NJPW News: NJPW working with Fire Pro Wrestling for PS4 Game
What’s the Story?
New Japan Pro Wrestling announced at the Great Pro Wrestling Festival 2018 event that they will collaborate with Fire Pro Wrestling World to bring the real names and looks of their roster to the game.
In Case You Didn’t Know
NJPW’s popularity has grown exponentially over the past few years, but fans wishing to play as various wrestlers from NJPW typically had to recreate the wrestlers using the “Create-a-Wrestler” mode in WWE 2K video games.
The Heart of the Matter
Spike Chunsoft, the company that produces the video game, plans to include a variety of match types and special features for online play, tournaments, leagues, and customization similar to WWE 2K video games.
In addition to characters on the NJPW roster, gamers will also have a story mode that has wrestlers begin as young newcomers and work their way up to competing for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship – much like “My Career” mode in WWE 2K games has wrestler begin as rookies and work their way up to fighting for the WWE Championship.
Fire Pro Wrestling World is a part of the Fire Pro Wrestling video game series that dates back to the first video game, Fire Pro Wrestling Combination Tag which came out for the PC and virtual console for Japan in 1989 and was released later on in March 2007.
The Fire Pro Wrestling Series has released several games on the PC, PlayStation, Gameboy, and the Sega Saturn over the years, but the last game to come out from the Fire Pro Wrestling series aside from Fire Pro Wrestling World was Fire Pro Wrestling for the Xbox 360 in 2012.
What’s Next?
Fire Pro Wrestling World launched on Steam on July 11, 2017, and had a full release for PC on December 18. The PS4 edition of the game is expected for Summer 2018.
Author’s Take
Fans who’ve wished for an alternative to WWE video games will now have their opportunity to try their hand with some of the NJPW’s finest.