Yup. At last Saturday’s UFC 100, perhaps the biggest Mixed Martial Arts event of the year, Dana White officially admitted that he has declared war with Electronic Arts. The UFC President, known for his passion for the sport and his profanity in its defense, was rumored to have threatened to blacklist every fighter who enlists to appear in EA Sports’ in-development Mixed Martial Arts title. Those rumors have, surprisingly, been confirmed.
“EA Sports told us ‘you’re not a real sport…We want nothing to do with this’,” claims White. “We put our asses on the line, THQ and the UFC, to make a video game deal in the worst economy in the world.” The deal has worked out spectacularly for both parties to this point, with UFC 2009: Undisputed shipping approximately two million units worldwide, a genuinely impressive number. By threatening to blacklist anyone who “fraternizes with the enemy,” the THQ and UFC alliance may have chosen an impressively accurate title when they chose to subtitle the game “Undisputed.” “I'm not tap-dancing around this thing or whatever. I'm telling you straight-up, I'm at war with them right now. That's how I look at it.”
For more information on the potential fallout from this battle check out our feature article on the matter. Stick with MyGamer for more information as it becomes available.