Whats up everyone….the call is going to begin in about ten minutes. I will live blogging it here. So here we go….
Update 1: 2K asks us to be on time, its 9:58 am and here we are enduring cheezy elevator music lol.
Update 2: I wonder if this is going to be a featured track in the game. It’d be awesome. Ah here we go, I hear promising conference call sounds.
Update 3: Great, listen only mode which means some jerkoff won’t have the wind blowing in their phones like MLB. OH ALSO, BIG SHOCKER FROM CHASE DON KING IS UNPREDICTABLE.
Update 4: This call is scheduled for one hour and will be about the Xbox 360 only.
Update 5: Mathew Seymour is on the line from 2K regarding the game. He is the executive producer of the game. First the overview for the game…..hey I think it’s a boxing game? Punch your opponent to win!
Update 6: Babble regarding the release dates. Mathew speaks about the competition ie Fight Night. So what’s the difference? Offering a huge dramatic experience and never done before live action sports documentary. Career mode in prizefight will take 15 hours to play.
Mathew: Having real people talking about you in a sports documentary setting. Sounds pretty cool I think but how does it play? Exhibition mode included. Can choose 40 boxers all licensed. 10 legends such as ding ding Larry Holmes and Ken Norton. But no Iron Mike huh?
Multiplayer mode has a fight club esque area where best man wins? And a single round elimination mode. Can you use up to 5 customized characters in the different fight classes.
Still talking about the game…if you’re so confident where is the demo?
Q: How much is Don King involved with the development?
A:Met with Don from the get go. Spent 3 days straight with Don. Heard stories from Don regarding the executives in broadcasting. Exchanged stories and favorite moments in boxing. (Honestly, whoever asked this question: nice soft ball).
Don had input on which fighters to include in the game and also accessed Don’s boxing library as source material. Matt has lost count of working with Don King.
Q: What was the hardest to implement? (Another softball yay)
A: All the stories into the game. Dealing with boxers wives and girlfriend was difficult…unbelievable needed to be M or AO to share those stories. No sex or nudity in a boxing game confirmed.
Q: So is the first go round for Venom with boxing titles?
A: Bought Venom Games for exactly these boxing games. Not afraid to take on the best (so will you get to my question already?) Keying on game mechanics and gameplay which 2K is known for. (MLB lovers care to disagree) Made Rocky and Rocky Legends which people did like.
Q: Prizefighter versus Fight Night, what do you think?
A: Fight Night is beautiful and they did a great job and launch title. They kinda missed it. (what?) They were short on career mode and wanted to deliver on that since many people consider that important. Your friends go home and you still have energy, so focused a lot on career.
FACEBREAKER IS NOT A BOXING GAME ACCORDING TO 2K. 2K all about integrity to the sport itself. Facebreaker is just a hybrid fighting game. Career inside and outside the ring is just as important in Prizefighter. But, still looking forward to those games.
DON KING AND LARRY HOLMES HAVE ARRIVED.
DON KING:
A: Steve Glickstein? helped bring Don onto the project to reproduce his experiences. I have a lot to do with the game, the game exemplifies life being in there with the brightest. Don loves the internet and communicating on the information super highway. Wanted to take on new wonders of the world and get bloggers involved.
Q; What did you bring to the game that an athlete couldn’t have?
A: Changed the game when he came in. Don brought in attraction rather than just money. Don made the attraction the most important aspect of the sport. If you can generate attraction you can generate and recoup the money at the bottom line.
LARRY HOLMES IS ON THE LINE!
Q: How much of the game is spot on and how much is drama?
A: Larry hasn’t yet played the game. If it did, he’d be nearly unbeatable. Every gamer is going to want to play as Holmes according to Larry.
Q: What was the hardest part of life outside the ring?
A: Keeping your cool. People told him he can’t beat Ali or Norton or Cooney. The fight with the great white hope was the one he remembers the most. He overcame all that and did what he did had to do. The hardest part is keeping your cool, I am pretty sure that should be easy with video game.
Q: Question about David Hay’s career.
A: Don says he has the tools and is in the “embryonic” stage of having the physical prowess to be. But unsure about mental aspects of the fighter. Doesn’t know if David can fight with the glory and money. David can become a champion.
Q: After seeing the final product, is there anything left out that you wish you could add?
A: Game imitates life to say yes I can. Imitates actions rather than ideal situation. Emulates trial, tribulation’s etc. The game has the attitude of “Yes I can”. Don King loves the bloggers aka me. I feel blessed. Don King is going off on the ashes of the phoenix rising against and the life from rags to riches as a boxer.
Don says prizefighter is the game of life and that is why it is better than any other game! (I love this guy). Make life work for you, rather than you work for life.
Q: Why was blood pulled?
A: There is blood! Deformation of the face, bruising. Everything you would see in a fighting game. The difference is 2K didn’t focus on it and get caught up on it with slo mo blood etc (lol shot @ EA). Blood and sweat are in because it’s part of boxing and keeping it real.
Q: I asked who would Larry fight today?
