NASDAQ:THQI) and JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK) today announced that WWE® Legends of WrestleMania® is currently in development for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. Joining the distinguished WWE® SmackDown®/SmackDown vs. Raw® franchise, which has shipped more than 37 million units worldwide since 2000, WWE Legends of WrestleMania is scheduled for release in March 2009 to coincide with the annual pinnacle of sports entertainment, WrestleMania® 25, in Houston, Texas.

“We have generated significant year-over-year growth in key global territories with WWE-licensed videogames, including tremendous success with the WWE SmackDown vs. Raw franchise,” said Peter Matiss, vice president, global brand management, THQ. “The development capabilities afforded by next generation hardware, combined with our established history and deep understanding of fighting videogames, allow us to leverage the strength of the WWE brand to further extend our leadership in the fighting videogame genre and bring this new property to market.”

“JAKKS Pacific is pleased to introduce a new WWE videogame property to the fighting genre,” said Nelo Lucich, senior vice president of interactive, JAKKS Pacific. “The WWE SmackDown vs. Raw franchise has captured a collective audience of WWE fans, game enthusiasts and casual players, and we are confident that WWE Legends of WrestleMania will be poised for great success.”

About World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

Additional information on World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (NYSE:WWE), can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.

About THQ Inc.

THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) is a leading worldwide developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software. The company develops its products for all popular game systems, personal computers and wireless devices. Headquartered in Los Angeles County, California, THQ sells product through its global network of offices located throughout North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. More information about THQ and its products may be found at www.thq.com and www.thqwireless.com. THQ, THQ Wireless and their respective logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of THQ Inc.

About JAKKS Pacific, Inc.

JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) is a multi-brand company that designs and markets a broad range of toys and consumer products. The product categories include: Action Figures, Art Activity Kits, Stationery, Writing Instruments, Performance Kites, Water Toys, Sports Activity Toys, Vehicles, Infant/Pre-School, Plush, Construction Toys, Electronics, Dolls, Dress-Up, Role Play, and Pet Toys and Accessories. The products are sold under various brand names including JAKKS Pacific®, Play Along®, Flying Colors®, Creative Designs International™, Road Champs®, Child Guidance®, Pentech®, Trendmasters®, Toymax®, Funnoodle®, Go Fly a Kite®, Color Workshop®, JAKKS Pets™ and Plug It In & Play TV Games™. JAKKS and THQ Inc. participate in a joint venture that has worldwide rights to publish and market World Wrestling Entertainment video games. For further information, visit www.jakks.com.

Trademarks: All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, copyrights and logos are the exclusive property of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners

Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, the Xbox logos, and the Xbox Live logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. This title is not yet concept approved by Microsoft.

“PlayStation”, “PLAYSTATION” and “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. This title has not yet been concept approved for the PLAYSTATION 3 system by Sony Computer Entertainment America.

The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts may be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the business of THQ Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively referred to as “THQ”), including, but not limited to, expectations and projections related to the WWE Legends of WrestleMania video game, and are based upon management’s current beliefs and certain assumptions made by management. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, business, competitive, economic, legal, political and technological factors affecting our industry, operations, markets, products or pricing. Readers should carefully review the risk factors and the information that could materially affect THQ’s financial results, described in other documents that THQ files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal period ended March 31, 2007, and particularly the discussion of risk factors set forth therein. Unless otherwise required by law, THQ disclaims any obligation to update its view on any such risks or uncertainties or to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.

This press release may contain forward–looking statements (within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) that are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about JAKKS Pacific's business based partly on assumptions made by its management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such statements due to numerous factors, including, but not limited to, those described above, changes in demand for JAKKS' products, product mix, the timing of customer orders and deliveries, the impact of competitive products and pricing, and difficulties with integrating acquired businesses. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date on which they are made, and JAKKS undertakes no obligation to update any of them to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.

THQ has to work on the glitches but mainly on the control scheme og their wrestling games. Each year they have progressively gotten worse. They have to go back to the simple and effective way they did games for the Nintendo 64.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dx23

The TNA game is getting a lot of good hype. Apparently Midway is working very closely with some of the gamers they've got on the roster and apparently one of them is a huge No Mercy fan. Granted, the game could still be crap but it certainly sounds like there might be hope; the Yuke's games have almost gotten worse year by year and the only half decent ones they made (Day of Reckoning 1 & 2) were largely ignored because of the system they were released on.

I have not bought a wrestling game since No Mercy after owning Revenge and World Tour. Until it goes back to a similar control scheme, those WWE games just don't do it for me.

This year's SvR was my last. I played it for a week or two, but there's just nothing left in that series. If they update this engine, it won't take much to give it a shot.

I'm really, really hoping that the TNA game comes close to living up to the hype. Between the almost completely new roster of playable wrestlers and new match types, it could be a breath of fresh air versus the stale as hell SvR series.

I almost bought SVR08 when it was on sale for $20. But I have absolutely no interest in playing a game with the current WWE roster. Even though I still watch the shows (probably due to a 30-year habit), none if it is exciting anymore.

I might try out a legends game. But I hope they keep it authentic. I don't want to see Andre The Giant doing planchas and corkscrew sentons.

the last smackdown game i really enjoyed was "here comes the pain"

Not interested if it uses the same engine as the smackdown vs raw series.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zabuza

Not interested if it uses the same engine as the smackdown vs raw series.

