November 2003

Sunday, November 30, 2003

Soul Calibur II contest reminder
Posted by White_Pointer @ 20:49:37 AEST
It's the last day of November today...only 25 days to go until Christmas, but more importantly, there's only 9 days to go in our Soul Calibur II contest! So if you haven't entered yet and you want to be in the running to win a copy of the great game, then make sure you visit our promotions page and enter the competition!
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Saturday, November 29, 2003

Soul Calibur II arcade stick
Posted by White_Pointer @ 21:12:40 AEST
Peripheral manufacturer Nuby has just released a new product, a Universal arcade stick made specifically for Soul Calibur II. This arcade control stick works with PS2, Gamecube and XBox, and can be used to play other fighting titles as well as SCII.

For more information on the NUBY Soul Calibur 2 Universal Arcade Stick, check out this article on Video Game News.
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Friday, November 28, 2003

New Featured Game!
Posted by White_Pointer @ 12:46:39 AEST
That's right folks..it's been a while since we've opened up a new game section, but your eyes are not deceiving you! Blood-Sports.net now covers the entire King of Fighters series! We open up the section with 10 image galleries, containing more than 220 images that span across the entire series, 14 FAQ's covering everything you could need to know about the games, plus 10 gameplay movies totalling nearly fifty megabytes!

If you are a KOF fan...make sure you check out our brand new content!
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Heaps of new fan art
Posted by White_Pointer @ 8:10:41 AEST
We've had a whole stack of new fan art submitted...so much in fact that we've needed to open up a new fan art gallery! Firstly, Rachel York has sent us artworks of Ivy and Kilik from Soul Calibur and Ryu from Street Fighter II. BSinX has sent us some new artwork of Iori, Vanessa, and 2 new artworks of Kyo Kusangi from the King of Fighters series, Zero from the Mega Man series and Chun Li and Chibi Ryu from the Street Fighter series. Lastly, Nikola G has sent us a couple more pictures of his own fighting game characters.

Whew! To check out all of our new fan art in both galleries, or to submit some artwork yourself, just click the Fan Art link under the "Features" menu heading, or if you are lazy click here!
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Thursday, November 27, 2003

Dragon Ball Z: Taiketsu ships for GBA
Posted by White_Pointer @ 11:48:21 AEST
DBZ fans can now play as their favourite characters from the animated series on the Gameboy Advance. Atari have announced that Dragon Ball Z: Taiketsu has shipped! The new GBA fighting game allows you to play as 15 Dragon Ball Z characters and features both single player and multiplayer features. Keep a look out for it on store shelves!
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Wednesday, November 26, 2003

Hyper Street Fighter II to hit arcades?
Posted by White_Pointer @ 7:46:16 AEST
Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition, the new SF game that Capcom are developing to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the series, was originally only announced to be a PS2 release. But it appears there is some evidence that Capcom are planning on releasing it in the arcades as well, at least in Japan. Challenger AM, a Japanese arcade information source, has added Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition to it's list of upcoming arcade releases.

While this is far from concrete confirmation, Challenger AM is a very reliable source, so don't be surprised if it turns out to be true!
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Tuesday, November 25, 2003

King of Fighters 2000/2001 combo pack goes gold
Posted by White_Pointer @ 8:28:43 AEST
SNK NEOGEO USA today announced that The King of Fighters 2000 and The King of Fighters 2001 combo pack exclusive for the PS2 has gone gold and will ship to retail stores throughout North America on December 9th. As an added bonus, purchasers will receive free collectible trading cards of characters appearing in the two games. The quantity is available only to initial shipments to retailers and distributors. To get a free, assorted 5-card set, you just need to send in the registration card and store receipt, but you'll need to be quick. The card series has 27 cards in all.

The combo pack will be available for the RRP of $39.99. No word yet on a PAL release. For more information check out SNK NEOGEO USA's Official site.
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Monday, November 24, 2003

Still more new fan art
Posted by White_Pointer @ 19:37:52 AEST
They just keep on coming! Both Nikola G and Rachel York have sent us some new additions to our gallery of ever increasing fan art. Rachel York has three new drawings...the first is Siegfried of Soul Calibur, the second is Hwoarang from Tekken, and the third is Iori from King of Fighters. Nikola G has also sent us five more drawings of his own characters that have been inspired by fighting games...so check out all the new additions, as well as all the rest of our fan art in our Fan Art Gallery! And if you want to submit your own...well, you should know where to look by now :)
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Sunday, November 23, 2003

Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance PAL release set
Posted by White_Pointer @ 19:08:14 AEST
Yep, we've finally got a PAL release date for Acclaim's hack and slash fighter Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance. The game should be available by December 1st in all PAL territories, for PS2, Xbox and PC.
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Saturday, November 22, 2003

Even more new Fan Art
Posted by White_Pointer @ 19:44:14 AEST
The Fan Art certainly seems to be rolling in at the moment! Nikola G has decided to send us some of his sketches of fighting game characters, although these aren't any characters you'll find in any current fighting games. He says they've been inspired by fighting game characters, but they are his own creations. So check out this fresh new fan art, as well as all of the rest of our fan art in our Fan Art gallery! Keep in mind we're always on the lookout for new fan art, so if you're a talented artist yourself and you have something to contribute that's themed at fighting games, then just visit the Fan Art main page for the submission details!
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Friday, November 21, 2003

More New Fan Art
Posted by White_Pointer @ 19:28:41 AEST
Rachel York has done it again and sent us three great new additions to our Fan Art Gallery. They are all hand drawn, but are very nicely detailed...seems Rachel is quite an artist! The first is of Hwang from Soul Calibur, the second is of Ryu and Akuma from the Street Fighter series, and the third is Sindel from Mortal Kombat 3. Take a look at them by following the above link, and don't forget if you want to submit your own, head on over to our Fan Art main page by clicking the link in the menu or clicking here!
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Thursday, November 20, 2003

Bruce rhymes with moose
Posted by Pube @ 19:05:33 AEST
Commodore 64 classics here we come. Bruce Lee make an appearance in the days of the ol' 64, and we have it covered. Check it out here.
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New Fan Art
Posted by White_Pointer @ 7:05:27 AEST
Rachel York has sent us some new fan art! She's given us two great hand drawn works of Benimaru from the King of Fighters series. Check them out, along with the rest of our Fan Art in our Fan Art Gallery. A talented artist yourself? Want to see your work posted on Blood-Sports.net for everyone to see? Then go to the Fan Art main page, it's really easy!
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Wednesday, November 19, 2003

New King of Fighters 2003 details
Posted by White_Pointer @ 13:19:19 AEST
About a week ago we reported that the 10th title in the KOF series, King of Fighters 2003 was beginning beta testing. Well, some interesting new info has been coming out of the beta test which is currently going on in Osaka, Japan. We already knew that it was going to be 3D and retain the three on three battle system, but here's some stuff we didn't know:

• The battle format has been changed slightly. It's still 3 on 3, but instead of not being able to choose the order of your characters once you selected them, you can now switch between any of them during a fight like a tag team.
  
• Each match will have a 60 second round time for you to beat your opponents in, which makes it similar to Capcom vs SNK 2. Currently there is debate going on about whether 60 seconds is long enough.
  
• There will be new story modes.
  
• The character roster has had some changes. Three new characters have been added, Ash Crimson, Sheng Woo and Duoron. There's also been some shuffling around...Griffon Mask (Tizoc in English) from Garou: Mark of the Wolves has replaced Andy in the Fatal Fury team, Shingo has returned to the Japan team, and Choi has been replaced by returning character Jhun in the Korea team.
  
• Two new teams have been added. One is the Outlaw team, which consists of Gato from Garou: Mark of the Wolves and the returning characters Billy and Yamazaki. The other new team, whose name is unknown, will consist of returning character Hinako, a new character named Marin, and returning character Athena.

Tuesday, November 18, 2003

Spike TV's Video Game Awards
Posted by White_Pointer @ 19:26:54 AEST
There's award ceremonies going on all over the place! This most recent one is Spike TV's own awards, which is a cable channel just for guys, and the awards will be hosted by actor/comedian David Spade (you would know him from the sitcom "Just Shoot Me"). There's quite a number of categories, including a category for Best Fighting Game. Some other fighting games have also been nominated for some other categories as well...so, if you want to see your favourite fighting game receive an award, head over to Spike TV's website and cast your votes!
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Monday, November 17, 2003

Fighting Games nominated in BAFTA games awards
Posted by White_Pointer @ 13:25:46 AEST
For those of you who are unaware, the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) games awards is a prestigious annual event where games receive awards for outstanding accomplishments. Normally developers and publishers are extremely pleased to just be nominated for these awards. The next awards will be held on February 25th, 2004, and we've got some fighting games nominated in several categories!

First up, Midway's Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance has been nominated for Best Action Game.

Namco's Soul Calibur II has been nominated for a number of categories. These are: Best Animation or Intro, Best Design, Best XBox Game and Best Gamecube Game.