A: Wants to fight Foreman still! LOL, asks Don why the heck that didn’t happen. Says George is scared of him.
Will whoever is talking in the background of Don please shut up?
Don King loves the gamers because the games give it like it is and take the consequences or rewards of your action. In life, you always get the consequences and rarely get the rewards. AMEN DON! AMEN DON! Don was first promoter to be inducted into boxing Hall of Fame. People need people, nobody can do anything by themselves.
“Bloggers are the Jon the Baptist of gaming!” That is my signature quote. Thank you Don! 2K has hit a double grand slam home run with Prizefighter and will take on anyone who says anything different!
DON AND LARRY ARE LEAVING. DON LOVES CHASE. CHASE IF THE INFORMER…..ROFL LMAO VICTORY TO CHASE. VICTORY TO BLOGGERS AND GAMERS. CHASE IS THE AWESOME PR GUY FOR 2K. Back to Matt.
Matt: Jim Lampley and Manuel Stewart from HBO boxing are doing the commentary for this boxing game. (Now that is awesome….official HBO commentary). Over 800 lines recorded for Prizefighter.
Q: What is your favorite achievement?
A: Finishing the story, but doing it right. Highest rep and most money and having the perfect win loss record.
Q: How did they bridge the game for hardcore and casuals?
A: Career mode is for everyone. But do not need to get the ultimate achievement. Can get all the drama and stuff. A movie like experience. Ghetto to glory story. Casuals don’t have to worry about being a completionist. Good game designs today involves various levels of enjoyment for different people, which is offered in career mode.
Q: Product placement in Fight Night was extreme. How is the Prizefighter advertising going to be?
A: Fight Night ads were overkill. Bottom line to 2K is about keeping it real and integrity to the sport. There’s more than Everlast and BK. Went out and got almost all the boxing licenses. Have lonesdale, compubox, etc. 2K sports is about keeping it as real and credible as possible.
Q: What online modes and is there online career?
A: Played around with online career but the issue is balance. (What?) You can have a fighter stable for online up to 5 in different weight classes. Online seems like it will flexible so you’re not stuck looking for a game in a particular weight class. Fighter’s club is a round robin tournament in real time with 8 people. Get points for wins for losses and whoever wins with the most points win. Also single elimination tournaments that are quick in one sitting. No days or weeks (this is important, good move 2K). Separate tournament leader board as well. Thinks most hardcore will gravitate to the tournaments.
Q: Any new boxers of features? Is there a spec mode online?
A: Not really planning new boxers or DLC. Now conentrating on the Wii and DS versions. No spectator mode online. Problem is, spec mode would be meaningless in the context of the game. There’s no type of wager system in Prizefighter which would have made spec mode worth doing. If you’re not fighting there is only so much involved.
Q: How do temptations work in career mode?
A: They have a penthouse playmate as a temptress in the game. Tossing in the dirty laundry aspect of sports. Bling, splash, sponsors etc. Wants to bring the temptations as an athlete into the game (isn’t it fun as a gamer to just give in?). Work your way through your career mode till you get calls from her regarding a date. The more flashier stuff you do the more media support you get. Which in turns translates to more crowd support and allows for landing of more signature punches. (Good mechanic….but what about game play?)
Q: Do each of the licensed fighers do they unique fighting styles or group into generic styles?
A: Kind of a mix. Some boxers have uniques, some boxers are lumped into generic categories. Same characteristics a lightweight would have versus a heavy weight etc. Will throw sig punches of the weight class given. Couldn’t spend more time on making unique fighters.
Q: When your boxer gets to the top do they follow the boxer on the way down? (great question, but it’s a game WTF!?!)
A: NO. Not in the game. (thank goodness..) It’s not fun to play someone on the downfall of their career.
Q: What did you learn from Rocky and Rocky Legends?
A: Not making game as hard as those two games. Spending more time on the AI and adding more variety in the AI.
Q: What about the demo?
A: Says there is a new process to submit demos and it is holding them up. But there will be a demo.
Q: Who are the licensed boxers?
A: Samuel Peter, Shannon Briggs, Andrew Gulotta, Sergi Lanakovek?, in heavyweight. In classics, Kelly Pavlik. His favrotie Joe Kuzaki. Chase interjects, you can replay title fight in Cinderella man! (Good stuff, but how the game play in the ring? We need to get some hands on with the title). Back to Matt, also want contemporary fighters who are fighting now.
Q: How many TKO scenarios will we see in Prizefighter?
A: Saved by the bell and 3 knock down rule. No stopping for cuts etc. Would have loved to do that but it becomes a design questions and thinks it will slow the match down. (I don’t agree at all that makes almost no sense)
Q: Leader board is based on what? Wins losses or quality of opponent? Any kind of push to make it a pro gaming game?
A: Ratio of who you are beating, how high they are etc. It is not standard win loss. No push to make this game CAL or CPL.
That concludes the call, props to 2K. The story mode sounds awesome and it seems like a lot of attention to detail. Props to 2K.