Fight Night Champion: Full Spectrum Punch Control Saves Your Thumbs, Controllers

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Happy New Year PlayStation fans! As one of the Community Managers at EA SPORTS, I’m lucky enough to work with some of the most talented development teams in all of sports video games. Currently taking up a lot of my time these days is getting the word out about the next installment to our boxing franchise, Fight Night Champion.

In addition to a revamped and improved Legacy Mode, Champion Mode takes you through the life of Andre Bishop and his path to becoming a Champion. We’re stoked about this first opportunity for an EA Sports title to have a dramatic game mode with mature themes. I think our boxing fans will feel connected with our hero and really want to get to that next chapter to see how the story all plays out.

The big question from PlayStation Fight Night fans will most definitely be about gameplay. The biggest improvement that the team made was implanting a new control scheme dubbed Full Spectrum Punch Control. I asked Producer Brian Hayes what the inspiration behind the new controls came from.

Fight Night Champion: Gus Andre

“We went back to the drawing board, literally, with Full Spectrum Punch control,” Hayes replied. “Based on a lot of user feedback and telemetry, we were finding that the previous implementations of TPC had fundamental ergonomic challenges. Basically, it was a lot easier to extend the thumb outwards and throw left handed punches, than it was to cram the thumb inwards and throw right handed punches. It’s just not a good thing to have that kind of obstacle in a boxing game.” Unless you have ultra gamer thumbs like I do ;) Kidding…

“So the first thing we decided to do was remove the need for all the quarter-circle or half circle gestures on the analog stick,” continues Hayes, “Now it’s a lot easier to throw punches. It’s also gentler on your thumbs and nicer on your controller. A lot of people tell us all the time about how many controllers they have worn out, hopefully that will be a thing of the past too.”

Anyways, I promised the PSN blog folks that I’d keep this concise as I tend to ramble on. Read my Fight Night blogs on the Producer’s Corner and make sure you’re following the Fight Night Facebook page for all the latest news, discussion, and videos including the 5-part Champion Mode reveal series. Look out for the demo to drop on the PlayStation Network in February and look up my PSN ID EA_sk88z if you need a lesson or two in the school of hard knocks once Fight Night Champion drops March 1st!

Let me know in the comments below who you’ll be challenging me with and whether you’ll be jumping in fist first into Champion Mode or creating your own path to glory in Legacy Mode!

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87 Comments

54 Author Replies

  • @46. It’s called a “Move support patch” and it’s been done already for over a handful of PS3 titles.

    • Many of the patches with Move didn’t require significant changes to the actual gameplay. My guess is that for FNC it would require quite a bit of development work including adding in a dedicated 1st person mode which isn’t currently in the game. Therefore, I wouldn’t necessarily say that it’s an easy patch to add. Again, it comes down to making tough decisions and where the team needs to dedicate their resources to make the best game possible.

  • Man you’re all gonna short out the blog w/ all of this crying! lol they didn’t support the Move, get over it! XD

  • I’ll get over it alright, no move support = no purchase. I didn’t invest $150+ dollars in Sony’s MOVE to see top notch boxing title released in 2011 not be supported. At LEAST via a post release patch OPTION..

  • Would buy it with Move support, this way I’ll pass. But good luck, looks nice.

  • What about the body spamming people do? .. is there a system that let body punches go every where like for the upper body.. I know in reallife not every puch when they hit the body some go below the belt in a sloppy combo “ex Adrew golota vs ridddick bowe fight”.. Not all of golota body spamming punches to bow hit him in the body. becuase he got tired and sloppy with them. Thus low blow and he lost a fight he was winning.

    do have to use this new guy in carrer mode. Can i use my creative player too? what about watchingothers fight online and retiring a fighter and bringing him back.. Will there be weight class training to go up like psp version of fight night 3?

  • Also.. I want to know about boxer shorts customization and etc.. and is andre berto in the game..And please dont make us buy fighter for $1.99 like you did with fn4.. 99 cent should suffice.. Also a great idea is promoter mode where you bring up a Npc characters and do the fight contracts.. and i also hope manny Pac man fights all his fight at the natural weight no catch weights :) and is mayweather jr in the game? Yhonny perez, abner mares? juan ma. davaid haye.. Boxing is not dead its just alot funky promoters like bob arum messing it up..And please have a batamweight online I didnt enjoy fighting guys 15-20 lbs heavier with even skills.. Its skill not a fair fight . This is why theres weight classes

  • and every crying over move support. the guy said .. mops move was not out when they did the game, maybe down the road ad dlc or the next edition.. shesh.. give the guy a break.. I know ps move support is nice but not all games need ps move support.. Im 100% for ps move and it games, but i dont think every game needs ps move support. Maybe if they bring back. “through the fighter eyes mode from part 3” that would be great with ps move.. Maybe as dlc it can happen..

  • No move support? I guess it’s hard to implement it when you consider sports games are more strategy based and dualshock players will have an advantage (not exercising)

    I hope you guys put out a Fight Night game with motion support soon one day.

