Author: Ian "iantothemax" Walker

During their recent round of financial disclosures, Capcom revealed plans regarding upcoming major releases, including the highly anticipated Street Fighter V. According to a new report concerning sales strategies, the developer plans to release the next installment of the iconic franchise sometime before the end of the current fiscal year, which will come to a close on March 31, 2016.

As these new details fall in line with previous speculations (though Capcom later rescinded the latter), it’s become a little safer to say that we could see the title launch within the next year.

Street Fighter V is arguably the most exciting fighting game prospect on the horizon, due to the legacy of the series itself and the spotlight it places on the competitive community, but one should still take much of this news with a grain of salt. A lot can happen in a year!

For more details on Capcom’s plans for 2015, check out their full report.

Street Fighter V is currently being developed by Capcom in cooperation with Sony and Dimps. On launch, it will be available for both PlayStation 4 and PC.

Source: Capcom via EventHubs and Arturo Sanchez

While there wasn’t a stream this week, the developers behind Killer Instinct did the next best thing by providing yet another stream of textual information on the Ultra-Combo forums. But never fear, this isn’t just any smattering of details; Microsoft Studios creative Adam Isgreen has provided us our very first look at the upcoming fighter ARIA as well as a brief glimpse at her gameplay.

ARIA had her beginnings as an artificial intelligence designed to improve life on earth, something of a pet project for UltraTech founder Ryat Adams, whose wife was suffering from a degenerative disease that would eventually take her life. As more and more enhancements were made to ARIA’s programming, she expanded beyond her original purpose and currently serves as the CEO of the villainous corporation.

Where other fighters have stances they can switch between, ARIA’s physical form is comprised of three separate drones that she can switch between at will. These drones provide the artificial intelligence with a unique body, each with its own capabilities. ARIA’s booster body, pictured to the right, is built for speed and maneuverability, while the blade and bass drones equip her with a sword arm and chest cannon, respectively.

ARIA can shift between these bodies with a single button press or with her special Upload Enders, which function as her combo trait. She can even switch before the fight begins or between rounds.

As you would guess, a player’s strategies will shift depending on which drone body ARIA is employing. Furthermore, the drones not currently in use will double as assist-type attacks. Much like similar attacks in other titles, however, each drone will have its own lifebar that can be drained by careless assist calls. Each drone has very low health when compared to other members of the cast, but opponents will need to destroy all three in order to put ARIA down for good, essentially giving her three lifebars to work with.

There’s quite a bit to take in here apart from the brief synopsis we’ve provided above, so be sure to visit Isgreen’s original post for even more details on ARIA’s gameplay. She will be accompanied by a brief round of balance changes upon release, so stay tuned for more news on that front in the near future.

Source: Ultra-Combo

Bandai Namco has announced that Yoshimitsu will be added to the Tekken 7 roster next week. His reveal comes shortly after a pair of newcomers, Josie Rizal and Gigas, joined the playable cast.

As you can see in the trailer and screenshots below, the veteran swordsman sports yet another brand new look, trading in the samurai-inspired getup from Tekken Tag Tournament 2 for an outfit that’s a bit more alien than anything he’s previously worn. Maybe he actually is from space after all!

Yoshimitsu will be playable starting May 12.

Source: Bandai Namco via Avoiding the Puddle

Capcom, as large corporations go, is pretty forthcoming when it comes to divulging financial details. As such, they recently released a report to investors describing their operations during the Japanese fiscal year that ended on March 31, and it includes some pretty interesting facts about their income.

At first, it’s a little startling. Capcom’s revenue last year was the lowest it’s been since 2004, a fact pointed out by GameSpot, but as you read on things start to become a bit clearer. As the developer only released a handful of titles throughout the fiscal year, it only makes sense that their revenue would drop accordingly. But thanks to cost-cutting procedures and improvements in efficiency, the company was able to post a rather strong net income of ¥6,616 million JPY (~$55 million USD), nearly doubling that of the previous fiscal year.

