Author: Ian "iantothemax" Walker

Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- prepurchasers, rejoice! Arc System Works has seen fit to reward your dedication to their latest console title with an early unlock on PlayStation Network in Japan.

As of just a few minutes ago, the game became available through the digital service, giving players outside of its country of origin the chance to experience it in full for the first time. Pretty special, huh?

So, if you pre-ordered and pre-installed, you should find Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- unlocked on your dashboard. One cool thing to note is that, if your console is set to English, the title will automatically translate all the menus to your language of choice, removing any barrier the original Japanese may have presented.

Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- will be widely available for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 in Japan later today and in North America on December 16.

Source: Kurushii

After much speculation from the community, Capcom has finally revealed the first-round matchups that will kick off the action at Capcom Cup 2014 later this month.

Some of the more tantalizing pairings include Evil Geniuses teammates PR Balrog and Ricky Ortiz, Infiltration and CNB|ChuChu’s Korea vs. Brazil rematch, and yet another chapter in the eternal struggle between Evil Geniuses’ Justin Wong and Daigo Umehara of Mad Catz.

The full list has been included below for your perusal.

• MD|Luffy vs. NISHIKIN
• EG|PR Balrog vs. EG|Ricky Ortiz
• Snake Eyez vs. EG|Momochi
• DIG|Ryan Hart vs. CRS|NuckleDu
• Bonchan vs. RZR|Fuudo
• Infiltration vs. CNB|ChuChu
• RZR|Xian vs. GL|Valmaster
• EG|Justin Wong vs. MCZ|Daigo Umehara

This news comes courtesy of OneFrameLink, who, much like they have for other events, are running a series of polls for fans to take part in. By letting your followers on Twitter know who you think will win this opening bouts, you will automatically be entered in a drawing to win a Chromecast from Capcom themselves. Further details on this promotion can be found here.

Capcom Cup 2014 is scheduled for December 13 in San Francisco, California.

Source: OneFrameLink

With Capcom Cup 2014 drawing ever closer, speculation has begun to run rampant regarding everything from bracket placements for the sixteen qualified players to the format they will be competing in.

Just this morning, Capcom’s Neidel “Haunts” Crisan laid one of these points to rest by revealing the tournament will be played in best of three sets (otherwise known as two out of three) until grand finals, where it will then shift to best of five (or three out of five). This was done, he says, in the interest of time, mentioning that even with these restrictions the event is set to run for at least six hours due to the 30+ matches that will be necessary to crown a champion.

Crisan relayed to us that more details, including an official bracket, will be released later today, so stay tuned.

Source: Haunts

With Capcom Cup 2014 drawing ever closer, speculation has begun to run rampant regarding everything from bracket placements for the sixteen qualified players to the format they will be competing in.

Just this morning, Capcom’s Neidel “Haunts” Crisan laid one of these points to rest by revealing the tournament will be played in best of three sets (otherwise known as two out of three) until grand finals, where it will then shift to best of five (or three out of five). This was done, he says, in the interest of time, mentioning that even with these restrictions the event is set to run for at least six hours due to the 30+ matches that will be necessary to crown a champion.

Crisan relayed to us that more details, including an official bracket, will be released later today, so stay tuned.

Source: Haunts

Earlier this morning, Capcom TV went live with another special broadcast focused, in part, on Ultra Street Fighter IV. As part of the show, they welcomed Evil Geniuses’ Momochi and ChocoBlanka onto the program to lend their competitive expertise to the proceedings.

Before that, however, producers Tomoaki Ayano and Koichi Sugiyama ran through a handful of changes coming to characters like Adon, Cody, Hugo, Cammy, C. Viper, Vega, and Dan. These are the same clips the Capcom representatives premiered at WECG 2014’s Japanese qualifier this past weekend, fortunately providing a look at these updates outside of a live stream and making coarse rips of their property unnecessary.

After that, further additions made in this unique mode are demonstrated through matches between the aforementioned players and producers, giving us previews of how Sakura, Rolento, Evil Ryu, Ryu, Blanka, and Ken may perform in actual competition.

To close out the segment, Momochi faces off against a trio of mysterious masked fighters from Capcom before being paired up against ChocoBlanka for one final exhibition.

You’ll find all the footage mentioned above in the video below. Check it out and let us know what you think of Omega Mode in the comments.

Source: Capcom Channel, tip via David I.

If you’re looking to pick up a capture device for your next combo video or online session and can’t bear the thought of owning something without Ryu’s scowling mug on it, you’re in luck. Today marks the release of AVerMedia’s latest Live Gamer Portable, specifically branded for Ultra Street Fighter IV.

While the outside may be different, the insides are all the same, including compatibility with PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC. It also comes bundled with a free, year-long premium license for XSplit.

Our very own Patrick Miller reviewed the original Live Gamer Portable back in 2013, saying that, while the small form and ease of use is a bonus, it is a bit pricier than other devices and carries some software limitations. The entire review can be read here if you’re interested in his full thoughts.

This version of AVerMedia’s Live Gamer Portable can be purchased through Amazon and Newegg, with an added discount through the latter if you happen to be a premier member.

Sources: AVerMedia

With Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- set to land in North America on December 16, Aksys Games recently came forward with some unfortunate news regarding the title’s special edition package.

According to the publisher, ongoing strikes in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have caused unexpected delays in the shipping of key Limited Edition components, a hold-up that will cause the bundle to miss the original release date. They are currently unsure exactly how far this will push back shipment, but have made an estimate of one or two weeks.

“Aksys Games takes this matter seriously and will continue to update everyone as soon as we can,” the news explains. “We would like to apologize for the delay and inconvenience that this has caused.”

Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-‘s limited edition attaches a variety of extras to the game, including unique packaging, an exclusive character book, a keychain fashioned after Sol Badguy’s belt buckle, and more.

Luckily, fans can still expect to grab the standard version on December 16.

Source: Aksys Games via Gematsu

Corrections: This article incorrectly assumed that the Adam spoken of during the announcement was Adam “Keits” Heart of Iron Galaxy Studios, but we were recently informed that was incorrect. Also, the event will not be held at Ultra Arcade itself. Our apologies for these mistakes.

Since opening in February, Ultra Arcade has served as a home base for Texans in the San Antonio area, hosting numerous tournaments and high-profile invitationals like Curleh Mustache South, and a recent announcement definitely shows they are in it for the long haul.

During a special birthday broadcast, Evo 2014 champion Emmanuel “TSC|CDjr” Brito welcomed Ultra Arcade owner Brandon Alexander onto the stream to reveal their plans for a major Killer Instinct tournament.

Disappointed by the turnout for the game at recent tournaments, Alexander thought it may be a great idea to emulate Capcom Cup and hold qualifiers for a major Killer Instinct tournament. After discussing the idea with individuals at Microsoft, he worked out concrete plans for the Killer Instinct World Cup.

Similar to Capcom’s tournament series, Killer Instinct World Cup will be made up of players who qualify through events next year, such as Evo 2015, Ultra Arcade’s own Kombo Klash competitions, and other major events. A point system will also be in place to award consistent placers.

Other official details are still in the planning stages, but Alexander mentioned wanting to provide points to this year’s Kumite in Tennessee as well as online tournaments ran by Level|Up Series’ Alex Valle and Brito himself.

At this point, Alexander is personally providing $10,000 to the prize pool, but that number may grow as more support is thrown behind the event.

More information is sure to trickle out over the next year, so stay tuned.

Source: CDjr, special thanks to Rotendo for sending this our way.