AEWis quickly establishing itself as a good alternative toWWEprogramming. It’s enjoyed several weeks beatingWWE NXTin the ratings. The wrestling company’s success means that they have secured another three years on the TNT network and there’s another weekly show coming for fans to enjoy.
RELATED:The 10 Worst Wrestling Games Of The Decade (According To Metacritic)
The time is right for AEW to take on WWE in the gaming market too. After the unforgivably badWWE 2K20,wrestling fans a good alternative more than ever before. AEW’s Kenny Omega has been very vocal about making sure that a quality AEW game is on the cards, so let’s take a look at 5 developers who should make it and 5 that shouldn’t.
10Shouldn’t: 2K Sports Visual Concepts
After Yuke’s left 2K Sports the reigns for theWWE 2Kfranchise was handed over to 2K’s Visual Concepts. Unfortunately, the transition was far from smooth andWWE 2K20was a disaster with anuncountable number of bugsthat are still plaguing the game three months after launch.
However, it’s not just the game’s bugs that are the problem. Visual Concepts unnecessarily remapped the button configuration under the pretense of a new control system, making the gameplay feel awkward and clumsy. Additionally, the number of legends have been reduced in favor of the ridiculousOriginalscontent featuring cartoonish arenas, characters, and magical special moves. It’s the silliest and most badly conceived wrestling title since theMortal KombatcloneWWF Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game.
9Should: Square-Enix
Square-Enix is better known for developing the world’s biggest high budget RPG franchises with the likes ofFinal FantasyandDragon Quest.However, after the studio produced and published some of the most well-known RPGs they wanted to expand their horizons with theAll-Star Pro-Wrestlingfranchise.
Reception for the first entry was mixed butAll-Star Pro-Wrestling IIandAll-Star Pro-Wresting IIIwere leaps and bounds above their predecessor. As a result, the Japan-only wrestling series became a favorite among importers that wanted a more authentic wrestling game. Square-Enix has been out of the wrestling game business for nearly twenty years but they showed an aptitude for making a good wrestling sim and worked hard to bring fans a better product with its initial sequels.
8Shouldn’t: Midway Games
Midway Games were better known for theirMortal Kombatfighting game series. Midway are no more but the team continues under the name NetheRealm Studios. While the team is great at making stylized fighting games it wasn’t a good fit for wrestling.
Midway helped develop the abysmalWWF Wrestlemania: The Arcade Gamewhich was essentially a really badMortal Kombatclone featured digitized wrestlers. The game was filled with silly finishing moves and special abilities and wasn’t really a wrestling title at all.
7Should: Electronic Arts
It’s fair to say that Electronic Arts doesn’t have the best reputation for publishing some of the worst wrestling games ever made withWCW MayhemandWCW Backstage Assault.It’s worth keeping in mind, however, that EA only published those games they were developed by Kodiak Interactive.
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In recent years, EA has produced in-ring sports games like theFight Nightboxing series andEA’s UFCseries. It’s true that there have been some missteps with the company after the loot box and microtransactions controversy, but EA worked hard to make their UFC titles better post-launch. They consistently added improvements to the game and tweaked the engine and physics for a better experience. The company even added fighters, fighting styles, and animations to the roster long after its release. This is the exact kind of support wrestling game fans could only dream they had from theWWE 2Kseries.
6Shouldn’t: Acclaim
Before THQ took over producing and publishing games for the WWF/WWE in 1999, Acclaim had been developing and publishing WWE games since the 90s. Unfortunately, even when using a 3D engine their gaming engine remained outdated and couldn’t compete with AKI’s wrestling games.
Acclaim would go on to develop the awful ECW wrestling games and theLegends of Wrestlingseries – which a great idea badly executed. Acclaim, unfortunately, went into bankruptcy so the likelihood of anyone involved with the company’s wrestling titles will ever make another game in the genre are very slim.
5Should: Yuke’s
Yuke’sare best known to gamers as being responsible for developing more WWE wrestling games than anyone else. Their last game wasWWE 2K19before 2K in-house team over with the disastrousWWE 2K20.
WWE 2k19was one of the studio’s best recent efforts but it was clear their creativity was restricted by the constraints of a yearly release schedule. One only has to look at their work on the Japan-onlyWrestle Kingdomseries to see Yuke’s passion for wrestling and have the potential to be a great developer for an AEW game.
4Shouldn’t: Inland Productions
Inland Productions were a small studio that produced two wrestling games under the THQ banner. These games wereWCW NitroandWCW/nWo Thunderwhich were released in 1998 and 1999 respectively. They were released on the PlayStation, PC, and N64.
Fans of the AKI-developed titles likeWCW vs. the WorldandWCW vs. nWo: World Tourwould have been forgiven for assuming this series was going to be the same quality. Unfortunately, Inland Productions had no idea what it takes to make a wrestling game. Not only were the controls awful but the wrestlers had identical moves where players need to executeMortal Kombat-like button commands to pull them off.
3Should: Syn Sophia, Inc. - AKI Corporation
AKI is responsible for making some of the greatest wrestling games ever developed. Their Nintendo 64 games ranging fromWCW vs. nWo: World Tourup toWWF No Mercyis still played by fans of the series today. This is because the AKI engine was not only accessible for everyone but it was incredibly deep and a true representation of wrestling on TV.
RELATED:10 N64 Games That Deserve A Remake
It could be argued that the AKI-developed games were so good that they helped promote WCW to non-wrestling fans, the same could concept could work for AEW too. The only thing that keeps AKI/Syn Sophia from the top spot is that they haven’t developed a licensed wrestling game for nearly twenty years afterWWF No Mercyand theUltimate Muscleseries.
2Shouldn’t: Anchor Inc.
Anchor Inc. developed the very firstUFCgame in 1996 and the firstPride FCgame for the PS2. The reaction for the developer’s venture in the MMA genre was met with a mixed reaction and their experience in that field didn’t translate well into the wrestling genre.
Achor Inc. releasedWWE RawandWWE Raw 2in 2002 and 2003 respectively, It was meant to run alongside theWWE Smackdownseries on the PS2 offering fans an alternative experience. TheRawseries had better visuals than the PS2 equivalent, but the gameplay was just awful. Trying to control the wrestlers was made difficult by the flimsy controls and totally off-point targeting system.
1Should: Spike Chunsoft
In terms of their wrestling titles, developers Spike Chunsoft are better known for their long-runningFire Pro Wrestlingseries. They are 2D wrestling games with some of the best and most complex wrestling mechanics and create-a-wrestler features ever seen in a game. Gamers can even go as far as adjusting a wrestler’s logic and artificial intelligence to emulate their favorite wrestler’s behavior. Spike is unrivaled when it comes to their passion for wrestling simulations.
However as good as it is, a 2D wrestling game probably wouldn’t sell as well as AEW would hope. Thankfully,Fire Proisn’t their only venture into wrestling game business, as they developed the incredible Japan-only 3DKing of Colosseumseries.KoCplays very similarly toFire Prowith its Puroreso-style control scheme allowing for unpredictably competitive and satisfying matches, perfect for an AEW game. It’s also interesting that support forFPW Worldends this year so the stars could be aligning for Spike to make a 3D AEW game.AEW’s Kenny Omega already had a big hand in promotingFPW: Worldin Japan so the potential working relationship is already in place.
NEXT:5 Things WWE 2K20 Does Better Than Fire Pro Wrestling World (&5 It Doesn’t)
