WWE '12 (The Next WWE Game)

Lord TSC

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/117/1171529p1.html

Shots
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150200682433355.326196.110431863354

Official Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBVl5yYXoNs

MitchKoobski

Been waiting for them to do this since 2009 tbh.

CMpunked

Not sure if i like it.
Smackdown vs Raw made it sound a little more game-y.
Also the screenshots dont look much different from last years?

MitchKoobski

Well they've been trying to progressively turn it into a simulator rather than the arcade style of the Smackdown PS and PS2 games before it. Stuff like FIFA and Madden. They already turned it into a yearly release, and changing the name to a brand with a number is the final step.

I'm finding the arcadey style of All-Stars really fun atm, and the community seemed to really like it. They could well get away with releasing two games ever year, one being the WWE'xx Simulator and the other being an arcade type game. I'd get both.

D2D

Really looking forward to it, hope they bring back Be a GM mode as well as continuing WWE Universe mode.

Don't think there was enough of Orton in the trailer at all

GTR63

Looks like all they are going to do is renaming it,the whole engine needs to be changed it still feels like they are not doing anything that wasn't possible last gen.It'll be the best wrestling game this year but the only competition will be a nodoubt abysmal Hulk Hogans kinect game

D2D

GTR63 wrote: »

Looks like all they are going to do is renaming it,the whole engine needs to be changed it still feels like they are not doing anything that wasn't possible last gen.It'll be the best wrestling game this year but the only competition will be a nodoubt abysmal Hulk Hogans kinect game

Just reading the IGN article, it seems they've improved the match engine by making it more unpredictable, faster and that it flows better

Sirsok

Dare_2_defy wrote: »

Really looking forward to it, hope they bring back Be a GM mode as well as continuing WWE Universe mode.

Don't think there was enough of Orton in the trailer at all

I believe there was talk some time ago of doing a wwe game focused on a GM type mode? dont know where the link is but there was rumours in the past few weeks.

irish_stevo815

Looking forward to seeing some gameplay vids or more news at E3.

But i am gonna hold off my excitement until the game is released. The new gameplay does sound pretty good, and sounds like it will make the matches a lot more realistic.

Good news about Ricardo being in for Del Rio's entrance

parker kent

I'd love a day when they had a wrestling game with the physics of a Virtua Fighter, Tekken style fighter. Basically have a great beat em up with wrestlers. Would be awesome.

CMpunked

parker kent wrote: »

I'd love a day when they had a wrestling game with the physics of a Virtua Fighter, Tekken style fighter. Basically have a great beat em up with wrestlers. Would be awesome.

Thats what they wanted All Stars to be.

parker kent

CMpunked wrote: »

Thats what they wanted All Stars to be.

Yeah I could see where they were going. Would be so cool if you basically had Tekken with CM Punk.

Charlie Haughy

I hope they add a career mode like in HCTP back on the ps2, a career mode that is different every time and can be replayed many times! I dont care about crappy voice acting, id rather text on screen if it meant a original and multi year career mode. Sadly this wont happen.

Ridley

It's still a metered system (hold a button to fill a meter and release it when it gets to a window on the meter), but the window moves around this time at random -- it won't always be in the same spot.

Please don't take away my ability to kick out by tapping.

I want to see it moving and such. I'm skeptical that it won't be the usual ballyhoo we get about 'new' features before something silly happens with the gameplay.

Africa

Ill be looking forward to see how this is going. I hated the use of the right analouge stick... its much better on the buttons. I havent enjoyed a wwe game in years, but this certainly seems to be the right direction to go in for them.

to be honest, the never finished SVR. The last game was rubbish. The game play went backwards , there were less moves in it then in previous versions.

What they are going to do here is create a new game. It wont have as much options as SVR , they will then be adding those options in , in later installments as a new feature.

parker kent

Deleted User wrote: »

to be honest, the never finished SVR. The last game was rubbish. The game play went backwards , there were less moves in it then in previous versions.

What they are going to do here is create a new game. It wont have as much options as SVR , they will then be adding those options in , in later installments as a new feature.

