Earlier this week, Ken “Hot_Bid” Chen of ESL spoke to Yahoo! eSports, making an announcement that could stand to have a lasting impact on the gaming world: there will soon be an eSports hall of fame. With the increasing parity between eSports and more traditional sports, this comes as little surprise. The inaugural hall of fame induction will take place at ESL One Cologne, and will see a Counter-Strike player as the first inductee. Though this is an ESL event, there’s definitely a chance that future inductions could take place at non-ESL events, specifically ones which draw “a home crowd for the game.”
With such a wide array of games out there, one has to wonder which titles will have their players showcased. The early list (so far) includes League of Legends, Dota, StarCraft, “and hopefully some fighting game community stuff.” The lack of a specific title does leave much to be desired, but it’s good to know that, even in this early state, the folks behind the hall of fame have recognized the fighting game community as capable of producing legendary players.
Obviously, having a career worthy of induction is an important part of making it into the hall of fame, but players must also be retired for at least one year in order to qualify. A panel of experts including “writers, commentators, [and] experts in the scene” will be in charge of picking the players to include.
For more information on the eSports hall of fame, keep an eye on the official site. You can also watch the official announcement over at Yahoo! eSports.
After successfully closing their second outing last year, ESL is ready to continue their support of the Mortal Kombat X community with another season of competition. This year, the total prize pool has been increased to $500,000, with $200,000 up for grabs at the finals.
Tournaments in season three will be split between Challenger and Pro League Cups. While the latter will function similarly to last year’s qualifiers, Challenger Cups are specifically designated as a “place where players hone their competitive skills.” Participants in the Commonwealth of Independent States will be able to compete for a single qualifying spot in this way, as Pro League Cups–and, therefore, the ranking points necessary to earn a spot in the finals–are now exclusive to North America and Europe.
This year’s circuit also welcomes Latin America into the mix, allowing players in Central and South America to participate alongside their North American counterparts in the weekly Challenger Cups. As these won’t offer a direct route to the finals, an offline qualifier will also be held at Chile’s Masters Challenge Santiago on May 14, joining Combo Breaker in Chicago, Illinois as the only announced events without an online bias.
Challenger Cups begin on April 2, Pro League Cups follow on April 3, and the finals are scheduled for June 12. More prizing and scheduling details can be found here.
One of the biggest complaints from the fighting game community as of late has been the lack of an official trailer for Street Fighter V’s Alex. While we won’t get into the legitimacy of such complaints, everyone should be happy to learn that Capcom has dropped a quick video highlighting the returning character’s launch.
Alex will join the Street Fighter V roster today alongside an early version of the in-game shop. While the game’s equivalent to real-world money, Zenny, won’t be available, players should be able to spend some of the Fight Money they’ve been accruing since launch on things like story mode costumes, colors, and more.
Due to the limited way in which they are opening the shop, Alex will be free to play until Zenny functionality is added to the game. This will apply to any other downloadable characters added to the game before the currency is supported.
While we don’t have a concrete release time, we’re expecting Alex to become playable soon after Street Fighter V servers come back online at 10 AM PDT (1 PM EDT, 5 PM GMT). Stay tuned for more details.
One of the unique things about the Super Smash Bros. games is that, aside from the usual one-on-one format, they can also be played by pairs, with rather exciting results.
In this new video, SSB_Lockon highlights one such Super Smash Bros. Melee team comprised of Counter Logic Gaming’s Kevin “PewPewU” Toy and Zachary “SFAT” Cordoni, otherwise known as PewFAT. They were chosen due to being widely considered as one of the best competitive duos in the community today. And while some players liberally switch partners, they’ve stuck together for some time.
To see the magic they create together, check out the reel below, and be sure to let us know what you think in the comments.
As we already know, Street Fighter V’s in-game shop will have, among other things, alternate colors for sale. While some assumed that this would simply allow players to purchase the unlockable colors without having to grind them out in survival mode, it turns out that there’s more to it than that. Datamining has uncovered a new set of store-exclusive colors that differ from anything we’ve seen thus far.
For those curious about what these colors look like, S O L M Λ K R has shared a few images depicting them in-game, all of which we’ve included in the gallery below. These palettes add a few interesting variations to the roster’s aesthetics, with some even changing hair and skin colors. Examples include a fair-skinned, blonde Laura, tanned Cammy, various sunburned Ryus, an angry old man Zangief, and more.
Although recent years have seen SNK Playmore focus on King of Fighters exclusively, the studio owns a number of properties that are still near and dear to fans’ hearts. One such title is Garou: Mark of the Wolves, the most recent installment of the Fatal Fury franchise. Fortunately, hope is not lost for a follow-up.
During his visit to the Seika Kyouen tournament in Tokyo, Japan, King of Fighters XIV director Yasuyuki Oda commented on the event’s main titles, one of which just happened to be Mark of the Wolves. “I think people here are thinking, ‘Hey what are you doing, aren’t you forgetting about Garou?’” Oda said after showing off the latest King of Fighters trailer. “I’m going to do something about it before I die (laughs), so please keep on supporting us.”
Garou: Mark of the Wolves occupies a unique position in the SNK universe. As a bit of a scrub on the subject, I was confused as to why folks would want a sequel to the older title with King of Fighters XIV on the way, so I reached out to Giby Zia, Chris “Hellpockets” Fields, Andres Velasco y Coll, and Mike Spragg for their input on the matter.
