Author: Luke "Woocash" Siuty

The saga of English dubbing for BlazBlue: Central Fiction continues. Last week, Aksys Games tweeted a few statements regarding the localization, explaining that including English dubbing would mean potentially delaying the game’s impending holiday release by six to eight months. While fans have sent many tweets at both Arc System Works and Aksys Games’ accounts, a formal petition popped up on Change.org.

@aksysgames 2. An English dub is possible, but sometimes devs need extra convincing. Petitions, fan pages, etc all help. Fan communities

— Aksys Games (@aksysgames) August 26, 2016

“Support the dub for BlazBlue: Central Fiction!” garnered close to 2,000 signatures over the weekend. The post summarizes some fan sentiments about the issue and includes statements from Ragna’s voice actor, Patrick Seitz, who revealed a stark lack of communication from the companies.

Aksys Games has pointed to Arc System Works as the main decision maker. They also stated that even if there’s enough interest in the game, the release won’t be delayed, but the dub can be added as DLC.

Seitz also wrote a follow-up Facebook post, thanking fans for the support and endorsing the petition.

Of course, even if the petition reaches its goal, that does not guarantee that Arc System Works will take any action–but it will demonstrate community interest.

Sources: Change.org; Aksys Games; Patrick Seitz

Releases of new fighting games, like The King of Fighters XIV and the upcoming BlazBlue: Central Fiction, are good opportunities to reflect on growing the fighting game scene and inviting new players.

According to Alex Valle, a longtime FGC veteran, the next two to four weeks following the release of KOFXIV are critical to growing the scene and welcoming new players. Valle put together several tips on how to positively impact your local scene, and here’s a quick summary of his steps:

1. Start discussions daily on social media and keep an active voice that attracts more people to join.
2. Create content–videos, screenshots–and consistently share via mediums like YouTube.
3. While online play is available, it’s secondary to face-to-face meetings and local tournaments.
4. Aid tournament organizers in any way possible, whether that includes being a community leader, helping with logistics of venue space and inventory, or alerting others about events.
5. Start up your own events, even if that means hosting in your own space–after all, that’s how the FGC began over 20 years ago.

What else do you do to motivate and grow your local community? Share your tips with us in the comments.

Source: Alex Valle (Facebook)

Aksys Games began addressing fan concerns over the possibility of no English dubbing for the upcoming Western console release of BlazBlue: Central Fiction. The publisher tweeted out earlier this week that the dub is “unlikely” at this point. The company has clarified its original statement with additional tweets that explained the tough decision, outweighed by wanting to stay as close as possible to the Japanese console release date of October 6th.

@aksysgames Basically boiled down to- game now w/ no dub. Game 6-8 months later w/ dub. We made a tough decision, but stick by it.

— Aksys Games (@aksysgames) August 24, 2016

More than just inconvenience for English-speaking fans, however: the lack of dub is a hit for voice actors who have been representing the series since its beginning in 2008. The mainstay actor and voice of protagonist Ragna the Bloodedge, Patrick Seitz, put together a blog post on his official Facebook page expressing his disappointment in the company’s communication on the matter. An excerpt:

And what a cast we’ve had…! I think our BB English cast is one of the best fighting game ensembles in the genre, frankly… I’m not saying that as a self-aggrandizing actor, or as one who’s bummed over the loss of a paycheck. I’m saying that as someone who, like you, has spent the last eight years with these characters–cheering their victories, mourning their losses, and understanding the world of BlazBlue more (or sometimes less!) with each new revelation.

Seitz and other noteworthy voice actors, like Noel Vermillion’s Cristina Vee, have been kept in the dark the same as fans regarding the possibility of dubbing. Seitz has also performed directing and coordination roles for certain games in the franchise. While Aksys didn’t explicitly say that the game will not get English-voice treatment later, Seitz points out that whether the game sells well or not, either situation doesn’t make a strong case for dubbing.

If the sub-only BBCF sells well in America, it’ll be seen as proof that an English dub isn’t essential–that it’s an expensive frippery, as it were, and that they were right to release a pared-down version… At that point, why commit funds to a dub after the fact when they’ve already got your cash in hand? And if BBCF doesn’t sell well, no one’s going to want to throw good money after bad by dubbing something that under-performed in its initial U.S. release.

This week, Aksys Games also announced details on the BlazBlue: Central Fiction Limited Edition coming this November.

Sources: Aksys Games (Twitter); Patrick Seitz (Facebook)

This morning, Aksys Games tweeted out an announcement via the Official PlayStation blog regarding the Limited Edition of the upcoming BlazBlue: Central Fiction. Exclusively on PlayStation 3 and 4, the next chapter in the BlazBlue saga gets the limited treatment once again with a selection of some extra goodies. The Collector’s Box includes:

• Deluxe Hardcover Art Book — 100 pages filled with artwork
• Mini Noel Vermillion Nendoroid Figure — a figure of the veteran BlazBlue heroine, Noel
• BlazBlue Song Interlude III Soundtrack — a CD with 10 tracks from the game

Furthermore, the announcement mentions the brand-new character, Es. The “Guardian of the Azure,” who uses Crest Art attacks, will be available to download for free from the PlayStation Store for two weeks after launch. Aksys has not specified a release date yet, however, the blog post mentions November.

Yesterday, Aksys Games answered fan questions related to the game’s English dub.

Are you hyped for the Limited Edition of BlazBlue: Central Fiction? Let us know and stay tuned to Shoryuken for continued coverage.

Source: PlayStation Blog

Gamescom 2016’s fighting game news continues with fresh Story Mode details for Tekken 7: Fated Retribution. Among the more intriguing tidbits are screenshots featuring a young Kazuya Mishima training with his father, Heihachi. Tekken 7’s Story Mode will offer several hours of gameplay and includes featurettes that look back in time–with this child Kazuya being a playable character.

Other than the Mishima storyline, there are several unlockable side stories that involve other characters from the series. There will also be some story-specific costumes for those fighters. One available side story focuses on Claudio Serafino, a supernatural investigator from the Archers of Sirius group, who potentially has the means to defeat the Devil Gene.

Check out the hi-res screenshot gallery from Gamescom below.

In related news, there’s also the Lee Chaolan reveal trailer from Gamescom 2016.

Source: Fighters Generation