Category: News

During this week’s Kombat Kast, the folks at NetherRealm Studios hinted that they would be unveiling a big Mortal Kombat X announcement sometime this week, and it appears as if the short wait will be over come tomorrow.

A recent tweet from creative director Ed Boon teases a second collection of downloadable characters with four silhouettes and the series’ ubiquitous “Who’s Next?” tagline.

Tomorrow? pic.twitter.com/fMoXUSRvjf

— Ed Boon (@noobde) September 2, 2015

It’s hard to confirm the figures displayed in the image above with any certainty, but names like Smoke, Sindel, Baraka, Bo’ Rai Cho, and even the Alien franchise’s Xenomorph have been thrown about during the fanbase’s onslaught of speculation. Feel free to let us know what you think in the comments as we wait for the official reveal.

Source: Ed Boon, tip via NightmareSteam

Over the past few years, Twitch has greatly expanded their presence in the fighting game community by bringing noteworthy figures like Victor “Victheslik” Denchartphan, Mike Ross, and D’Ron “D1″ Maingrette on board in various capacities. Now, they’ve set their sights on Taiwan, and have enlisted the help of Bruce “GamerBee” Hsiang to make that a reality.

According to Twitch’s Jon Shipman, the Street Fighter powerhouse has been hired as the organization’s new Partnerships Development Lead in Taiwan. “By bridging the language and culture barrier between Twitch and the local community in Taiwan, he will be able to assist Taiwanese broadcasters with improving their channels and growing their communities,” Shipman explained.

A longtime competitor, Hsiang most recently placed first at Sino Duel in China, following a heartbreaking second-place finish at Evo 2015.

“To be at Twitch is like getting the Mario Lucky Star! Ever since I became a professional gamer, I knew gaming was my calling. Driven by this purpose and commitment, I look forward to strengthening the gaming community in Asia,” Hsiang said of his new position. “I’ll be sharing my talents in Footsie, Shoryuken Anti-Air, and Ultra Combos to help partners and broadcasters have an awesome experience on Twitch in Taiwan.”

With Hsiang in their corner at Twitch, the Taiwanese community is sure to gain some excellent exposure and continue to grow as one of the world’s premier fighting game destinations. We are currently unsure if this has affected his status with sponsor AVerMedia, and will update this article accordingly as soon as we receive word.

Source: Twitch, tip via NightmareSteam

Did you take SKD’s advice to heart and plan to pick up BlazBlue: Chronophantasma EXTEND in preparation for Central Fiction’s upcoming release? Well, you’re in luck, because the title is currently on sale through the PlayStation Network if you happen to be a PlayStation Plus subscriber.

The discount differs depending on which platform you choose; the PlayStation 3 version has been marked down to $27.99, and the PlayStation 4 release will run you a bit more at $39.99.

We’re unclear how long these promotions will be available, so do yourself a favor and take advantage of them as soon as possible to avoid missing out.

Source: PlayStation Network via Deniz Loz

Bandai Namco announced yesterday that Soulcalibur: Lost Swords, their free-to-play PlayStation 3 title, will be going offline for good on November 30th. Many online titles take their leave sooner than players would like, so in an effort to soften the blow, developers are offering access to a new “ranking quest” as well as in-game item discounts for this final leg of the journey.

While it’s more customary to celebrate a game’s coming release with a trailer to get everyone hyped up, this announcement came paired with one commemorating the game’s history up to this point. Most importantly, the trailer ends with an enigmatic message: “The warriors may fade, but their souls will ignite again.”

Does this mean we should anticipate another Soulcalibur title announcement? When combined with the character popularity poll that went up back in May, anything is possible, though we have no concrete details at this moment.

Source: Bandai Namco via Avoiding the Puddle

Mr. Biscuits over on the east coast has recently been on the forefront of a sort of cultural exchange with the Japanese fighting game community by organizing Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- online lobbies and broadcasting their high-level play to the world. While the advent of streaming technology has done much to break down the barriers that traditionally separated the two countries, their collaborations resulted in a special partnership that familiarized Americans with the overseas competitors, and Japan’s Ruu is ready to reciprocate.

Due to the excellent showing by the United States’ representatives at ARC REVOLUTION CUP, Japan has taken a much stronger interest in their Guilty Gear scene. Ruu hopes to provide a larger platform to players who might not get much shine outside of North America and, hopefully, contribute to their ability to travel outside the country in the future.

As of now, BeautifulDude (Zato-1), Nakkiel (Sol Badguy), MC|GCYoshi13 (Bedman), Pain (Ramlethal Valentine), and Foo (Leo Whitefang) have been invited to participate in the inaugural round-robin. Efute is planning to broadcast through Niconico Live, and Biscuits will have his own stream up on Twitch, where he will provide English commentary alongside Brett.

This event is scheduled for this Friday, September 4, and will begin around 9 PM PDT, 12 AM EDT. Do your best not to miss out!

Source: Zidane

In an effort to stem the recent onslaught of Mortal Kombat X glitches, NetherRealm Studios has quickly pushed out a hotfix that addresses issues both old and new.

While bugs like Quan Chi’s double spells and Tanya’s Dark Shroud throw buff haven’t been corrected as much as tweaked until a full patch can be released, the hotfix does revert dash cancel properties to their original, pre-patch state. This is a godsend for characters whose core gameplay relies on the technique, and it’s nice to see NetherRealm so quickly rectify the mistake.

The full list of changes can be found below; please note that a few have yet to be applied and have been labeled as such. Word is this hotfix is already being applied in the wild, so sit tight.

Source: WB Games, tip via NightmareSteam

During his time in Japan for ARC REVOLUTION CUP 2015, Jachin “SKD” Harte was invited to take part in a closed location test for the upcoming BlazBlue: Central Fiction. As arguably the best BlazBlue player in the United States, this gave him the opportunity to get his hands on the next installment–complete with new characters and gameplay mechanics–and share what he learned with everyone back home.

While he spends most of his writeup discussing individual cast members, he does preface it with a bit of general advice, namely to start playing BlazBlue right this instant instead of waiting for the updated version to drop if you’re interested in the series. “The game feels pretty similar to Chronophantasma (so if you are trying to hold out for Central Fiction, play Chronophantasma right now) with refinements,” SKD explains. “It does feel rather fresh despite having a lot of familiarity.”

As for the newcomers, SKD’s feelings are mixed. Hibiki Kohaku, he says, is “underwhelming” due mostly to his lackluster offense. Naoto Kurogane, on the other hand, looks solid. “[He] seems to do good damage, has good offense, solid neutral tools,” he continues. “Pretty much all he needs, easily visible from the jump.”

For detailed information on Central Fiction’s base mechanics and quick thoughts on the rest of the cast, be sure to check out SKD’s full impressions here.

Source: Team Stickbug

After showing off Street Fighter V at PAX Prime, Capcom is set to travel to Dublin, Ireland this weekend for Celtic Throwdown with the game in tow.

While Street Fighter V has made its way to Europe in the past, the developers will be showing off the latest build during their visit to the Capcom Pro Tour event, meaning attendees will be among the first players to try out R. Mika, who was recently revealed as making her return in the upcoming title.

Celtic Throwdown is scheduled for September 5-6. More details can be found here.

Source: Capcom UK