Category: News

Today has been a good day for fans of high-level Mortal Kombat X competition thanks to the Season 2 ESL Pro League finals taking place in Burbank, California. But competitive action isn’t the only thing the folks at NetherRealm Studios have in store.

As of this posting, the NRS team has gone live with a special Kombat Kast dedicated to the upcoming character, Tri-Borg. If past Kombat Kasts are any indication of what we can expect from today’s broadcast, viewers will soon learn everything they could want to know about this robotic ninja mashup, including when they can expect to see him hit home consoles.

We’ve embedded the stream below for convenience, or you can head over to Twitch to join the chat. Don’t forget to tune in to the ESL Mortal Kombat X Pro League Season 2 top 8 after the Kombat Kast concludes, and be sure to check back here for a summary of all things Tri-Borg.

Watch live video from NetherRealm on www.twitch.tv

Source: NetherRealm Studios

Back in 2011, the fighting game community nearly imploded when confronted with the possibility of a brand new Darkstalkers installment. While we would eventually be graced with HD remaster Darkstalkers Resurrection, the interest generated by the updated ports wasn’t enough for Capcom to pull the trigger.

But what of sequels for other popular but slightly niche franchises? Capcom producer Yoshinori Ono recently peeled back the veil on this topic during a discussion with Playboy.

“People are asking for new Rival Schools or Capcom vs. SNK 3 and these people have a very loud voice. I would do the exact same thing again to gauge interest to see whether or not people actually care,” Ono explained. “Are they passionate? Do they really want a new title? At the end of the day, we want to make sure we have a robust community.”

Though this is far from a definite answer, it does raise certain hypotheticals in our mind. Is it possible that Capcom will release remastered version of Capcom vs. SNK 2 and Project Justice, just like Darkstalkers Resurrection was used to test the waters for Darkstalkers 4?

“Secretly, we believed that a silent majority wanted a Darkstalkers sequel,” Ono said of the shelved project, implying that fans will need to put their money where their mouths are if they hope to see these niche titles make a resurgence.

That being said, hope is not completely lost, and pieces have been put into play over the past few years that could certainly kickstart development should Capcom see the levels of community interest they desire.

The revival of SNK Playmore’s gaming division has given rise to even greater speculation about Capcom vs. SNK’s future. Although gaming division chief Yutaka Noguchi was hesitant to speculate on the franchise, the company is prepared to license out characters should the need arise. And back in 2013, Rival Schools director Hideaki Itsuno expressed his desire to develop a third installment, a statement that he backed up just last year at Niconico Chokaigi.

For more of Playboy’s discussion with Ono, which also reiterates on his history with Street Fighter IV and Capcom’s overall design philosophies, follow the link below. It’s safe for work, we promise.

Source: Playboy, tip via NightmareSteam

NetherRealm Studios’ recent announcement of Mortal Kombat XL had a lot to offer, from gameplay footage of the upcoming Kombat Pack 2 characters to brief glimpses of brand new digs for the existing cast. But one teaser in particular was near and dear to the hearts of longtime Mortal Kombat fans.

The Pit has long served as a battleground in the fighting franchise, with renovations and meteor storms appearing from time to time. It’s precarious positioning above a bed of spikes has proven deadly for many a fighter, and this danger is set to return in Mortal Kombat X’s next batch of downloadable content for the entirely fair price of…free.

NetherRealm Studios creative director jumped on Twitter earlier today to say The Pit and its gruesome stage fatality will be added to Mortal Kombat X free of charge when the game transitions to Kombat Pack 2. All players will have to do is download the mandatory compatibility patch, and they’ll be uppercutting their opponents to its dangerous depths in no time.

Kombat Pack 2 is scheduled to launch alongside Mortal Kombat XL on March 1.

Source: Ed Boon, tip via NightmareSteam

Razer’s Ho Kun Xian and Alioune Camera have been invited to participate in Red Bull Kumite 2016, an official statement announced this morning. They will join previous invitees like Evil Geniuses’ Justin Wong and Yusuke Momochi, AVerMedia’s Bruce “GamerBee” Hsiang, and Lee “Poongko” Chung-gon at the Street Fighter V-focused event in April.

More than any player invited thus far, both Xian and Alioune have been on the forefront of developing Street Fighter V strategies before its official release next month. Combined with their status on the competitive circuit, those contributions will certainly make for an exciting competition.

Red Bull Kumite 2016 is scheduled for April 23-24 in Paris, France. More details can be found here.

Source: Red Bull

Although Street Fighter x Tekken and Akuma’s arrival in Tekken 7 Fated Retribution may have seemingly come out of left field, the chief developers behind both franchises have been eyeing these collaborations for some time. In a recent interview with Famitsu, Capcom’s Yoshinori Ono and Bandai Namco Entertainment’s Katsuhiro Harada sat down to discuss the past, present, and future of their working relationship.