Likewise. I bought an early Smackdown game and only played it for 2 hours before getting rid of it. Then a thread on here for a Smackdown V Raw game (maybe 2006?) got me excited to play a wrestling game again, so I gave the series another go. Simply terrible. I just don't see how people enjoy playing these games. The reversal system is ridiculous and the fatigue stuff? Just not fun to me. The N64 control schemes were perfect, and I'm hoping the TNA game can live up to it.

I understand there are some bootleg copies of the old N64 games with updated rosters online, but I don't understand how all that stuff works. I just want a new game with those controls.

last years game sucked big time

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBigDave

I might try out a legends game. But I hope they keep it authentic. I don't want to see Andre The Giant doing planchas and corkscrew sentons.

I'd also want era arenas/stagings... Saturday Night's Main Event, Superstars of Wrestling, old school Raw, etc. And all the old theme music, of course.

Quote:

Originally Posted by uncle-frank

the last smackdown game i really enjoyed was "here comes the pain"

That was probably the last "memorable" wrestling game. I enjoyed WWE SmackDown vs. RAW and SVR 2006 was a respectable entry, but the series just became tired. SVR 2007 was a playable game, but SVR 08 (the only one in the series I didn't buy) had some of the most screwed up controls that I've played with. HTCP changed the control scheme a bit, but it worked. The controls in SVR 2008 were just awful and you couldn't change it back to the "classic" controls properly.

Hopefully this Legends of WrestleMania can make wrestling games fun and memorable again. I'm very sceptical, however.

Quote:

Originally Posted by boredsilly

You nailed it down. Who the hell thinks the fatigue feature is a good idea? The people at THQ must be related to creative in WWE. The keep adding stuff and features that nobody wants and keep taking away the good things that made wrestling games special in the N64. But what has become the worst thing is the control scheme using the L3 and R3 to perform almost every move in the PS3 version. It has become so complicated that any casual gamer gets truned off by it.

The last wrestling games I have owned are Smackdown 1 & 2 for the original playstation, legends of wrestlemania sounds intriguing though.

Trailer for the game:

<embed src='http://videomedia.ign.com/ev/ev.swf' flashvars='object_ID=14252212&downloadURL=http://xbox360movies.ign.com/xbox360/video/article/888/888641/wwe_legends_trailer_071108_flvlowwide.flv&allownetworking="all%"' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' width='433' height='360'></embed>

I'll be getting it! :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by dx23 (Post 8673284)

You nailed it down. Who the hell thinks the fatigue feature is a good idea?

I do. It adds to the "realism".

I just think it's funny that a 2-d wrestling game (Fire Pro Wrestling Returns) from years ago is still MILES ahead of anything THQ has ever done.

Is it just me or does the game not look as detailed as the Smackdown vs Raw games?

Quote:

Originally Posted by nodeerforamonth (Post 8905987)

I do. It adds to the "realism".

I just think it's funny that a 2-d wrestling game (Fire Pro Wrestling Returns) from years ago is still MILES ahead of anything THQ has ever done.

I don't think that they way THQ is using fatigue adds to the realism. All the wrestlers in the game seem to get tired pretty quickly even when they have the momentum.

I partially agree with your second statement since the Fire Pro series has many features, specially in the quantity of wrestlers available and the ones that can be easily created that no other wrestling game has. At the same time, THQ produce the best wrestling games back in the late 90's and early this decade with:

1- No Mercy
2- virtual pro-wrestling 2
3- Wrestlemania 2000
4- WCW/NWO Revenge

Those games along with world Tour and Virtual Pro Wrestling captured perfectly what wrestling is. All characters looked great but better yet, you could perform their moves easily, so that any wrestling and non-wrestling fan, hardcore or casual gamer, could get into it quickly. THQ has to go back to that engine and use it as the basis for the next-gen systems.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dx23 (Post 8905661)

Ok that looks very good. I hope they go back to the older controls for this game so anyone can play it.

With NHL 09 and Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 coming out on Sept. 11th; I think will by a 360.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nateman (Post 8907741)

With NHL 09 and Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 coming out on Sept. 11th;

Huh? I don't think Smackdown vs Raw 09 comes out until november.

Quote:

I think will buy a 360.

Fixed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nodeerforamonth (Post 8908005)

Huh? I don't think Smackdown vs Raw 09 comes out until november.

Fixed.

My fault.

Looks like those crappy Legends games that came out a while back for the PS2 and XBox. Those games were horrible, and the trailer looks exactly like them.

= J

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tarantino (Post 8910702)

Looks like those crappy Legends games that came out a while back for the PS2 and XBox. Those games were horrible, and the trailer looks exactly like them.

= J

The only problem with those games was the gameplay. They had very good rosters, a decent CAW but the main problem was the bad button configuration and crappy and flawed gameplay. To me its all about the gameplay.

Mick Foley had an interview in the Opie and Anthony show where he states that as consequence of leaving WWE for TNA, he has been yanked from the Wrestlemania Legends game. So there will be no Rock & Sock connection or any of the Foley characters.

This got me thinking: What is holding back THQ from making dowloading patches for roster and moves updates in their futire games? I remember Marvel Ultimate Alliance for X-Box 360 having a patch where you could download new characters like Hulk and Venom. I suppose that THQ and Midway could do the same for their respective wrestling games. Even EA sports does the same for the games. NBA Live updates the rosters and include new rookies and recent team additions.

No foley no purchase. That seems petty but then again they always have been