AFAIK they are not rebuilding the game.

parker kent

A Q&A with the creative director of WWE 12.

You now know the big news. We're starting a new era in sports entertainment video game history. SmackDown vs Raw is no more, and in it's place; WWE '12. We're sure that you have about a million questions at this point, so we wanted to go behind the scenes and ask Cory Ledesma, our Creative Director about the announcement.

Q: Take me through your thoughts on how SvR '11 was received, and what you could/wish your team could have done better?

Cory: We have a lot of pride in the work we put out there, so the team felt very good about WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 being a solid product that fans were going to thoroughly enjoy. We were able to introduce a new mode, called WWE Universe, that we think was a very solid foundation for the future and got a lot of people excited to play the game. Adding dynamic object physics to gameplay was also another major addition that we felt changed the way the game looked and played for the better. All in all, we were generally pleased with how the game was received. With that being said, there were some game areas we were not completely satisfied with and feel need significant improvement. Our fans are intelligent, recognize a lot of those shortcomings as well and let us know about them.

Unfortunately, some of the game areas or improvements we want to make can’t happen overnight and take a lot of planning, research and development and other resources to see to fruition. In those cases, we often create multi-year plans where those improvements are rolled out in phases so we can realistically achieve the quality we want each year while also rolling out new features and updates, updating the roster and balancing our development costs. To give you a little insight to our future planning, these are some of the key areas we are going to continue focusing on from a technical standpoint:

1.) Gameplay
2.) Online Lag and Cheating
3.) Animation Quality
4.) A.I.
5.) Sound
6.) Graphical Quality

These are the game areas where we can continue pushing the envelope and step our game up to the next level from a technical standpoint. You’ll start to see a significant amount of those improvements listed above in this year’s game. We are investing heavily in the future of this franchise.
On the design side, we weren’t happy with the execution of Road to WrestleMania. We liked the concept, but we just didn’t do a good job making that backstage area fun, keeping it populated, entertaining and engaging. We went back to the drawing board a bit on that one. We also had some disappointing bugs in gameplay that our creative team was a little disheartened by, but we’ll get a lot of those things cleaned up. Online also had several issues we are working hard to address. I want the fans to know that we are very aware of their criticisms and we are working as hard as we can to address them. Just know that in some cases the reason you might not see changes happen as quickly as you like because there are some difficult development challenges or hurdles we are trying to overcome just like any other developer, but we’re committed and we’ll get there!

Q: As the creative director of the team, what's your opinion on the name change?

Cory: I absolutely love it, and I’ve been a key proponent of the change.

I’ve just felt for a couple of years now that the franchise has been getting stale and in need of a reboot. Not just with the name but also with the game experience. The name of the franchise evolved a couple of times over the years, and it has gotten to the point where the name doesn’t really mean anything. WWE currently doesn’t have brand wars, and the shows themselves are rarely competing against each other, so SmackDown vs. Raw as a name doesn’t really have a meaning. We started out as just being called SmackDown when that show made its debut for WWE back in 1999. Back then, we were releasing WWE products exclusively for specific platforms – SmackDown for Sony, Raw for Microsoft and Day of Reckoning for Nintendo. We then made the decision in 2004 to pool all of our resources together and make one great game, which is how SmackDown vs. Raw came together. Now, we are just WWE ’12, which is great because we just want to be known as the official, authentic WWE simulation product ... period. All that encompasses what’s great about WWE live events and television is encapsulated and recreated in WWE ’12. It’s simple and to the point. I’m pumped about it because I’ve always wanted to re-launch this franchise the right way, and we are finally getting the opportunity to do it this year.

Q: The feedback from the community has been loud and vocal concerning the gameplay portion of the game. Do you have a message for those vocal fans?

