With Fight Night Champion, we delivered a dramatically new gameplay experience. In creating Champion Mode, it was the first time that EA SPORTS had incorporated a story-based game mode into a sports title. Inspired by classic boxing movies, Champion Mode allows players to step into the shoes of Andre Bishop, an up-and-coming middleweight contender who learns that the road to becoming a champion in professional boxing is one that is filled with unimaginable highs and brutal lows. Champion Mode tells a story of redemption and perseverance in one of the toughest sports ever imagined.

Now with Fight Night Champion available as a customizable digital download exclusively on PSN, we’re once again delivering a new experience to gamers; we’re giving them the opportunity to customize their experience to meet their gaming needs. We anticipate a few questions, so here’s more detail on this unique approach to downloadable games:

How does the customizable download work?
Fans have the opportunity to purchase Champion Mode, downloading it via PSN as a standalone game and experience one of the richest narratives in sports gaming. Users can then customize their experience within the Fight Night Champion in-game store by subsequently purchasing any of the following modes: Fight Now, Legacy Mode and Online Play.

Why did you decide to offer Fight Night Champion as a customizable download on PSN?
It’s all about providing choice. We know that gamers play in different ways. Some people are very into battling opponents online. Others prefer narrative-based stories, like you’ll find in Champion Mode. It’s really about letting fans customize their own experience by purchasing the game a la carte.

Why offer Champion Mode as a standalone game at $4.99?
Champion Mode is really what sets this game apart from Fight Night Round 4. It’s the first time EA SPORTS has had a story-based game mode. Champion Mode is inspired by classic boxing movies and provides hours of captivating and emotional gameplay. It’s the most instantly accessible mode and we felt the story line would draw gamers in who may not be huge boxing fans. By releasing Champion Mode as a standalone at $4.99, it allows gamers who may not be looking to purchase a full boxing title an opportunity to try it out.

What kind of player was the Fight Now piece created for?
Fight Now is for people who just want to get in and fight. They’ll have access to all the boxers and venues in the game. They can even create or download their own boxer.

Can they take that boxer through a whole career?
For that they would want Legacy Mode in the Games Mode download. This is where you get to create your alter ego and put him in the ring against past champions. You start with training and then fight through all your scheduled bouts. You’re goal is to establish yourself as the fighter to beat.

Is there a way to take your ‘alter ego’ online and fight other boxers?
You can purchase the Online Mode which will allow you to play people head-to-head or you can compete for local or worldwide belts.

Will the PSN trophies work any differently with this customizable version?
No, there’s no difference in how PSN trophies work. That being said, there are some trophies that are associated with specific modes, so you’ll have to have downloaded those modes to earn them.

Thanks for checking out this blog post! Bring your questions up here and we’ll do our best to answer as many as we can throughout the day.

• The training mission has been updated to include three separate tutorial raids. Earn the INC t-shirt reward for finishing Tutorial #1; earn the Briefcase reward for finishing Tutorial #3.
• The All-Access Pass reward has been updated to a full-body suit version of the Robots from the Conspiracy raids.
• Players will now spawn in the chosen Corporation Base after a raid has been completed, making exchange of “The Goods” much easier.
• Faster load times.
• Arcade cabinets including the three hacking mini-games from Conspiracy are available for purchase as Active Items for your personal spaces.
• Three new Conspiracy companions for sale – WisperWyre, Reus, and a gold Conspiracy Robot.
• Special St. Patrick’s Day virtual items – including the Leprechaun Disguise Kit.

The PlayStation Home Mall receives an update this week with our expanded line of Spring Break clothing items for the girls and the guys while nDreams’ offers you a chance to dress like a PlayStation Home kingpin with their new line of vintage ‘30s Mobsters clothing items (included are the timeless pinstripe suit, a pair of classic Spectator shoes, and the all-important Fedora hat). Pick these items up this Thursday from the Threads store.

In other news, Lockwood Publishing is releasing new kitten companion items this week. Adopt a pet this Thursday from the Sodium store – you can choose from Tabby and White, Orange Tabby, or Seal Point Siamese cat that will accompany you all throughout PlayStation Home!

The mega-popular Community Theater receives a huge update this week. Visit the PlayStation Home Theater this Thursday to watch the following PlayStation Home-exclusive videocasts:

• Urgent Fury – this episode focuses on Call of Duty: Black Ops, hit developer Infinity Ward, and LittleBigPlanet 2.
• HipHopGamer – includes a look inside Manhattan’s PlayStation Lounge and features the recently-released MLB 11: The Show.
• LittleBigPodcast – complete with a strategy guide for earning LittleBigPlanet 2’s elusive “Ace of Spades” trophy!
• Replay With Doc – this episode includes a special guest host, Shane Bell from Urgent Fury, interviewing gamer girl Raychul Moore.

