In case you haven't been following the blog, today the team released a few updates for FIGHT NIGHT Round 4 fans.  The game has been getting a lot play with gamers all around the world and even after receiving numerous accolades, it just keeps getting better.

First is the Title Update that includes a number of gameplay fixes, most notably, with body-spamming.  The devs have tweaked not only the default stamina slider, they have also adjusted the logic so punches become much less effective the more they are thrown in sequence.  What does that mean?  From what I've already read on the forums, you spammers out there are going to have to learn to box.  It's a welcome improvement to the game and one that our community has been asking for.

For the complete blog entry on the updates, check out Producer's Corner:  New Updates and New Demo Now Available

With the EASHL Championships now history, NHL fans can finally put their full attention to NHL 10 and with the demo releasing last week for XBL Gold members, the new iteration has taken the community by storm and people are loving the new features and additions including boardplay and first-person fighting. 

In a twist to the demo, the team released it with two game modes that gamers can try:  Be a Pro and Battle for the Cup.  In the latter mode, you are thrown into the third period Game Seven of last year's Stanley Cup finals and if you choose to play as the Pens, the first decision to be made will be whether or not to play an injured Sidney Crosby.  For those looking to play spoiler, you can select to play as Detroit to re-write history, try to come back from behind, and repeat as Stanley Cup Champs. 

In Be a Pro mode, gamers will be put into the third period of the Prospects Game and, depending on your performance, following the game you will be drafted to an NHL team.  Will you be drafted near the top or will average play drop you down the board?  In both scenarios, you can guarantee that gamers will be going FTW and looking to better themselves over and over...at least until the full game ships on September 15th!  If you're looking for an edge, pre-order your game through EB Games or GameStop and get the Kane 88 package and boost your Pro instantly with Kane's hockey stick, gloves, and skates. 

If you can't wait for September 15th, then I invite you to join me, Producer Andy Agostini, and the rest of the EA SPORTS crew who will be showing off the full version of NHL 10 at the LA Kings Fest this weekend at Staples Center.  We will have a tent set up with a number of consoles during the three-day interactive festival with a small tournament running on the Saturday to give gamers a shot at competing and going FTW against some of the LA Kings players in attendance including Rookie of the Year Candidate Drew Doughty, defensemen Drew Drewiske and Jack Johnson, along with netminder Jonathan Quick.

Speaking of add-ons, FIGHT NIGHT Round 4 fans with XBOX 360 Gold Memberships can now download the free accessories in Boxer Pack II from the XBOX Marketplace.  Go FTW with all new gloves, trunks, and boots for your CAB.  XBOX 360 Silver and PlayStation Network gamers can download the free pack this Thursday, August 27th.  The Pack also puts five new locked boxers into the game which will be available for purchase for only $4.99 on PSN or 400 MS points on XBL this Thursday.  The Champions Boxer Pack includes Oscar De La Hoya, Vitaly and Vladimir Klitschko, along with new versions of James Toney and George Foreman.  Will you be the next gamer highlighted in our Ultimate Knockout? 

Along with the new downloadable content, the team will also be releasing title updates with game fixes which the community has been calling to improve the game including button-punching controls.  Expect to see the update this Thursday as well.  For those that haven't gotten into the FIGHT NIGHT Round 4 game yet, the team will be releasing a second demo with not only Pacquiao & Hatton as was seen in the first demo, but they will also be joined by cover athletes Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali.  Users will be able to push the limits to 10 rounds and the demo will also include button-punching controls and the latest game updates.  Look for more news on the new demo this week!

For PS3 gamers, go FTW as the EA SPORTS Challenge Series is now taking sign-ups for the online portion of the Challenge series for both FIGHT NIGHT Round 4 and Madden NFL 10.  These tournaments are being hosted by Major League Gaming and you will need to register with MLG to take part in their qualifying ladders.  Make sure you check out their site for more details and prove your worth!

Finally, just wanted to put a quick shout out to Packwolf, Dan Bertholomey of Portland Oregon, who at a youthful 44 years of age went FTW in Madden NFL 10 against six other gamers to take the GameStop district and store Championship over the weekend to move to the next round.  Congratulations Dan, and way to show the kids how it's done!

FIGHT NIGHT Round 4 has been on the North American shelves for a couple of weeks and has now hit the streets world wide as fans of the series battle their way to ring supremacy.  There's been a lot praise for the game and the community has been very vocal with what they love about it along with areas that they would like to see improved.

And since the game has launched, as they have been throughout the development process, the team has been listening.

I had a chance to ask some questions about what the community can look forward to seeing in the near future and this is what Producer Mike Mahar had to say.

Q1 - What can fans expect to see in the first DLC pack later in August?  Can you go into detail on the new training gym, sliders, and some of the equipment that will be available?

Mike Mahar - Fans can expect to see some updates in our first DLC pack.  We’ve addressed several of the important Legacy Mode issues including:
-    Boxers missing their hair textures
-    Gamer’s able to schedule two fights at once and then not being able to continue their career
-    Additional bugs that caused Legacy Mode freezes to occur

Gamers have noticed that the new training gym is a modern upscale training gym. Previously the gym was only available in Legacy Mode, but with the update it will be unlocked for use in Fight Now.

We’ve also introduced new gameplay sliders that give gamers the ability to tune and tweak the following attributes:
-    Counter Punch Window
-    Boxer Stamina
-    Punch Accuracy

Gamers can use these settings to further customize the game play experience. If they think they’ve got something worthy of sharing, they can use our File Share system to share them with other FIGHT NIGHT Round 4 gamers.

