Category: News

Like many fighting game franchises, Street Fighter has a diverse universe of both playable and background characters waiting in the wings to join the roster. While we currently know who will do so in Street Fighter V’s first year, there’s still a ridiculous number of candidates who could possibly be given a shot in the future.

CFN Portal, which serves as the official Capcom Fighters Network website, recently published a number of columns discussing characters who didn’t make the cut in Street Fighter V, along with concept art that shows how their designs may have been updated for the new installment. These include returning characters like Sagat, Adon, and Gen; classic cast members like Lee, Geki, and Retsu; popular family members like Ken’s wife and child; and even alternate versions of current faces, like a younger Birdie and a heel version of Nadeshiko that apparently has it out for R. Mika.

We’ve include a massive gallery below depicting this art in all its glory, with our best guesses as to who each character is. If we made a mistake, be sure to let us know in the comments and we’ll get it fixed up as soon as possible. For now, feel free to sound off on who your favorites are and cross your fingers these concepts won’t go to waste.

Abel, Abel (soldier), Adon

Azam, Azam (wrestler), Birdie (young), Dee Jay

Delta Red, Keith Wolfman, Lita Luwanda, Matthew McCoy

George Ginzu, Dorai (Chun-Li’s father), Eagle, El Fuerte

Eliza (Ken’s wife), Geki, Gen, Go Hibiki (Dan’s father)

Mikhail Gorbachev, Gouken, Goutetsu, Mike Haggar

Joe, Ken (biker), Lee, Mel (Ken’s son)

Mike (SFII intro), Nadeshiko, Nadeshiko (heel), Oni

Patricia (Tom’s daughter), Retsu, Rose, Rufus

Sagat, Scott (SFII intro), Sodom, Tom (Alex’s mentor)

Source: Capcom via NeoGAF, Facebook, tip via El Chakotay

Wizard World Gaming has set up shop in St. Louis, Missouri this weekend for another round of fighting game tournaments. Like their stop in Portland, Oregon, this event is prepared to dish out some serious cash to top competitors in Street Fighter V, Tekken 7, and Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4.

All of the action will take place on a single stream, so be sure to tune in below or head on over to Twitch to join the chat.

Watch live video from WizardWorldGaming on www.twitch.tv

Schedule

Sunday, April 3

Source: Wizard World Gaming

Although we still don’t have a console release date, players eagerly waiting news on when Tekken 7 Fated Retribution will leave Japan can have solace in the fact that series antagonist Heihachi Mishima will have one sweet new outfit.

As we’ve reported previously, Tekken 7 Fated Retribution updates the cast with brand new wardrobes. Heihachi’s, for example, features a number of armor pieces that only serve to increase his commanding presence.

Click to view slideshow.

Tekken 7 Fated Retribution is currently slated for an arcade release sometime this year. North American players hoping to get their hands on the game early can do so during Bandai Namco Entertainment’s ongoing tour.

Source: Tekken via TekkenGamer.com, tip via Zee

Since launching the initiative last year, Round 1 has slowly expanded the amount of titles players can access through their NESiCAxLive cabinets. Today, the amusement center chain announced that King of Fighters ’98, King of Fighters 2002, and King of Fighters XIII Climax are now available at every North American location.

Before now, only a handful of titles–Ultra Street Fighter IV, BlazBlue: Central Fiction, and BlazBlue: Chronophantasma EXTEND–were available at the amusement centers, so this development should excite folks hoping to see more obscure games become playable in the United States. According to IPLAYWINNER, this also marks the first time the SNK Playmore trio has been playable in arcades outside of Japan.

To find a Round 1 location near you, be sure to check out their official website.

Source: Round 1 via IPLAYWINNER

Earlier today, the folks at PlayStation announced that Skullgirls 2nd Encore will be making its way to PlayStation Vita systems on April 5.

This mobile version is cross buy (meaning if you already own the PlayStation 4 release, you’ll get this free of charge vice versa), and will feature cross-play with the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 versions as well as local multiplayer support via PSTV. Additionally, it will come fully-loaded with all five downloadable characters, a fully-voiced story mode, new challenges, new trials, a new survival mode, and a full array of platinum trophies.

The news comes alongside an announcement that the final Skullgirls patch can be expected soon as well, and will feature lobbies equipped with a mechanic they’re calling “All Play,” allowing players in larger lobbies to pair up and fight among themselves as opposed to having to wait in line.

For more information, head over to the PlayStation Blog, or check out the launch trailer below.

Sources: PlayStation, PlayStation Blog, tip via Erkicman

Hidetoshi Ishizawa, better known by the handle Neo_G, has announced his departure from Capcom for a position at competitor SNK Playmore. The name may not be as familiar to newcomers, but Ishizawa’s lengthy resume includes work on beloved titles like Street Fighter Alpha 2, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, and Capcom vs. SNK 2.

This news has been confirmed by Arika vice president Ichiro Mihara, dispelling a common theory that it was perhaps a poor April Fools’ Day joke.

Due to Ishizawa’s prominent position at Capcom, this could be seen as something of a bad omen for the company and fans of their releases, especially when combined with what appears to be a lack of fighting game planning beyond Street Fighter V. SNK Playmore, on the other hand, is deep in development on King of Fighters XIV, with Samurai Shodown and possibly even a Garou: Mark of the Wolves sequel on the horizon, and one could attribute Ishizawa’s move as a way to continue his work in the genre.

According to a recent Facebook update, Ishizawa resigned from Capcom back in January, and it’s possible he’s already had a hand in King of Fighters XIV development. We’ll have more details on this news as they become available.

Source: Neo_G via Gatoray, MMCafe, NeoGAF

In addition to receiving new characters and balance changes, Killer Instinct’s third season has retooled the online ranked leagues. Some may have already noticed that rankings have been reset, with everyone starting at the bottom again, but that’s just one part of the update. Killer Instinct community manager Rukari Austin and design director James “DJames” Goddard have put together a video to explain.

As we already mentioned, everyone is back to the first tier, but pro stars have been retained. Other changes include the option to requalify once a month, improved cheat detection with new penalties, league demotions for inactive players, changed promotion match requirements, and gold tier matches are now set to best 2 out of 3 matches.

Killer Instinct is now available on Xbox One and Windows 10.

Source: Killer Instinct, thanks to EzThK for the tip.

Reports have been flooding in all morning that Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- supports older peripherals, as made evident by the pre-order demo that recently dropped in Japan.

One of the major points of contention within the fighting game community as titles shift to modern platforms is legacy controller support. While purchasing new consoles can be an expensive endeavor, the total cost when having to grab an updated arcade stick as well has the potential to prohibit participation entirely.

Fortunately, a driver created by the fine folks at Lab Zero Games has made it easier than ever for developers to add this functionality to their releases. That said, not all developers utilize it correctly, often still requiring a DualShock 4 be connected for every legacy controller in use.

We can’t be sure if this development is a result of Lab Zero’s driver, but this is great news for everyone looking to jump into the next Guilty Gear Xrd release on PlayStation 4. Best of all, it’s just plug-and-play; pressing START at the title screen with a PlayStation 3 stick or pad will ensure the controller is capable of navigating menus.

Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- launches for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 on May 26 in Japan, June 7 in North America, and June 10 in Europe. The aforementioned demo will be available outside Japan on April 5.

Sources: keeponrockin, LordSpectre, Zankoku, tip via HT|Bosch