Category: News

Since first being announced in January, the player lineup for Red Bull Kumite has been somewhat of a mystery. Small reveals were made here and there by the competitors themselves, but we weren’t provided a full look at the talent pool…until today, that is.

The organizers themselves recently provided new details on the upcoming event, sharing the entire lineup of players that will be making their way to France to compete. In addition to Kun “RZR|Xian” Ho, Naoki “BE|Nemo” Nemoto, Olivier “MD|Luffy” Hay, Hajime “MCZ|Tokido” Taniguchi, and Kenryo “MCZ|Mago” Hayashi, Red Bull Kumite will see appearances from Masato “Bonchan” Takahashi, Eric “CNB|ChuChu” Silva, MCZ|Daigo Umehara, Kevin “TSC|Dieminion” Landon, Keita “RZR|Fuudo” Ai, Seonwoo “Infiltration” Lee, Ryan “Prodigal Son” Heart, Darryl “Snake Eyez” Lewis, and Valentin “GL|Valmaster” Petit.

Last-chance qualifiers will also be held the day of the event, allowing the top two placers to join this illustrious group of competitors.

As it stands, eight countries will be represented in the sixteen-player bracket, providing a glimpse of high-level Ultra Street Fighter IV competition from all across the globe.

Red Bull Kumite is scheduled for March 28 in Paris, France. Further details can be found on the tournament’s official website.

Source: Red Bull via NeoGAF

Hipster mecca Austin, Texas will once again play host to South by Southwest’s gaming convention this year, but with an added twist: Street Fighter!

Sixteen of the world’s best Ultra Street Fighter IV players have been invited to the expo to compete in what’s sure to be an intense competition. The full list of participants can be found below.

Competition will consist of a group stage, with players split similarly to our columns above, before the top four from each section move onto the finals. From there, it’s a simple double-elimination bracket setup to decide who is crowned champion.

Oh, and did we mention there’s $20,000 on the line?

SXSW Gaming Expo 2015 is scheduled for March 13-15. Entry to the invitational tournament is completely free, and a live stream will be provided through Twitch for those unable to attend in person.

Source: SXSW Gaming

During their press event at Game Developers Conference 2015, NVIDIA announced their new Shield console, an Android-based, Tegra X1-powered living room device capable of running games at 1080p and 60 frames-per-second.

As part of the reveal, the company also detailed a list of games coming to the console, a group that includes both Ultra Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter x Tekken.

While this sounds like a great announcement for Street Fighter fans looking into getting the new console, it does come with a catch. These titles, as well as all the other games mentioned, will be provided via NVIDIA Grid, the companies new cloud gaming service similar to OnLive or PlayStation Now.

As anyone who plays fighting games seriously knows, input delay can ruin the experience. While Ultra Street Fighter IV has been run on a cloud gaming service before courtesy of PlayStation Now, the general consensus is that the input delay inherent to the medium is far from ideal for the game. Whether or not NVIDIA’s Grid will have a solution for addressing this issue is as of yet unknown.

Source: NVIDIA via IGN

With Tekken 7 nearing its March 18 arcade release date, as well as making an appearance at Final Round 18, anticipation for the game is quite high. For those looking for more information about the game and its systems, Flying Wonkey over at Avoiding the Puddle has posted an article that breaks down the combo system in the current build.

The article goes quite in-depth, poring over footage from the early release as well as impressions from other players and messages from Bandai Namco’s staff to give a picture how the gameplay stands at this point. One of the more important things it points out is the game’s very heavy damage scaling system, which seems to reward short combos that front-load their damaging moves.

Additionally, the article also notes that this gives insight into the probable routes that most optimized combos will take in the game–comboing into a launcher, filling in a few hits, then transitioning to the title’s new “Screw Attacks” (previously known as “Tailspins”) for the finisher.

Of course, this is just the surface of what the article covers. Head on over to Avoiding the Puddle to read more details, such as some new combos for the cast as well as the developer’s quick removal of a recently discovered floor break glitch.

Source: Avoiding the Puddle

While the next Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- update has been scheduled for a vague March release, the announcement of a final round of location tests may indicate that the arcade version may be patched sooner than later.

According to new details from developer Arc System Works, more public demonstrations for the ver.1.10 update are set to begin on March 5 and last for about a week. Much like past showings, these events will take place at various Club Sega locations in Tokyo.

Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-‘s ver.1.10 patch introduces console-exclusive characters Sin Kiske, Elphelt Valentine, and Leo Whitefang and a multitude of changes for the existing cast members.