After taking note of the work the other was doing at their respective company, Harada and Ono began talking seriously around 2007.

“We both wanted to try a collaboration, all the way back then,” Harada stated, according to translations by Source Gaming. The developers would even go as far as to bring the topic up in interviews of the time and, eventually, Ono would push for a formal collaboration. This would results in the release of Street Fighter x Tekken in 2012, but instead of creating a product that enticed both fanbases, the crossover title ended up spawning an entirely new group of players. “That was unexpected,” Ono confided.

Similarly, Akuma’s surprise debut in Tekken 7 was discussed for at least four years before Fated Retribution came to fruition. But that hasn’t drawn any resources away from Bandai Namco’s complementary Tekken x Street Fighter.

“[I]f I were to have Akuma in a serious fight, a battle that Tekken and Street Fighter fans want to see, then I thought ‘I can’t have it happen in a spinoff,’” Harada explained. “For Street Fighter and Tekken to truly face off, I needed the appropriate structure, and because there’s a lot of focus and attention paid to Tekken’s story, I wanted to incorporate it there.”

The mysterious silhouette in the first Tekken 7 trailer was apparently planned to be Akuma all along.

Funny enough, despite Harada’s grand plans to incorporate Akuma into the Tekken universe, his appearance really just comes down to Street Fighter’s decidedly looser focus on story elements. “Wait, wait. Mr. Harada is saying it in his way, but really, we were at a bar and you definitely said ‘Street Fighter almost doesn’t really have a story, so it’s fine,’” Ono jokingly replied.

In the case of these collaborations, both Harada and Ono have found ways to incorporate elements of the other franchise, highlighting strengths and downplaying weaknesses in the process. Whatever comes of their relationship in the future, it’s sure to be an exciting proposition for fighting game fans.

For more of their conversation, which also touches on similarities between Tekken’s Shaheen and Street Fighter’s Rashid, their thoughts on the future of competitive fighting games, and more, visit Source Gaming by following the link below.

Source: Source Gaming, tip via NightmareSteam

Recently, we reported that Sony will be releasing a limited edition PlayStation 4 bundle for Street Fighter V, and now word is Europe will receive one as well.

The bundle in question will include an “Ultimate Player” PlayStation 4 with a full terabyte of memory and a physical copy of Street Fighter V. Unlike the Japan exclusive model, however, it retains the normal jet black color scheme without any special artwork.

Launch is scheduled for February 16, the same day Street Fighter V becomes available to the masses. A public price hasn’t been set at this point, though similar bundles have gone for about £329.99 / $399.99 in the past. Stay tuned for more details.

Source: PlayStation Blog Europe via GamesRadar

Over the past year, BigBoysToys has released two figures in a unique Street Fighter line that incorporates lighting and sounds to enhance presentation. Their first offerings focused on friendly rivals Ryu and Ken, but now the strongest woman in the world is ready to make her debut.

Similar to past releases, the Chun-Li figure highlights her most iconic attack in a cute, chibi-like style, with a batter-powered glow that really brings the Lightning Legs (or Hyakuretsukyaku for you purists out there) to life. A button on the base allows you to light up each kick in succession, but you’ll have to rely on mashing instead of piano inputs to get the full effect.

Click to view slideshow.

Chun-Li is currently available for pre-order through Play-Asia. Shipments are expected to begin in February.

Source: Capcom-Unity

Smash director Masahiro Sakurai has surprised fans with roster choices before, but none were crazier than the debut of Final Fantasy VII’s Cloud Strife in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS. Despite immense popularity, his chances of joining in the series were regarded as slim due to never having appeared on a Nintendo console.

Sakurai recently had the opportunity to sit down with Final Fantasy character designer Tetsuya Nomura to discuss the process of integrating Cloud into the Smash system, touching on topics like their interactions with each other, creating a moveset, and more.

While Cloud is perhaps one of the most recognizable aspects of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy brand, very little micromanaging went into his Smash development.

“I’ve actually only talked to Mr. Nomura just once. After that, I was generally free to do whatever I wanted,” Sakurai explained, according to translations by Source Gaming. “There was general editorial supervision going on, of course, especially on the graphics side–to get Cloud looking as right as possible was tough. It took some time for us to discover how to present Cloud with a Smash touch.”

Sakurai would go on to say later in the discussion that not having an extra layer of direction from Square Enix saved them a lot of trouble in the long run. For his part, Nomura said empathy for their position was his chief reason for not being more involved. “I’m also working hard on a project that handles many characters, so I try not to give orders like that. I’m always fighting against those restrictions.”

This is just a small part of their conversation, so be sure to follow the links below for more.

Source: Source Gaming (Part 1, Part 2)