February 2005

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Game Informer posts MK: Shaolin Monks interview
Posted by White_Pointer at 01:35:57 CST
Although it's not technically a fighting game, the next game in the MK universe is the previously announced Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, a new action game starring Liu Kang and Kung Lao...the first MK action game that Ed Boon and his team are actually involved in (they were not part of MK: Mythologies or MK: Special Forces, for the record). Game Informer magazine has published an interview with Ed Boon and Shaolin Monks producer Shaun Himmerick about the new title, and they've been good enough to put the entire interview up on their website to read without needing to purchase the magazine. The interview also briefly touches on MK: Deception. To read it, head on over to Game Informer's website.
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Official schedule and rules announced for DOAU tournament
Posted by White_Pointer at 01:43:20 CST
Alright, here are the official rules and schedule for the Dead or Alive Ultimate tournament. First of all, you can find the schedule by visiting http://www.xbox.com/en-us/deadoraliveultimate/tournament.htm.

Here are the rules, directory from Tecmo and Microsoft:

About The Dead or Alive Ultimate Mystery Gamer Competition
The first round of the U.S. and Canadian tournament, entitled “The Dead or Alive Ultimate Mystery Gamer Competition,” allows DOAU fighting fans from both countries a chance of a lifetime to fight against one of the creators of the game from Tecmo’s highly esteemed Team Ninja development group. For one month, participants will be able to show off their fighting skills and prove their worth by logging into designated DOAU Mystery Gamer sessions through Xbox Live. Once there, they will receive only one chance to play and beat the DOAU Mystery Gamer in order to qualify for the finals round of the tournament. Designated dates and times for the DOAU Mystery Gamer sessions are listed on the official Xbox® website at later this week. Other regions will follow suit with their own versions for the first round of competition, details on other region’s tournaments will be announced in the upcoming weeks from Microsoft.

Contestants who beat the DOAU Mystery Gamer will move on to the finals round of the tournament where they will have a chance to fight against each other through Xbox Live in a fast and furious face-off using a random bracket format to decide the best of the best from US and Canada. The top two winners from this round, along with the 6 other regional winners from around the world, will win a “Chance in a Lifetime” prize package to the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California.

Tekken 5 PS2 release date set, more unlockables
Posted by White_Pointer at 16:36:10 CST
Namco have officially announced that the PS2 version of Tekken 5 is finally hitting store shelves this week, on the 25th of February. We've got some further news for you though. Four new unlockable characters have also been revealed: Bruce Irvin, Ganryu, Mokujin and Kuma/Panda. The bonus beat 'em up game that will be included with the game that was announced a while ago has finally been given a name: Tekken: Devil Within. The other revealed details are already known - that there will be a special edition that features the first 3 original Tekken games plus a controller designed specifically for Tekken and a 6-disc DVD case. The regular edition will retail for $49.99, and the special edition $99.99.
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Midway Arcade Treasures 3 announced
Posted by White_Pointer at 03:51:26 CST
Midway have announced that yet another compilation of their classic arcade games is coming to consoles. However, this time around, there doesn't seem to be any fighting games - the focus this time around seems to be racing games. The announced games to appear in the title so far are: Badlands, Hydro Thunder, Off Road Thunder: Mud, Sweat 'N Gears, Race Drivin', San Francisco Rush The Rock: Alcatraz Edition, San Francisco Rush 2049, S.T.U.N. Runner, and Super Off Road & Bonus Tracks Pack.

We don't know if this is a definitive list yet, since that's only 8 games and the previous installments have both had at least 20, so chances are we might see more games announced before the pack is released in the fall. There could be fighting games included in it yet. We'll keep you updated.
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New Fan Art
Posted by White_Pointer at 03:46:02 CST
Joe Ikey has sent us some more of his fan art! This time he's sent us 5 different hand-drawn images of Ryu. You can check them out in our newly-created 6th fan art gallery in our fan art section! And don't forget, if you've got artwork you'd like to submit, just follow that link for the easy submission instructions!
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Tecmo announces plans for a DOAU tournament
Posted by White_Pointer at 16:50:05 CST
Those of you who are enjoying playing Dead or Alive Ultimate on XBox Live might want to brush up on your skills. Starting February 21st, Tecmo are holding an official DOA Ultimate tournament, where the ultimate winners will get a chance to attend this year's E3! At first this will only be open to the US, however other regions will be included later. Initially, round 1 will consist of gamers playing against a random mystery opponent from none other than Team Ninja's development team. If successful, the winners will go through to round 2 which will consist of random bracket knockout games against the other winners from round 1, and the final two left at the end will be the lucky people to go to E3. This will be mirrored in 3 other regions (meaning 6 more winners), although no details of when those tournaments will be starting up have emerged just yet. We'll have more news on this as it becomes available. For you US DOAU players, start practicing!
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DOAU Delayed for PAL
Posted by White_Pointer at 02:05:10 CST
It's been confirmed that the PAL version of Dead or Alive Ultimate has been delayed. I guess this comes as no surprise considering the NTSC version was also delayed several times. It was originally planned to have already shipped, but now the new expected date of arrival is the 25th of February. We'll keep you updated on any changes PAL gamers, so don't worry. Thanks to forum member crawdad for this news.
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New History of Fighters article
Posted by Pube at 03:20:56 CST
Yeah, its been a while since we've had one of these, so this time I chose to cut the crap and write up on a game series that I actually like. If you haven't heard of Battletoads already then you've probably been living under a rock for the past 10 years. Read this to refresh your memory.

