Feature By

Chi Kong Lui

We had the opportunity to contact Associate Producer, Erik Wahlberg, and ask a few questions about EA Sports' latest incarnation of Knockout Kings on the PlayStation. Here's what he had to say:

Please explain your title and level of involvement in developing Knockout Kings 2000?

I am the Associate Producer for the PlayStation version of Knockout Kings 2000. Although I have several roles in the position, my main contribution was game design and day-to-day interface with the development team to ensure the game met our schedule and quality standards. The development team, by the way, is internal this year, and they are fantastic. That makes my job that much easier, and is one of the main reasons Knockout Kings 2000 turned out so well.

I was pretty surprised to learn that the PSX version was conceptually different from the N64 version. You have to admit that it's rare for publishers to finance two separate games baring the same name (since porting is usually the norm), so why did it happen and what was the reasoning behind that?

That's a good question and I'm glad you asked, Chi. Looking at the N64 demographics, EA decided to go for an easy-to-play, arcade-like experience for that version. The PSX players tend to be more of our typical "EA SPORTS fan" type, so the PSX was more sim-focused. Which is fine for me, because I am a big fan of boxing and I've always wanted to help deliver the kind of boxing game EA SPORTS fans would want.

Were any actual boxers or boxing experts consulted at any point during development?

Yes. Ex-lightweight champion and current boxing analyst Sean O' Grady was used in the motion-capture this year. We also used some motion-capture from last year that was done by Shane Mosely, Sugar Ray Leonard and Oscar De La Hoya. We also worked with boxing writers to ensure accurate biographies and statistics for the fighters in Knockout Kings 2000. To ensure authenticity in portraying the licensed fighters (proper signature moves, taunts, power ratings etc.), we worked with an ex-boxer (and boxing historian) named Mike Bazzel. We also reviewed many fight tapes and accessed many written documents on the fighters.