    • I guess you’d have to be in pretty good shape to have someone on Move go up against someone using the sticks. I reckon it would have to be Move vs Move if this is something the team looks at implementing in future iterations.

  • games looks great

  • Any chance of floyd mayweather being in the game?

    • Unfortunately Floyd Mayweather will not be appearing in Fight Night Champion unless as a Created Boxer which I’m sure there will be plenty of those to grab from our Boxer Share feature.

  • alain some of these guys just being mean, pay them no mind. Im ready for the demo . But if you want to play me tonight add me mcbuttz78 on fn4.. Ill give you a good fight.. :)

  • Too bad. I am a long time fan of Fight Night with Fight Night Round 4 being my favorite. However, I was only going to upgrade to FNC if there was Move support. I will stick to The Fight: Lights Out for now. I wonder why they sent me a survey asking about Move support. In my opinion, it is lame that they are disregarding Move Support. The game might have been for a long time, but the Move has also been out to developers for a while now.

    • Sure, but as I mentioned, the question was whether there was enough time for it to be implemented correctly. Hopefully you’ll at least give the demo a shot. Thanks for your comment!

  • A move patch could increase sales…there are millions of move players dieing for games and this seems a perfect fit. thanks for answering so many questions.

  • As I haven’t played any Fight Night, I think this one is going to be my first, not only is the Full Spectrum Punch Control interests me but also the graphics and gameplay. Can’t wait to try the demo.

  • @Alain Quinto

    Sir, it’d be best for you if you stop saying Move support would require a 1st person view mode. That only sounds very ignorant of the Move capabilities and game development as a whole. There are plenty of third person games that require precision and fast movements already out for PS3 with Move support, and there are more coming like Socom 4 and Sorcery. Say what you will about FNC not supporting Move, but not having a 1st person mode is not in any conceivable way a valid excuse. Read more,ask around and stop embarrassing yourself.

    • I guess you’re right and excuse me if I did say that it would require that it need a 1st person view in order to fully implement. It’s only my opinion and how I’d see it being used. I reckon that it would still work without having to add a different view and use the existing cameras. I appreciate your comment.

      I guess the big question is what our developers think of the possibility of it in the future?

      For now, I hope you’ll give the FSPC scheme a try with the demo.

  • please no online champion trophies my reasons is cause the belt holder seem to cycle to the same people. and one guy actually tried to charge me for a title fight. FNC i will buy hands down! The champion trophies really needs to be fix in this one.

  • @ everyone.. Ps move was not out when they started and when it came out it was to late in development to add. Maybe as dlc down the road .. They had a “eyes of the fighter mode “in fight night 3.. Mybe they can use that later down the line. But right now no move support// Its not there fault

  • Pac-Man vs Mayweather for the demo plz!
    And no online trophies plz!

  • @ Everyone
    They wont let me post the link about EAs destructoid article dissing gamers physical shape and not wanting to support move but google search fight night not supporting move and you should see a destructiod link.

  • I must say when I first read “full spectrum punch control” I thought this would be about the Move and I was ready to buy the game and another controller for it. I really haven’t had an interest in boxing games in a long time and I really don’t like games that require you to hit with the analog sticks.

    A lot of people want Move support tacked on to this, but I think you guys should make a Move only spin off of the series. I know that making a Move title that requires 2 controllers is a gamble, but if there are more titles that really catch people’s eye then more people will be interested in actually getting everything that’s required to play. It’ll be less of a gamble as time goes on. Maybe you can even release a bundle that comes with a controller or 2.

  • seriously Alain, just ignore all these crying post. Once you mentioned why move support wasn’t included it should have ended there, only reply to what you feel is appropriate.
    also most the people asking for move have never even tried fight night before,

    • Thanks Detective-E! Like them, though, I wouldn’t mind seeing it in the game. But I also understand that it’s a lot of work to implement it and I’m pretty excited about what the team has done this year with the controls. Glad that there are those posting here that are looking forward to the game just with just as much enthusiasm. :)

  • The game is looking great. Can’t wait for the demo xD

  • I’ll wait for it to drop down to 20 dollars. Big mistake when I pre-ordered fn4 last year. Big mistake. Nonetheless can’t wait to beat down Paquiao with Ali the real greatest of all time!

    • Oh snap! Did he just say that?? It’s a good thing the game won’t allow you to fight two weight classes apart, unless someone creates a Middleweight Pacquiao or Light Heavy Ali.

      I’d still bet Pacquiao would give Ali a run for his money in a real fight…but not for long though.

  • Have you guys heard about some hackers finding the PS3 and PSP private keys? This is some big news, seeing as it could potentially bring down SONY’s market. Is there anything being done to assess the situation?

  • @ryker_362

    The PS1 and PS2 were a pirates’ nest from the start and, correct me if I’m wrong, but I think they were quite successful…and Sony didn’t do a thing to assess that situation, now they can and are taking measures against hackers, but if it comes down to the inevitability of piracy from the Psone/PS2 days I really don’t think they will sweat much about it.

