Category: News

Earlier this week, we talked about the negative reactions Bandai Namco Games received after revealing Tekken 7’s Lucky Chloe at a celebration of the series’ twentieth anniversary. We also touched on director Katsuhiro Harada’s reaction to that reaction, which was to state she would be exclusive to Japan and Europe, essentially barring her from the North American release.

Of course, we didn’t spend too much time on that last point because it was very obviously a joke. But now that the story has been picked up by major video game outlets of being as if its an absolute truth, here we are again.

Now, more than ever before, fighting game developers mingle with their core, competitive audience. Where once this kind of support was only a pipedream, we now have major backing at events like the Evolution Championship Series and even tournaments like Capcom Cup and Arc Revolution Cup ran by the companies themselves.

While I would be remiss for not mentioning the draw exclusive characters can be on the casual crowd, we’ve begun to see signs that they are a thing of the past; mostly recently, NetherRealm Studios executive producer Shaun Himmerick mentioned that Mortal Kombat X will not feature platform-exclusive fighters, signalling a shift away from practices seen in the previous title.

It should also be noted that in no prior Tekken titles have Bandai Namco made any characters region-exclusive and have only implemented platform exclusivity in Tekken Tag Tournament 2, which featured fighters in the console versions that never appeared in arcades. Doing so now would effectively bar Chloe from ever being used in competitive play, which means no exposure during tournaments streams, exhibitions, tutorials–nothing.

But, besides all that, this entire discussion can be finalized with a single tweet from Michael Murray, a senior game designer at Bandai Namco who frequently acts as Harada’s translator during public events. “It’s amusing how many [people] are [taking] Harada’s trolling about Chloe seriously,” he mentioned on Twitter shortly after word began to spread. “He’s good at getting free publicity.”

So, there you have it! Like her or hate her, Lucky Chloe will be coming to North America. Tell your friends.

Source: Michael Murray

Earlier this week, Capcom UK provided an early look at Ultra Street Fighter IV’s upcoming Omega Mode, bringing together a few of the region’s top players to test out the unique gameplay this update will provide. While it was mostly standard fare, one moment in particular unearthed an interesting change to El Fuerte’s Quesadilla Bomb.

This adjustment was originally highlighted by Pr0Fluke when he noticed the luchador landing closer to his opponent after having the chest bump blocked. After a bit of experimentation with my own copy of Ultra Street Fighter IV, I can confirm that the Quesadilla Bombs shown in the video below have been heavily nerfed, resulting in approximately half the pushback it’s normally equipped with.

For some clarification on when this change arose (and the possibility of it transferring over to the main game as Pr0Fluke posits), we contacted Capcom’s Peter “Combofiend” Rosas for additional information. According to Rosas, the nerf will be confined to Omega Mode, raising the possibility that the breakdowns they’ve released thus far are not exhaustive and fans will have more to look forward to when the update launches later this month.

The full archive of Capcom UK’s broadcast can be found here if you have a Capcom Fighters subscription.

If you’re having difficulties punishing blocked Quesadilla Bombs in Ultra Street Fighter IV, be sure to check out Eternal’s helpful tutorial on the subject.

Source: Pr0Fluke

To celebrate Capcom Cup 2014, Mad Catz will be holding a special online store promotion for their Ultra Street Fighter IV Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition 2.

Those who order the arcade stick online from their Capcom Cup web store on the day of the event itself will receive one of their glowing t-shirts. These shirts come in either blue for PlayStation 3 and 4 orders or red for Xbox 360 orders.

The online sales will go live at 12 PM PST on Saturday, December 13. The shirts will only be available while  supplies last.

In addition to this, Mad Catz will also be selling a limited number of Tournament Edition 2 arcade sticks at the event itself.

Source: MarkMan

With Capcom Cup just a few days away, the tournament organizers are looking to bump the prize pool up just a little bit more with three new tee shirt designs.

Provided through Teespring, these shirts sport widely different designs. One highlights the multiple premier events Capcom has held over the past year, another sees the Capcom Cup participants inserted into the classic Street Fighter II character select screen, and the last is emblazoned with the Street Fighter V logo (not to mention a very intense Ryu).

Should you be interested in picking any of these up, be sure to visit the official Capcom Pro Tour shop. Each one will run you $25 and, as we mentioned before, part of the proceeds will go towards the monetary awards at Capcom Cup.

Source: Capcom Pro Tour

It would probably be a great disservice to Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- if I didn’t describe it as one of the most anticipated fighters in recent memory. As a continuation of Arc System Works’ beloved franchise, Xrd is the first all-new installment fans have seen since Guilty Gear XX originally launched in 2002 (though there have been quite a few updates, spin-offs, and even a non-fighter in Guilty Gear 2: Overture since then), and the arcade-exclusive launch earlier this year only served to intensify the excitement.

