Wwf Smackdown! (Video Game)

Aggregate score
GameRankings	87%
Review scores
AllGame
EGM	8.75/10
Eurogamer	9/10
Famitsu	27/40
Game Informer	9/10
GameFan	90%
GameRevolution	A−
GameSpot	8.7/10
IGN	8.8/10
Next Generation
OPM (US)

WWF SmackDown!
WWF SmackDown!
	NTSC cover art featuring Chyna, The Rock, Billy Gunn and Mankind
Developer(s)	Yuke's
Publisher(s)	WW: THQ; JP: Yuke's;
Director(s)	Toshihiko Kitazawa
Designer(s)	Toshihiko Kitazawa; Daisuke Doi; Osamu Hashimoto
Artist(s)	Taku Chihaya
Composer(s)	Masafumi Ogata; Kei Morioka; Rei Shimizu
Series	SmackDown!
Platform(s)	PlayStation
Release	NA: 2 March 2000; EU: 14 April 2000; JP: 3 August 2000;
Genre(s)	Sports
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Short description: 2000 professional wrestling video game

WWF SmackDown!, known in Japan as Exciting Pro Wrestling (エキサイティングプロレス, Ekisaitingu Puro Resu), 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 weekly SmackDown! television program. Originally released on 2 March 2000,^[2] the game received a direct sequel released several months later, entitled WWF SmackDown! 2.

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 game's main 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. 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. 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.^[3] 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.^[4]

Reception

WWF SmackDown! received favorable reviews according to video game review aggregator GameRankings.^[5] Daniel Erickson of NextGen was positive to the controls, graphics, and game modes such as Season and Referee mode, but criticized its "shallow" arcade-like quality and create-a-wrestler mode.^[15] In Japan, however, Famitsu gave it a score of 27 out of 40.^[10]

Lamchop of GamePro called SmackDown better than Acclaim's WWF Attitude in terms of graphics and "speedier" gameplay, but thought that Attitude has its full commentary and character voices than the former.^[17]^{[lower-alpha 2]} In another review, The D-Pad Destroyer praised the Season mode and called the title "one of the best wrestling games in the history".^[18]^{[lower-alpha 3]}

The game was a bestseller in the UK upon release,^[19] and again three months later.^[20] It also received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),^[21] indicating sales of at least 300,000 units in the UK.^[22]

Notes

↑ Two critics of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game each a score of 9/10, and two others gave it each a score of 8.5/10.
↑ GamePro gave the game 5/5 for graphics, 3/5 for sound, 4/5 for control, and 4.5/5 for fun factor in one review.
↑ GamePro gave the game two 4.5/5 scores for graphics and fun factor, 3.5/5 for sound, and 4/5 for control in another review.

References

↑ "CTW Game Guide". Computer Trade Weekly (United Kingdom) (785): 34. 14 April 2000.
↑ Sabga, Chris (29 February 2000). "THQ's WWF Smackdown to be released on March 2 for PSX". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/03/01/thqs-wwf-smackdown-to-be-released-on-march-2-for-psx.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Nix, Marc (1 March 2000). "WWF Smackdown". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/03/02/wwf-smackdown.
↑ Bixenspan, David (20 October 2017). "We've Basically Been Playing The Same WWE Video Game For Over 15 Years". G/O Media. https://kotaku.com/weve-basically-been-playing-the-same-wwe-video-game-for-1819712776.
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 "WWF Smackdown! for PlayStation". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamerankings.com/ps/199349-wwf-smackdown/index.html.
↑ Ottoson, Joe. "WWF SmackDown! - Review". All Media Network. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=22623&tab=review.
↑ Hsu, Dan "Shoe"; Hager, Dean; Boyer, Crispin; Smith, Shawn (April 2000). "WWF SmackDown!". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (129): 166. https://retrocdn.net/images/4/4f/EGM_US_129.pdf. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
↑ Grant, Jules (31 March 2000). "WWF Smackdown [sic"]. Greedy Productions Ltd.. http://www.elecplay.com/review.html?article=2305&full=1#mr_toppy.
↑ Ellis, Keith "DNM" (24 April 2000). "WWF Smackdown". Gamer Network. https://www.eurogamer.net/wwfs-psx.
↑ ^10.0 ^10.1 "エキサイティングプロレス" (in ja). Famitsu (Enterbrain). https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=8649&redirect=no. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
↑ McNamara, Andy; Fitzloff, Jay; Reiner, Andrew (April 2000). "WWF Smackdown". Game Informer (FuncoLand) (84). http://gameinformer.com/reviews/review_detail.cfm?ITEM_ID=4187. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
↑ Mears, Rick (2 March 2000). "REVIEW for WWF Smackdown". GameFan (Shinno Media). http://gamefan.com/repre.asp?g=1437&t=r. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
↑ Dodson, Joe (March 2000). "WWF Smackdown Review". CraveOnline. https://www.gamerevolution.com/review/34091-wwf-smackdown-review.
↑ Gerstmann, Jeff (2 March 2000). "WWF SmackDown! Review". Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/wwf-smackdown-review/1900-2549366/.
↑ ^15.0 ^15.1 Erickson, Daniel (May 2000). "WWF Smackdown [sic"]. NextGen (Imagine Media) (65): 101. https://archive.org/details/NextGen65May2000/page/n101/mode/2up. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
↑ Rybicki, Joe (April 2000). "WWF SmackDown!". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (Ziff Davis) 3 (7): 89. https://archive.org/details/official-us-playstation-magazine-issue-31-april-2000/page/n85/mode/2up. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
↑ Lamchop (April 2000). "WWF SmackDown!". GamePro (IDG) (139): 86. https://retrocdn.net/images/d/d6/GamePro_US_139.pdf. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
↑ The D-Pad Destroyer (24 April 2000). "WWF SmackDown! Review for PlayStation on GamePro.com". GamePro (IDG). http://gamepro.com/sony/psx/games/reviews/4985.shtml. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
↑ "Game Charts". Official UK PlayStation Magazine (Future Publishing) (61). August 2000.
↑ "Game Charts". Official UK PlayStation Magazine (Future Publishing) (64). November 2000.
↑ "ELSPA Sales Awards: Platinum". http://www.elspa.com/?i=3944.
↑ Caoili, Eric (26 November 2008). "ELSPA: Wii Fit, Mario Kart Reach Diamond Status In UK". Informa. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/pc/elspa-i-wii-fit-mario-kart-i-reach-diamond-status-in-uk.

