''UFC Personal Trainer: The Ultimate Fitness System'' is a fighting and fitness video game created by

THQ THQ Inc. was an American video game company based in Agoura Hills, California. It was founded in April 1990 by Jack Friedman, originally in Calabasas, and became a public company the following year through a reverse merger takeover. Initial ...

, based on the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

. The game requires the

Kinect Kinect is a discontinued line of motion sensing input devices produced by Microsoft and first released in 2010. The devices generally contain RGB color model, RGB cameras, and Thermographic camera, infrared projectors and detectors that map dep ...

accessory for the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

version and the

PlayStation Move is a Motion controller, motion game controller developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Initially released in 2010 for use with the PlayStation 3 home video game console, its compatibility was later expanded to its successor, the PlayStation ...

and PlayStation Eye Camera for the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

version. The

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...

version does not require any additional accessories to play.

Gameplay

The game consists of training instructions within three separate sections from three champion UFC fighters and trainers: Mark Delagrotte, Greg Jackson, and Javier Mendez. They start with a warm up, followed by stretching, and then the workout the player has selected from the menu under their section, ending with a cool down stretching period. The instructors give tips, instructions, and encouragement throughout the entire workout. There are also occasionally jokes, such as when Javier Mendez asks if you "need time to wipe your tears" when you pause the game mid-workout. The player can work out alone or side-by-side with a partner. The player sets up their account using their height and weight and fitness level during a sequence called "The Official Weigh In with

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who is the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at . Out ...

". This includes a short fitness test which can be retaken. There are workouts under each of the three UFC fighters as well as preset 30 or 60 day workouts. The game also contains an option to make customized workouts called "The Customized Workout with Dana White". As the player progresses, there are prizes and trophies they earn and instructional and motivational videos that they unlock. There are also separate activities they can choose for fun or as a break from their work out.

Development

Initially, the development team approached UFC president

, wanting to make a UFC-based exercise product, who suggested they consult with the

National Academy of Sports Medicine The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) is an organization that provides certification, education, and career development opportunities for professionals in the fitness, wellness, and sports industries. Established in 1987, NASM has gained ...

to learn how to exercise safely. He then proposed his three top coaches to work with.

Motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mocap or mo-cap, for short) is the process of recording high-resolution motion (physics), movement of objects or people into a computer system. It is used in Military science, military, entertainment, sports ...

technology was used to capture movements of professional fighters and coaches. Greg Jackson, a UFC trainer, was involved, responsible for the game's

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

(MMA) and

jujitsu Jujutsu ( , or ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu (both ), is a Japanese martial art and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponent ...

elements.

Muay Thai Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...

kickboxer Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid martial art and boxing type based on punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouth guards, shorts, and ...

Mark DellaGrotte and MMA coach Javier Mendez were responsible for the game's kickboxing segments. Scott Ramsdell, working for the National Academy of Sports Medicine, was responsible for the exercise routines. While the game is "not exclusively for men, it is tailored for men,"

director of production William Schmidt explained.

Reception

The game received "mixed or average reviews" on all platforms according to the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

's review stated that the Xbox 360 version offers the most exhausting workout in video games, but bugs, repetitive programs, and overlong stretching periods cause the player to "tire for the wrong reasons."

References

External links

* * {{Heavy Iron Studios 2011 video games Heavy Iron Studios games Kinect games PlayStation 3 games PlayStation Move-compatible games Single-player video games THQ games Ultimate Fighting Championship video games Video games developed in the United States Wii games Xbox 360 games