Author: Ian "iantothemax" Walker

Last week, an interesting website was brought to our attention by Mad Catz’ Mark “MarkMan” Julio that appeared to promote some sort of fighting game event by energy drink manufacturer and burgeoning competitive gaming organization Red Bull. A short teaser video hinted that the affair would involve Ultra Street Fighter IV, but nothing indicated whether this would be a traditional tournament or some sort of high-profile “beat the pro” promotion.

Fortunately, new details have emerged revealing it to be the latter.

Red Bull Kumite will join the growing number of invitationals by bringing together fourteen of the world’s strongest Street Fighter competitors, gathered from Japan, Singapore, the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and France, and allow them to do what they do best. The bracket will be supplemented by two additional players, decided the day before through an open tournament.

At this point in time, the only confirmed participant is Razer’s Ho Kun Xian, but rumors point towards Darryl “Snake Eyez” Lewis also receiving an invite.

Red Bull Kumite is scheduled for March 28 in Paris, France. We’ll be sure to pass along more information as soon as they become available, but for now, feel free to check out the official website and Facebook event.

Sources: Red Bull Kumite via MarkMan, Red Bull Events via NeoGAF

Although Famitsu provided a great look at the mechanics in Bandai Namco Games’ upcoming Pokkén Tournament last week, the stream quality left quite a bit to be desired. The game looked alright, but it was pretty obvious we weren’t receiving the fullness of its graphics through Niconico.

Fortunately, a handful of new screenshots were recently released that get up close and personal with all the Pokémon announced for the title thus far. Suicune’s upgraded fur textures, Pikachu’s electric attacks, various special effects, and more pop beautifully in the image gallery below. Give them a look and let us know what you think.

For more information on Pokkén Tournament’s gameplay, head back to our original report on the Famitsu broadcast. Replays for each of the matches played on the show can be found here.

Pokkén Tournament is set to launch in Japanese arcades sometime this year.

Source: Siliconera

Tekken Crash…wow, it’s been some time since we’ve heard that name. As Tekken Tag Tournament 2’s tournament support dwindled over the past few years, programs dedicated entirely to the popular series went the way of the buffalo as well, but that’s all going to change thanks to Tekken 7.

Later tonight, Tekken will once again find a home on television via the aptly named Tekken Crash Returns. Twelve of South Korea’s strongest competitors (split into four teams of three) are set to make appearances at Nexon Arena in Seoul to compete in the seventh mainline installment of Bandai Namco Games’ long-running franchise.

Some of the players you can expect to see include Knee, Help Me, Chanel, JDCR, and Saint.

Not only will Tekken Crash Returns give the greater community its first look at high-level Tekken 7 play, the show will also mark the debut of newcomer Shaheen, the Saudi Arabian cast member revealed by Katsuhiro Harada last month. Very little has been divulged regarding the character besides his appearance, so don’t miss out on this opportunity to see what he’s all about.

Tekken Crash Returns is scheduled to begin at 4 PM KST (or 11 PM PST, 1 AM EST tonight). Fortunately, access to Korean airwaves won’t be required thanks to an official online broadcast through YouTube. Bookmark the stream below and get ready for the next battle!

Source: Avoiding the Puddle

Similar to previous character releases, Omen’s Killer Instinct debut will becombined with a number of changes to both the core gameplay mechanics and balance adjustments for the rest of the cast. Iron Galaxy Studio’s Kraig “Klaige” Kujawa recently took to the Ultra-Combo forums to share these tweaks with the players who congregate there, providing a nice look at how the title will change later this week.

While a number of bugs are addressed in the patch, it also includes quite a few interesting updates, including a new way for Jago to earn a bit more Instinct meter, increases to the Potential Damage doled out by Fulgore’s Devastation Beam, and more. The full list can be found below.

Killer Instinct will be updated to ver.2.3 this Friday, January 30. Season 2 Ultra Edition owners will be able to play Omen on the same day, but folks who stuck with the Combo Breaker pack will have to wait until February 5.

Source: Ultra-Combo

Jason “Mew2King” Zimmerman (right) with Empire Arcadia’s Isaiah “Triforce” Johnson (Image c/o Robert Paul)

Sound the trumpets, alert the people, Jason “Mew2King” Zimmerman has parted ways with Empire Arcadia.

This news comes from the man himself, posted via Reddit and describing the circumstances that led to this decision. “I told [Isaiah “Triforce” Johnson] I was leaving [Empire Arcadia] because I wasn’t paid on time (and much less than promised when I was),” he describes. “I consider myself a very nice person (although also a very misunderstood one) but even I have my limits on patience and fairness. I guess he didn’t think I would keep my word.”

Details of the split first surfaced last night courtesy of a tweet from Empire Arcadia themselves. Zimmerman notes in his story that he was planning to announce the news himself after Apex 2015, but had his hand forced by what he sees as a public relations move on the organization’s part.

Zimmerman first joined Empire Arcadia back in 2009, sticking with them over the years and accepting additional sponsorships from groups like CLASH Tournaments and Play-4-Keeps periodically, though the latter was less than beneficial. “[Play-4-Keeps] was also a total scam,” he mentions later on in his post. “I never got anything from them. I have definitely learned some life lessons from all of this. Unfortunately, my bank/wallet paid the price for my being too nice/dumb.”

As one of the most dominant players in Smash history, with tournament victories in every game the series offers, Zimmerman has long been thought of as one of the scene’s “gods,” comprising the upper echelon of competition alongside Joseph “Mango” Marquez, Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma, Kevin “PPMD” Nanney, and former Empire Arcadia teammate Adam “Armada” Lindgren.

While each of those aforementioned players have found homes at prominent competitive gaming organizations, Zimmerman has continued to flounder even though his skills are far from diminishing. The most recent exhibition of his strength came from Kumite in Tennessee 15, which saw the veteran take home first in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and Project M.

Of course, no one can say for sure what Zimmerman’s future entails, but this is obviously a very important first step in achieving the same success as his contemporaries. We expect he won’t stay a free agent for long.

Source: Mew2King