External links

WWF SmackDown! at MobyGames

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[8] Two critics of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game each a score of 9/10, and two others gave it each a score of 8.5/10.

[19] GamePro gave the game 5/5 for graphics, 3/5 for sound, 4/5 for control, and 4.5/5 for fun factor in one review.

[21] GamePro gave the game two 4.5/5 scores for graphics and fun factor, 3.5/5 for sound, and 4/5 for control in another review.

[1] "CTW Game Guide". Computer Trade Weekly (United Kingdom) (785): 34. 14 April 2000.

[2] Sabga, Chris (29 February 2000). "THQ's WWF Smackdown to be released on March 2 for PSX". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/03/01/thqs-wwf-smackdown-to-be-released-on-march-2-for-psx.

[IGN-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Nix, Marc (1 March 2000). "WWF Smackdown". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/03/02/wwf-smackdown.

[4] Bixenspan, David (20 October 2017). "We've Basically Been Playing The Same WWE Video Game For Over 15 Years". G/O Media. https://kotaku.com/weve-basically-been-playing-the-same-wwe-video-game-for-1819712776.

[GRankings-5] 5.0 ^5.1 "WWF Smackdown! for PlayStation". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamerankings.com/ps/199349-wwf-smackdown/index.html.

[6] Ottoson, Joe. "WWF SmackDown! - Review". All Media Network. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=22623&tab=review.

[7] Hsu, Dan "Shoe"; Hager, Dean; Boyer, Crispin; Smith, Shawn (April 2000). "WWF SmackDown!". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (129): 166. https://retrocdn.net/images/4/4f/EGM_US_129.pdf. Retrieved 6 October 2023.

[9] Grant, Jules (31 March 2000). "WWF Smackdown [sic"]. Greedy Productions Ltd.. http://www.elecplay.com/review.html?article=2305&full=1#mr_toppy.

[10] Ellis, Keith "DNM" (24 April 2000). "WWF Smackdown". Gamer Network. https://www.eurogamer.net/wwfs-psx.

[Fam-11] 10.0 ^10.1 "エキサイティングプロレス" (in ja). Famitsu (Enterbrain). https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=8649&redirect=no. Retrieved 6 October 2023.

[12] McNamara, Andy; Fitzloff, Jay; Reiner, Andrew (April 2000). "WWF Smackdown". Game Informer (FuncoLand) (84). http://gameinformer.com/reviews/review_detail.cfm?ITEM_ID=4187. Retrieved 10 February 2015.

[13] Mears, Rick (2 March 2000). "REVIEW for WWF Smackdown". GameFan (Shinno Media). http://gamefan.com/repre.asp?g=1437&t=r. Retrieved 10 February 2015.

[14] Dodson, Joe (March 2000). "WWF Smackdown Review". CraveOnline. https://www.gamerevolution.com/review/34091-wwf-smackdown-review.

[15] Gerstmann, Jeff (2 March 2000). "WWF SmackDown! Review". Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/wwf-smackdown-review/1900-2549366/.

[NGen-16] 15.0 ^15.1 Erickson, Daniel (May 2000). "WWF Smackdown [sic"]. NextGen (Imagine Media) (65): 101. https://archive.org/details/NextGen65May2000/page/n101/mode/2up. Retrieved 6 October 2023.

[17] Rybicki, Joe (April 2000). "WWF SmackDown!". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (Ziff Davis) 3 (7): 89. https://archive.org/details/official-us-playstation-magazine-issue-31-april-2000/page/n85/mode/2up. Retrieved 6 October 2023.

[18] Lamchop (April 2000). "WWF SmackDown!". GamePro (IDG) (139): 86. https://retrocdn.net/images/d/d6/GamePro_US_139.pdf. Retrieved 6 October 2023.

[20] The D-Pad Destroyer (24 April 2000). "WWF SmackDown! Review for PlayStation on GamePro.com". GamePro (IDG). http://gamepro.com/sony/psx/games/reviews/4985.shtml. Retrieved 6 October 2023.

[22] "Game Charts". Official UK PlayStation Magazine (Future Publishing) (61). August 2000.

[23] "Game Charts". Official UK PlayStation Magazine (Future Publishing) (64). November 2000.

[24] "ELSPA Sales Awards: Platinum". http://www.elspa.com/?i=3944.

[25] Caoili, Eric (26 November 2008). "ELSPA: Wii Fit, Mario Kart Reach Diamond Status In UK". Informa. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/pc/elspa-i-wii-fit-mario-kart-i-reach-diamond-status-in-uk.