UFC Undisputed Hits a Sophomore Slump?

The breakout hit of 2009, both in sales and acclaim, UFC Undisputed 2010 followed up with plenty of strong reviews but nowhere near the cash register performance of its predecessor, according to an analyst.

Gamasutra notes that Lazard Capital Markets says UFC Undisputed 2010 is “tracking below our expectations at retail,” and mentioned that Amazon cut the game’s price to $39 after just a week on sale. Generally such things aren’t done because people are busting down the doors for the game.

This despite Metacritic ratings in the mid-80s and generally strong performance by the fighting circuit it represents. This first-blush look at UFC Undisputed’s performance was enough for the firm to drop revenue estimates for THQ this quarter by $4 million.

UFC 2009 Undisputed sold more than 3.5 million units and dominated its first month of release; Of course, UFC Undisputed 2010 has to contend with Red Dead Redemption, whereas last year’s game went head-to-head against a disappointing Bionic Commando and preceded PS3 exclusive inFamous by a week.

Analyst: UFC Undisputed 2010 Performance ‘Below Expectations’ [Gamasutra]