Cory: We read you loud and clear! We’ve been quietly investing in and eagerly waiting for the right opportunity to introduce this new animation technology into the franchise. It’s actually something we’ve been working on for two years now. Being the annual franchise that we are, it’s difficult to bring in new, significant technology without halting the project entirely. I compare it to trying to change the tire of a car driving 80 mph: not easy to do! The technology group at Yuke’s Yokhama has been secretly working on the technology and its implementation while we’ve been working on the game the last two years. We are now at the point where we can integrate it into the game. The new animation technology and tools have allowed us to do things in gameplay that were not possible with the previous technology. We hit a ceiling on the old tech, and now with our new tech, we have plenty of more years to build it out and deliver a fun, responsive and visually impressive game. It will be exciting the next few years as we see what our new technology is fully capable of delivering.

Q: Without giving any information, what area of the game are you most excited about in WWE '12?

Cory: Gameplay, gameplay and more gameplay. Now, we aren’t changing the game entirely or completely ripping everything out to start over. That wasn’t the goal. What we are doing is taking the basic essence of what is good in the past games and making a new experience that feels fresh, fun, responsive, faster, smoother and is of higher quality. If you’re played the SmackDown vs. Raw games in the past, I have zero doubt you will notice the difference as soon as you pick up this year’s game. We are adding new gameplay systems, completely overhauling gameplay systems and improving current gameplay systems. The new animation system is giving us new capabilities as well. One quick is example is that you now have the ability to interrupt animations. For example, if John Cena is doing a five-knuckle shuffle in the game, you can knock him right on his butt in the middle of the move (something you’ve never been able to do in our game because the animation had to completely play out – and that goes for every single move in the game). We have several new capabilities like the one just mentioned that will change the dynamic of how the game is played. We didn’t want to completely throw everything out and build something from scratch. That would force us to take a major step back, probably cut out 80 percent of our moves/match types and also put us at risk to disappoint fans who love the current game. We wanted to find the balance between fixing what is broken and also delivering a brand new, high quality experience. I believe we are accomplishing that now, and fans are going to love this new WWE ’12 gameplay experience. We will be unveiling more about the changes to gameplay as time moves on.

Q: To prove to the community that feedback is always heard and sometimes implemented, can you give us a small example of something in WWE '12?

Cory: This is a tough question because we have addressed so much fan feedback already, but a lot of it I can’t talk about just yet. So, I will give you just two quick examples. The rest we will announce when the time is right.

1) The fans have been asking for a new submission system. I’m happy to report there is a new submission system. It’s called the Breaking Point Submission system. It has a new mini-game, and also, for the first time, submissions where you can climb to the rope for a rope break.
2) The fans have been asking for wake-up taunts. I’m happy to report there are now wake-up taunts. Do you love those dramatic moments where Randy Orton slams his fists to the ground, daring his opponent to stand up and then unleashing his RKO when the opponent stumbles right into his clutches? Well then, you’re going to be one happy camper.

Q: With the success of WWE All Stars, did your WWE '12 team learn anything from the fan reaction? What kinds of things are applicable to WWE '12 that was also in All Stars?

Cory: I’ve been pushing for this type of product ever since I’ve started at THQ, and the team at THQ San Diego did a fantastic job executing on this. I worked on creating the original pitch for this game, and we set out to create a game where the experience would be something along the lines of WWE meets NBA Jam: a fun, accessible, over the top WWE game that complimented the simulation franchise we already had with SmackDown vs. Raw. I wasn’t surprised to see that fans took so well to the product. However, WWE ’12 and WWE All Stars are two completely different products. There are some elements that can be compared, while others we feel only belong in an over the top experience. We took notice of a lot of the core gameplay elements that made WWE All Stars so successful, such as their fast-paced match flow, simple controls, quality motions, quick response time and mid-move reversals. There is a lot to like in All Stars, and I think a lot of things that can translate well into WWE ’12. We looked at it like any other competitive product and tried to identify the elements that can help make WWE ’12 the best game possible.

Q: There has been a ton of game franchises that have taken on a new name. Is WWE '12 just a name change? How will we know? What is your favorite (other) franchise re-invention?

