Smash @ Xanadu feat. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Streaming Live

The folks over at VGBootCamp recently went live with another installment of Smash @ Xanadu from Xanadu Games in Baltimore, Maryland. These weekly broadcasts provide a great look at the region’s Smash community, and tonight’s installment will feature competition in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

If you’re interested in some Smash Bros. action, be sure to tune in. The stream is live below, but you can also head on over to Twitch to join the chat.

Watch live video from VGBootCamp on www.twitch.tv

Source: VGBootCamp

Capcom Shares Concept Art for Cut Street Fighter V Stages featuring Tigers, Aliens, and Mike Haggar

With any game, the development process involves removing certain ideas and concepts; not everything can make it into the final build, after all. Street Fighter V is no stranger to this, and a recent post on Capcom Japan’s site gives us a glimpse at some of those things that didn’t make it to release.

The post specifically focuses on design concepts for the game’s stages that either don’t appear at all, or were heavily retooled for the final product. These include a different, more oriental take on Shadaloo’s base, an MMA gym in Brazil, a stage set in China featuring a tiger attempting to eat a duck, some Middle Eastern ruins, an Area 51-esque secret American base, and a very different version of the Kanzuki Estate featuring Final Fight’s Mike Haggar occasionally popping up in an elevator.

The reasons for the cuts and changes vary. Haggar being stuck in an elevator in the Kanzuki Estate stage was removed for simply being too random, while the American base and the Middle Eastern ruins were taken out for having nothing to do with the story.

You can check out the concept art for these stages in the slideshow below.

Click to view slideshow.

Source: Capcom Japan (1, 2) via Eventhubs

Heroes of the Storm: Tracer Enters the Nexus

With the launch of Overwatch on track for May, Blizzard has sent Tracer into Heroes of the Storm. Tracer is a high speed assassin and her abilities center around those traits. Blizzard has released a pair of videos, one to show off her abilities and one that reveals a bit of lore about Tracer as well as a hint of another Overwatch character who might be headed to the Nexus soon.