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Marvel vs EA project going ahead
Posted by White_Pointer at 03:53:10 CST
Probably to the shock of many fighting game fans out there, the Marvel vs EA project is going ahead, representatives from both companies confirmed recently. From Marvel, they'll be the classic comic book characters such as Spider-man and the X-Men, but from EA...well, we don't know yet, because EA said they'll be making their own characters, and reckons that "folks will be blown away by their design and powers".

"It's a unique opportunity, partnering with Marvel, to bring their renowned superheroes into original video game environments, as well as providing us an opportunity to create new heroes that will live in games, comic books, and other licensing or media opportunities that Marvel presents," said John Riccitiello, while he was still president of Electronic Arts.

Tecmo files lawsuit against game hackers
Posted by White_Pointer at 21:14:29 CST
You might remember that last year we reported the story that Tecmo were looking into legal action against the group that were dedicated to "hacking" Team-Ninja developed games to make the female characters appear naked. Well, Tecmo have followed through with this threat and have now filed a lawsuit against 2 of the main protagonists from www.ninjahacker.net, Mike Greiling and Will Glynn. In a nutshell, the lawsuit claims that the pair undertook activities that violated the software copyright act...more specifically, altering the game's code to change the look of the characters. The games affected are Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alive 3, Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, and Dead or Alive Ultimate.

"This is not play money," Tecmo general manager John Inada said in an interview. "What we've invested [in our games] is millions and millions of dollars…this is real cash, not play money. It's not an issue of nudity. It's simply the violation of our IP (intellectual property) and the code."

KOF 2002/2003 Combo Pack ships for PS2
Posted by White_Pointer at 01:41:14 CST
SNK have announced that their newest combo pack, King of Fighters 2002/2003 has shipped out for the PS2, retailing at US $39.99. SNK have put each game on its own separate disc as well. This is only the first of many titles SNK are promising console gamers this year.

"THE KING OF FIGHTERS 02/03 combo pack will be the first of a slew of releases for consoles in 2005. SNK fans around the world are going to be very busy this year" said Ben Herman, President, SNK PLAYMORE USA CORPORATION.

NO new Killer Instinct
Posted by White_Pointer at 21:14:37 CST
Rumours spread extremely quickly about the possibility of a new Killer Instinct title when the demo of Rare's upcoming XBox game, Conker: Live and Reloaded, contained a reference to such a possibility. Microsoft have however come forward today to assure everyone that this was only intended as a joke to suit the overall theme of the game, and is NOT happening any time soon. And remember, Rare retained the rights to the KI series and Rare is now owned by Microsoft Game Studios, so if in the miracle event that we were to see a new KI game, it would be on a Microsoft system. But today's confirmation by Microsoft basically tells us not to hold our breath waiting for it. Sorry KI fans.
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MK: Deception hitting Gamecubes early
Posted by White_Pointer at 16:22:30 CST
In this day and age when it's almost inevitable that big releases get delayed, Midway seem to have stood up and always delivered their products on time. Today, they've taken it a step further by announcing that the GC version of Mortal Kombat: Deception will actually be hitting store shelves a week ahead of schedule. It will now be available on February 28th instead of the previous announced date of March 7th. No word on any PAL release but we're hoping this will mean PAL gamers could get it a little earlier as well.
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Tekken 5 bundle coming to the US
Posted by White_Pointer at 02:55:09 CST
Namco have teamed up with Hori, a peripheral developer, to make a special bundle available when Tekken 5 finally launches for the PS2 on March 15th this year. The bundle, which will retail for US$99.99 and be limited to only 20,000 copies, will include the game, a special controller designed specifically for the Tekken games, and a case to hold each of the 6 games in the series to date (don't forget TTT). As an added bonus, EB, Gamestop and Game Crazy will be shipping a special artbook with the game for preorders only. This is all to commemorate the franchise's 10 year history.
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Midway buys Unreal 3 engine
Posted by White_Pointer at 03:00:26 CST
Although no specific titles have been announced, Midway has come forward and told the public that they have purchased the license for the Unreal 3 engine to use in their "next generation" titles. The engine will be used at all three of Midway's major development houses, including the Chicago office where the MK series is made.

"Great next-generation games will be defined by how far they push the envelope in terms of graphical prowess, evolved artificial intelligence, and revolutionary online functionality beyond what gamers are currently experiencing," said Midway CEO and president David F. Zucker. "Our obtaining the use of Unreal Engine 3 empowers us to begin today to produce great next-generation content. Our internal studios are already in the process of creating incredible products with the Unreal Engine 3 technology in multiple genres."

"We are especially gratified that Midway, a major publisher committed to developing high-quality games for both next-generation console and PC platforms, in numerous styles and genres, came to us seeking the right to use Unreal Engine 3 as a basis technology for its enterprise," said Mark Rein, vice president of the developer.

New Fan Art
Posted by White_Pointer at 03:56:52 CST
Kage no Oukami has sent us a big slew of his fan art to put up on the site. He's drawn characters from a number of games...Seung Mina, Vice, Elena, B. Jenet and some others. So check out his artwork in gallery 5 of our fan art section. Don't forget if you also want to contribute to the site in this way, just visit the fan art section for all the submission instructions!
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KOF: Extreme released on N-Gage
Posted by White_Pointer at 03:29:16 CST
The N-Gage's first ever fighting game, King of Fighters: Extreme has finally shipped and is now available on store shelves.

“We are truly excited to have one of the most popular ‘beat ’em up’ franchises on the N-Gage platform,” said Pasi Pölönen, Director, Games Publishing, Nokia. “Now gamers can have King Of Fighters on the palm of their hands.”