Konami grapples with AAA Lucha Libre Aug. 9

Konami is passing on puroresu and looking at lucha libre. The Japanese publisher today announced a deal with Slang to distribute the company's Mexican pro wrestling game Lucha Libre AAA: Heroes Del Ring in the United States, Canada, and Latin America (outside of Mexico).

The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 editions of Lucha Libre AAA are being developed with the Unreal Engine 3 by Immersion Software, with offices in Guadalajara, Mexico, and Bogota, Colombia. Argentine developer Sabarasa Studios is handling development on the Wii, PSP, and DS editions of the game.

The game's full roster of playable wrestlers has not yet been revealed, but it will include featured stars of AAA wrestling like La Parka, Konnan, El Elegido, Abismo Negro, Psycho Clown, Electroshock, and Charly Manson.

While this won't be Konami's first time in the pro wrestling ring, it is the publisher's first time dealing with a real-life license for one of its grappling games. The publisher had relied on fictitious wrestling federations for efforts like 2004's Rumble Roses on the PlayStation 2, its 2006 Xbox 360 follow-up Rumble Roses XX, and the 1988 arcade game The Main Event.