Wow, I remember playing Fight Night back on my Commodore 64, things sure have changed since then.

-Electronic Arts Inc. announced today that EA SPORTS™ Fight Night Champion is now available in North America and will launch worldwide on March 4, 2011. Fight Night Champion is an intense and deep new mature experience that builds on the rich legacy of the Fight Night series, which is one of the most critically acclaimed sports franchises of the past five years.

“The EA SPORTS Fight Night franchise has consistently pushed the boundaries of innovation in sports videogames, from ushering in the new console generation in 2006 with Fight Night Round 3, to Fight Night Round 4 which introduced real world physics to the franchise two years ago”

Fight Night Champion features new gameplay innovation that delivers the rawness and brutality of the most realistic boxing simulation ever created. The title is packed with a deep menu of new modes and features, including: the all-new cinematic, narrative-driven Champion Mode; more than 50 licensed boxers including Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao; Full Spectrum Punch Control; the deepest career mode yet, Online Gyms, and much more.

“The EA SPORTS Fight Night franchise has consistently pushed the boundaries of innovation in sports videogames, from ushering in the new console generation in 2006 with Fight Night Round 3, to Fight Night Round 4 which introduced real world physics to the franchise two years ago,” said Dale Jackson, General Manager, Fighting, EA SPORTS. “Fight Night Champion advances the critically-acclaimed series with genre-defining new gameplay innovation, a deep feature set and an all new type of experience for the EA SPORTS gamer.”

Champion Mode brings cinematic storytelling to the Fight Night franchise and is the first such story mode in EA SPORTS history. Written by Academy Award®-nominated screenwriter Will Rokos, Champion Mode allows players to step into the shoes of up-and-coming middleweight prospect, Andre Bishop, as he discovers that the road to becoming a champion in professional boxing is one that is filled with corruption, personal struggle and more than just what happens between the ropes.

Fight Night Champion also introduces a host of gameplay improvements. The refined punching system, dubbed “Full Spectrum Punch Control”, brings the most accessible and responsive controls ever to a Fight Night title. A new anaerobic stamina system tracks individual muscle groups separately, punishing a player’s overdependence on a single punch and encourages combination punching and diligent stamina management. In addition, improved visuals, multiple control schemes, realistic damage, boxer-specific animations and multiple stun states round out the key gameplay improvements players will experience in Fight Night Champion.

Fight Night Champion is available for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. The game has been rated M by the ESRB, and 16+ by PEGI. The Fight Night Champion demo is currently available on Xbox LIVE™ and the PlayStation®Network. For more information, log onto www.easports.com/fightnight.