Category: Fighting Games

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)

The upcoming EGX 2016 games show at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England will include Bandai Namco showcasing Tekken 7: Fated Retribution in a tournament setting for the first time in the UK–long overdue, after the game has been to Evo twice and many other venues in various forms. But Bandai Namco undoubtedly wants to keep all worldwide markets engaged and interested for the game’s impending console release.

EGX will run September 22-25, 2016. For more information, or to register to attend (though tickets appear limited at this point), head over to EGX’s event page.

Source: EGX

When NetherRealm Studios began their enhanced online beta process to test their new netcode, many PC users were left wondering why they were left out of the equation. NRS would later confirm that the title’s XL update would only be seeing a release on the Playstation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game, forcing PC players to miss out on the return of The Pit stage, new costumes, a staggering amount of system and character balance changes, four new characters, and most importantly: a completely revamped online infrastructure with the company’s new rollback-based netcode.

Fortunately, that wait seems to finally be ending. Earlier today, notable MKXL player and content creator Pig Of The Hut noticed an updated listing for MKX on PC. Shortly after, NRS announced that for the next four days, they will be hosting an MKXL Enhanced Online Beta for Steam, which will allow PC players to finally experience the current version of the game that can be played on consoles, with the new kombatants and rollback netcode fully implemented.

The Beta will run from now until August 29th at 10 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, after which participants will receive an invitation to take a Beta survey. The announcement notes that “the team will be paying close attention to your feedback, so please be as candid and detailed as you can be!”

You can check out the full announcement here, which will also introduce you to the moderators who will be providing support in the Steam forums, and you can download the Beta at this link.

Sources: Steam; Pig Of The Hut (Twitter)

For any newcomers coming into The King of Fighters XIV, picking three characters from the large 50 character roster may seem like a daunting task. To help simplify this and make sure that newcomers make the right choices that help them learn the series’ mechanics, Antinomy has come up with a handy infographic that should help people make their choices.

The infographic, which you can see in the tweet below, places the characters into 3 groups. First up is the green group, characters here are those that will teach newcomers the basic aspects of KOF. Characters in the yellow group are somewhat similar to those in the green. However, they also have some special moves or properties that such as safe blockstring enders, that may not exactly teach players how to properly play the game. Finally, those in the red group will tend to give players bad habits that won’t help them out in the long run.

Are you new to KOF and don't know who to choose? I have some suggestion! pic.twitter.com/p7JsHGWzOK

— Antinomy (@Antinomy001) August 23, 2016

In addition to the three groups, there is an additional black group that’s reserved for the final boss Verse, which players shouldn’t pick–for obvious reasons.

Source: Antinomy (Twitter)

Aside from being a crucial part of NYChrisG’s Evo 2016 winning team in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Darkstalker’s Morrigan Aensland is known primarily for her sex appeal. As a succubus, sex appeal is something that’s an inherent part of her character; it’s also something that Capcom isn’t shy about using to sell merchandise, such as this new Darkstalkers Morrigan Aensland (Nurse Version) figure, sculpted by Tsuyoshi Hamasaki.

Now available for pre-order on AmiAmi, the Darkstalkers Morrigan Aensland (Nurse Ver.) figure has Morrigan play out the classic “hospital hottie” trope. She comes dressed in a “naughty nurse” outfit while holding a thermometer (since temperatures are going to rise, with what she’s wearing) and clipboard. Completing the look is a giant, “wouldn’t want that anywhere near me” syringe that’s sucking up some of the bat-winged blood that serves as the figure’s base.

Those interested can pre-order the figure now from AmiAmi for a discounted price of ¥10,390 ($103.39 USD). The figure is expected to be released sometime this September. In the meantime, check out some images of it (provided you’re not at work) in the gallery below.

Click to view slideshow.

Source: AmiAmi

With the King of Fighters XIV out now in stores, many players may be wondering about SNK’s plans for the game future in the tournament scene. Well, it seems that the company has something big planned for next year.

In a recent tweet, SNK announced that they will be holding a “World Championship” for the King of Fighters XIV sometime early in 2017.

The King or Queen of KOF XIV will be crowned at "WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP" in early 2017! #KOF14 #KOFXIV pic.twitter.com/tTdTcPx0xF

— G-Mantle (ゲーマント） (@SNKPofficial) August 25, 2016

No other details about this “World Championship” have been revealed as of yet. That said, the wording does seem to hint at one single big event to be held early next year instead of an ongoing tour. Whatever this “World Championship” may be, it’s definitely represents some good news for any competitive KOF fans out there.

Source: SNK (Twitter)