Cory: WWE ’12 is far from just a name change. Our goal has been to create a brand new experience with a new, high quality animation system, a new renderer and a new strategic gameplay experience that will look, feel and play substantially better than its predecessors. When you play the game, you’ll notice right away that you’re spending less time on the mat mashing buttons and more time enjoying the action with a faster paced gameplay flow, simpler game controls and the most fluid and realistic animations the game has ever seen. This is a true franchise reboot and not just a name change. It’s also an investment toward the future of the franchise, giving us the opportunity to use our new technology to push the game to new heights never seen before.

Q: How far along in development are you on WWE '12?

Cory: We started around the end of May 2010, so we are currently at the one year mark. We still have more months ahead for gameplay tuning and bug fixing, and then we are done. It feels like we never stop. One year bleeds into the next. With the multi-year plans, we are already planning for projects in the distant future.

Q: What can we expect to see at E3? (expecting him to say "can't tell")

Cory: We will be showing off a one on one match so that people can come by and take an early look on how the new and improved gameplay experience is looking. We will have four playable Superstars available, including one Superstar making his WWE game debut! The rest I can’t reveal just yet. You will have to play the game at E3 to find out what we’re up to!

Q: What is the one thing you want in the WWE series that is not yet possible?

Cory: Almost anything is possible. It just comes down to how much you have to sacrifice in order to get it. I know a lot of people have asked us to have eight, 10, 12 and even 20 Superstars in the ring at once. Although we could completely reconfigure the game to support this, a ton of effort would go into this rather than on developing other features. The game would also take significant hits to model and animation quality to make this happen; at the end of the day, it’s just not worth it. Although I agree it would be cool to have this for particular match types, it currently is just not worth the risk and work associated with the task.

JohnMarston

I haven't even played Smackdown vs Raw '11 yet. I must get to it

CMpunked

Comparing screenshots:

princemuzzy

Have to wonder why there is no gm game for pc/mac surely a market for it

Lord TSC

princemuzzy wrote: »

Have to wonder why there is no gm game for pc/mac surely a market for it

There is. It's called EWR...

GTR63

CMpunked wrote: »

Comparing screenshots:

Look how realistic SuperCena is levitating in mid air just like he does in wwe's mind.

Furious-Red

WWE® ’12 will celebrate the rebirth of the iconic and authentic simulation franchise through a bigger game, badder presentation and better gameplay than ever before, delivering long-awaited critical improvements to the core gameplay experience, the most creative and extensive feature set to date and a visceral, edgy and polished presentation.

Players will become part of WWE through extensive gameplay advancements, including the brand new Breaking Point submission system, new Attributes and control layout as well as significant improvements to other key gameplay systems. WWE Universe Mode 2.0 will generate new and more impactful elements of unpredictability based on player decisions, while dynamic visual changes to gameplay presentation, including new animations, camera positions, lighting and improved rendering, will set the tone for delivering an exceptional simulation of WWE programming.

WWE ’12 will feature the franchise’s best-in-class creation suite, enabling players to develop and customize their own Superstars, entrances, finishing moves, storylines, Highlight Reels and other all-new capabilities. In addition, the popular Road to WrestleMania Mode will enable players to explore compelling new storylines and major gameplay improvements.

WWE ’12 will also boast one of the largest rosters of WWE Superstars, WWE Divas and WWE Legends in franchise history, including John Cena, Randy Orton, The Miz and the debuting Alberto Del Rio.

Key Features

PREDATOR TECHNOLOGY™ – Engage in the WWE experience like never before through a dynamic gameplay system that looks, feels and plays better than ever before. The brand new Breaking Point submission system, new Attributes and control layout, as well as major changes to Momentum and Stamina systems make for the best WWE gameplay to date.

DYNAMIC PRESENTATION – Observe impressive visual changes to gameplay presentation, including new animations, camera positions, lighting arrangements and significantly improved rendering, all delivering an authentic and striking representation of WWE programming.

WWE UNIVERSE 2.0 – Embrace the virtual WWE experience through new and more impactful elements of unpredictability, as rivalries, alliances, matches and spontaneous action will dramatically evolve based on individual player decisions.