With this kind of status in the fighting game community, many opted to purchase the game as an import (or even with foreign PlayStation Network accounts) in order to take advantage of the 12-day headstart Japan had for the console release. While they’ve been playing it for a few days now–and even uncovering some hidden goodies on the disc–North American fans can actually grab a copy today thanks to GameStop.

Yesterday, GameStop employee Aaron Muhlmeyer (who has previously conducted a few interviews for us) mentioned that his store had received a message from corporate stating that the street date for the title had been lifted. After hearing of this, we attempted to follow up on this news with the company themselves, but to no avail. Muhlmeyer went on to say that his particular store would be receiving copies the next afternoon, and a location in my area confirmed their own shipment was also planned for the same time when reached for details.

Without much else to go on, I decided to simply wait until today, walk into GameStop, and see what happened…

…and that’s pretty much how it went down. Before calling and confirming that, yes, they had copies and, yes, I would be able to purchase one, I drove over, bought my game, and am currently enjoying its metal riffs emanating from my television as I write this.

In his messages, Muhlmeyer stated that the memo that was sent to his store went company-wide, which means every store in the country should (in theory) have copies of Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- in stock and ready to sell. Because GameStop has failed to get back to us, we can’t outright confirm this is the case, but definitely give your local store a ring and see what’s up.

It should also be noted that my location only received one copy of the PlayStation 3 version, so supplies are probably limited if you didn’t pre-order. And, of course, if you are looking to grab a limited edition, you’ll have to wait until December 23 due to recent delays.

While individual character strengths may differ, the idea of parity for fighting games is very important to the competitive scene. If, say, one platform is given cast members that aren’t available on another, it becomes very hard to make a case for their inclusion in tournaments, often resulting in outright bans (see: Street Fighter x Tekken’s Megaman and Pac-Man on PlayStation 3).

Fortunately, it appears as if that won’t be an issue in Mortal Kombat X.

During their showing at PlayStation Experience, NetherRealm Studios executive producer Shaun Himmerick mentioned that fans won’t have to worry about them repeating a similar move they pulled with 2011’s Mortal Kombat, which saw God of War’s protagonist Kratos join the cast on Sony consoles.

This puts to rest rumors that Mortal Kombat X would include such fighters spread by an article IGN in August, during which creative director Ed Boon supposedly divulged (though he was not quoted as such) that they were developing console-exclusive characters.

Mortal Kombat X is scheduled to release for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC on April 14.

Source: Hardcore Gamer via Test Your Might

While Killer Instinct has made great strides in the community since launching last year, its exclusivity to Xbox One continues to be a sticking point for folks looking to get into the title. Having to purchase an expensive gaming console and a brand new arcade stick in addition to the game itself is a huge barrier to entry that keeps many from experiencing competition for themselves.

Fortunately, it appears as if the developers are taking note of this issue. Microsoft Studios creative director Adam Isgreen recently took to the official Killer Instinct forums to consolidate a number of threads centered around discussion of a possible PC port, even going as far to put together a poll to gauge the community’s reception to the idea.

In my opinion, the potential boost this could give the competitive scene is priceless, especially if they implement some sort of cross-platform netplay feature that will keep those already playing from dividing.

If you’re interested in having your voice heard, be sure to visit Ultra-Combo by following the link below and take part in the poll.

Source: Ultra-Combo, tip via Tucker W.

Didn’t you learn anything from Capcom, Arc System Works?

Earlier tonight, fans were treated to an early look at some upcoming Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- content by some industrious data miners, including a variety of bonus color palettes as well as Leo Whitefang, the downloadable character who, before now, had yet to be revealed with gameplay footage.

This video comes courtesy of KennethBR, who recently went live on Twitch. They are currently running through the character’s challenge mode trials, but managed to upload some nice footage of his instant kill as well, which we’ve included below.

We are currently in the process of uploading images of the alternate colors, so stay tuned.

Sources: (1)KennethBR via Koogy, (2)KennethBR via Takkuten, 4chan

Now, the community has done its fair share of speculation regarding what Street Fighter V may or may not include, but that’s to be expected. As the follow-up to 2008’s Street Fighter IV, the upcoming installment of Capcom’s flagship fighting franchise is a symbol of the progress our scene has made in the past few years, a dedication that has been noticed by the developers and reciprocated.

We’ve talked about Street Fighter V a great deal in the past few days, whether it be discussions about its place in the franchise’s timeline or gameplay mechanics, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t more to be found.

