Month: August 2018

Following the Evolution Championship Series in Las Vegas, winners of each stop on the NEO GEO World Tour will go head-to-head to crown the King of Fighters at Esports Festival Hong Kong.

This year’s NEO GEO World Tour featured eleven stops across Europe, Asia, and America. Winners of each stop have received a paid flight to the Tour’s finals in Hong Kong, coming up on August 25th. Taking place during Esports Festival Hong Kong, the finals will feature intense competition from champions in more than one game; titles within the circuit include the series’ most recent installment, The King of Fighters XIV, as well as the classic KOF ‘98.

While Metal Slug Attack and KOF 2002 followed the Tour as side-tournaments, winners of these titles did not qualify for the upcoming Finals. Tournament organizer Dixonwu stated that, while these tournaments are not part of the World Tour’s end-game, titles like Metal Slug Attack serve an important purpose in introducing newer players to the company’s classic games. “There is a worldwide scoreboard throughout the season,” Dixonwu stated. “Xavier, from the Monaco stop, held the high score record for the longest time, until a few stops later ET finally broke his record in the Taiwan stop. Then, a hardcore NEO GEO fan, Terry, broke ET’s record in the Malaysia stop. It’s a lot of fun to watch, and the game is always a crowd-pleaser at our events. Even people who have never played it will jump in and try. Getting new gamers involved in classic NEO GEO games is exactly what we are doing.”

The Finals is stacked with The King of Fighters’ top talent, featuring competitors like Qanba|Xiaohai, SANWA|M’, and JoJo. Although these fighters have not won a stop on the current Tour, they were selected by organizers as special competitors due to their past achievements. “There were important regions like Japan and China that we weren’t able to include in the first Tour due to scheduling, which we will include in the next Tour,” Dixonwu said. “Therefore, we took the advice of the SNK headquarters and local fighting game communities to choose representatives from these regions based on past tournaments they won, [their] achievements, etc.” The Tour’s latest champion will be in attendance, as well: ET won the most recent stop at this year’s Evolution Championship Series, and will be joining his opponents in Hong Kong later this month.

Another stop is quickly approaching, as well: taking place in Costa Rica, Furica Tica will give Central American players a chance to prove their strength and claim a spot in the Tour’s Finals. Although not listed on the Tour’s website, Dixonwu stated that the Latin American community came together to make the event a special, last-minute stop in the circuit. “The Latin American fighting game community came together to sponsor the winner of the Furia Tica event to come compete in the global finals, representing [their region],” he explained. “Our team is moved by their actions. Furia Tica of Costa Rica was a surprise stop for everyone. I’m glad we worked so hard with the Latin American community to have a stop there. It took a while, but finally we are able to make that event into a stop of the Tour.”

Fans can catch the Finals on the NEO GEO World Tour’s Twitch stream and Facebook page. Although no broadcast time has been set in stone, the Tour’s organizers have stated that the event will go live during Hong Kong’s daytime hours.

Source: NEO GEO World Tour

From fully modular sticks to classic controllers with modern twists.

Accessory manufacturer HORI had plenty of new peripherals on display on the Evo 2018 show floor for fighting fans of all levels, with a strong emphasis on the Nintendo Switch.

Prototype Modular Stick

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HORI will soon be releasing a fight stick that is completely modular out the gate; simply unfold the device and access to the entire unit becomes available, even with easily swappable artwork. There is also plenty of space inside the unit to use as storage for more parts, and the cable wraps nicely on the internal rack. On top of having a large amount of physical modding potential, the device will also ship with an application for smartphones that can change the inputs for the buttons as well as the color of the LEDs. The stick is currently unnamed with no release date, but be on the lookout for more information coming soon.

SoulCalibur VI Real Arcade Pro.N

HORI is releasing two new Real Arcade Pro fightsticks to commemorate the release of the highly anticipated title, SoulCalibur VI. each with stellar artwork and slick translucent cases. The blue Siegfried and Nightmare stick will release exclusively on the PlayStation 4, while the red lady fighters stick is exclusively made for the Xbox One. Both sticks retain the same features with a headphone jack, touchpad, share, L3, R3, and turbo buttons, and a cover for the start button on the top. The SoulCalibur VI sticks are set to release simultaneously with the title on October 19, 2018.

Joy-Con D-Pad Controller

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HORI also sets out to solve one of the major problems for Nintendo Switch with their new D-Pad Joy-Cons. Ordinarily, the left Joy-Con features four buttons instead of a traditional D-pad, in order to match the right for multiplayer use. For those wanting to play fighters on the go, however, the traditional Joy-Con is less than user-friendly with its four button directional layout. The new HORI D-Pad Joy-Cons allow for smoother control in 2D titles. With the ever-growing library of fighting games coming to the Switch, these D-Pad Joy-Cons are essential for any fighting game fan. One caveat for the new Joy-Cons is that they must be used in handheld mode, since they do not have their own power source or wireless functionalities, so there is no functionality with the Joy-Con grip. The new D-Pad Joy-Cons still succeed in what they set out to do by bringing traditional control to the popular hybrid console in its portable configuration. The new Joy-Con are set to release on September 18, 2018.

Nintendo Switch Character-inspired GameCube Controllers

HORI has a new series of GameCube-style controllers heading to the Nintendo Switch just in time for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. These new controllers continue the translucent motif for the most part — not counting Pikachu — and are all stylized to match a particular character or franchise. The controllers will immediately feel familiar to those who have found the GameCube controller to be their smashing weapon of choice, but features a few differences that should make things more efficient for players. The controllers all connect via USB so there is no need for the GameCube controller adapter; the L and R buttons have a much shorter draw distance as opposed to the deep press required for the original accessory; and the C-stick also has a high level of resistance so there is less of an opportunity for the stick to flick in an unwanted direction. There is also a very nice texture on the handles of the controllers similar to the PlayStation 4’s DualShock 4 and the most recent iterations of the Xbox One controller. Another welcome feature for the controllers is that the controllers are compatible with any Nintendo Switch title, thanks to the ZL and ZR buttons.

Nintendo Switch Multiport USB PlayStand

HORI had one last item for their Nintendo Switch lineup, the Multiport USB PlayStand. This accessory allows up to four players to connect their USB controllers while the Nintendo Switch is in tabletop mode. Perfect for fighting game tournaments and conventions, all it needs is to be plugged in via the Nintendo Switch AC adapter (sold separately), and players will be able to compete nearly anywhere without needing a television. Unlike the other items on the list above, the Multiport USB PlayStand is already available now.

Source: HORI