CREATE AND SHARE – Develop and customize Superstars, entrances, finishing moves, storylines, Highlight Reels and all-new, to-be-announced capabilities in the franchise’s best-in-class creation suite.

ROAD TO WRESTLEMANIA – Explore in the franchise’s popular story-based mode through compelling new storylines and major gameplay improvements.

EXTENSIVE ROSTER – Compete with WWE Superstars, WWE Divas and WWE Legends from one of the largest rosters in franchise history, including John Cena, Randy Orton, The Miz and Alberto Del Rio

CMpunked

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCzxurFzUK8

Not the best interview ever (its clear the black guy has the hots for kelly), but you can see some in game footage from behind them.

grames_bond

CMpunked wrote: »

its clear the black guy has the hots for kelly.

you telling me you don't!?!

Furious-Red

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLKc3fWhcpA

Africa

Impressive... the interruptions should be good, and Im glad they sorted the pin thing too.

Great finish hahaha

D2D

Live demo taking place here

CMpunked

Dare_2_defy wrote: »

Live demo taking place here

im guessing this is over now?

Furious-Red

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwTLjZ0LinA

Del Rio looks crap

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Mk7obQzD8E

seandotcomm

Looks like the Wii version though..

CMpunked

serious let down if thats the way the mini-trons are gonna be staying.

jaykhunter

Jesus Christ is this running on the N64? THQ should be ashamed.

Wolfe Tone

Teamshadowclan wrote: »

There is. It's called EWR...

Whats this? Never heard of it

GTR63

Can't believe they didn't try to release this a bit earlier than late November. It'll get battered in sales with the Huge amount of games coming out on all platforms. I always thought that the Smackdown vs Raw graphics looked a bit last gen compare it to how FIFA,NBA 2K & Fight Night have evolved its baffling how little thq has done with the wwe games this gen.

Lord TSC

Wolfe Tone wrote: »

Whats this? Never heard of it

Its a freeware PC game whereby you become the booker for a promotion and have to guide it to global success. There's regular updates so you can get modern day promotions, and try building ROH up to tackle WWE, book TNA how you want it, or start up a backyard fed and build it right up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_Warfare#Extreme_Warfare_Revenge

Think football manager but with wrestling...

drayme

Looks ****ty same old animations, same old commentary for a "new" franchise.

Garseys

Apparently this was an early build (not the final one by a long shot) I'm guessing the graphics will be on par with what SDVR was last year.

Charlie Haughy

Teamshadowclan wrote: »

Its a freeware PC game whereby you become the booker for a promotion and have to guide it to global success. There's regular updates so you can get modern day promotions, and try building ROH up to tackle WWE, book TNA how you want it, or start up a backyard fed and build it right up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_Warfare#Extreme_Warfare_Revenge

Think football manager but with wrestling...

Where can I get this game online? Like is there an official website?

thebostoncrab

Charlie Haughy wrote: »

Where can I get this game online? Like is there an official website?

A quick search on it on Google will lead you loads of spots to download it. The game is free so it's very easy to find. Most sites will tell you how to update your roster.

My current game has Fergal Devitt as TNA world champion and he is feuding with CM Punk. WWEs roster has been raped by my TNA and PWG has outlasted ROH and Chikara.

Lord TSC

thebostoncrab wrote: »

A quick search on it on Google will lead you loads of spots to download it. The game is free so it's very easy to find. Most sites will tell you how to update your roster.

My current game has Fergal Devitt as TNA world champion and he is feuding with CM Punk. WWEs roster has been raped by my TNA and PWG has outlasted ROH and Chikara.

Hehe, nice. The last game I played had the MCMG somehow get max overness and they started to refuse to lose to Kurt Angle :S
Going on holidays soon and I tend to download an update and play it when I'm away. Never think of signing Devitt. Must do this time...

D2D

jaykhunter wrote: »

Jesus Christ is this running on the N64? THQ
should be ashamed.

The reason why the quality is so bad is because it's been literally ripped from the stream to showcase it. The quality of the stream itself was awful with blocky pictures and awful sound problems.

