Guilty Gear Voice Actor Iemasa Kayumi Passes Away at Age 80

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It’s with heavy hearts we report that Japanese voice actor Iemasa Kayumi has passed away, tragic news that was revealed this morning by Takeshi Yamanaka of Arc System Works and 81 Produce president Michiyoshi Minamisawa. This event reportedly occurred on September 30 while he was undergoing medical treatment.

While Kayumi was perhaps best known for his work as Guilty Gear’s Slayer, a role he reprised in the franchise’s most recent installment Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, he also provided his talents in a variety of video game and anime roles, including Street Fighter EX’s Shadowgeist, Mr. Big in the Art of Fighting animated series, One Piece’s Nefertari Cobra, James Black in Case Closed, Dragon Ball Z: The Legendary Super Saiyan’s Paragus, and many more.

The longtime voice artist also dubbed live-action movies, regularly taking on roles for actors such as Frank Sinatra, Sir Christopher Lee, James Stewart, and Sir Ian McKellan.

Our hearts go out to Kayuma’s family and friends during this trying time. May he rest in peace.

Sources: Takeshi Yamanaka, Gadget Tsūshin (via Hachima Kikō and Anime News Network), special thanks to ShinSyn for bringing this to our attention. Iemasa Kayumi photograph courtesy of 81 Produce.

Arc System Works Provides More Details on Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-‘s Upcoming Demo

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Back in September, Sony announced that Arc System Works’ upcoming Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- will be included in a trio of PlayStation 4 games that will receive limited demos later this month. Starting on October 15, PlayStation Plus subscribers in Japan will be able to try this highly-anticipated title for themselves for two weeks, after which the preview will end.

While few details were provided as to what it will include, 4Gamer recently got their hands on some new information about what will be waiting for players when they download the demo. According to Siliconera, this limited version of Xrd will allow solo play only with Sol Badguy and Ky Kiske, specifically in the arcade (set to Beginner) and tutorial modes.

Arc System Works has left it up to publishers in other regions as to whether or not this demo will appear outside of Japan, so stay tuned for word on that front.

Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- is scheduled to launch for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in Japan on December 4, with a North American release planned for sometime this holiday season.

Source: 4Gamer via Siliconera