RUGBY CHALLENGE 2: THE LIONS TOUR EDITION ANNOUNCED FOR PS3, 360 AND PC
British and Irish Lions roar in rugby union videogame sequel
SYDNEY, Australia – March 20, 2013 – Home Entertainment Suppliers Pty Ltd (HES) announced today the development of Rugby Challenge 2: The Lions Tour Edition for PlayStation®3, Microsoft Xbox 360® and PC, by New Zealand based games developer Sidhe. The sequel product includes myriad new features, improvements and fresh content including the addition of the highly anticipated British and Irish Lions 2013 Tour of Australia.
“We have been very excited to build on the huge success of the original Rugby Challenge” said Sebastian Giompaolo, Managing Director for HES. “Brand new features, expanded and refined gameplay, more options, and additional licenses such as the British and Irish Lions bring this game franchise to a whole new level. This is the definitive rugby union videogame experience”.
The game will be released as Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge 2 in France, All Blacks Rugby Challenge 2 in New Zealand, and Rugby Challenge 2: The Lions Tour Edition in rest of world.
The features and content of Rugby Challenge 2: The Lions Tour Edition include:
• Play in Single Match Mode, multi-team Competition Mode, a vastly expanded multi-year Career Mode, Tutorial Mode, or compete in online multiplayer with support up to 4v4 via PlayStation®Network, Xbox LIVE®, or Steam
• Refined and expanded gameplay with the addition of quick taps, quick lineouts, mauls from lineouts, interceptions, contesting ball at the breakdown, removing players from the ruck, number 8 scrum pickups, and dynamic in game team strategies on both attack and defence
• 110+ teams and 50+ stadia from around the world featured including official team, competition, and special match licenses for the All Blacks, the Qantas Wallabies, the USA Eagles, Bledisloe Cup, British and Irish Lions 2013 Tour of Australia, Barbarians FC, Combined Country, Super Rugby teams, Aviva Premiership Rugby, TOP 14 Orange, Pro D2, RaboDirect PRO12, ITM Cup, and Ranfurly Shield
• More options to create or customise players, teams, and competitions, and change game rules and behaviour to shape the game to play how you want and keep the game fresh year after year
• Revamped sound and commentary systems, with real-time commentary from seasoned rugby commentators Grant Nisbett and former All Black turned commentator Justin Marshall, and French language commentary from Eric Bayle and Thomas Lombard
“It has been a wonderful opportunity to build on the foundation we established with the original game to create a deeper, more engaging, and higher quality experience” said Tyrone McAuley, Technical Director for Sidhe and project vision holder. “Tighter controls, smoother animation, and smarter AI improve the title moment to moment, while additions such as significant new Northern Hemisphere content create a more global and well rounded game”.
Rugby Challenge 2: The Lions Tour Edition will release worldwide for PS3, 360 and PC in midyear 2013. More information and ongoing updates about the game can be found at the official website rugbychallengegame.com.
Guys, this is SUPER news! The first game was great, but lacked some key features of true rugby, I am happy to see some mentioned in here! Very excited! (please let us know how multiplayer will work? Still peer-to-peer?)
Can you get some management into the club level competitions contracts and stuff like that or that you can develop up and coming players. i loved playing the first season then after that it was really repetitive and also try allowing players to move between competitions or maybe let the player disable the “realism factor”. I am a rugby player and this game has the potential to be rugby’s answer to fifa, keep up the good work
Awesome stuff, seems like they corrected all the problem areas…. Only wonder why they have so little international team licenses…. Where is South Africa and the European International teams???
Also see still no 7′s…
Would be awesome to have transfers in career mode-that would be the main thing I would want, an essential for the game! Also maybe a FIFA Ultimate Team style mode, but that’s just a thought!
I have contacted you several times about the absence of a full version of Rugby Challenge for Mac users but you never answer. Do I take it we are to be left out again?
If we haven’t responded we haven’t received them. Support at sidhe.co.nz is the address to email. Rugby Challenge is available for PC, PS3, Xbox 360, and PS VITA. Rugby Challenge 2 will be available for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
please could you guys put in more try dives. all that awesome try dives is not happening. only while the game is loading they do that insane high dive for the try line but when you play the game its not happening. Im really happy for the next one with all the extra stuff like interceptions ect. I just hope that the offloads and the mis passes will be out. so when you play hard the other teams deffence is just spot on and not all that rediculous passes. And could you guys please make the drop kick more like a drop kick and not a kick.Cant wait for the next one!!!!!!!!!!!Thanks a million guys. you kick ea sports ass.
THANK YOU!!! Cannot f####ing wait for this game! Loved your last effort and I’m sure this one will set new records for you guys
Will south african teams be registerd?
This is fantastic!! Your last game although a step up did require alot of work. You’ve most prob already done the gameplay but this is what I think is missing:
Fluid gameplay- rucks are very static nothing like the real game.
The lineout throw in and scrums using the swiping indicator was terrible. Lineouts needs some dummy calls and variations with no ridiculous ball not straight penalties. This happens in a real game like once.
What is also missing is the actual stadiums and national teams (i guess thats licencing issues) also the atmosphere of games. I want to see national chants and songs, the crowd building in intensity as momentum grows better try celebrations with random shots to a group of crowd who i don’t know notice on the big screen they are on tv and go crazy!
I thnk these are being included but set plays are needed and variations in defense styles, such as when your on your own try line defending to have a spread line formation and have a tight formation for the pocket set play, wide tight etc.
