Author: Franz "d3v" Co

When SoCal Regionals 2015 was forced to move to October instead of their original June dates, Level|Up Series announced that they would also be holding two Prelude tournaments in June and August. With the first rapidly approaching, online registration is now open to the public.

Prelude I is scheduled for June 6 at the University of California Irvine’s Student Center, featuring tournaments for Ultra Street Fighter IV, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, and Mortal Kombat X.

Those interested in joining should head on over and register soon; due to the nature of the event, brackets will be capped at 128 entrants per game.

Meanwhile, the main SoCal Regionals 2015 tournament is tentatively scheduled for October 9, with the organizers looking to secure a spot at the Ontario Convention Center in Ontario, California. Stay locked in to Shoryuken for more information is it crops up.

Source: SoCal Regionals

The joystick lever is one of the most important parts of an arcade stick. The way a lever feels and moves can have a large impact on a player’s performance.

For years now, those players who have felt that the standard Sanwa JLF was too loose would gravitate towards Seimitsu’s LS-32 series of levers due to its tighter spring and smaller engage distance. Now, Seimitsu is releasing a new lever that has an even tighter feel – the LS-38-01-SC.

Coming exclusively to Arcade Shock, the LS-38-01-SC is based on the classic LS-32-01 form factor, but features a more rigid spring. This should be a boon for players looking for a lever that offers a tighter, more accurate feel than the standard Sanwa JLF or Hori Hayabusa commonly seen on today’s retail arcade sticks.

The LS-38-01-SC is currently available for $21.95 through Arcade Shock’s online store. Please note that they have a limited stock at the moment, so anyone interested in picking one of these up should do so soon.

Source: Arcade Shock

Thanks to Lab Zero Games’ driver, many fighting game players and arcade stick aficionados are able to quickly transition to the PlayStation 4 without purchasing an entirely new peripheral. Games such as Mortal Kombat X, Skullgirls 2nd Encore, and Ultra Street Fighter IV all allow players to use their old arcade sticks and gamepads from the PlayStation 3.

Now it seems that yet another game may be including this useful functionality. According to Gamespot, a Capcom representative has confirmed that they are looking into utilizing Lab Zero’s driver in Street Fighter V.

The driver in question allows any controller that identifies itself as a generic USB gamepad or joystick, such as Mad Catz’ popular line of FightPads and FightSticks, to work on the PlayStation 4.

With Street Fighter V also coming to the PC, adding support for older arcade sticks could help convince those who are on the fence to purchase the game on PlayStation 4. We’ll be sure to keep you informed as more concrete details become available.

Source: Gamespot, thanks to Maxman for the tip.

Mad Catz’ Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition 2 has been a hot item every time new batches have come around, selling out quickly time and time again. As such, the stick has been quite hard to get for anyone who isn’t fast or lucky enough to purchase one online.

If you’ve been wanting to pick one of these bad boys up, it’s time to get your wallets ready, as Mad Catz has announced that a limited stock of the stick’s Ultra Street Fighter IV edition will be coming this Friday on their online store, starting at 12:00 PM PST.

This version shares the same features as the Persona 4 Arena Ultimax and Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- variants. Aside from the usual, arcade-quality Sanwa parts, it is also compatible with both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3. For a more detailed breakdown, you can check out our review here.

With Ultra Street Fighter IV heading to PlayStation 4 next Tuesday, now is as good a time as any for players lacking a next-generation arcade stick to pick one up. Remember, these sticks sell ridiculously fast, so be ready!

Source: Mad Catz

Mortal Kombat X received a couple of hotfixes in quick succession today. While they aren’t meant to bring big balance changes to the cast, they do address a few prevalent bugs.

First up, the meter drain glitch for Ermac’s Master of Souls variation is no more, as his Soul Trap no longer drains meter. Secondly, the damage on Vicious Ferra/Torr’s Boss Toss now scales properly. And finally, Kenjutsu Kenshi will now autoface correctly after doing his Head Splitter and Leaping Sword command normals.

The second hotfix, however, only touches on one problem. Apparently, the game would lock up when one of Spec Ops Cassie’s target painted rockets an ice clone created by Grandmaster Sub-Zero, but that’s since been corrected.

Of course, this isn’t the end of Mortal Kombat X’s updates. As was previously reported, NetherRealm Studios’ Paulo Garcia has stated that Kung Lao’s quick meter build glitch will be adjusted in a future patch.

Source: WB Games