Source: Arc System Works via nya

Though it’s currently available in Japan by way of a soft launch, Tekken 7 will see a full release on March 18. No plans have been revealed as to its future in other parts of the world, but competitors in North America won’t have to wait long to try it out thanks to an upcoming showing at Final Round 18.

Bandai Namco Games’ Katsuhiro Harada and Michael Murray are scheduled to make the trip to Atlanta next month to share it with the community. As one of the premier regions for Tekken competition in the United States, this will be the perfect opportunity for some of the best players in the country to demonstrate what the game has in store.

Final Round 18 is scheduled for March 20-22. More details can be found through their official website.

Source: Mark “MarkMan” Julio

In preparation for the event later this year, Alex Jebailey has opened online registration for Community Effort Orlando 2015.

Once again taking place in Orlando, Florida, the latest installment of this annual tournament series will feature an incredibly rich lineup of titles, including Ultra Street Fighter IV, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Killer Instinct, Mortal Kombat X, Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, and Divekick.

And, speaking of Ultra Street Fighter IV, we can now confirm that Community Effort Orlando 2015 will be using the upcoming PlayStation 4 port as the main platform for competition, provided it releases beforehand. Should Capcom not have it ready by that time, Jebailey will default to Xbox 360.

Much like at Evo 2015, Mad Catz and Capcom will be providing loaner arcade sticks at each station for folks who aren’t able to shell out money for a compatible controllers, and there will be setups available all day Friday so that competitors can acclimate to whatever changes the upgraded release brings to the table.

Jebailey is also teasing a brand new stage courtesy of his new partnership with CyberPower. While full details are set to come later this week, you’ll find a preview below.

Community Effort Orlando 2015 will take place June 26-28 at the Wyndham Orlando Resort in Orlando, Florida. Check out the official website for more details and registration instructions.

Thanks to the release of a brand new screenshot of the upcoming Mortal Kombat X mobile port, we now know that Kenshi will appear in the series’ next installment in some form when it drops next month.

The blind swordsman, who has been teased by creative director Ed Boon in the past, played a big part in the earlier portions of the ongoing Mortal Kombat X comic, and his son Takashi Takeda will be playable alongside fellow newcomers Cassie Cage and Jacqueline Briggs.

The image in question shows Kenshi taking on Outworld emperor Kotal Kahn in the mobile version’s unique card-based gameplay system, making use of a Possessed variation that is as of yet unexplained. Interestingly enough, this screenshot can only be found through IGN’s mobile app, and the corresponding page on their website features no such picture.

Due to the odd way in which this was revealed, it’s still unclear if Kenshi will show up in the main game or be confined to this handheld version. As the mobile port of predecessor Injustice: Gods Among Us featured two exclusive characters of its own in Darkseid and Static, this is far from confirmation that this veteran will appear elsewhere.

Feel free to check out the aforementioned screenshot below and let us know what you think.

Mortal Kombat X is scheduled to land on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC on April 14. The mobile port will be available sometime that same month.

Source: IGN via Haketh

Team NINJA has announced a new crossover of sorts for Dead or Alive 5 Last Round, a round of costumes based on Marvelous Entertainment’s popular Senran Kagura franchise.

In addition to adding a fresh layer of flair to Dead or Alive’s cast, these new outfits will suffer battle damage much like they do in series they are inspired by.

These costumes will only be available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. A release date is as of yet unknown.

Source: Famitsu via Gematsu

Arcade sticks are one of the most important pieces of equipment for any competitive fighting game player. That said, carrying them around to tournaments and events can be a bit of a chore due to their size and weight. To help alleviate this, SPLITFRAME, in cooperation with Arcade Shock, are announcing a brand new line of of arcade stick carrying bags.

The FS Transporter differs from other stick carrying solutions in that they are designed with a layer of ballistic padding to protect the equipment being carried inside. The bags will also come with extra pockets where players can carry their phones, headsets, and even documents.

Two sizes will be available: regular, which should fit most arcade sticks, such as the Mad Catz Tournament Edition 2 or HORI Real Arcade Pro 4, and XL, which is designed specifically for the HORI’s Premium VLX line of sticks (including the recently announced HRAP 4 Premium VLX Kuro).

These bags are expected to be released in time for Evolution 2015. Prices will be announced on Thursday, March 5 with pre-orders opening on Saturday, March 7. In the meantime, check out some pre-production shots of the bags below.

Source: SPLITFRAME