  • I have just gotten into boxing in 2010, i don’t know much but my favourite boxer is David Haye, I don’t know if you American guys know him but his an amazing boxer. Will he be in the game?

  • I have bought the two latest games in this franchise, and I think they are fun. Thus, I didn’t feel anything happend to game from year to year. I was hoping that “move support” would have changed that.

    When I saw that you didn’t supported move I just went and bought the fight, and I’m really having fun.

    There are people nagging about we wouldn’t be able to keep up with the game in the form of our own physical conditions, not all gamers are couch potatoes…as we say in sweden…

  • Game looks great! Just add MOVE support! :)

  • I own the first Fight Night PS3 game (one of the first games I bought for the PS3 three years ago) and after having tried it for weeks I gave up because controls were a real pain, badly designed.
    Now you EA developers claim that the new controls work better BUT with Move available why didn’t EA managers just do the obvious and delay this title for 6-8months in order to add full Playstation Move support to it?
    This title is a dead duck. Either EA managers decide to release a free patch with Playstation Move support or there is no way me and many others will buy this game. It’s better to do some actual physical exercise using your arms than getting angry with controls not responding as they should and combos too hard to make using classical control pads in a game like this, and after the previous title bad experience there is no way I would waste money on this one unless EA managers will give greenlight to a free PS Move patch.

  • Please, add move support and it Doesnt have to be in 1st person view. go play the fight ligtht out . the controls are awesome
    thanks to move and the online is great,

    but it doesnt have a good single player

  • WOW Alain you responded to allot, I give you props for that!
    I wanted to mention I have played and still have all the fight nights, I am a boxing fan and boxed a little when I was younger.
    I never like the punch control using the sticks, who in the real world moves a stick right then back then frontwards to throw a round house? As you have stated it should be quick and precise as in real life fight. I personally always used the buttons due to it being a quicker response for a counter punch and when you see an opening.

    • As an ex-boxer I’m sure you can appreciate the quickness of being able to pull off a punch and so do our devs. Removing the ‘wind-up’ allows for the quickness of punches and I’m sure you’ll find that the change is for the better especially when pulling off combos and for countering as you pointed out. I hope you find the analogs in FSPC as responsive as the buttons in the demo!

  • WOW (again)! You responded to me right away, I love it when developers respect the gamers, you gonna make me go pre order just cause you got great customer service LOL

    I hope so too with the controllers.

    I read through your posts and saw that someone wanted to pin Pac against Ali, you responded by saying you cant pin different classes against each other? Why not? I like doing that just for the simple fact of seeing how good a boxer you are to move and block if you are using a featherweight against a heavy weight, in previous games i would try the imposable and survive to a decision :) I think it gives the game more depth. I can understand not having that online but in single player I think it should be allowed.

    • If fighters are more than two weight-classes apart then the game does not allow for them to go against each other. It doesn’t happen (if only rarely) in real fights and the mis-match would be very difficult to overcome.

  • I get you the overcome part is what I like, but thats cool I can live with 2 weight classes lol

    Just like to see how far I can push my FN skills :)

    Thanks for the responses!

  • I was wondering if the fight night will allow u to play you own music for entering the ring.Its something small but it would make it feel just a tad bit more authentic. All the little things make a game feel great. I like the new training and promotion they got going. I just hope it plays a bit faster than round 4 but it looks like this must be the best installment yet. A game im looking forward too. Thanks for review.

  • hope theres some fight fixin goin on -like enhance yr fighter wi illegal substances (steroids) to get an unfair advantage or some liquid substance to rub on the gloves in between rnds (clay/liston) to blind yr opponent, why dont they throw in some plaster of paris when in the changing rooms (margarito/cotto), instead of fixin bones – break some, make a nasty mess of yr opponent vice/versa even be able to thumb in the eye to momentarely blind yr fellow foe but be prepared to get DQ , if yr allowed to headbutt & low blows in the game add a bit more variety for the cheater or the not so good player, or better still jus throw a horse shoe in yr fighters glove jus like in the black n white days. (all of the above has actually happened in real life so why not in the nxt fight night fistycuffs series). r & why not get the mafia involved wi fixin & throwing fights for $$$$,s or get shallow graved if you dont accept the deal, it can be a naughty old game can boxing. all in the name of fun
    . . .SCUFFLING NOBLE. . .”
    the heliumweight champion of south shields

  • The reason they didn’t add move support is because they think all gamers are fat and don’t have the ability to stand for 3 minutes without dying of exhaustion

    This is a quote from another website by Brian Hayes, not my personal opinion.

    “It’s a little bit too twitch-based, not to mention the fact that standing on your feet for three minutes and throwing punches is something that, believe it or not, might be beyond the fitness level of most gamers!”

    So yeah, we get to see the same old “we improved gameplay and controls” again this year, at least with move it would have been fun to play, might as well go play FNR4.

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