Finally, be sure to come out to the Gamer’s Lounge next Tuesday for a special Fight Night Champion event. Test your skills in online bouts against the game’s producers, who will be on-hand to field your challenge. Expect a lot of inside information, great boxing talk and a whole lot of beatdowns! Want to know who played the role of the jailhouse bareknuckle brawler in Champion Mode? How about the best way to avoid the jab when your opponent has a longer reach? Want to join an EA SPORTS producer’s online gym? Then hit the Gamer’s Lounge on March 15th at 5:00pm PST (8:00pm EST). In the spirit of fairness we’ll even give you a link to the Full Spectrum Control tutorial so there are no excuses come Tuesday night…

See you in Home!

Previously I mentioned how it’s been a first for EA SPORTS to have a dedicated story-driven Champion Mode alongside an enhanced Legacy Career Mode. Another first now comes with the demo that allows gamers to play head-to-head online until end of day February 17th. The beta period serves as an opportunity not only for fans of the series to get a taste of the game with their friends, but also as a means to gather feedback for the development team, who will have the ability to tweak certain aspects of gameplay without title updates.

“This year, we have set the game up so that we can update several game play variables online and deploy them fairly quickly without having to patch the game,” explains Gameplay Producer Brian Hayes. “With these ‘Tuner Sets’ we can make slight adjustments to stamina, punch power, counter windows, boxing ratings, and Create Boxer XP growth for online and offline gameplay. For offline gameplay alone, we will be able to adjust AI and Legacy Mode logic if we are finding that these can help make for an authentic in-ring experience.”

As I also manage the NHL community, who first used the Tuner Sets, I know that both the community and developers have benefited from not having to go through the longer process of providing title updates. Hayes goes on to say that not all gameplay aspects can be changed — however, judging by the comments from some demo players, the game may not need any changes at all.

“Fight Night Champion goes into a new direction as it continues the quest of capturing the essence and vision of the sport of boxing while building off of its previous foundations in a significant attempt to be considered one of the best sports games ever created,” says Anthony Lynn aka Indigo72 on PSN of UntilTheNextRound.com.

Ant was one of seven community members we invited participate in an early feedback session back in October of 2010. This group brought along a multi-page wishlist for the dev team and, so far, the demo is being regarded as much improved, especially in the online virtual ring where a lot of the cheese and sometimes unrealistic play from Round 4 has been removed.

To this point, online connectivity has been solid as over 1.5 million bouts have been played online and we hope gamers can continue to play during the time online is available to receive that continued feedback. You’re also welcome to comment below with your feedback on the demo or if you have any questions that I may be able to field on behalf of the developers.

Check my previous entry here on the PlayStation.Blog for the Full Spectrum Punch Controls video. And today, I’m providing some diagrams from the Controls Tutorials Blog on our FNC homepage along with some basics to get you started with the demo. But first you have to go download it…so do that NOW!

FSPC enables you to use the Right Stick to throw punches. Flicking the Right Stick to the Left will throw punches with your left hand, while flicking the Right Stick to the Right will throw punches with your right hand.

When you flick the stick at different angles, the boxer will throw different punches. Flicking the Right Stick Upwards will throw Straight punches, flicking the Right Stick to the Side will throw Hooking punches and flicking the Right Stick Downwards will throw Uppercut

Killzone 3

While most of us have been counting down to the 02.22.11 release date of Killzone 3, the Qore team got their hands on the game early. Veronica Belmont provides an in-depth look at the jetpacks, mechs, and brutal melees of this stunning sequel. She also checks out the PlayStation Move motion controller compatibility (which everybody here is talking about) of this hellacious Helgan counter-attack. This episode also includes an art gallery of the new weapons that you’ll definitely enjoy in the game.

MLB 11 The Show

With pitchers and catchers reporting next week to spring training, it’s time to preview MLB 11 The Show. Audrey Cleo’s visits the San Diego Studio team for a preview of the new analog control system. Along with brand new player models and a revamped Road to The Show, this game franchise is again swinging for the fences.

Fight Night Champions

Another sports game that’s coming out swinging is EA’s Fight Night Champions. Qore covers the flurry of new punches and combinations now available in the game to equip gamers for a darker and more intense style of play. The sweet science is looking pretty, well, sweet.

Greatest Villains on the PS3

The Qore team along with the editors of PlayStation: The Official Magazine put together a collection of the best bad guys on the PS3 system. It’s a fun look at the how the most memorable villains make for great games. Who’s your fave? Maybe they made the Qore cut?

The Download

Qore annual subscribers have access to the Killzone 3 single player demo and the PSone Classic ‘JetMoto.’ Single episode purchasers of this episode (and those of you who bought January’s episode) have access to the Qore exclusive Killzone 3 theme.

Enjoy February Qore Episode 33 when it hits PlayStation Store tomorrow.

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.

“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!