Category: News

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Final Evo 2019 registration numbers released, SNK and Athlon Games provide $30,000 pot bonus for Samurai Shodown

This year’s event is shaping up to be one of the biggest in Evo history!

With registration finally closed as of last Sunday, the final numbers have been released for all of the nine main stage titles at Evo 2019, with a myriad of records being broken.

First off, a staggering seven of the nine official titles have gained over 1,000 entrants, with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate leading the pack with over 3,000 competitors, making it the largest Smash tournament in Evo’s history, series-wide, if not the largest Smash tourney of all time.

Meanwhile, SNK’s newly-released Samurai Shodown has also become the most-entered SNK game in Evo history, with a whopping 1,719 entrants, shattering KOFXIII‘s previous record of 1,072 in 2012.

To celebrate this feat, SNK and the game’s North American publisher, Athlon Games, are teaming up to add an extra $30,000 to the title’s overall prize pot, in addition to some cool SamSho-themed swag for the trio of player’s fortunate enough to make Top 3.

These players, in addition to embracing death to the fullest, will be rewarded with a limited edition Samurai Shodown NeoGeo Mini console, as well as a very cool Haohmaru/Samurai Spirits jacket, and a signed original sketch of the Ainu priestess Nakoruru by SNK illustrator Yumi Saji.

Click to view slideshow.

Going back to the final entrant counts, we can see that while Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has managed to maintain its massively uncontested lead all the way to the finish line, Super Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition finally eclipsed Tekken 7 for second-place honors, despite the King of Iron Fist Tournament 7 actually being the only returning game to actually grow overall.

SamSho finished in 4th, ahead of fellow popular newcomer Mortal Kombat 11, despite being the newer of the two titles, with Dragon Ball FighterZ maintaining a respectable 5th place, and Dragon Ball FighterZ, SoulCalibur VI, and BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle comprising the Bottom 3 games.

Though it should be noted that the SoulCalibur VI community’s souls still burn brighter than ever, as the newest chapter to take place on the Stage of History gained more entrants than its predecessor, SoulCalibur V, at Evo 2012, which only drew 416 warriors to pursue the cursed swords.

BBTAG brings up the rear after breaking 1,000 entrants in its debut year. The title set a new record for the largest last-place game in Evo history, displacing Killer Instinct’s 546 players from Evo 2014, in addition to being a Sunday Finals title and the tournament is the final chance to qualify for the ARCREVO World Tour Finals.

Additionally, Mr. Wizard and the Evo organizers have released the entire list of 9,193 unique competitors, organized by the games they’re entering, over on smash.gg, so you can see who you’re possibly competing against in your title of choice, or just looking to follow their journey from home.

Finally, Mark “MarkMan” Julio, Head of Business Development at Evo, has teaed some massive reveals and announcements likely set to come during the Sunday finals in the Mandalay Bay Arena. Pointing to last year’s reveals of G and Sagat for Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, Cooler for Dragon Ball FighterZ, and the announcement of Season 2 for Tekken 7, which included the likes of Anna Williams, Lei Wulong and The Walking Dead’s Negan, amongst its lineup.

You can see his Tweet below. With BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, Tekken 7, Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate set to headline the final day of the event, we’re hopefully in for some massive news on multiple fronts.

Evo 2019 takes place on August 2nd-4th from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Source: MrWiz (Twitter); AceKingOffsuit (Twitter); SNK; MarkMan23 (Twitter)

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Dead or Alive 6 Season 2 announced, includes new character, music, and bonus costumes for Marie Rose and Honoka; Seaside Eden pack launches July 23

Who could the mystery character be?

Dead or Alive 6 is getting a large batch of new content in its upcoming Season Pass 2! The new pass includes additional costumes, music, and an additional fighter.

The first set included in the second season pass, the Seaside Eden set, sets sail on July 23rd, and includes 26 costumes. This adds a new costume for every character except for the recently added SNK Heroines, Mai Shiranui and Kula Diamond.