For the full list of nominations, check out BAFTA's Official Site.
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Sunday, November 16, 2003

New Poll
Posted by White_Pointer @ 18:46:41 AEST
Ahhh...combos. Introduced into fighting games quite some time ago now, they either attract good reactions or not so good reactions. So what's your opinion of them? Do you really care if a fighting game uses combos a lot? Do you like them, but only when they aren't very long? Do you live for them and can't imagine playing fighting games any other way? Or do you simply dislike them? Vote now!
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Poll Results
Posted by White_Pointer @ 18:39:43 AEST
It's that time again when we post up a new poll...but first, let's take a look at the final results of the previous poll:

What's your preferred controller for a fighting game?

43.8% - Gamepad (Digital Pad)
19.1% - Gamepad (Analogue stick)
16.4% - Keyboard
16.4% - Arcade controls
2.7% - Something else
1.3% - Joystick

Not surprisingly, the Digital Gamepad came out in front, but what IS very surprising is the fact that the same number of people prefer the keyboard as those that prefer the arcade controls. Considering the little number of fighters available for the PC, this statistic is quite bewildering.
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Saturday, November 15, 2003

Capcom's profits rise, but game sales down
Posted by White_Pointer @ 20:12:52 AEST
Capcom have recently reported that they have made a fairly sizeable profit for the first 6 months of the fiscal year. The company said it made a 919 million yen (US$8.5 million) profit during the first half of its fiscal year (between April and September, 2003). In comparison they actually lost 17.3 billion yen (US$159 million) for the same period last year.

It's not all bright news for Capcom though, as their game sales have fallen by 13 percent to 22.5 billion yen (US$208 million) for the first half. Capcom says that this is due to a real lack of blockbuster sales, and the games that were released in that time period not meeting expected sales.

"We didn't release many home console games during the first half, but that was our plan," commented Capcom vice president Heiji Oshima. "It has to do with the restructuring of our development divisions in the first half."

Friday, November 14, 2003

Double Dragon Advance ships
Posted by White_Pointer @ 12:36:51 AEST
Yep, we've got another big release this week (and more to come in the coming weeks as well). Atlus has just announced that Double Dragon Advance has shipped out to retailers everywhere. This new version features new game modes, including a two play co-op mode as well as a vs mode, plus a single player game where you can play as both of the Dragons with the help of the CPU. There's new fighting techniques as well, including a rising knee, dash punch and wall jump, plus all new enemies, stages and bosses.

Be on the lookout for it the next time you visit your local game store! For more info about the game, visit Atlus's Official Website.
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Thursday, November 13, 2003

Bloody Roar 4 ships
Posted by White_Pointer @ 18:45:36 AEST
Fans of the Bloody Roar series should now be rejoicing as the newest game in the series, Bloody Roar 4 has finally shipped for the PS2! Bloody Roar 4 further advances the series with the introduction of a multitude of new features including three new characters and a "Zoanthropes Gauge" that allows players to manage power and health during matches. Additionally, players can modify their character's skill set by defeating enemies to acquire their opponents' moves after they have been defeated or to unlock special new abilities in the Career Mode.

It's available all throughout North America right now. No word yet on when we might expect a PAL release.
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Wednesday, November 12, 2003

King of Fighters 2003 to begin beta testing
Posted by White_Pointer @ 12:49:48 AEST
Yep, it's not far away now before King of Fighters 2003 is unleashed in Japanese arcades. The game will be beta tested in Osaka, Japan between November 17 and November 21, before moving into Tokyo. The game is currently slated for a release in Japanese arcades in mid December, although no word yet on when we might see it outside of Japan.

KOF 2003 will be the tenth instalment of the series, and this time they are promising quite a number of changes, including bringing back some characters from other NeoGeo games like Fatal Fury and Garou: Mark of the Wolves, as well and giving the storyline and nice, fresh new direction. It's also supposed to implement a new battle system and control system...we'll have more info on it as it becomes available.
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Tuesday, November 11, 2003

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 on its way to Europe
Posted by White_Pointer @ 12:50:54 AEST
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 is coming to Europe...and will be on store shelves by the end of the week. Atari have announced that it will be available to buy on the PS2 on the 14th of November...which is this Friday!

If you're a DBZ fan and you live in Europe, be sure to keep an eye out for it on friday. It's a vast improvement over the original including new modes like "Dragon Mode"...so if you enjoyed the original, you'll know doubt enjoy this.
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Monday, November 10, 2003

Kung Fu for thought
Posted by Pube @ 19:32:29 AEST
Yup, another new history addition, this time its Kung Fu from the glory days of the NES. View the article here
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Sunday, November 9, 2003

Soul Calibur II contest!
Posted by White_Pointer @ 12:14:11 AEST
That's right...here at Blood-Sports.net we are giving away one NTSC and one PAL copy of Namco's Soul Calibur II! How cool is that? The contest is very simple, so if you really want a copy, this is your chance to score one for free!

