It appears that Square Enix has enlisted the expertise of MMA fighter and UFC Superstar (WelterWeight Champion) George St-Pierre (aka GSP,) who will be contributing to Sleeping Dogs. While the press release claims he will be working on “multiple elements” for the Hong Kong crime thriller, it seems likely that he will be there as an combat adviser.
Here is the full Press Release below.
LEGENDARY MIXED MARTIAL ARTS CHAMPION GEORGES ST-PIERRE COLLABORATING ON SLEEPING DOGS™
Renowned Fighter Working with Square Enix and United Front Games on Open World Cop Drama
LONDON – (April 11, 2012) – Square Enix London Studios, a part of Square Enix Europe, today announced its partnership with highly acclaimed mixed martial arts (MMA) champion Georges St-Pierre to collaborate on the development of Sleeping Dogs. St-Pierre, known to his legion of fans as “GSP”, has been working with Square Enix and United Front Games on multiple elements – including combat – in Sleeping Dogs, a gritty open world cop drama set in the vibrant city of Hong Kong.
“Working with Square Enix has been an incredible opportunity,” said St-Pierre. “I’m really impressed to see how the hand-to-hand combat in the game is shaping up – it’s been a great experience being involved.”In the stylized, high-action Hong Kong setting of Sleeping Dogs, every street corner, market stall, harbor dock or city skyscraper can become an opportunity for intense shoot-outs, adrenaline-fuelled street races and intense, brutal martial arts combat as players take on the role of undercover cop Wei Shen. Featuring an intuitive and imaginative combat system, Sleeping Dogs empowers players to perform an extensive set of martial arts moves, single-handedly taking on numerous opponents. Players perform bone-crushing kicks and combos, vicious counters and a cinematic set of environmental takedowns making use of countless real-world items from circular saws to phone booths, incinerators to refrigerator doors.
St-Pierre is working on an ongoing basis with Sleeping Dogs, consulting on elements in the game as well as sharing insights with the public on the game’s progress. Stay tuned for more detail.
“When it comes to professional fighting, names don’t get much bigger than GSP,” said Square Enix London Studios general manager Lee Singleton. “We are thrilled with the expertise that GSP brings to Sleeping Dogs”
Sleeping Dogs will be available for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows PCs.
Related Links
Sleeping Dogs Official Homepage: www.sleepingdogs.net
Sleeping Dogs Official Facebook® page: www.facebook.com/SleepingDogsGame
Follow Sleeping Dogs on Twitter®: @SleepingDogs
About Georges St-Pierre
Georges “Rush” St-Pierre, also known as “GSP,” is a Canadian professional mixed martial artist and welterweight world champion who holds black belts in both Kyokushin karate and Brazilian jiu jitsu. Recognized as one of the planet’s top pound-for-pound MMA fighter and all-around athlete, GSP lives in Montreal but travels around the world to train with the best coaches and training partners in karate, jiu jitsu, muay thai, boxing and wrestling.
About Square Enix London Studios
Square Enix London Studios is part of Square Enix Europe, sitting within Square Enix’s European head office in Wimbledon, South West London. The studio is focussed on bringing to market games from some of the world’s most successful and talented independent development teams. Previous partnerships include award-winning titles such as BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM with Rocksteady Studios and JUST CAUSE 2 with Avalanche Studios.
About Square Enix Ltd.
Square Enix Ltd., a part of the Square Enix Europe business unit, develops, publishes, distributes and licenses SQUARE ENIX®, EIDOS® and TAITO® branded entertainment content in Europe and other PAL territories as part of the Square Enix Group. Square Enix Ltd. also has a global network of leading development studios such as IO Interactive™, Crystal Dynamics® and Eidos Montréal. The Square Enix Group boasts a valuable portfolio of intellectual property including: FINAL FANTASY®, which has sold over 100 million units worldwide, DRAGON QUEST® which has sold over 59 million units worldwide and TOMB RAIDER® which has sold over 35 million units worldwide; and the legendary SPACE INVADERS®. Square Enix Ltd. is a London-based, wholly-owned subsidiary of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.More information on Square Enix Ltd. can be found at http://www.square-enix.com/ eu/en/.
SLEEPING DOGS ©2012 Square Enix, Ltd. All rights reserved. SLEEPING DOGS, the SLEEPING DOGS logo, CRYSTAL DYNAMICS, DRAGON QUEST, EIDOS, FINAL FANTASY, IO INTERACTIVE, JUST CAUSE SPACE INVADERS, SQUARE ENIX, the SQUARE ENIX logo, TAITO and TOMB RAIDER are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Square Enix Group. “PlayStation” is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Windows, Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.