There will also be a new stage added, which has an incredibly hilarious hazard or possibly a stage transition involving players being knocked far off the island.

Dead or Alive 6 Seaside Eden Costumes Resize

After the Seaside Eden set, there will be another costume set in August, with the final new set releasing in September alongside the additional character and their five extra costumes.

Dead or Alive 6 Season 2 Schedule Resize

The set will Check out the trailer highlighting the Seaside Eden pack and Season 2 below!

Source: Dead or Alive

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PSA: AnimEVO 2019 registration closes on July 24

You better hurry if you want to get in on the anime extravaganza!

Though registration for the nine main games of Evo 2019 may be closed, there is still time to get in on the wealth of side tournaments taking place at AnimEVO 2019.

The annual slew of side events that take place in the BYOC (Bring Your Own Controller) area returns bigger and badder than perhaps ever before, with a gargantuan 31 events featuring a wealth of titles both old and new alike.

Additionally, the Community Championships for BlazBlue: Central Fiction and Guilty Gear Xrd REV2, much like the main stage tournament for BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, will serve as the final Qualifier event for the ARCREVO World Tour Finals at ARCREVO America, so the competition’s sure to be fierce. The full list of titles is as follows, along with entrant totals at the time of this writing:

  • Guilty Gear XRD Rev2 – 142
  • Windjammers – 137
  • BlazBlue: Central Fiction – 92
  • Kill la Kill: the Game: IF – 57
  • Samurai Shodown II – 55
  • Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code – 46
  • Million Arthur: Arcana Blood – 40
  • Guilty Gear XX Accent Core +R – 38
  • Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax IGNITION – 37
  • Vampire Savior (Darkstalkers 3) – 37
  • Koihime Enbu RyoRaiRai – 36
  • Persona 4 Arena Ultimax – 36
  • Catherine (Original Version) – 28
  • Rival Schools: Project Justice – 28
  • Sailor Moon S – 28
  • The King of Fighters XIV – 28
  • Catherine: Full Body – 27
  • Fighter’s History Dynamite (Karnov’s Revenge) – 27
  • Ultra Fight Da! Kyanta 2 – 27
  • Garou: Mark of the Wolves – 25
  • Puyo Puyo Tetris (Swap) – 23
  • TMNT: Tournament Fighters – 21
  • Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel – 19
  • Puyo Puyo Champions – 19
  • Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star) – 18
  • Arcana Heart 3: Love Max Six StarS!!!!!! – 17
  • Gundam Versus 2V2 Teams – 17
  • Umineko: Golden Fantasia – 14
  • Aquapazza – 10
  • Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars – 9
  • Guilty Gear: The Missing Link – 6

Registration will remain live at smash.gg until this Wednesday, July 24th, at 2:00 A.M. CT (12:00 A.M. PT, 3:00 A.M. EST). Also, Samurai Shodown II and Fighter’s History Dynamite will allow on-site registration, but Garou and KOFXIV will not. Finally, bounties will be placed on the heads of three of the top TVC players, that can be collected by any competitor that sends them to Loser’s Bracket or eliminates them from the tournament. MothMan, MagnoManX, and MC|KBeast will each have $50 on their heads for some aspiring warriors to claim.

AnimEVO 2019 will be taking place August 2nd and 3rd at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Source: ManChest (Twitter); TENMA0105 (Twitter); KBeast707 (Twitter); ArcSystemWorksU (Twitter)

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Frank Pearce, One of Blizzard’s Original Founders, is Stepping Away

Frank Pearce, one of the original founders of Blizzard, is leaving the company in order “to pass the torch to the next generation of leaders”. He has been with Blizzard for 28 years, most recently in an advisory position. Pearce wrote of his time at Blizzard and that it “encompasses the entirety of both [his] professional career and adult life”. He goes on to thank the community for the memories and tasks J. Allen Brack with defining how the adventure that he started 28 years ago continues.