EA Sports Announces Fight Night Champion

IGN reports that EA Sports is returning with the fifth game in the Fight Night franchise: Fight Night Champion. It will be released for the PS3 and the Xbox 360 in 2011. EA touts it will not simply be an expansion to Fight Night Round 4, but a standalone disc with brand new features.

The developers at EA Canada tout that the biggest innovation in the game will be its single player mode, saying: “Fight Night Champion will break the mold of what is expected in a single-player sports game. Players will be introduced to an entirely new way to step between the ropes and experience the drama, emotion, excitement and tragedy of world championship boxing.”

There will be a final roster 60 to 65 boxers and players will utilize a “Full Spectrum Punch Control”. EA Sports also claims that the new control method will deliver “the most realistic punching system ever seen” while at the same time be “the most user-friendly title in the franchise’s history.” Perhaps that means the option to use the face buttons, rather than the right analog stick as your primary punch arsenal.

I love Fight Night Round 4, and I’m excited to see how Fight Night Champion turns out. Maybe it will be the only way to see that Pacquiao – Mayweather fight.