The game needs more fluidity. The guys in the team need to watch the wales v england six nation game of this year and capture the intensity fluidity and excitement the rugby game possesses.
Cheers for your great work keep it up!
When will we see any updates, ie stadium lists, would it be possible for not all aviva and top 14 etc league games to be in the same stadium. Heineken cup? International sides? Championship rugby? Team updates? Challenge mode, giving the player a win in the last play? Losing at half time, real life classic games to unlock stuff like boots and so on?
The most important thing for me would be the introduction of contracts, transfers and most of all player development (eg. like the XP system in Madden 13) which would add realism to the idea of building a team from nothing
Very excited!!!
I would love if they had a legends team as well!
More options in career mode too.
Can’t wait to get my hands on this game!
I am happy to hear of the improvements that are being touted – IF THEY implement them it will be a superb rugby title…. HOWEVER!!!! In Career Mode, do NOT, I mean, DO NOT, have the itinerary of contests and clashes be the SAME from year to year…… This was the case with the first title which I would like to keep playing, but cannot, as it flawed… My opponents and the order of the games was EXACTLY the same for ten years back to back to back to back… !!!!!!!!!?????????????
This is not just tiresome or a silly oversight from the game designers, it is a major MAJOR FLAW of the first game. It effectively ruined the domestic / international career mode which is what 90% of all offline games were /are to be played on. Thus with only online left for a changing / varied (key to longevity) experience, but it being 100% populated by spam fenders, spam- stepper / dummy and cheese back run, forward run, run all the way back and then forward, button mashing cheesey fu**s… it was also a waste of time in this regard.
Two tiny things, easily avoidable, easily adjustable, patchable or fixable (like the rugby league 2 was awesomely patched to allow the changing of the skill level during the career mode when they left that out – it is called an investment in your own product by improving and respecting, yes RESPECTING, your customers… Do not get me started on that fat waste of space Mario who use to work at Sidhe and rape the public and ignore its views like the fat Mario Whine-eck loser he was)
When you make a sports game, you must not have:
- cheeseable attack or AI defend (let the cpu make all your tackles cos you are a cheating pussy) options – they must not exist. You should have to create play with skill and you should have to choose your defender and make your tackle.
- A completely unchanging (from year to year) career mode with ZERO contracts, trades et cetera… sad.
Miss these two elements in a sports game and you are effectively saying, we want no future as a games developing company and we wish to spit in the faces of our customers, despite logical, easily-addressed desires, because we are in a race to be insignificant and bankrupt our own useless enterprise due to the fact that customers are irrelevant.
Yeah RIGHT!!
Will it have 2013 teams and better jerseys??
Like For Ex- Will 2011 chiefs team be changed and new jerseys to 2013
CauSE I Cant WAIT
Will there be any alterations to the online play? A major problem was players quitting all of the time, ruining the game. Will there be anything like time-outs for players who quit or “dashboard” during a game so that persistent offenders will have to wait before being able to play another online game to prevent them from doing so?
Work has been done on online play and offloading.
Rugby 7′s please!
n a great edition mode!!
By “a vastly expanded multi-year Career Mode” do you mean there is now the ability to change teams at the end of a season in a career? As well as many other things.
I just hope they have put more Stadiums in and made the teams a bit more even now. There are more stadiums then the South London Stadium in England boys. But hopefully it is much more improved then the 1st one as that one seemed very rushed.
Could you please add South African teams. I don’t like playing with players I don’t know
We were not given the opportunity to do this. Tru Blu made every effort to secure South African licences, and was not successful.
Will there be things like transfers and selling players in the career mode???
Yes, career mode was a real priority this time around.
when can I buy rugby challenge 2 pc in France
Awesome news! As a winger in rl, the addition of intercepts and quick phase plays like the number 8 pick-up is very welcome. Are you guys also looking at refining the sidestep feature? I still find it a little hard to execute in game unless you have a long lead-in time to the tackle and were essentially running in a straight line right up until that point. Perhaps a click of the R-3 button (right analog) and then pick a direction to side step using right analog? That way the lead in angle and timing won’t matter so much and the step can be executed at the last minute if you are fast enough on the stick.
Cheers guys! Really appreciate true rugby fans putting together true rugby games
Why can’t you customise the international teams of Ireland, Wales, Scotland etc.? I understand that your company cannot do it without a licence, but the individual should be able to sort out the teams in their own time? It’s ridiculous that I’m playing as Ireland but can’t play with O’Driscoll… other than that, the game is great!!
You can customise those national sides. You can’t use players licenced throught particular competitions, because the licensor specified this in their licence conditions.
If you put in south africa and in the super 15 you wil end up with the best game ever making more money than you could imagen so pleas. More eford more money for you
South African licences were not available, despite Tru Blu’s best efforts
Hi Milla
I have to agree with Gert Jacobus Agenbach. If RSA teams are not in (Currie Cup etc) what’s the point of me buying this game, might as well unpack my PS2 and play rugby 2007. Also I believe the games need to be more interactive, have player contracts and team management, to build teams from scratch and so forth. Its pointless just playing rugby to play it, there should be something to work for. Surely the designers could have thought about this, as well as made a plan to get the RSA license as a huge part of your target market is from RSA and I’m sure the sales here will not be that big. Sorry to say, I won’t be buying this game anytime soon, for these reasons only.
Dylan
Dylan, if Tru Blu could have secured the RSA licenses they would have. They did try.