Fans can also expect to see some new equipment consisting of:
-    All American Gloves
-    All American Shoes
-    Jordan Brand Trunks

Q2 - Will there be new fighters made available in the future as well?

Mahar - While I can’t say for sure whom we’ll be offering, I can say we’re always looking to add more boxer’s to our existing roster. There are past, present, and future greats we’re pursuing and trying to sign. We want to grow the boxer roster and give gamers as many of the boxers they’ve asked for as possible. Stay tuned for more info moving forward.

Q3-  Can you go into detail about the updated control scheme that fans will see in September and why the game didn’t ship with punches on the face buttons in the first place? 

Mahar - The updated control scheme will allow users who are accustomed to using button controls from FIGHT NIGHT Round 3 to return to using buttons in FIGHT NIGHT Round 4. They are very similar in their implementation. The reason they weren’t originally included in FIGHT NIGHT Round 4 was two-fold:
     1.  We didn’t want to put them in the game without extensive testing and tuning to ensure we avoided the mistakes of FIGHT NIGHT Round 3 where some users perceived there to be an advantage to using buttons versus the Total Punch Control. It took some time, but we’ve accomplished that goal.  In FIGHT NIGHT Round 4 it is just as easy to throw fast punches and combos with TPC as it is with the buttons. Gamers will not notice any difference or advantage versus the AI or playing against users online.
     2.  We believe that Total Punch Control gives the user the most authentic and robust game play experience possible. But, at the end of day our consumers are the most important voices and what they say counts. If people want the choice to use buttons versus TPC, we’ll give them that choice.

Q4- Will there be other gameplay improvements that the community has asked about in any of these updates such as improvements to Online or Legacy Mode?

Mahar - Our first DLC pack was almost completed when the game shipped and we’ve squeezed in as many changes as we could. Not everything the community has asked for could make it in. I can promise the community that we’re on the FIGHT NIGHT Round 4 message boards constantly (you can find me posting under EA_MikeMahar) and we’re going to be offering more FIGHT NIGHT Round 4 updates as soon as we can this summer to address issues with Online, Legacy Mode, and more.

Q5- How often will the team be producing DLC updates for gamers?

Mahar - We have an aggressive plan to offer several updates for FIGHT NIGHT Round 4.  Though we can't make any official announcements, I can say the FIGHT NIGHT Round 4 Dev team is going to be around for a long time to support our community.

Just thought I would share some of the pictures I took while in Hollywood this past Monday during the FIGHT NIGHT Round 4 Launch Event:  Showdown on Sunset. 

Last night in Hollywood EA SPORTS rolled out the red carpet at the House of Blues with the launch event of the year dubbed the Showdown on Sunset.  The event featured some of the game's biggest names, musical guests, and other Hollywood notables in an evening where fight fans were invited to not only get a look at but to also get their hands on the most anticipated game of the year.

The evening began when the stars arrived and walked the carpet posing for pics, talking about the game with the media, and getting a little time on the sticks at the end of the line.  The crowd on hand not only got a chance to see boxing greats in Iron Mike Tyson, Sergio "The Latin Snake" Mora, and "Sugar" Shane Mosley, MMA fighters were also in the house including Dan "Punkass" Caldwell from Tapout.

The Showdown on Sunset began with our ring announcer introducing the first two combatants to take the stage:  Mosley vs Mora in what proved to be a good opening fight of the evening.  After what was deemed a warm-up fight where Mora got knocked down early and was unable to get up, both fighters agreed to a rematch, caught their bearings and went at it in the second "official" fight.  

The fight was fast paced and fierce as both fighters slugged it out.  Mora looked to have the upper hand at one point even knocking down the virtual Mosley.  But with the crowd behind the Welterweight champ, Mosley shook off the knockdown and in the third round knocked Mora down twice.  The second time, Mora could not get on his feet before the 10-count.

In between fights gamers in the packed venue got a chance to play the full version of the game on one of the dozen stations set up all around the House of Blues.  From the awesome graphics to the feel of the punching power, fans had nothing but good things to say about Round 4. 

Next up was the main event between Snoop Dogg and in my personal opinion, the greatest knockout king of the ring, Iron Mike Tyson.

The fight between Tyson and Snoop's specially created character for the game, Malice, lived up to all the hype.  Tyson came out bobbing and weaving and looking to get inside reminiscent of the Champ in his prime.  Malice, not to be outdone, dished out plenty of punches to the roar of the crowd in his corner and caught Tyson walking in a few times with big hooks and uppercuts of his own in the early rounds.

Tyson's aggressiveness however would seem to be his downfall as Malice would counter the Champ's own signature uppercuts with pounding body shots dizzying Tyson late in the fourth and put the Champ on the mat with only a couple of seconds left in the fight.

The Showdown on Sunset Champ would be decided in the hands of the judges.  All four scorecards had Snoop on top.  Following the fight, Tyson proudly presented Snoop with a check for $5000 to go towards Snoop's charity, the Snoop Youth Football League.

Music and EA SPORTS games go hand-in-hand and the night was highlighted with an appearance from Snoop's nephew Young Dre who performed a tight set on stage including one of the title songs from the game, Cheah Beah.  Also performing was Pete Rock who closed the evening with some slick hip-hop beats to the delight of the fans in the house.  I'll have more pics to come so stay tuned for that!

After a few years in hiatus, the FIGHT NIGHT series makes its return in grand fashion.  Will you be one of the many going FTW and challenging for a shot at the Online World Championship?  More details on that to come, but for now, get your copy when it hits the stores this week and meet me, sk88z, online on XBL if you're up for the challenge!