February 2007

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Tecmo working on new IP
Posted by White_Pointer at 01:58:07 CST
In a recent interview with Computer and Video Games, Tomonobu Itagaki, the producer at Team Ninja and the brains behind the DOA series, has announced that they are working on a new IP, and that it will be revealed soon.

"I will be announcing such a game in the near future. The title of the game aside, it is like no other type of game I have ever made."

NeoGeo games coming to Wii
Posted by White_Pointer at 01:22:16 CST
Last month we reported that the Playstation 3 will be home to a bunch of NeoGeo games as SNK launch them across the PS3's download service. It now seems like this is not going to be a Sony-exclusive as it's been announced through Nintendo's Japanese website that the Virtual Console will also be supporting NeoGeo games later this year.

No specific "launch" games were not revealed, nor was there a time frame when we might be seeing this in the English speaking world as this was a Japan-only service for now...but it would make sense for Nintendo not to wait too long before giving us NeoGeo goodness.

Thanks to David King for spotting this news!
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MK: Armageddon helps Midway revenues
Posted by White_Pointer at 01:28:55 CST
It's no secret that Midway have been struggling over the last year and a half in keeping losses to a minimum. In 2005 they lost $37.8 million in the final quarter alone.

However, thanks largely in part to strong sales of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, which has shipped more than a million copies worldwide for the PS2 and Xbox, Midway have cut back their losses to only $2 million in the same period in 2006. Revenues rose by 38.8 percent, going from $69.8 million to $96.9 million.

With a host of strong titles due out in the next few months, including the Wii version of MK: Armageddon, Midway should continue to look positive.
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SSBB confirmed for 2007 release
Posted by White_Pointer at 19:58:08 CST
While no release date had been officially announced by Nintendo for Super Smash Bros Brawl, the sequel to the Gamecube best-seller, it was widely speculated that the game would arrive sometime in 2007. Nintendo of Japan have now confirmed this when they recently announced a list of Wii games expected to be hitting the console in the coming year on Dengeki Online. Right now, it's only a tentative date of "2007", but it is still good news to those SSB fans out there.
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VF5 hits retail
Posted by White_Pointer at 23:43:15 CST
Last month we reported that Sega's latest offering in their VF series, Virtua Fighter 5 had gone gold for the PS3. Now it's finally hit retail and is available right now. If you own a PS3, what are you waiting for? Go get it!

Don't forget 360 owners, you aren't being left out...the game is coming to your console later this year.
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MK1 combo video
Posted by White_Pointer at 14:43:43 CST
A new combo video has surfaced, and this is for the original Mortal Kombat. Wait...what? An MK1 combo video? That's right, and it's 9 minutes of mayhem, including 100%'s, infinites and glitches. Also includes some combos from early revisions of the game as well.

You can check it out on YouTube, or if you wish to download it to save onto your PC, click here.
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Tekken 6 information surfaces
Posted by White_Pointer at 00:58:35 CST
Namco have finally lifted the lid on their upcoming PS3 title Tekken 6 and are showing us a little of what is underneath.

Two new characters have been revealed for a start. Leo, a fighter that looks suspiciously like Rock Howard from the KOF series, and Zafina, an Egyptian looking girl who apparently imitates the moves of a spider.

You can see them both in action by watching the brand new trailer. Don't get too excited about the release date of 2007 in that trailer though...that will be the arcade release. The game probably won't see a release on the PS3 until sometime in early 2008.

Thanks goes out to David King for spotting this information!
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The end of an era
Posted by White_Pointer at 23:46:50 CST
It gives me great disappointment to announce this, but it's something that must be done.

After five long years of being at the forefront of fighting games news and information, it is time for Blood-Sports.net to say goodbye to the online world and shut down.

It was not an easy decision for me to make as I have poured countless hours of blood, sweat and tears into the development and maintenance of this site during that time, and a lot of other people have also given up their time to contribute. But it was a decision that had to be made, as I am getting married in a couple of months time and as a result I will no longer be able to afford to keep this site running.

Blood-Sports.net will remain online and completely functional for another couple of weeks, and will close it's doors on the 3rd of March 2007. We will continue to report news as we always have until then as well.

Thank you for all of our regular site visitors that helped make this site what it is. A site without a community is nothing. If you feel inclined, join our forums if you haven't already and spend these last few weeks talking fighting games with like minded people.

