May 2006

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Atari releases Super DBZ mini trailer
Posted by White_Pointer at 19:37:46 CST
To promote the upcoming release of the newest Dragon Ball Z fighting title, Super Dragon Ball Z, Atari have released a short "mini-teaser" for the game. It's only about a minute long, but for anyone looking forward to the game's release, it should do well to get you excited.

If you are one of those aforementioned people who are looking forward to this title, or you are just interested in checking it out, you can download the trailer by clicking here. It's in Windows Media format and is only about 3 megabytes, so it shouldn't take you very long to download even on a dial-up connection.
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MK: Armageddon E3 trailer available
Posted by White_Pointer at 19:05:21 CST
Having trouble tracking down the trailer that Midway released for Mortal Kombat: Armageddon just before E3? Worry no more because we have it here for you to now download. Grab it from our MK movies page. It's well worth it if you're an MK fan, it shows plenty of the game in action as well as some of the new features.
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New Fan Art
Posted by White_Pointer at 19:05:01 CST
Head Case has sent us an awesome new addition to our fan art galleries! It's a very well done hand drawn render of Sabrewulf from the Killer Instinct games. Check it out in gallery 8 of our fan art section.

Are you a talented artist? Why not submit your fighting game fan art here for the world to see? Just visit our fan art section for the easy submission instructions!
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New SSBB screens
Posted by White_Pointer at 19:57:11 CST
Only a couple of weeks after E3 has finished, Nintendo are revealing more about the hotly anticipated title Super Smash Bros Brawl for their upcoming Wii console. They have released a bunch of brand new screenshots and character renders for the four newly announced characters...Wario, Pit, Zero Suit Samus and Meta Knight. You can check them all out from our SSB images page.

Don't forget to vote in our current poll to let us know whether you are looking forward to the game!
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Midway releases MK: Armageddon screen shots
Posted by White_Pointer at 18:58:44 CST
Just prior to E3, Midway released a bunch of screenshots to the big game sites for their upcoming Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. They have now finally made those screenshots available to everyone else, so we have them for you right here!

Check them out from our MK images page!
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Capcom profits up
Posted by White_Pointer at 19:03:40 CST
Not that long ago we were reporting in that Capcom weren't doing too well as far as their profits were concerned, but recently things seem to have taken a turn for the better as they have posted a 6.9 billion yen (US$62 million) profit for their fiscal year, which means there must have been a huge surge in sales towards the end of the period.

In related news, in the same report where Capcom published their profits, they also confirmed that Studio 8, their development studio behind the failed title Final Fight: Streetwise, has indeed been shut down as we reported back in March.
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Rag Doll Kung Fu creator forms own studio
Posted by White_Pointer at 19:00:31 CST
Mark Healey, the brains behind last year's surprisingly good Rag Doll Kung Fu, announced last year that he was leaving Lionhead to go off on his own. Since then there has been silence and no-one has really known what happened until now...Healey has now revealed the name of his newly formed studio (which includes other ex-Lionhead employees) as Media Molecule. There's nothing to show off from them yet, apart from an eye-catching pink coloured website, so we don't know at this point what they are working on. Will they continue to develop games such as RGKF? Time will tell.
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MK: Armageddon E3 trailer goes online
Posted by White_Pointer at 19:24:20 CST
The trailer Midway used to show off Mortal Kombat: Armageddon at this year's E3 has come online on the game's official website, along with a couple of new renders of some of the battlegrounds that will feature in the game - Goro's Lair, the Battle Arena and the Lumber Mill.

If you are interested in grabbing the trailer and checking out the new battle arenas, head to the game's official website.
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WCG US player registrations open
Posted by White_Pointer at 12:50:47 CST
The World Cyber Games official player registrations for the US national championships are now open, so all you guys out there in the US wanting to compete in the World Cyber Games this year, the time to put your name down is now. As we have previously reported, Tecmo's Dead or Alive 4 for the Xbox 360 is on the official list of games this year so this is your chance if you want to prove you are the best DOA4 player in the country. The winners of all of the preliminaries will be the ones ultimately chosen to join Team USA and represent your country at this year's World Cyber Games in Italy.