In addition to successes with Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate and Resident Evil Revelation 2’s episodic content, Capcom pointed out solid sales for Ultra Street Fighter IV as another key asset to their business, thanks in part to the series’ continued popularity across the globe.

With more operating income and a partnership with Sony in the works for Street Fighter V, things are starting to look up over at Capcom after recent declines. And while their continued success is no longer as integral a part of keeping the fighting game community strong, thanks to renewed efforts by developers like Arc System Works and NetherRealm Studios, it would certainly be a shame to see their iconic franchise go missing again.

For a full look at Capcom’s financial report, be sure to visit their investor relations portal.

Source: Capcom via GameSpot

In Mortal Kombat X, NetherRealm Studios has given players a great mix of veterans and newcomers to mess around with. From fan favorites like Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, and Reptile to a new generation made up of Cassie Cage, Jacqueline Briggs, and Kung Jin, everyone is sure to find a fighter they enjoy in this new title.

To show off who folks have been gravitating to over the past few weeks, Warner Bros. put out a rather spiffy infographic detailing the top characters by usage and win percentage as well as a plethora of other details regarding fatalities, time spent playing online, and more.

The most used characters are far from a surprise, as Scorpion (who also serves as NetherRealm’s de facto mascot), Sub-Zero, and Raiden have been playable in just about every Mortal Kombat installment since the series debuted in 1992. Furthermore, with such a long history, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say fans have become quite familiar with their signature attacks, most of which have survived various transitions between games and platforms.

The cast members with the highest win percentages are much different. While a few, like Goro, Kano, and Jax, have had frequent playable appearances through the decades, Shinnok–who sits alone at the top–has had only one before Mortal Kombat X. Additionally, his counterpart in third-place, D’Vorah, is a completely new addition to the roster. With their unfamiliar movesets, it’s interesting to see that players have been finding greater success using these characters online.

Of course, due to the lack of concrete data, a completely opposite explanation is also possible: folks are beating down the likes of Scorpion and Sub-Zero thanks to knowledge of their capabilities built up over years of Mortal Kombat experience and find themselves lacking against the other, relatively unknown quantities.

Whatever you want to make of this information is up to you, but it’s still pretty neat to see how the community is reacting to this new title. For a full look at the infographic, be sure to visit WB Games.

Source: WB Games

 

In a surprise announcement made last night, Arc System Works revealed that they are ready to update console versions of Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- to match their arcade counterparts. The ver.1.05 patch, which is set to land in Japan on May 8 (i.e. very, very soon), is the equivalent to the ver.1.1 update that landed in game centers back in March.

While console owners have had post-launch characters like Sin Kiske, Elphelt Valentine, and Leo Whitefang for some time, the numerous gameplay changes that accompanied their arcade debut will significantly impact the title moving forward. A full list of these adjustments can be found in our previous report.

At this point in time, it’s unknown if this patch will be available for North American versions of Guilty Gear Xrd, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated if more details become available.

Source: Arc System Works via Ho-chan, IPLAYWINNER

Over the past few months, Mark “MarkMan” Julio and the Mad Catz crew have been traveling to various events with more than the usual arcade sticks and gear in tow. In an effort to give the North American fanbase a chance to try the game before it heads to consoles, Bandai Namco entrusted Julio with a Tekken 7 board to feature at events like Final Round, NorCal Regionals, and this weekend’s Texas Showdown.

While the more pessimistic among us may have assumed it would appear in Houston without the most recent arcade updates, that’s far from the case. Last week, Julio revealed that Texas Showdown will feature the game in its most up-to-date version, meaning recent roster additions like Jin Kazama, Devil Jin, Josie Rizal, and even Gigas will be playable.

This is a fantastic opportunity for Tekken competitors to acquaint themselves with these characters, especially with a western release as of yet unannounced. If you happen to be making the trip to Texas Showdown this weekend, don’t pass up the chance to try some of Tekken 7’s newest characters.

Source: Mark Julio