EA Sports has disclosed a new contestant for UFC 5 and this contestant is the welterweight Daniel ‘D-Rod’ Rodriguez, bringing along the so-called ‘L.A. grit’ that EA Sports commented on. In a tweet, the company declared him ‘Tough. Technical. Unshakable.’ and also provided a stats graphic indicating his in-game ratings. As for the reaction from the gaming community? To say it mildly, it has been a cocktail of excitement, confusion, and an avalanche of requests for other fighters to be added.
Therefore, the news has come out that Daniel Rodriguez is now a playable character in EA Sports UFC 5. The latest patch allows for the incorporation of his appearance, fighting style, and attributes into the current fighter lineup. For the fans who closely follow the UFC, D-Rod is termed as a powerful striker with a lot of legitimate wins, like his victory over Kevin Holland, which one of the commenters speculated to be ‘prolly the only reason they added him.’ According to the game’s statistics, he has a 4-star rating, 91 for striking, and 91 for footwork; these numbers were the instant cause of the debate to start.
And the debate is the place to be. The remarks on EA’s notification are not only a manifestation but also a demonstration what players really expect from a sports video game update. It is not just a matter of adding one player; it is about the whole lineup together with its realism and the community’s voice being acknowledged. The gaming community is so enthusiastic that a big number of the comments are simply names of fighters that people want to see in the game—like, pronto.
One user, xminioneq did not hide his feelings: ‘Poop!! Where is Waldo Cortes Acosta, Patricio Pitbull, Joel Alvarez, Zalal, Vinicious Oliveira, Robocop, Shamil Gaziev? There are many better fighters but you are adding someshit to this game.’ Ouch. That was the sentiment mirrored by GraizenzzFN who shared the names of fighters in a huge list including Zhang Mingyang, Aaron Pico, and the Pitbulls. The further the need for newer or more famous fighters not yet present in the game becomes.
The ratings debate is yet another conflict. The majority of the players believe that giving Rodríguez a 4-star rating is very generous. ‘4 stars for Daniel Rodriguez is a mockery to the sport,’ was the remark from jordangumpy. Another user, Sonny_hnt, expressed his sarcasm and stated that Rodriguez should be given a ‘2.5.’ The value of 91 for footwork was questioned too, with Captain Andy commenting, ‘lol 91 footwork? He is the definition of flat footed.’ It clearly shows that the fight fans are very passionate about and indeed their attention to detail is so good that they can easily spot the discrepancy between virtual stats and real-life perception.
But wait, what was my point? Ah yes, the soap opera is far from over. Some comments refer to things that happen behind closed doors, for example, Deez saying that Rodriguez got added ‘while sitting in jail.’ It started a discussion with posts about the rumors of his legal problems. It is indeed a peculiar side note for an update.
And the demand for a new game that is still very loud is amidst all those comments. ‘Cool….give us a new game,’ tweeted getslapped803. This demand is somewhat related to a general dissatisfaction some players have with the EA UFC series. One, much down the lines of a thread, even brought up the old THQ days again: ‘No EA UFC game has ever been worth $14. UFC Undisputed 3… stands as the greatest MMA game ever made.’ That is a wound that has been festering for a decade.
The other requests were more about gameplay fixing than bringing in new faces. ‘Fix the grappling mechanics in the next UFC game,’ was wlvlv’s request. Moreover, there were specific asks for legacy fighters like ‘Prime Rory Mcdonld and John Lineker!’ from mma_lads. It’s a mixed-up community that’s shouting from a hundred different directions at once—some want current champs updated, some want legends, some want mechanics overhauled.
So, what does all this imply for UFC 5? The inclusion of Daniel Rodriguez is a routine roster update, the kind of thing sports games do all the time. However, the reaction is a very loud and clear message to EA: the player base is keeping an eye on things and they have a very specific and a very long wishlist. They feel neglected; for instance, paulzakkcraig explicitly stated ‘noone asked for this, you ignore fan recommendations AND you haven’t even updated the champs.’ That is the very core of the issue.
A fighter update is, after all, supposed to create some buzz around the gaming community on platforms like PlayStation and Xbox.
