Three-Way Dance

Professional wrestling, whether you love it or you hate it, is just one of those bizarre staples of society that seems like it just shouldn't exist yet won't go away. Pro wrestling itself has existed for ages and has enjoyed peaks of popularity the likes of which many TV executives would give up their first born child for. Yes, it's choreographed; yes, the acting is awful; and yes, it's all just completely stupid. All of these points are valid. But you know what? None of it matters. It's still entertaining stuff, and regardless of stupidity, people watch it. Lots of people. Perhaps not as many as when the WWE (or WWF, as it was known then) was in its heyday, but professional wrestling is still a lucrative industry. No one is more aware of this fact than THQ, the current holders of the WWE license and the publisher of the SmackDown!, Raw, and WrestleMania franchises for the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube, respectively. Year after year, these titles garner more attention than 90 percent of the releases in a given year, and they sell insanely well for what many still consider a niche market. As a fan of both professional wrestling (the medium itself, not as much the WWE these days) and wrestling games, I've often been quite pleased with THQ's entries into the wrestling market. Especially in the previous console generations, when the Yuke's-developed SmackDown! series was just getting its start, and the N64's Aki Corporation-developed WWF titles were all the rage. As the years have worn on, however, I've found myself increasingly displeased with THQ's bizarre need to release entirely different games on each console.

Do we really need three different versions of The Rock every single year?

Ever since THQ began making wrestling games, they've felt it necessary to use completely different developers, game engines, and titles across each platform. When they had the WCW license, the PlayStation got WCW vs. The World, WCW Nitro, and WCW/NWO Thunder, while the N64 got WCW vs. NWO World Tour and WCW vs. NWO: Revenge. Eventually, THQ's WCW license expired, and, in what was considered something of a coup at its time, THQ picked the WWF license off of Acclaim. More console-specific titles followed, including the first two SmackDown! titles for the PlayStation, and WrestleMania 2000 and WWF No Mercy for the N64. This trend of splitting up the consoles amongst development teams has been going on ever since. Yuke's continued the SmackDown! titles when the franchise graduated to the PS2, tried its hand at one Dreamcast game before Sega ceased production, and eventually took on the GameCube (although with a separate development team from the SmackDown! team), while THQ licensed Anchor, the development house behind Ultimate Fighting Championship for the Dreamcast, to handle the Xbox WWE Raw franchise. Confused yet? Well, you should be.

Although things have gotten a bit easier to keep track of since THQ stopped titling each and every wrestling game something totally different and started on the path toward true brand recognition, unfortunately, they never quite grew out of the need to make a completely different game on every supported console. Back in the day, when the SmackDown! franchise was going through its early growing pains, a lot of people used to groan on and on about how the Nintendo 64 got all the good wrestling games. Now, the tables have turned. SmackDown! on the PS2 has become the definitive wrestling franchise around, leaving GameCube and Xbox owners to enjoy the proverbial shaft. Sure, the WrestleMania franchise on the GameCube isn't bad, by any means, but when compared to the highly polished and extremely fun SmackDown! games, it simply can't compare. As for the Xbox's Raw franchise... Well, let's just say that there is a good reason why many of the people behind WWE Raw 2 evidently don't have jobs anymore.

Something tells me that Def Jam Vendetta won't be EA's last wrestling game.

Another thing worth mentioning is the fact that, really, no other game company does this. Wrestling games have, to a certain degree, practically become sports titles, in that each installment provides some incremental gameplay changes, a roster update, and maybe a new mode or two. Yet, if you look at any other publisher of sports titles, like EA or Sega, you'll note that they don't divide up different versions of their football games amongst each console. It isn't Madden NFL Football on one console, and then Al Michaels NFL Football on another, with different game engines, modes, graphics, etc., on each. No, it's the same brand and the same game on every console. This level of consistency is important not only for brand recognition but also because of resources. Think about it for a second. EA is, in essence, the largest third-party developer around, and yet they don't spread out their available resources trying to make totally different football games for each console. When it comes to WWE titles, THQ has Yuke's work on two completely different games and hires another developer to work on a third game--all for the same license. Why? Why spread your forces so thin? Why not just take the strongest title you've got, focus all your efforts on it, and make it available for every console, thus doing your best to please all of your targeted audience, not just the ones who own the one console that has the good wrestling game.

I've been a longtime fan of THQ's wrestling titles and will likely continue to be, so long as they continue to produce at least one great franchise. That being said, I do very much think that THQ is definitely going to have to change how they do things in the near future. The WWE is not anywhere near as popular as it was when THQ picked up the license, and, although people do continue to buy the games, competition is on the horizon. What do I mean? Well, let's just say that Def Jam Vendetta isn't likely to be EA's last attempt at a wrestling game. Considering how well that title turned out, it stands to reason that EA will be making a sequel, and, along with its recent announcement that it would be working on a game featuring the superstars of the WWE's only real (albeit marginal) competitors, NWA-TNA, it does seem that EA wants to get back into the wrestling business. Sure, THQ still has the top wrestling license, but without a more focused approach, that license isn't going to carry them forever.