AGOURA HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) and Zuffa, LLC today announced that reigning UFC® middleweight champion Anderson Silva has been named the cover athlete for UFC Undisputed® 3, the forthcoming installment in the critically acclaimed mixed martial arts (MMA) videogame franchise from the Ultimate Fighting Championship®. The Brazilian-sensation Silva, who most recently defeated top contender Yushin Okami at UFC® Rio in August to retain his middleweight championship, currently holds both the longest winning streak and longest title defense streak in UFC history.
In a franchise-first opportunity, fans were invited to vote online for one of five current UFC champions – Silva, UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones or UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez – to be this year’s cover athlete. More than 110,000 votes were cast by fans from around the world, with Silva garnering the largest percentage among his fellow competitors.
“Enabling fans worldwide to select the UFC Undisputed 3 cover athlete has been an incredibly rewarding experience,” said Danny Bilson, Executive Vice President, Core Games, THQ. “Anderson Silva possesses a tremendous work ethic and incredible prowess inside the Octagon, making him an excellent choice to serve as our cover athlete for the game.”
“The fans have voted and Anderson Silva will be on the cover of UFC Undisputed 3,” UFC President Dana White said. “This game has a ton of new features, including the PRIDE mode, and we can’t wait for fans to get a chance to play it.”
About UFC Undisputed 3®
UFC Undisputed 3 will take players inside the virtual Octagon® with focus on intense toe-to-toe combat, impressive visual presentation and significantly increased accessibility, including the debut of PRIDE® Mode, two new weight classes and an impressive playable roster of more than 150 UFC fighters. PRIDE Mode will enable players to fight for the first time in the renowned Japanese MMA organization and include official commentators Bas Rutten and Stephen Quadros, authentic environments and notorious MMA rules, including the ability to execute soccer-style kicks, head stomps and ground knees to the head. Finishing an opponent will be more important than ever through devastating new moves, responsive striking controls, refined visual presentation and the introduction of a brand new, graphic-based submission system. In addition, players will now enter the Octagon with a choice between traditional and simplified gameplay control options, enabling them, regardless of skill level, to experience the intensity of UFC and nuances of MMA combat while executing simple standing strikes or more complex ground and transition mechanics.
Players will also experience the excitement of a live UFC event through significant visual improvements, including the introduction of much-anticipated fighter entrances, new camera positions, improved facial animations and a gritty, high contrast appearance. They will enter into battle with an unparalleled choice of more than 150 playable UFC fighters, including talent from the newly added featherweight and bantamweight divisions. Rounding out the virtual UFC experience with a significantly revamped online experience, as well as a variety of new and returning gameplay modes, UFC Undisputed 3 lets players have their fights – their way – to deliver the most intense, competitive and engaging experience to date for the franchise.
UFC Undisputed 3 is currently in development for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, with a scheduled release of January 2012.
For more information on UFC Undisputed 3, please visit www.ufcundisputed.com, facebook.com/UFCUndisputed and twitter.com/UFC_Undisputed.
About Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC® produces over 12 UFC live Pay-Per-View events annually around the world. UFC programming is distributed in the United States on Viacom, Inc.’s Spike TV and on Comcast, Inc.’s VERSUS network. Beginning November 12, 2011 FOX will broadcast four fights annually. In spring 2012, The Ultimate Fighter®, UFC’s signature weekly reality TV show debuts on FX. Globally, UFC programming is broadcast in over 132 countries and territories, reaching 597 million homes worldwide, in 21 different languages.
UFC® also boasts a powerful presence online, with UFC.com attracting over seven million unique visitors per month, while also possessing one of the most powerful social media followings in all of professional sports. To date, UFC has over six million fans on Facebook and over 300,000 followers on Twitter. In addition, UFC President Dana White is one of the most accessible and most followed executives in sports with over 1.6 million followers on Twitter. On January 22, 2011, UFC continued to set trends in social media, becoming the first major sports league to stream live, broadcast quality action on Facebook.
Ancillary businesses include best-selling DVDs, a bimonthly magazine, the best-selling UFC “Undisputed” videogame franchise distributed by THQ, UFC Gym™, UFC Fight Club affinity program, UFC Fan Expo™ festivals, branded apparel, trading cards, and articulated action figures.
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, wireless devices and the Internet. 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. THQ and the THQ logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of THQ Inc.
Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and all logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies in the U.S. and/or other countries.
“PlayStation” is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, Zuffa®, The Octagon™ and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks, registered service marks, trademarks, trade dress and/or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC and licensed to its affiliated entities and other licensees in the United States and other jurisdictions. PRIDE®, PRIDE FC™, PRIDE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS® and BUSHIDO® are trademarks of Pride FC Worldwide Holdings, LLC registered in the United States and other countries. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC, its affiliates or other respective owners. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC, its affiliates or other respective owners.
All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
THQ Forward-Looking Statements: 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 release and expected features of UFC Undisputed 3 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 Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal period ended March 31, 2011 and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and particularly the discussion of trends and 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.