Ready 2 Rumble: 10tacle brings it back for another bout

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Sunday, 04 March 2007 14:40

Your IT - Entertainment

Popular as a humorous boxing game in the days of the Sega Dreamcast and the N64, featuring wisecracks and caricatures of famous people fighting it out in the ring, 10tacle studios is bringing it back to have another crack at the title.

Set to be released for ‘various videogame platforms’, Ready 2 Rumble is a boxing game that seems to have been loved by some for its humor, but derided by others who prefer ‘real’ boxing games such as Fight Night. The game offers caricatures of numerous celebrities who take to the ring, where “they have to prove their fighting spirit in battles of epically hilarious proportions”, says the press release. They also promise the new version will have “excellent animation, action-packed moves and ironic commentary have already made the predecessors top-sellers and provided enduring gaming fun”.

Now, 10tacle Studios, the licensor ‘The Buffer Partnership’, executive producer ‘Stereo Mode’ and Japanese firm AKI corporation have announced that they are bring the game back, with no specific release date set as yet.

The Buffer Partnership involves Michael Buffer, who is apparently “the most famous boxing ring announcer in history”. His famous line is in opening massive international boxing events with the catch-cry “Let's Get Ready to Rumble”.

Given the game’s popularity after having sold nearly three million copies worldwide, with 10tacle claiming that  “the two predecessors are among the most successful games in the boxing genre”, 10tacle have clearly decided, Rocky Balboa-style, to have another crack at a successful boxing career.

AKI Corporation will be doing the actual development, and have hits such as ‘'Def Jam' and 'WWF Wrestlemania' to their name to back up their game creation credentials, and unsurprisingly, 10tacle expect the game will sell well as they have forecast a game distribution (and supposedly sales) turnover of more than US $20 million by 2010, although that will clearly depend on the quality of the game itself.

According to the press release, 10tacle Studios AG CEO Michele Pes gives his reasoning why: “With the release of 'Ready 2 Rumble' 10tacle Studio AG is focusing on one of the major game brands in the market. The family-friendly, humorous realisation of the boxing sport is unique and an ideal supplement to our product portfolio.”

Well, we can only hope, for 10tacle’s sake, that the game is well and truly a knockout.