CMpunked wrote: »

serious let down if thats the way the mini-trons are gonna be staying.

During the stream, they mentioned that they've roughly 1 month left to finish/polish it up before it goes into testing. They mentioned that the mini-trons would be finished for every superstar/diva that's in the game.

Wolfe Tone

Teamshadowclan wrote: »

Its a freeware PC game whereby you become the booker for a promotion and have to guide it to global success. There's regular updates so you can get modern day promotions, and try building ROH up to tackle WWE, book TNA how you want it, or start up a backyard fed and build it right up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_Warfare#Extreme_Warfare_Revenge

Think football manager but with wrestling...

Nearly creamed myself! I love footy manager and I like wrestling...

You may have just stolen my life

Lord TSC

The Rock is confirmed as a day one DLC pre-order bonus. The big draw is that it's not the Attitude era model that's been copy/pasted for years but the current Rock model...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIZOQRNVccY

jaykhunter

that makes sense. We've got a billion games with the Attitude version!

jaykhunter

Over on the games forum, someone asked if you were to make any game in the world, what would you make? So i pitched this :

The Pitch: Streets of Rage but with wrestlers. Bit of X-Men in there too.

This is streets of rage 2 (level 2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1p7ojL7UI8

Style: A bright, colourful side-scrolling beat em' up. With wrestlers. Clean up the streets and battle against evil wrestlers with multiple branching paths, boosts, new moves, characters etc. It'd be up to 4 person co-op. Awesome chiptune renditions of wrestler themes and incongruous dialogue.

Art Style: Awesome beefy 2D hand-drawn sprites; think SSF2THDRemix.

Here's your art-style

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ins3dTgTJA

Now imagine that as a side-scrolling beat 'em up with wrestlers

Developer: I don't know anything about developers so I won't pretend to.

The Engine: Ditto. I want it to be easy to pick up and play, like 16-bit era games were! I want people to figure out new moves and tag attacks etc you can try out

Main Character(s): It'd depend if you're gonna play as the good guys or bad guys. But all the names from the past and present wrestling. Hogan, Savage, Warrior, Bret, Austin, Rock, Cena; each with their signature moves as light/strong attacks, combos, specials etc. You'd face the villainous Million Dollar Man, Undertaker CM Punk etc in various themed levels (eg Taker's level features zombies, Kane's is in hell, DiBiase's is in a lavish casino, Punk's religious zealots, Miz with paparazzi's I could do this for ages lol) Vince McMahon would be the last villain; have him show up periodically like Magneto did.

Release : This would be a downloadable title, not a full retail release. I'd imagine that it should only be about an hour long in total. Beat 'em ups should be short. I'd bring out a DLC pack later on with additional levels and bosses.

(p.s. i realise they had a REALLY CRAPPY side-scrolling beat 'em up released a decade ago. This is not that.)

Whatcha reckon? Would you play it?

GTR63

Sounds a small bit like WWF Betrayal on the Gameboy Colour Jayk. Which reminds me of the storymode in Wrestlemania XIX for the gamecube beat up construction workers & Random Midcarders while completing tedious platforming & other actions.

Garseys

anyone seen this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tXrSuG_dME

could be very interesting....

Sirsok

The commentating in the past few games really take away from the excitment of the game.....games like ufc and fight ight have brilliant play by play but svr i truly believe is horrific and takes the excitement away from a match.....really hope they improve on this

Ridley

jaykhunter wrote: »

Whatcha reckon? Would you play it?

I probably would but I can't see myself getting into the licence being used that way. I want matches and WWF Betrayal with pretty graphics is still Betrayal.

I think the developer you want is Konami circa the 90s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iuJ-okd-8c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9rLbEw_Fsk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eDPZz6IaMA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ewkdhu9Zj-w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB1QbeeqJP0

Sirsok wrote: »

The commentating in the past few games really take away from the excitment of the game.....

Every time Michael Cole says "what a battle" I hear Ralph Wiggum in my head saying "What's a battle?"