Category: News

Action in the second season of ESL’s Mortal Kombat X Pro League has been heating up as players from across the globe duke it out regionally week to week. As we near the inevitable conclusion, ESL has announced details for the grand finals event.

Taking place on January 24 in Burbank, California, the top sixteen Mortal Kombat X players will compete for a cool $100,000 prize pool. The champion will be taking home $60,000 of that pot, with the remaining cash divided among the rest of the top four.

The event itself will also include a special “Mortal Kombat Festival” live from ESL America’s studios, where NetherRealm’s Tyler Lansdown and Derek Kirtzic will be demonstrating some of the upcoming Kombat Pack 2 characters. Spectators can expect high-level exhibition matches and interviews as well.

Tickets are available now, and the tournament will be streamed on Twitch for those unable to make it in person. Live viewing parties will be held in North America at the Player 1 Video Game Bar in Orlando, Florida, and the Ignite Gaming Lounge in Chicago, Illinois.

More information, including a detailed schedule, can be found by following the link below.

Source: ESL

Earlier this morning, Street Fighter V associate producer Peter “Combofiend” Rosas provided a detailed breakdown of the content players can expect to find in the title’s upcoming beta period.

This third and final testing phase will feature a cast of Ryu, Birdie, Cammy, Necalli, Nash, and Laura, with Dhalsim and Zangief making their first playable appearances outside conventions sometime later. Rosas hints at the possibility of even more characters showing up, so don’t lose hope if your favorite isn’t included in the initial roster.

Players will also be receiving more beta invitations for their friends, some of which have already begun to appear on Steam.

Like previous betas, there will be a number of pauses in order for server maintenance, so be sure to consult the schedule below to get the most out of your experience.

• 12/18 00:01 PT (12/18 08:01 GMT) – SFV 3rd beta starts for PS4 and PC users
• 12/18 08:00 PT (12/18 16:00 GMT) – Servers down for 10 hour maintenance
• 12/18 18:00 PT (12/19 02:00 GMT) – Servers back online, play resumes
• 12/19 18:00 PT (12/20 02:00 GMT) – Servers down for 10 hour maintenance
• 12/20 04:00 PT (12/20 12:00 GMT) – Servers back online, play resumes
• 12/20 22:00 PT (12/21 06:00 GMT) – SFV 3rd beta concludes

Source: Capcom-Unity via Gematsu, NeoGAF

With the advent of mobile gaming, in-browser entertainment has become a thing of the past, but a brand new collaboration between Capcom, the Japan Racing Association, and the Japan Sumo Association conjures up some nostalgia with one of the weirdest mashups we’ve ever seen.

Japan Sumo Cup is, at its core, a rhythm game about horse racing. Things veer off course, however, with the addition of Street Fighter characters and real-life sumo wrestlers as jockeys.

Upon starting the game and getting past the beautiful title screen at the top of this article, you’re given the option of two rounds: the first includes Ryu, Dhalsim, and Blanka, while the second features Chun-Li, Guile, and E. Honda. A third is blacked out at the start but appears to tease a showdown against M. Bison.

After that, it’s the all-important character selection. Japan Sumo Cup offers a choice between four different sumo as well as Street Fighter V newcomer Necalli. A fifth sumo, a playable version of Ryu, and Akuma appear to be unlockable.

While the game itself isn’t much to speak of, the pure insanity offered by it’s alternate universe horse races has to be experienced first-hand. At certain points in the match, the racers “power up,” usually by using one of their iconic moves or, in Necalli’s case, jumping up and down on a moving horse.

Oh, and before I forget to bring it up, Dhalsim rides an elephant instead of a horse. Nothing I really want to expand on here, just thought it should be mentioned.

If you want to try Japan Sumo Cup for yourself (and I very much hope you do), you can do so by following the link below.

Source: Japan Sumo Cup via NeoGAF, Crunchyroll

When Team NINJA and Koei Tecmo hosted their DEAD OR ALIVE Festival in Japan last August, they gave attendees a special Red Bull 5G costume for Marie Rose (pictured above). Now, after hinting at a possible public release, players on PlayStation 4 can now pick up the outfit themselves.

This piece of downloadable content is currently available through the PlayStation Network free of charge should you have an active PlayStation Plus membership. The costume celebrates the upcoming Red Bull 5G gaming tournament scheduled for this Saturday, December 20.

Take note that this is a limited time offer only. The costume will be available from December 15 to January 12, so those who want it should download it soon.