One of most noteworthy highlights in the gameplay footage had to be Chun-Li launching Ryu through a doorway and into a different part of the arena, and that got us thinking: could there be other tasty morsels hidden throughout the stage? While not proof positive of anything, here are some details we think may be indicative of a borrowed feature and, possibly, even hints towards two more playable characters.

As many of you probably noticed, Capcom Cup advertisements appears in two specific spots in the unnamed stage. This was first pointed out to us by Marden Blake, a digital artist who had a hand in designing the logo. They can be a little hard to spot, so we’ve included a couple of screenshots below.

Capcom’s Yoshinori Ono mentioned in a recent Famitsu interview that this gameplay footage was originally planned for Capcom Cup, but the accidental release of the teaser trailer forced them to make a last-minute decision to show it during Sony’s press conference. The inclusion of the logo, then, makes complete sense, but it could also be a hint at things to come.

Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, the Arc System Works title that recently made its way to consoles, launched with a very interesting feature that allows tournament organizers to customize a stage background, effectively branding competitive footage with the name of the event.

Our theory is that Street Fighter V may come equipped with a similar feature, giving the figures behind major tournaments like Evo, SoCal Regionals, and Community Effort Orlando the opportunity to insert their own graphics for a bit of added flair.

Now, onto the big stuff: characters. While newer players may not have put two and two together as they watched the first bits of Street Fighter IV gameplay footage, the area in which Ryu and Chun-Li are trading blows is reminiscent of the Chinese stages Yun and Yang call home.

Like the twins, a variety of Street Fighter characters hail from China, including Gen, Fei Long, Dan, and even Chun-Li herself. Only Yun and Yang, however, have had unique stages that include the extensive scaffolding and neon signs seen in the screenshots below.

As a reference, here are the Street Fighter III stages in question.

So, what do you think? Will Capcom include some cool tools for the community to play around with in Street Fighter V? How about the dominant, Chinese twins? Let us know what you think in the comments.

(Street Fighter V images courtesy of Capcom, Street Fighter III images via Street Fighter Wiki)

Now, the community has done its fair share of speculation regarding what Street Fighter V may or may not include, but that’s to be expected. As the follow-up to 2008’s Street Fighter IV, the upcoming installment of Capcom’s flagship fighting franchise is a symbol of the progress our scene has made in the past few years, a dedication that has been noticed by the developers and reciprocated.

We’ve talked about Street Fighter V a great deal in the past few days, whether it be discussions about its place in the franchise’s timeline or gameplay mechanics, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t more to be found.

One of most noteworthy highlights in the gameplay footage had to be Chun-Li launching Ryu through a doorway and into a different part of the arena, and that got us thinking: could there be other tasty morsels hidden throughout the stage? While not proof positive of anything, here are some details we think may be indicative of a borrowed feature and, possibly, even hints towards two more playable characters.

As many of you probably noticed, Capcom Cup advertisements appears in two specific spots in the unnamed stage. This was first pointed out to us by Marden Blake, a digital artist who had a hand in designing the logo. They can be a little hard to spot, so we’ve included a couple of screenshots below.

Capcom’s Yoshinori Ono mentioned in a recent Famitsu interview that this gameplay footage was originally planned for Capcom Cup, but the accidental release of the teaser trailer forced them to make a last-minute decision to show it during Sony’s press conference. The inclusion of the logo, then, makes complete sense, but it could also be a hint at things to come.

Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, the Arc System Works title that recently made its way to consoles, launched with a very interesting feature that allows tournament organizers to customize a stage background, effectively branding competitive footage with the name of the event.

Our theory is that Street Fighter V may come equipped with a similar feature, giving the figures behind major tournaments like Evo, SoCal Regionals, and Community Effort Orlando the opportunity to insert their own graphics for a bit of added flair.

Now, onto the big stuff: characters. While newer players may not have put two and two together as they watched the first bits of Street Fighter IV gameplay footage, the area in which Ryu and Chun-Li are trading blows is reminiscent of the Chinese stages Yun and Yang call home.

Like the twins, a variety of Street Fighter characters hail from China, including Gen, Fei Long, Dan, and even Chun-Li herself. Only Yun and Yang, however, have had unique stages that include the extensive scaffolding and neon signs seen in the screenshots below.

As a reference, here are the Street Fighter III stages in question.

So, what do you think? Will Capcom include some cool tools for the community to play around with in Street Fighter V? How about the dominant, Chinese twins? Let us know what you think in the comments.

(Street Fighter V images courtesy of Capcom, Street Fighter III images via Street Fighter Wiki)