Category: News

With the recent release of version two of the Panda Global Rankings for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, there was a fair bit of confusion about the weighting of specific tournaments on rankings. Many fans and players were unsure of how much importance was given to certain events, and how this came to impact a player’s final ranking on the PGR. To increase transparency and to act as a guide for future events, the PGStats team have compiled a Tournament Tier System which should aid in showing how certain tournaments will impact future editions of the PGR.

Tournaments will be range from C Tier up to S Tier, with events earning points based on the number of entrants, the size of the prize pool, the number of current PGR players attending and how many of those players are in the top 20 of the PGR. Events will then be marked up using this system, getting a letter grade depending on the number of points that they earn. To be listed as a C Tier event you need 300 points, B Tier requires 600 points, A Tier requires 1200 points and S Tier requires 2400 points.

Our Tournament Tier System is live!
See the tournaments that will make the PGR!
Link https://t.co/kQNvgPk2zO
Article https://t.co/WsL4fcgKmI pic.twitter.com/zOC3UYUM9Z

— #PGstats (@ThePGstats) February 13, 2017

So, with this system, Genesis 4 is the only 2017 event that has earned an S Tier ranking, with the two 2GGC Sagas being the only A Tier tournaments. S Tier is really only reserved for super majors like Genesis, Evo, CEO, The Big House and so on, so don’t expect many S Tier events on the TTS going forward. The PGStats team has also made the decision that biweekly or weekly events will not form part of the TTS, as it puts too much weighting towards well known, active regions like MD/VA or SoCal.

This TTS will be subject to change, with tournament weighting and points totals changing as the year goes on so do voice your concerns to the PGStats team if you see anything amiss. My main issue with the weighting system so far is that it still massively privileges US events over those outside the country. One only need to look at the rating for BEAST 7 which Europe’s biggest ever Smash 4 tournament, yet it is a low ranked B Tier tournament with 688 points. Hopefully, the rating system will change as time goes on, in order to reflect the global nature of Smash 4.

Source: Panda Global

One of the most visually intimidating and easily recognizable characters in the Mortal Kombat series–perhaps in all of fighting games–is the four-armed beast known as Goro! His larger-than-life proportions dwarf his competition in-game, and the folks at Pop Culture Shock are looking to emulate that feel in statue form.

This 1/3 scale statue, standing at roughly 3 feet tall, has all the bells and whistles to help it feel as realistic as possible. It has actual hair, fabric for clothes rather than plastic, and a base that lights up with LED. You can see some shots of this beast of a statue below, along with a video showing off this beauty in all its glory. While no date or price has been announced for the figure yet, more details should be coming next week.

Click to view slideshow.

Source: Pop Culture Shock

Last year Red Bull celebrated the FGC by supporting many Street Fighter V events, one of the most prominent being the Red Bull Invitational Kumite. This event has already been confirmed to be making a return this year, which has many excited for its next run. Additional details for the event have just been announced, including 4 of the invited players.

The first four players to be included are going to be Echo Fox’s Tokido, Qanba Douyu’s Xiao Hai, PR Balrog and Razer’s RB. These players are guaranteed a spot in the final 16, with another 10 to-be-announced players. The final 2 “wildcard” slots will be open for the top two players in a pre-kumite tournament with 256 entrants. Only the cream of the crop will be allowed entry at this exclusive event.

The event itself will be held on the weekend of May 27-28, with the preliminary event to decide the final two players taking place on the 27th. Taking place at the Salle Wagram auditorium in Paris, it will be broadcast in multiple different languages to ensure everyone can enjoy the event.

Get your tickets for the event here when they go live on March 18th at 3;00 PM CET.

Source: Red Bull

This weekend, tune in to all kinds of 2D anime action organized by the publisher of many Arc System Works, Aksys Games. Aksys Games’ Anime Ascension returns this year with multiple main games, a bevy of side tournaments, a special exhibition, and bountiful pot bonuses.

The main games feature:

• BlazBlue: Central Fiction
• Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-
• Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late
• The King of Fighters XIV

Dead or Alive 5 Last Round used to be on the list, but due to a lack of entrants, has been rescinded.