Source: Koei Tecmo

Back in May, Kinetiquettes unveiled a series of Street Fighter statues that, due to their connectable bases, allow collectors to create their own unique dioramas with Ryu, Ken, Gouken, and Akuma. The first of these statues is now available to purchase.

Ken Masters himself starts out this ‘Battle of the Brothers’ collectible line, performing a jumping sidekick against an unseen opponent. Standing a little shy of 18 inches tall, this statue comes with an alternate short hair piece if you order through the Kinetiquettes website.

While it’s pretty pricey at $399, the ability to match Ken with his fellow Ansatsuken practitioners makes this a pretty neat piece for fans of the series. More details can be found by following the link below.

Source: Kinetiquettes

Street Fighter V will be having its third and possibly final beta this weekend. For those on PC who have yet to do so, now is a great time to pre-order and get access to the beta, as Green Man Gaming is having yet another sale on the title.

By ordering from Green Man Gaming and entering the voucher code 23PERC-WTHGMG-ADVENT, players can get Street Fighter V for 23% off the retail price, bringing it down to only $46.20. Alongside access to the beta, pre-ordering will also unlock Chun-Li’s alternate costume, pictured above.

Of course, if Street Fighter V isn’t really your thing, you can use the code to discount other PC titles like Ultra Street Fighter IV, Street Fighter x Tekken, Skullgirls Encore, and more. Please take note that the voucher is valid only until December 18, so anyone thinking of taking advantage of this offer should do so soon.

Street Fighter V hits PlayStation 4 and PC on February 16.

Source: Green Man Gaming

The folks at Level|Up Series announced yesterday that they will be the official stream provider for Aksys Games’ upcoming Anime Ascension tournament, a partnership that promises to make the event even more appealing than it already is.

The event, which is set to take place early next year, will provide pot bonuses totaling $5,000 across a lineup of favorites from the anime side of the fighting game community, including Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, BlazBlue: Chronophantasma EXTEND, and Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late. It’s worth noting that those interested in checking out Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] will also be able to do so at the event.

Anime Ascension will be held at the University of California Irvine on February 28.

Source: Level|Up Series

Throughout its time in development, Capcom has occasionally held pre-release tournaments for Street Fighter V at events such as E3 and PlayStation Experience. Now, what may likely be the largest tournament of its type will be happening soon.

The developers, in cooperation with Well Played and YUBIKEN, will be hosting a special 64-player Street Fighter V competition next week in Tokyo, Japan.

YUBIKEN’s Karipaku is set to emcee the event while Shiro and Yoshiwo will provide commentary. The tournament itself will be streamed via Niconico Live.

The tournament will apparently use the latest playable build of the game, but its website does not list F.A.N.G, so folks hoping to see competitive footage of the newcomer will likely be disappointed. In any case, this is sure to be one of our earliest looks at Street Fighter V strategy from the Japanese scene, so be sure to tune in around 1 PM JST on Wednesday, December 23 (8 PM PST, 11 PM EST on December 22).

Source: Well Played via Jun-ichi11

Now that we’ve all had a chance to calm down from Nintendo’s latest Super Smash Bros. character reveals, we can take some time to check out the rest of the content that they announced alongside the upcoming cast members.

It’s hard to contend with actual new characters, but some popular faces will be making their way into the game in the form of Mii Fighter outfits. This list includes Super Mario RPG’s Geno, Final Fantasy’s Chocobo, Nazo no Murasme-jō’s Takamaru, Wario Ware Inc.’s Ashley, Gil from The Tower of Druaga, and Tails and Knuckles of Sonic the Hedgehog fame. Mii Fighters will also be able to suit up with some sweet Bionic Armor. It’s not from anything in particular, but who can say no to bionic armor?

While the Geno and Chocobo outfits are now available for purchase, the rest will be available sometime in February, most likely with the next two characters.

In-game cosmetic options aside, Nintendo also confirmed the development of a handful of upcoming Amiibos including a recolor of R.O.B. and original pieces for Roy and Ryu, all of which are coming on March 18, with Amiibos for the game’s final three characters planned for sometime later on.

Source: Nintendo

Although Thanksgiving and Black Friday are officially behind us, PlayStation Network is still pumping out a number of sales for gamers looking to score games at low prices. The second week of their holiday sale includes deep discounts on both Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- and Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late, two worthy additions to any fighting game fan’s library.

For more details, consult the table below. These sales will be available until December 21.

Source: PlayStation Blog