For more information visit the official WCG website.
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New Poll
Posted by White_Pointer at 18:07:08 CST
Well now that the dust has cleared from this year's E3, without a doubt one of the most anticipated games to make an appearance at the expo was Super Smash Bros Brawl on the Nintendo Wii. So now that you have had a few days for it to all sink in, are you looking forward to the next iteration in the SSB series? Has this convinced you to buy a Wii? Or are you still holding out to see what else they have to offer closer to launch? Vote now!
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Poll Results
Posted by White_Pointer at 17:59:47 CST
Time for a new poll but as usual, here are the results from the last one:

Do you own game action figures?

34.8% - No, why would I want game action figures?
32.2% - No, but I'm planning to
29.6% - Yes, only for my favourite games
3.2% - Yes, I'm a collector

Seems the majority of our site visitors don't actually own any video game action figures, though a good percentage of them expect to in the future.
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Ed Boon shows off MK: Armageddon at E3
Posted by White_Pointer at 18:38:57 CST
Gamespot have posted up a good lengthy video featuring Ed Boon showing off Mortal Kombat Armageddon at this year's E3. In the video, Boon shows off some of the new kombat mechanics, including the new air combo system and the new fatality system that allows you to execute fatalities in multiple parts. Some of the new death traps are also given some demonstration. Also covered in the video is the kreate-a-fighter mode and the new stuff we can expect to see in the new konquest mode. There's lots of detail in there and it's a pretty good watch for anyone who is looking forward to the game.

To watch the video follow this link then click the "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon E3 2006 Stage Show Demonstration" link.

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Atari cutting prices
Posted by White_Pointer at 19:05:37 CST
On the back of the E3 expo, Atari have announced that their catalogue of current-gen titles are all receiving a price cut to US$19.99. For fighting game fans this largely consists of titles using the Dragon Ball Z license, but it seems all of their games across the Xbox, PS2, Gamecube and GBA, as well as most of their PC titles, will be given the price reduction as part of the company's new GamesFirst programme.

If you've been interested in the DBZ fighting games from Atari in the past but have been waiting for their price to come down to consider grabbing them, now might be a good time to do so.
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E3 2006 Photos
Posted by White_Pointer at 18:15:27 CST
Thought we'd forgotten this year didn't you? No way! As usual we bring you some photos of the E3 show floor and try to give you as many as we can for the fighting games. Unfortunately the fighting games were a little thin this year but we've still got some good ones in there.

Check them out.
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SSBB teaser trailer now up
Posted by White_Pointer at 06:20:11 CST
As promised we have the first teaser trailer for Super Smash Bros Brawl for the Nintendo Wii online and ready to download! Grab it from our Super Smash Bros movies page.
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Golden Axe coming to next gen
Posted by White_Pointer at 19:28:16 CST
We couldn't resist posting this news when we found out about it! Sega's classic 1989 beat 'em up Golden Axe has been a cult favourite for many old school gamers, and now a new revamped and updated version has been announced to be on the way to the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 next year. Currently being developed by Secret Level (who are probably most well known for originally porting the Unreal engine to consoles), Sega are looking at showing off a teaser trailer for the game during E3. We'll provide news coverage of it when it becomes available, but if you can't wait until then, here are a couple of screens to tide you over.

Super Smash Bros Brawl officially announced
Posted by White_Pointer at 19:49:37 CST
Nintendo have taken advantage of the fact E3 is on to finally officially announce the next title in their SSB series: Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which is coming to the Wii. Although the game isn't playable (Nintendo says it's because there's certain elements they still want to keep secret), there have been a few juicy details revealed. New characters in the game will include Wario (complete with a fart attack), Meta Knight (a villian from the Kirby games) and Pit (the hero from Kid Icarus). Samus also returns in a new costume that looks quite more skin-tight then her usual attire. The biggest surprise of all was then revealed that Konami's protagonist from their Metal Gear Solid series - Solid Snake, will also be appearing in the game. As for the possibility of other characters, producer Masahiro Sakurai said "Of course there are other characters we're thinking about, but we can't speak about any today,". The addition of Solid Snake certainly opens the possibility of characters from other non-Nintendo games making appearances.

