Category: Fighting Games

As with all of their most recent events, ticket demand for the Evolution Championship Series was incredibly high this year. So high, in fact, that passes to the main tournament hall during Sunday finals have sold out a little over three weeks after registration opened.

Part of the reason for this, the organizers say, is because the venue they booked at the Bally’s / Paris in Las Vegas can only hold about half the attendees as the hall they had in 2014. But don’t worry! There are still a few options open to you if you missed out on grabbing one of these badges.

In addition to the main ballroom, there will be a separate viewing hall to hold additional spectators, complete with a live broadcast of the ongoing matches and live commentary. Luckily, direct feed footage is set to be shown in this secondary area, so there won’t be any delay between what folks see there and what is happening on stage.

Evo 2015 competitor registration is still very much open as well, so don’t let this turn of events keep you from taking part in the largest fighting game tournament in the world.

In closing, the Evo staff had this to say about the situation:

“Evo always does its best to secure the largest possible hall at the best location, but competition for ballrooms in Vegas is very intense and 2014’s Westgate ballrooms were not available this summer. Players gave very high marks to Evo 2013 at Paris/Bally’s, and it was a fantastic event, but the floorspace is divided differently and the main hall is not as large.

We’ve been blown away by the demand this year, and as a result, the spectator passes to the main hall on Sunday have sold out in a record 24 days. Registration for all tournaments, and all events are still open to anyone–it is only spectator access passes to the main hall on Sunday that are no longer available. New registrations are still able to attend the Sunday finals in the Viewing Hall, with a live, zero delay broadcast of the event, which will include live commentary alongside the matches. The game tournaments, panels, exhibitions, and other special events are also all still available to new registrations. These spots are also going quickly, so we encourage anyone interested in Evo 2015 to sign up as soon as they are able.

We’re also proud to announce that in only 24 days, both Ultra Street Fighter IV and Smash Bros. Melee have surpassed 1000 registrations.”

Evo 2015 is scheduled for July 17-19. More information is available through the official website.

People are spoiled for choice nowadays when it comes to custom balltops for their arcade sticks, with companies offering a multitude of different designs, such as clear, mesh, and even briarwood options. For those who prefer old-school American style battops hover, choices have been somewhat limited…until now.

First announced at Japan Amusement Expo 2015, Sanwa Denshi’s new LB-30N-CW clear battops are coming to the United States courtesy of our friends over at Arcade Shock.  These battops sport a transparent, nearly glass-like look that should add a touch of class to any arcade stick.

Additionally, these use a new mold that features the standard size screw hole, not the larger one of past Sanwa battops, meaning that it’ll fit in most Japanese style arcade levers, including the company’s own JLF, without the need for an adapter.

Sanwa’s LB-30N-CW clear battop will be available from Arcade Shock this Friday, February 27. More colors are planned to follow. In the meantime, check out these images of the clear stick below and let us know what you think.

Source: Arcade Shock, thanks to MarkMan for the tip.

This weekend, some the best Ultra Street Fighter IV players from Singapore and Hong Kong will once again face off in the fourth Singapore vs. Hong Kong team tournament. Presented by Tough Cookie and Beast of the East, this event will bring together forty competitors in total, twenty to each side, to decide the stronger region.

While Singapore has won the last three outings, the scores have always been close, with the Lion City only winning by one point each time. Will Hong Kong, led by Humanbomb, finally get their win, or will Singapore, with players such as Evolution 2013 champion Xian and his Razer teammate Gackt, triumph once again?

Find out this Sunday, March 1, by tuning into Tough Cookie at 4:00 PM Singapore time (12 AM PST, 3 AM EST).

Source: Beast of the East

With an April launch planned for BlazBlue: Chronophantasma, retailers are starting to ramp up promotion with a variety of exclusive pre-order items. While many are offering items like posters, tapestries, and accessories for lobby avatars, online vendor AmiAmi is making a special item available to their customers.

In case you’re confused or maybe just don’t speak Japanese, here’s a quick breakdown: that’s an Azrael mousepad.

While tie-ins like this typically utilize a character’s physical attributes to make them more appealing (in fact, one such mousepad of Azrael already exists), it’s cool to see Arc System Works attach a more conventional bonus item to their upcoming title, one that you wouldn’t have to answer any embarrassing questions about if, say, your parents came across it during a holiday visit.

BlazBlue: Chronophantasma EXTEND is scheduled to release for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita on April 23. If you’re interested in grabbing this rather common mousepad with your game, you can do so through AmiAmi for ¥6080 JPY (~$51 USD).

Source: AmiAmi via Zerochan

After failing to be selected for this year’s Evolution, the King of Fighters community has banded together for a special tour focused entirely on their series of choice.

Much like similar tours, Journey to Dream Cancel Cup will encompass various events, including Id Global Tournament 2015, Combo Breaker, and even Evo 2015, through which players will be able to accrue points and even qualify outright for the final tournament bracket. Unlike its contemporaries, however, Dream Cancel Cup will be open to the public, allowing everyone to try their hands against some of the best players in the world.

And it won’t be restricted to the most recent entry in the franchise, either: the official lineup will consist of King of Fighters XIII, King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match, and King of Fighters ’98 Ultimate Match Final Edition.

Dream Cancel Cup itself is currently scheduled to take place at Winter Showdown 3 next January.

More details on this tour can be found in Dream Cancel’s official announcement.

Source: Dream Cancel

While the lack of compatibility between Dead or Alive 5 Last Round and various arcade sticks is certainly worrying for folks looking to jump into the new fighter as soon as possible, a bug found in the game’s tutorial mode can be even more detrimental to the overall experience.

According to Team NINJA, entering two specific tutorial lessons with the German, Spanish, French, or Italian languages enabled will cause the game to freeze and possibly even corrupt your save data, wiping clean any work you had already put into the title. No explanation for why this occurs was provided, but the developers did take the opportunity to extend an apology and assure they are working on the problem.

This glitch can be found in every version of Dead or Alive 5 Last Round, so be cautious as you’re learning how to play if you use any of the four dialects mentioned above.

Source: Team NINJA