Author: Ian "iantothemax" Walker

When I was in highschool, it became tradition to take part in the yearly March Madness predictions, even though I had very little idea what skills each team possessed, the history of certain seeding matchups, and pretty much any other information that would be important to putting together a high-scoring bracket. While not necessarily my realm of expertise, it served as a great way to bond with my friends and forget about whatever homework assignments I had been given.

That’s why, when the Evolution organizers put together a similar project in 2011, I was beyond excited. A bracket prediction contest on a subject I actually had knowledge of? Let’s go!

Unfortunately, that unique aspect to the tournament hasn’t been kept up over the past few years, but you’ll be able to take part in the same exercise during Capcom Cup this weekend thanks to Maxoplata.

The instructions are pretty easy. All you have to do is sign-up for an account at Maxoplata, confirm your registration, and then start making your picks! For a full breakdown of the steps you’ll need to take to get started, check out UltraChen’s announcement here.

For an idea of the choices being made so far, feel free to browse the picks UltraDavid, James Chen, and I have made, and drop us a link to your bracket in the comments so we can see how you see things shaking out in the main event.

Source: UltraChen

Those of you looking to get your old-school SNK fix today probably noticed that King of Fighters ’98 Ultimate Match Final Edition has yet to arrive on Steam. Unfortunately, you’re gonna have to wait a little longer.

Earlier this morning, SNK Playmore announced that they have had to push back the title’s release date from today to next Tuesday, December 16. No information was provided as to why this delay was necessary.

That said, this does give fans the opportunity to take advantage of the 20% pre-purchase discount, so be sure to check out the game’s official Steam page for more details.

For now, feel free to check out the trailer below.

Source: SNK Playmore

While we haven’t seen much of the UltraTech experiment since she was teased at the end of Kan-Ra’s trailer, Riptor is finally making her way to Killer Instinct.

Microsoft Studios creative director Adam Isgreen took to the Ultra-Combo forums earlier this afternoon to release this latest chunk of information, part of which mentions they are aiming to release Riptor to the public next Wednesday, December 17. “Aiming” is the key word here because, according to Isgreen, they hit a snag during certification and the low chances of another misstep puts that date at a slight risk.

In any case, he also provided a full look at Riptor’s updated design. This fresh look sees the dinosaur sporting a few brand new modifications that are sure to deal out some serious pain.

We’ll receive our first look at the work Iron Galaxy Studios has put into bringing Riptor to life on Monday, December 15.

The ver.2.2 patch that adds Riptor to the game will also come with a handful of balance changes, story mode, TJ Combo’s retro costume, and more.

Finally, as thank you gift to the fans, Microsoft will be handing out some special holiday-flavored accessories for a few of the cast members. Everyone who owns Orchid will be given a special color palette, Season One Ultra Edition holders will net some new candy cane batons for Orchid and reindeer antlers for Sabrewulf, and those who have purchased Season Two’s Ultra Edition will be able to outfit their TJ Combo with a Santa beard.

All of the items pictured below will also be available to purchase separately.

Additional information about upcoming Killer Instinct content can be found in Isgreen’s original post.

Source: Ultra-Combo

Capcom president Haruhiro Tsujimoto created some intense debate earlier this year when, during a discussion on hypothetical Street Fighter V features, he mentioned wanting to implement some sort of pay model to alleviate the widening gap between high-level and beginning players. As you can imagine, the reaction was severe, causing producer Yoshinori Ono to step in soon after to dispel the information.

Now that Street Fighter V has been officially announced, those old talking points have come back to the surface. In an effort to quell this thinking, Ono made his position on the matter very blunt in a recent interview with Famitsu. “Let me set this straight: Street Fighter V is a packaged game,” he stated, according to Japanator’s Elliot Gay. “Not [free-to-play].”

This is certainly good news for players who were worried about Capcom continuing policies introduced in Street Fighter x Tekken, where certain fighter-enhancing gems were only available through separate purchases. Some may argue, however, that a free-to-play model could help introduce new players to the game much in the same Killer Instinct and Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate Core Fighters.

In any case, it’s good to have a clear answer.

Gay mentioned that this was just one piece of a larger interview, so it’s possible we’ll hear more Street Fighter V information in the near future. The game’s first live match is scheduled for this weekend’s Capcom Cup.

Street Fighter V is scheduled to launch on PlayStation 4 and PC. A release date has yet to be announced.

Source: Famitsu via Elliot Gay

Earlier this week, we talked about the negative reactions Bandai Namco Games received after revealing Tekken 7’s Lucky Chloe at a celebration of the series’ twentieth anniversary. We also touched on director Katsuhiro Harada’s reaction to that reaction, which was to state she would be exclusive to Japan and Europe, essentially barring her from the North American release.

Of course, we didn’t spend too much time on that last point because it was very obviously a joke. But now that the story has been picked up by major video game outlets of being as if its an absolute truth, here we are again.

Now, more than ever before, fighting game developers mingle with their core, competitive audience. Where once this kind of support was only a pipedream, we now have major backing at events like the Evolution Championship Series and even tournaments like Capcom Cup and Arc Revolution Cup ran by the companies themselves.

While I would be remiss for not mentioning the draw exclusive characters can be on the casual crowd, we’ve begun to see signs that they are a thing of the past; mostly recently, NetherRealm Studios executive producer Shaun Himmerick mentioned that Mortal Kombat X will not feature platform-exclusive fighters, signalling a shift away from practices seen in the previous title.

It should also be noted that in no prior Tekken titles have Bandai Namco made any characters region-exclusive and have only implemented platform exclusivity in Tekken Tag Tournament 2, which featured fighters in the console versions that never appeared in arcades. Doing so now would effectively bar Chloe from ever being used in competitive play, which means no exposure during tournaments streams, exhibitions, tutorials–nothing.

But, besides all that, this entire discussion can be finalized with a single tweet from Michael Murray, a senior game designer at Bandai Namco who frequently acts as Harada’s translator during public events. “It’s amusing how many [people] are [taking] Harada’s trolling about Chloe seriously,” he mentioned on Twitter shortly after word began to spread. “He’s good at getting free publicity.”

So, there you have it! Like her or hate her, Lucky Chloe will be coming to North America. Tell your friends.

Source: Michael Murray

Earlier this week, Capcom UK provided an early look at Ultra Street Fighter IV’s upcoming Omega Mode, bringing together a few of the region’s top players to test out the unique gameplay this update will provide. While it was mostly standard fare, one moment in particular unearthed an interesting change to El Fuerte’s Quesadilla Bomb.

This adjustment was originally highlighted by Pr0Fluke when he noticed the luchador landing closer to his opponent after having the chest bump blocked. After a bit of experimentation with my own copy of Ultra Street Fighter IV, I can confirm that the Quesadilla Bombs shown in the video below have been heavily nerfed, resulting in approximately half the pushback it’s normally equipped with.

For some clarification on when this change arose (and the possibility of it transferring over to the main game as Pr0Fluke posits), we contacted Capcom’s Peter “Combofiend” Rosas for additional information. According to Rosas, the nerf will be confined to Omega Mode, raising the possibility that the breakdowns they’ve released thus far are not exhaustive and fans will have more to look forward to when the update launches later this month.

The full archive of Capcom UK’s broadcast can be found here if you have a Capcom Fighters subscription.

If you’re having difficulties punishing blocked Quesadilla Bombs in Ultra Street Fighter IV, be sure to check out Eternal’s helpful tutorial on the subject.

Source: Pr0Fluke