Thank you again to all our site visitors and everyone who has helped contribute to the site by sending us news stories, voting in our polls, posting in our forums and sending us fan art. All you guys rock.

White_Pointer
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Atari fighting games on show at Comic Con
Posted by White_Pointer at 14:22:39 CST
The annual New York Comic Con has always been a popular place for publishers and developers to show off upcoming games, and this year's event will be no different, with Atari choosing to show off a number of their upcoming titles. Two of those titles happen to be fighting games that we have reported on here in the past.

The first is the recently announced Godzilla: Unleashed. This will apparently be shown in the form of a non-playable demo.

The second is the newest addition to their DBZ series, Dragon Ball Z Shin Budokai: Another Road that was announced last year. Unlike Godzilla, Atari say this will likely be playable in some form.

"While Godzilla: Unleashed, Bullet Witch, and DBZ Shin Budokai: Another Road offer different gameplay features, storylines, and visual flair, all three share a common bond of Japanese art and influence--a bond that has been extremely prevalent in comics and other popular art forms."

UMK3 finally hits PAL Xbox Live
Posted by White_Pointer at 02:33:57 CST
PAL Xbox 360 owners have had to wait a few months longer than their NTSC counterparts to get their hands on Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 for the Xbox Live Arcade but it has finally been released recently, complete with online play. A free trial version is also available to download.

Everthing is intact from last year's US release of the game so if you are an MK fan and own a 360 in Europe or Australia, do yourself a favour and download this game.
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Tekken 6 in 2008?
Posted by White_Pointer at 23:53:21 CST
While Namco haven't actually announced a release date for Tekken 6 yet, The Magic Box is reporting that the release of the title on the Playstation 3 has been delayed until 2008 for the US and the rest of the world...although this means that Japan may see the game by the end of the year. We'll wait and see...TMB are usually pretty good with their news reporting so there's no reason why this wouldn't be true at this point.
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Xbox Live releases MK avatars
Posted by White_Pointer at 00:17:14 CST
If you've ever wanted a Mortal Kombat themed avatar when playing online on Xbox Live, now you can have one. The folks over at Xbox Live have made six MK-themed avatar packs available to download. Each pack contains five avatars and cost 100 Microsoft points ($1.25 USD) to download. If you're wondering what avatars are in what packs, here's the list:

Pack 1: Kano, the MK dragon, Motaro, Sindel, and Classic Sub-Zero.
Pack 2: Mileena, Kung Lao, Shang Tsung, Cyrax, and Jax.
Pack 3: Kabal, Stryker, Nightwolf, Jade, and Scorpion.
Pack 4: Sub-Zero, Kitana, Sektor, Liu Kang, and Sheeva.
Pack 5: Reptile, Noob Saibot, Shao Kahn, Sonya, and Ermac.
Pack 6: Scorpion, Unmasked Sub-Zero, Rain, Human Smoke, and Cyborg Smoke.

Most of the pictures are from UMK3, which released on Xbox Live Arcade last year, although there are a couple from MK Trilogy and MK: Armageddon thrown in as well.

You'll need an Xbox Live silver or gold membership, and the picture packs can be found in the Themes and Gamer pictures area of the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Kudos to 5tryk3r for this news!
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Def Jam demo not all that flash?
Posted by White_Pointer at 00:42:25 CST
Well, the demo for EA's Def Jam: Icon hit the Xbox Live marketplace late last week, and now that gamers have had a chance to play it over the weekend we are seeing some initial feedback.

Let's start with the good. The game apparently has amazing visuals, looking almost realistic, according to some reports.

The bad however...well, the gameplay itself doesn't seem all that great and quite shallow, and some gamers are also reporting it only lets you play for a few minutes before booting you back to the title screen. The download also clocks in a pretty heavy 390MB, which may seem a bit steep considering there's only two selectable characters.

Still, it's free if you have an Xbox Live gold membership, so check it out if you are interested.
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Violent game debate rages on in US
Posted by White_Pointer at 14:40:48 CST
Another US government is jumping on board the debate about violent video games, this time it's North Carolina that are considering a bill that will put violent video games on the list of materials that are harmful to minors. If it became law it would be illegal to expose a minor to a violent video game unless you were a parent or guardian. While this in itself isn't really a bad thing, the implementation of this is so whacked out it's almost unbelieveable. The law would mean that retailers not only cannot advertise these games, but they will not be able to put them on the shelves with all the other games, instead putting them with all of the other "adults only" material. This means that you'll need to walk through stuff like pornography just to buy a game you want.

