14 DAY TRIAL // The WWE series is dropping the Smackdown vs. RAW subtitle for this year’s release and one of the main developers working on the game says that it was the perfect moment to lend some wider appeal to the game and make it more family friendly.
Bryan Williams, who is the creative manager working on the WWE series inside THQ, has told MCV that, “It was perfect timing to give the brand a facelift. It was getting a little stale. We want to put the focus back on gameplay.”
He added, “WWE is on the way back up. With The Rock coming back, he is going to help kick-start an upward tick in WWE ratings. The WWE is full Steam ahead. It has gone from PG-13 to just PG. And is now more family friendly.”
The wrestling games that THQ created were once aimed at more adult gamers but as the television shows and special on which it is based appealed to an ever younger audience the video game publisher also decided to make them as accessible as possible to both kids and their parents.
Removing the Smackdown vs. RAW name is part of the rebranding campaign which THQ hopes will revive the sales of the series, which were lower than expected in 2010.
WWE 12 removes the weak and strong grapple system that was the basis for fights in older games and has introduced a mechanics which takes into account the physical state of the opponent when deciding which moves the characters perform.
The presentation of the game has also grown more cinematic, with more focus on rivalries and developing storylines.
WWE 12 will be launched on the PlayStation 3 from Sony, the Xbox 360 from Microsoft and the Nintendo Wii on November 22 in the United States and three days later in Europe.