According to Zia, this is mostly due to the split in mechanics that occurred as the franchises went their separate ways. “Fatal Fury has always toyed around with different gameplay mechanics with each title, while King of Fighters has rarely gone off too far from the status quo,” he explained. “Mark of the Wolves adopted a more Street Fighter style of play and ditched some of the more notable mechanics, mainly plane switching.” Fatal Fury’s status as the original Street Fighter competitor also makes it a bit more important than King of Fighters in the eyes of players, and it almost feels as if the latter has gradually usurped the former’s throne over the years.
Velasco y Coll noted that things like Just Defend and certain canceling mechanics further set Fatal Fury apart from King of Fighters. “SNK games were always entrenched in a weird system that dictated how the game would be played and, in a way, King of Fighters has become both their identity and their vanilla offering,” he said. “I’m not surprised to see interest in a Garou, which would play very differently.”
While I spoke to them separately, all four mentioned that the outcry for a Mark of the Wolves sequel also comes from the fanbase’s focus on its consistent storyline, something that has gone by the wayside in King of Fighters. “I know story isn’t that big of an issue for many competitive gamers,” Zia continued, “but die hard SNK fans eat up story and seem to know every detail about the games and characters, much like how anime players know their games.”
Spragg, too, cited Fatal Fury’s more narrow, focused plot as a key element to its continued popularity. “We need closure. What happened to rock after Mark of the Wolves? Is geese alive in FF canon? What is Terry doing?” he explained.
Even though many regard the King of Fighters series as having some of the most fleshed out casts in the genre, I got the sense that even they don’t compare to the various Fatal Fury rosters from games past. “[King of Fighters] is kind of forced to include a certain amount of fan favorites to please people and have little space dedicated to brand new characters and additions from old games,” Fields said. This sentiment was also expressed by Spragg, who specifically mentioned wanting to see characters like Blue Mary, Duck King, Kim Dong Hwan, and Kim Jae Hoon, who have appeared in past King of Fighters releases but all but disappeared since.
With these details in mind, it’s easy to see why Oda’s mention of a possible Garou sequel has gained so much attention within the SNK community. As one of the key staff members during development of the original Mark of the Wolves, he is in a unique position to carry on its legacy in this modern era. Let’s hope he isn’t too burnt out on King of Fighters XIV to make accomplish this goal.
Source: Game Newton via MMCafe; huge thanks to everyone who contributed to this article!
While it may not always be feasible to register for a tournament early, doing so can save you a bit of cash if you’re able to plan ahead. Like many events, Northwest Majors is offering staggered pricing for this year’s installment depending on when you register, and the cost is set to rise tonight at midnight local time (3 AM EDT, 7 AM GMT).
Northwest Majors 8 features a greatly expanded lineup that includes titles like Street Fighter V, Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-, Tekken 7, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Killer Instinct, and more. There’s also a handful of side events if none of the official games interest you.
As of now, registration pricing is set at $40, with additional costs associated with each game you plan to play. After tonight, however, the general registration cost will jump to $55, a price that will last through April 23. And for all of you latecomers, on-site registration is set at $70. Attendees can also purchase a cheaper pass for $30 if they just plan to spectate or play casuals.
Northwest Majors 8 is scheduled for April 29 – May 1 in Des Moines, Washington. If you’re planning to attend, do yourself a favor and register now. More details can be found here.
The folks over at VGBootCamp recently went live with another installment of Smash @ Xanadu from Xanadu Games in Baltimore, Maryland. These weekly broadcasts provide a great look at the region’s Smash community, with tonight’s stream focusing entirely on Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
The stream is live below, but you can also head on over to Twitch to join the chat.
It’s Alex Eve, and everyone is chomping at the bit to step into the ring with Street Fighter V’s upcoming roster addition. As things like this tend to go, some masters of file manipulation have already figured out how to harness the power of this french fry-haired warrior, and were kind enough to share some footage of their exploits, which we’ve gathered up for you below.
For at least a month (probably longer) Street Fighter V players have been certain the next major event, the next week, the next–I don’t know, maybe the next time that a white cat walks across their windowsill and blinks in their direction–would certainly herald the coming of Alex’s trailer. That trailer, sadly, never came.
But you know what? Tommy decided we don’t need an official gameplay trailer to hype us up for this newest champion, and they took matters into their own hands, compiling some early in-game glimpses at Alex to show off his tools.
Redwolfxx spent some time in a lobby against Dantarion’s Alex and uploaded about ten minutes of footage to show what they saw. For more of Dantarion’s Alex footage, check out yesterday’s small roundup.
The addition of Street Fighter V’s challenge mode has made picking up early combos easier than ever. While these aren’t likely the most optimal combos–Capcom’s challenge mode offerings rarely are–they do offer a look at some of what we can expect to see from folks when they start stringing blows together.
We wrap things up with this video from Shinich Z, showing Alex performing his own take on Evo Moment #37. I mean, it really wouldn’t be a day -1 roundup without some sort of reference to this event, right?
We’re sure to have plenty more Alex footage tomorrow once he makes his official debut, so be sure to check back. And remember to send in your findings, as they may end up being part of tomorrow’s Street Fighter V community roundup!