The bill hasn't been passed yet, but it seems like there's a good chance it'll go through. If it does it'll come in effect December 1.

Yay, now violent games are being looked at next to porn. What next?
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MK8 to use Unreal 3 engine
Posted by White_Pointer at 15:48:48 CST
Game Informer have recently interviewed Ed Boon about the as-of-yet un-named Mortal Kombat 8, which will be the first true MK game in this new generation of consoles. We know already that Midway are planning something drastic with this next incarnation of the series, but what Game Informer have learned is certainly a surprise.

In the interview Boon reveals that MK8 will be using the new Unreal 3 Engine - the same middleware that's powering games like Gears of War. For those of you who are really into this kind of stuff, you'd know that MK: Deadly Alliance used an engine called Renderware, so this method isn't altogether new for the MK team, but using Unreal 3 will definitely push the boundaries they can get to.

Boon also confirms in the interview that they are doing a variety of new things - from throwing out the control scheme from the previous MK games to a complete visual overhaul. He makes a point that everything is getting trashed and is starting anew - though he still alludes to the big thing that's going to differentiate this game from the previous titles:

"You know, we're doing something with the next game that's unbelievably unexpected, and there's going to be an announcement. I totally was told, "You cannot talk about this thing." I think it's going to be rolled out."

T5: DR hitting PS3 this month
Posted by White_Pointer at 14:46:21 CST
You might remember that late last year Namco released a port of Tekken 5: Drak Resurrection on the PS3's download service in Japan and Hong Kong. It now appears they are giving the the US the same treatment as they have announced the game, which is a port of the arcade original, will be available to download on the 20th of February.

Assuming it's identical to the version released in Japan, the download will weigh in at a hefty 800MB and will probably cost about $16 to download. It'll feature high resolution 1080p visuals and a new playable character, Jinpachi Mishima, who was previously an unplayable boss.
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Guilty Gear coming to Wii?
Posted by White_Pointer at 15:51:52 CST
One of the genres that people least expected to see much of on the Wii was fighting games, due to the console's unique control system. Yet more and more fighting games are being announced for the system as more amd more developers are jumping on board for the console, and the Guilty Gear series is the latest to be making the transition.

Online game rental company Gamefly, who are normally pretty reliable with this kind of thing, have Guilty Gear XX Accent Core for the Wii listed on their website, with the game apparently expected to hit in late July. Check out the listing.

It should be noted that just because a game is listed on the site it doesn't mean it's confirmed to be coming on that specified date. But it's certainly a good sign for GG fans and Wii owners.

Kudos to forum member Naruto for this news!
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MKII on PS3 to be online
Posted by White_Pointer at 22:15:49 CST
It was announced late last year that Sony, along with Midway and Digital Eclipse, were bringing some classic Midway titles to the Playstation 3 to be made available to download through Sony's online Playstation Store. One of those is the game many MK fans would consider the best in the series: Mortal Kombat II. The good news so far is that everything seems to be intact with this version of the game, with Gamespot even reporting that it's shaping up to be the best conversion yet. The most exciting news however is that the game will be complete with online gameplay, and will cost less than five bucks to download (US $4.99).

No release date for MKII or any of the other classic titles has been announced yet.
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DOA movie on Google video
Posted by White_Pointer at 21:28:43 CST
To most people, a straight to DVD release of the Dead or Alive movie wouldn't have been all that surprising. What is surprising, is the entire movie being offered online for free, and apparently legitimately.

Google Video had apparently hosted the 83-minute feature length film since the 7th of January, however the video has since been pulled from the site. Whether this means Google made a mistake of putting it up in the first place is unclear, however the video was apparently online for nearly a month.

So if straight-to-DVD or video classifies a movie as being abnormally bad, what does straight-to-internet mean?
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Godzilla to smash onto Wii
Posted by White_Pointer at 15:16:36 CST
The world's most famous monster is preparing to make his debut on Nintendo's newest console in a brand new fighting game titled Godzilla: Unleashed, Atari has announced recently. Described as a "fighting game on a giant scale", the game itself will be similar to Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, with the added unique use of the Wii-Remote. The story in the single-player mode will also be dynamic and non-linear, changing depending on what you do during your single player battles.

Atari also has plans to bring the game to the DS and PSP as well, though not much is known about these versions yet. All three versions are due out later this year.
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