WWF SmackDown! (video game)

WWF SmackDown! (also called Exciting Pro Wrestling in Japan) is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and released for the PlayStation by THQ. It is based on the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and is named after the company's SmackDown! television program. Originally released in March 2000, the game received a direct sequel released several months later, WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role.

WWF SmackDown!
NTSC cover art featuring Chyna, The Rock, Billy Gunn and Mankind
Developer(s)Yuke's
Publisher(s)
SeriesSmackDown!
Platform(s)PlayStation
Release
  • NA: 2 March 2000
  • EU: 14 April 2000[1]
  • JP: 3 August 2000
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

The first WWF game on the PlayStation to be published by THQ, SmackDown! marked the start of a long running series of WWE video games from THQ, then continued by 2K Sports and rebranded as WWE 2K. The game was also re-released under the Greatest Hits budget range.

Gameplay

The story mode contains three main parts, first with the Pre-Season (for created wrestlers), but after ten in-game years of playing the Pre-Season, players are allowed to skip it. However, the season mode is nearly impossible to complete. By playing and advancing in the season modes players gain rewards such as unlockables or attires, but instead of unlocking new characters, players unlock new body parts to put on new creations, to play as that "unlocked" character. Once players build a creation, they must fight in a Pre-Season year to build their skills and make their alliances. Once players finish the Pre-Season, they can never replay it without deleting the custom wrestler, and friends and foes for a creation are set in stone. The story mode contains no voice-overs, instead the characters meet each other backstage with mouths that move to no voice and on-screen cutscene text. The game also lacks play-by-play color commentary.

WWF SmackDown! has many match types including Single, Tag Team, Hardcore, Steel Cage and many more.[2] The game features the late 1999 WWF roster following SmackDown!'s premiere including the then-newcomers The Dudley Boyz.

Development

Yuke's, the developer of SmackDown! had previously created the Toukon Retsuden series of wrestling games in Japan for New Japan Pro Wrestling. Despite this, the game engine used in SmackDown! is not based on contemporary Toukon Retsuden titles, but rather The Pro Wrestling, a title developed by Yuke's as part of D3 Publisher's Simple series and released several months in Japan beforehand.[3]

Reception

WWF SmackDown! received "favorable" reviews according to video game review aggregator GameRankings.[4]

The game was a bestseller in the UK upon release,[15] and again three months later.[16] The PlayStation version of WWF SmackDown! received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),[17] indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[18]

Daniel Erickson reviewed the PlayStation version of the game for Next Generation, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "While not quite in the same realm as WrestleMania 2000, this is the best PSX wrestler to date."[13]

References
  1. "CTW Game Guide". Computer Trade Weekly. No. 785. United Kingdom. 14 April 2000. p. 34.
  2. Nix, Marc (1 March 2000). "WWF Smackdown". IGN. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  3. Bixenspan, David (October 20, 2017). "We've Basically Been Playing The Same WWE Video Game For Over 15 Years". Kotaku. Univision. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  4. "WWF Smackdown! for PlayStation". GameRankings. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
  5. Ottoson, Joe. "WWF SmackDown! - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  6. "WWF SmackDown!". Electronic Gaming Monthly. 2000.
  7. Ellis, Keith "DNM" (24 April 2000). "WWF Smackdown". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 7 January 2001. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  8. McNamara, Andy; Fitzloff, Jay; Reiner, Andrew (27 April 2000). "WWF Smackdown". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 21 October 2000. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  9. Mears, Rick (2 March 2000). "REVIEW for WWF Smackdown". GameFan. Archived from the original on 6 June 2000. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  10. The D-Pad Destroyer (24 April 2000). "WWF SmackDown! Review for PlayStation on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on 9 February 2005. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  11. Dodson, Joe (March 2000). "WWF Smackdown Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  12. Gerstmann, Jeff (2 March 2000). "WWF SmackDown! Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  13. Erickson, Daniel (May 2000). "Finals". Next Generation. Vol. 3 no. 5. Imagine Media. p. 101.
  14. "WWF SmackDown!". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. 2000.
  15. UK PlayStation sales chart, August 2000, published in Official UK PlayStation Magazine issue 61
  16. UK PlayStation sales chart, November 2000, published in Official UK PlayStation Magazine issue 64
  17. "ELSPA Sales Awards: Platinum". Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 15 May 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  18. Caoili, Eric (26 November 2008). "ELSPA: Wii Fit, Mario Kart Reach Diamond Status In UK". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017.
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