During the turn of the century, fighting games were shifting to an interesting spot after dominating the ’90s during the arcade era. Beginning with WCW vs the World in 1997, AKI Corporation developed several titles for both the WCW and WWE, most notably No Mercy and Wrestlemania 2000, to critical acclaim for wrestling and fighting games alike.
When the WWE license expired following No Mercy, AKI would develop the fighting engine for Def Jam Vendetta, combining the tried and true wrestling formula that the company was known for with the eccentric flair of notable hip-hop figureheads. Following critical acclaim, the company would release Def Jam: Fight For NY a year later, forgoing the traditional wrestling environment to a gritty brawler that receives praise to this day.
With Fight for NY nearing its 18th anniversary, it remains one of the best fighting game titles of the ’00s according to many players who grew up with the title. Video game artist and fighting game fan, BossLogic, recently designed proposed posters of future Def Jam titles that fit well with the aesthetic the games provided.
BossLogic is no stranger to creating video game posters in the past, which was enough to lead him in charge of creating the official Mortal Kombat movie poster for IMAX. His previous work, including the poster, was enough to get the attention of Ed Boon, who he would tag in the Def Jam mock-up posters for his attention.
Unfortunately, Fight for NY would be the final title in the Def Jam series that AKI would develop, following a PSP port released in 2006, as EA Chicago would work on the next entry in the franchise. Released in 2007, Def Jam Icon was universally panned, citing extreme gameplay differences that completely replaced its wrestling origins, utilizing the same engine featured in Fight Night Round 3 instead.
Over the past year, the Def Jam series had been the subject of discourse among players due to the controversy surrounding the record label themselves. Last August, Def Jam teased “new information involving a new game” if fans were able to get the official Twitter account to 1 million followers. Within a week through word of mouth and hype, the account reached that milestone quickly, yet it has since failed to follow up with its promise. Many fans took this as the company using a trending topic to generate buzz and nothing more.
This wouldn’t be the first time Def Jam itself had acknowledged the fanbase of the fighting games, teasing promotional fan posters of potential titles in the past. Patient fans who continued to hold on to the hope of a future title with gameplay elements of Vendetta will have a lot to look forward to with the announcement of the AEW game, led by Def Jam series director Hideyuki “Geta” Iwashita. While the AEW game may not be a new entry in the Def Jam series, but it may be the closest fans will experience soon enough.
