Author: Franz "d3v" Co

This weekend, some the best Ultra Street Fighter IV players from Singapore and Hong Kong will once again face off in the fourth Singapore vs. Hong Kong team tournament. Presented by Tough Cookie and Beast of the East, this event will bring together forty competitors in total, twenty to each side, to decide the stronger region.

While Singapore has won the last three outings, the scores have always been close, with the Lion City only winning by one point each time. Will Hong Kong, led by Humanbomb, finally get their win, or will Singapore, with players such as Evolution 2013 champion Xian and his Razer teammate Gackt, triumph once again?

Find out this Sunday, March 1, by tuning into Tough Cookie at 4:00 PM Singapore time (12 AM PST, 3 AM EST).

Source: Beast of the East

Korea’s ArcadeStream have just dropped the announcement trailer for Double Elimination. Part of the Beast of the East tour, the event will play host to tournaments for both Ultra Street Fighter IV and Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-.

Top players from the Korean peninsula, including Lee “Infiltration” Sun-woo and Ryan “Laugh” Ahn, as well as those from around the region such as AVerMedia’s Bruce “Gamerbee” Hsiang, will be in attendance. At stake are points towards both Capcom Cup 2015 as well as a shot to go to the Capcom Pro Tour Asia Finals in Singapore this November.

On day two, competitors will be able to take part in singles and doubles tournaments for Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-. Over $1,000 in prizes awaits the winner of these tournaments.

Double Elimination will take place April 25-26 at DartStream in Seoul, Korea. Those interested in joining can head on over to the official registration page.

Source: ArcadeStream via Beast of the East

One of the most distinct things about Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- is its art style. Through a combination of cel shading, untweened animations, and a few other tricks, the game manages to capture the feel of old-school hand drawn sprites with modern day 3D polygons.

To shed further light on the work they have done here, Arc System Works will be holding a talk at the 2015 Game Developers Conference when it arrives at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California next onth. The discussion, which will feature Arc System Works’ director and technical artist Junya Christopher Motomura as its speaker, will focus on the game’s art and what it took to capture the graphical charm of a classic 2D fighter in Unreal Engine 3.

The talk will take place at Room 206 in the West Hall on Friday, March 6 from 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM and is open to anyone with either an All Access Pass or a Main Conference Pass. Be sure to check it out if you plan on attending.

Source: Arc System Works via Polycount

For those Mortal Kombat players who prefer to play on pad, here’s some good news: Performance Designed Products’ official Mortal Kombat X controllers are now available for pre-order at GameStop.

The controllers, which you can see in the gallery below, come in two flavors. The first is compatibile with PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3, while the second works with both Xbox One and Xbox 360. Both models feature a traditional cross shaped directional pad and six face buttons.

The d-pad replaces the Neo-Geo inspired nub from their previous generation of controllers and the buttons feature a non-standard layout that uses both shoulder buttons (L1 and R1 for the PlayStation pad and LB and RB for the Xbox pad), instead of both the right shoulder button and trigger.

Both the PlayStation and Xbox versions of this controller can be pre-ordered for $49.99 by following their respective links. The expected release date is April 1.

Source: Gamestop (1, 2) via Test Your Might

One of the happiest moments during Skullgirls’ Indiegogo campaign was when Robo-Fortune’s development was backed. Originally starting as a joke by Ms. Fortune’s voice actress Kimlinh Tran during one of their streams, Robo-Fortune soon became something of a fan favorite, resulting in her inclusion as a stretch goal.

Now, after years of waiting, players can now try her out for the first through Skullgirls Encore’s Endless Beta on Steam. Now, it should go without saying that she is still far from complete. That said, this hasn’t stopped players from figuring out cool stuff with her early on, as you can see in the videos below.

Robo-Fortune and her predecessor Beowulf will eventually find their way into the full version of Skullgirls Encore but, until then, fans will be able to try them out every step of the way during development.

Source: Lab Zero Games, combo videos by ご主人 and Timothy Mazenac

The United Kingdom’s premier Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike tournament, Gutter Trash, returns for its fourth installment this weekend, February 21-22. Taking place at the Heart of Gaming arcade in West London, Gutter Trash 4 will once again feature some of the best 3rd Strike players from both the local regions as well countries such as France, Switzerland, and even Kuwait.

As with previous iterations, Gutter Trash 4 will feature both a singles tournament as well as a 2-on-2 team event. For those interested in catching live competition, keep your eye on the official Twitch channel.

Source: Gutter Trash