Fight Night

I was having a discussion with several television folks last night about the potential marketing relationship between record labels and game developers, a topic we've covered often. What made this discussion different, though, was an email from Electronic Arts announcing the April 5 release of Fight Night 2004, which features 32 of the world's most well-known boxers such as Roy Jones, Jr., Lennox Lewis, Muhammad Ali.

What struck me was a throw-away line in its press release that said the game also included "tomorrow’s superstars, including new undisputed junior middleweight champ, Ronald 'Winky' Wright."

This is exactly the type of marketing we were discussing. The average lifespan of a game is about 50 hours, according to industry executives. Sports games, though, can survive much longer since they are designed to be played with friends. It's inevitable that after you beat Lewis with Ali for a week, you'll start experimenting with other fighters.

It's not difficult to see a time when, after the games are hooked up online, promoters offer special downloads to promote actual upcoming fights. Buy the (video game) fight before it happens, and get $10 off the (actual) fight's pay-per-view.

Of course, there is clearly something cooking with this because a blurb in the Los Angeles Times (reg. required) discusses former boxer Alexis Arguello's lawsuit against EA for its use of his likeness in Knockout Kings.

If companies begin using likenesses to promote not only games, but also actual fights, the question of who gets what money is likely to be sticky. For that reason alone, folks like Arguello need to protect their name.

For instance, should Fight Night 2004 cover-athlete Jones, Jr. receive financial compensation if promoters use online capabilities to hype some other fighter's upcoming fight? After all, many boxing fans will likely buy the game to see how Jones, Jr. fares against the greatest heavyweights of all time. That increases the audience a potential marketing group could reach?