There’s more, though! Side games:

• Guilty Gear XX Accent Core +R
• Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code
• Arcana Heart 3 LOVE MAX!!!!!
• Aquapazza

Furthermore, there will be a special Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- exhibition, alongside Saturday 3v3 team tournaments for BlazBlue: Central Fiction and Xrd.

Wondering what the pot bonuses will be? Here’s the official breakdown ($5000 total):

• BlazBlue: Central Fiction: $2250
• Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-: $2250
• Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late: $500

Anime Ascension 2017

The Beef Will Be Settled In XRD@BeautifuldudeGG VS @Dsmoove12 pic.twitter.com/7qNOyYC04z

— XIE (@XiePlus) February 10, 2017

There’s also a $10 spectator option for those who don’t wish to compete, but can still play in casuals. There’s a tentative schedule that hasn’t been posted on the website yet.

Tentative Anime Ascension 2017 Schedule! – Subject to change based on entrant numbers and if you've got feedback, let us know! pic.twitter.com/oMsqIetVqz

— All-Aksys! (@AllAksys) February 9, 2017

The anime action will be streamed on the following accounts:

Also, #AnimeAscension streams:
Main Stream: https://t.co/CSQBJMnyqn
GG/BB/UNIEL: https://t.co/DfbBdN1vIy
AP/AH3/MB: https://t.co/S7VRUOk21N

— All-Aksys! (@AllAksys) February 14, 2017

Deadline for registration ends tomorrow, Wednesday, so it’s not too late to register at the last minute on Smash.gg. Tune in to the action this Saturday and Sunday, February 18th and 19th.

Source: All-Aksys

Since his release back in January, sales of DLC character Kilgore have been steadily filling Killer Instinct’s community fund for tournaments in 2017. In just over a month, sales of this prototype Ultratech robot have raised over $50,000 for future KI tournaments, guaranteeing sizable prize pots for the next round of the KI Ultra Tour.

However, the fundraiser can’t continue indefinitely, so the ability to add to the Killer Instinct community fund with purchases of Kilgore will stop on March 6th. As a result, Kilgore will not be available for a short while as Microsoft and Iron Galaxy tally up the final community fund count, hopefully in time for the Killer Instinct World Cup on March 10th-12th. Kilgore is not going away forever though, with players being able to purchase him for the lower price of $5 later this year. So, if you want Kilgore and still want to support the future of competitive Killer Instinct, get your purchases in now.

The community fund won’t come into effect until the next KI Ultra Tour begins, but the Killer Instinct World Cup already has quite the healthy prize pool, with the world’s best KI players fighting for the lion share of $30,000.

Source: Ultra Combo

It’s not the BlazBlue X Guilty Gear crossover fans have been dying for, and Litchi Faye-Ling isn’t making her way to the cast of Dead or Alive 5 Last Round. However, Arc System Works and Koei Tecmo are working in collaboration to bring costumes from the air-dashers to the realistic models in the close-quarters combat series.

According to Rice Digital, the new costumes are due in March. There will be 16 different costumes picked from BlazBlue: Central Fiction, Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, and Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2. The inclusion of REV 2 specifically seems to point to the new characters included in the coming update, Baiken and Answer. Baiken particularly seems fitting for a Dead or Alive character (and she is on the promotional graphic, alongside most of the ladies from both games).

Screenshots are coming soon, and then we’ll know for sure which characters will invade Koei Tecmo’s game. Those who have a season pass should get this costume pack for free when it comes out.

本日発表されましたが、何とコーエーテクモゲームスさんの「DEAD OR ALIVE 5 Last Round」にて、「アークシステムワークス」コラボコスチュームが登場決定！次回の『ぶるらじ』では新情報公開されるのでお見逃しなく！#DOA5LR #BBCF #GGXrd pic.twitter.com/z5j2jkW4zc

— アークシステムワークス公式ツイッター (@ARCSY_Event) February 12, 2017

Source: @ARCSY_Event via Rice Digital UK