Next Gen Game

Following slipping 2010 sales of MMA fighter, publisher says new franchise installments could come every 15 to 21 months.

THQ had a bona fide hit on its hands last year with UFC Undisputed 2009, its first foray into the nascent mixed martial arts genre. The in-the-Octagon brawler delivered a one-two combo of solid reviewsand sales, which exceeded 3.5 million units . In 2010, UFC had already seemed to sag, and THQ announced yesterday as part of its anemic earnings report April-June that this year's installment shipped--not sold--a markedly lower 2.7 million units.

UFC 2010 apparently needed more than just an ice pack to keep fighting.

"Yes, we will have a UFC title in fiscal '12," he said. "The question is timing, as I said. Could it be 15, 18, 21 months. That depends on both the scope of the game, the window, and how we want to release that game. So as I said in my prepared remarks, we thought maybe a 12 month cycle might be a little quick but it will be somewhere around 18 months, give or take a few months."

Currently, THQ plans to launch two more UFC-branded titles in the near future. The first will be a scaled-down version of UFC 2010 for the PSP, which is slated to arrive on September 7. Ushering in the New Year on January 1, the publisher plans to wade into the fitness genre with UFC Trainer, which will be compatible with Kinect for the Xbox 360, Move for the PlayStation 3, and the Wii.

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