Though he hasn’t competed in WWE for several years, Brock Lesnar will always be identified with wrestling to some extent. It’s a connection he doesn’t mind, and as proof he will return to the virtual ring in THQ’s WWE 12. Lesnar joins a roster including current superstars such as John Cena and Randy Orton, as well as legends including The Rock. Lesnar told ESPN’s Jon Robinson there’s still mutual respect between him and the WWE. By approaching him, WWE acknowledges his still large popularity among wrestling faithful. By agreeing to appear in the game, Lesnar shows that while he’s a UFC star, he hasn’t forgotten his roots. It’s also a great way for him to keep his name in the public eye. After a couple of bouts with diverticulitis, he hasn’t been able to stay very active on the mixed martial arts circuit.

UFC Undisputed 3 isn’t coming until January 2012, but we’re already hearing details about the pre-order bonuses available. GameStop will offer UFC fight lovers a package of exclusive combatants: Nick Diaz, Phil Davis, Jason Miller, and Brian Stann. This will be the first appearance in UFC Undisputed for all four fighters. Walmart and Amazon don’t have these exclusive fighters, so they’re speaking to your wallet. Both will offer a $10 credit toward a future purchase for pre-ordering Undisputed.

Putting an end to the EA Sports MMA franchise probably was not the reason for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s parent company buying rival promotion Strikeforce. Given UFC President Dana White’s less-than-friendly relationship with EA, consider it a side effect that he’s likely enjoying. UFC’s purchase of Strikeforce gives it a near monopoly on the mixed martial arts scene. UFC was the promotion chosen for THQ’s hit Undisputed franchise.

THQ has extended its licensing deal with the UFC’s parent company to create games based on the UFC property. The new deal grants THQ the rights to be the sole publisher of UFC games until 2018. THQ can make games on today’s consoles, and any other platform that may be released within the next eight years.

THQ’s UFC Undisputed went from critical and sales darling in 2009 to myriad problems in its 2010 installment.

THQ has announced its game schedule for fiscal year 2012 and the next Undisputed won’t be seen until January or February 2012.

Modnation Racers is going to get a little bit easier. The PlayStation Blog Modnation update this week did the usual – showed off some custom creations. It also revealed what’s going on with the patch United Front Games is preparing for the PS3 version of ModNation Racers. A new difficulty level is being added in for beginners.

The casual difficulty level is the first of many improvements that will be added to Modnation Racers with the new patch…

THQ publishes franchises such as Red Faction and Saint’s Row. Games with expensive development costs such as these need marketing to make as many consumers aware of their existence. THQ just feels television isn’t the way to go about promoting the games.

As the first title to hit the market requiring either an in-package code or $5 to play online, millions of eyes were on UFC Undisputed 2010. So far, the online pass, or at least its implementation, has helped THQ about as much as a layoff playing “B.A. Baracus” has helped Rampage Jackson stay in fighting shape.

Unline EA Sports, who made a big effort in announcing its online pass well before the release of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, THQ did virtually nothing to inform consumers. Many were surprised and, even worse, the packaged-in code with new copies of the game was buried under advertising materials. This confusion caused some Undisputed owners to purchase an online pass even though they already had a code for free access inside their game case.