A number of retail sources are telling us that customers seem not to be flocking in as quickly as first hoped by retail buyers for the UFC Undisputed 2010 release. According to the whispers that we hear, despite the rather soft pre-order rate retail buyers might have over bought on this title, based on unexpected high demand for the initial release last year.

As one local independent retailer told us, the unexpected success of Red Dead Redemption has a lot of people playing that title, which is a title that isn’t one you are going to finish quickly. This has left a lot of copies of UFC 2010 on the shelves currently. Despite the rather soft pre-order rate, we did expect it to sell well. We still expect it to sell well before all is said and done, but the timing of the release might have been better if they had waited until after Red Dead hit. But who knew that this was going to happen?

THQ is reportedly not pressing the panic button just yet. It is expected that the game will turn the sales numbers that they expected, according to our sources. The good news for potential buyers is that there are plenty of copies in stock this time around and you should not have any trouble latching onto one; whispers we hear seem to suggest that some retailers might put the title on sale just to get sales moving for it.

The one thing going for the title is that new copies include the one-time use code which allows for online play, and you will not be able to play online if you choose to rent the title. Putting the title on sale might help move the inventory, but it can’t be good for retailers that expected more from this title. The best news is that the reviews seem to indicate that the title is more than just a minor upgrade over the last release in the franchise.