To enter and read all the conditions and rules, just visit our promotions page, or click the link in the right hand menu! Good luck to all entrants!
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Saturday, November 8, 2003

New build for One Must Fall: Battlegrounds available for limited testers
Posted by White_Pointer @ 20:01:54 AEST
For those of you who are part of the limited test for One Must Fall: Battlegrounds, there is a new build that has just been made available that contains a number of fixes. Subsequently, it looks likely that there will be a new build available every weekend from now until the game is released (but only if you are part of the limited test). For more information check out the official site.
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Friday, November 7, 2003

PS2 game rental chart
Posted by White_Pointer @ 5:58:08 AEST
It's interesting to look at these kind of charts now and then to see how well games are doing in the rental market and not in actual sales. This chart covers the week ending November 2 2003 and comes courtesy of the Video Software Dealers Association.

1. Tony Hawk's Underground
   
2. WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain
   
3. Madden NFL 2004
   
4. Castlevania: Lament Of Innocence
   
5. SSX 3
   
6. Jak II
   
7. NBA Live 2004
   
8. NCAA Football
   
9. Enter The Matrix
   
10. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
    

Thursday, November 6, 2003

Street Fighter anniversary celebrations in Japan
Posted by White_Pointer @ 6:48:23 AEST
Capcom seem like they are really getting into the 15 year anniversary of Street Fighter II...not only are they putting up a website, making a new game and offering a bunch of goodies to complement the new game that's on its way, but they are teaming up with character merchandiser and retailer Cospa and are throwing parties throughout Japan this month as well. There is also a new CD planned, Street Fighter vs Street Musician (which is different to the commemorative CD they announced a couple of months ago that will come packaged in the special edition pack) and will feature some of the recording artists playing at the club events.

The best news for Street Fighter fans is that there will be consoles running the new Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition, giving gamers an early chance to try out the game.

The festivities kick off in Fukuoka on November 15, then Osaka on November 16, and finally Tokyo on November 23. And of course, arriving in costume is encouraged as there will be a costume competition as well.
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Wednesday, November 5, 2003

One Must Fall: Battlegrounds to feature in coming tournaments
Posted by White_Pointer @ 8:39:07 AEST
Diversions Entertainment have just sent word out that One Must Fall: Battlegrounds will be featuring in two upcoming game tournaments. Players will be able to get their hands on the game before it's November 17th North American release at the Xcelerator Gaming Tournament in Washington DC on November 7 through 9. The game will also be included in the ATI Cyber X Games in Las Vegas on January 8 through 11, 2004.
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Tuesday, November 4, 2003

New History of Fighters Article
Posted by Pube @ 19:35:22 AEST
Ok, so in our fever-pitched race to go forward in time, it seems like we missed quite a few good fightng games in the process. So this week, we put the brakes on, slow back down to the mid 80's, where music was bad and hairstyles were worse, to take a look at Yie Ar Kung-Fu. Read it here.


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Monday, November 3, 2003

King of Fighters 2003 on PS2 coming in 2004
Posted by White_Pointer @ 4:56:25 AEST
We've just received word that King of Fighters 2003 is planned for a release on the PS2 on the 15th of March 2004. It looks like SNK/Playmore and really starting to put the KOF series into the limelight of home gaming.

Kudos to forum member Lastik-the-cat for the news! Why not discuss this is our forums?
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Saturday, November 1, 2003

New Poll
Posted by White_Pointer @ 22:13:22 AEST
As gamers who enjoy fighting games, we all have our preferred devices for playing our favourite kinds of games. So in our new poll, we ask you which of these controllers is your personal preference. Is it the controls on an arcade machine (or a device like the X-Arcade), a joystick, a gamepad or even a keyboard? Tell us by voting now!
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Poll Results
Posted by White_Pointer @ 22:07:12 AEST
Time for a new poll. But, as always, first let's take a look at the results of the previous poll:

Which of these upcoming fighting titles are you most looking forward to?

29.4% - One Must Fall: Battlegrounds
16.7% - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
12.3% - King of Fighters 2003
8.6% - Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2
8.6% - Dead or Alive: Code Cronos
7.1% - Bloody Roar 4
6.1% - Hyper Street Fighter 2 X
5.8% - Samurai Spirits Zero
3.4% - DreamMix TV World Fighters
1.5% - Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance

Some interesting results there...some games definately ranking higher or lower than expected on people's wish lists. Overall though it was a pretty good spread.
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