The info doesn't end there however. At the official unveiling of the game, Sakurai revealed that the game won't really be taking much advanatage of the Wii's unique controller, and hinted that the control scheme would be very similar to that of SSBM on the Gamecube (and may in fact even be better played with the GC's controller as the Wii will support it). There's also the possibility the game will be playable online, although Sakurai said that making four players online may be a little too difficult.

We should hopefully have a trailer and some screenshots up for you in the coming days, so stay tuned!
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Namco show Tekken 6 footage at E3
Posted by White_Pointer at 19:12:45 CST
As we reported last week, Tekken 6 debuted at this year's E3...in fact even before the show started. Sony decided to show it during their pre-E3 press conference. However, it seems to have been met by mixed reactions from many media sources. For a start, unfortunately it wasn't playable, with Namco instead opting to show a short video of the game in action. Unlike last year's pre-rendered promotional video, this year was an actual gameplay video, and if you believe the media that attended the press conference, it's not shaping up to have the eye candy that we were promised last year (then again who expected it to?). 1UP for example describes the graphics to be more on par with those found in the current arcade release of Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection.

Of course the game still has quite a bit of work to have done if it's going to be a launch title for the PS3 in November, so keep that in mind. Since the cutting edge graphics were one thing that Namco were boasting about last year when the game was first announced, let's hope they are hiding a few cards up their sleeve.
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DBZ love in Atari's E3 lineup
Posted by White_Pointer at 19:17:22 CST
A couple of weeks ago we reported that the next entry in the DBZ: Budokai series, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, was coming exclusively to Nintendo's next-gen console, now dubbed the "Wii". However, now that Atari have actually revealed their E3 lineup, it seems this isn't the case as they also seem to be showcasing the game for the Playstation 2 (that's right, the PS2, not the PS3).

Further to this, another DBZ fighting game in a different franchise is also coming to the PS2. We reported on this quite some time ago now and the game seems to still be coming along in development. To refresh your memories, the game is titled Super Dragon Ball Z and is being developed by Banpresto with ex-Street Fighter producer Noritaka Funamizu at the helm. Unlike the Budokai series which is supposed to appeal to a wide audience, this game is apparently supposed to cater to the hardcore fighting gamer.

Both games will be on display at this year's E3.
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VF5 coming to PS3
Posted by White_Pointer at 18:30:20 CST
Virtua Fighter fans, you have something to look forward to...the next instalment in the Virtua Fighter series is coming to your home. Sega are remaining loyal to Sony in the home versions of their VF series, as Virtua Fighter 5 will be exclusive to the Playstation 3. There will be 17 characters in total this time around to choose from, including the two new characters El Blaze and Eileen. The game will also expand on the character customisation found in VF4 and VF4 Evolution by allowing players to buy items from the in-game shop with credits earned in the game's other playmodes.

Everything else, by and large, is remaining almost identical to the arcade version of the game, from the gameplay and the new elements introduced there (including the new tactical "offensive move") to the graphics (the PS3 is apparently able to emulate the Lindbergh-based arcade graphics better than the other consoles can), boasting high-definition resolutions up to 720p.

Sega will be showing the game off at E3, however it will not be playable. As to when Sega expects the game to hit the market, we are going to need to wait until 2nd quarter next year at the earliest.
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SNK vs Capcom Card Fighters DS announced
Posted by White_Pointer at 18:52:00 CST
Not strictly fighting game news, but related nonetheless. In SNK Playmore's official E3 2006 lineup, they have announced that they will be showing SNK vs Capcom Card Fighters DS for the...you guessed it, Nintendo DS. In the first game in the series for six years, SNK Playmore are bringing the card battling action featuring both SNK and Capcom characters to Nintendo's new handheld, taking advantage of the features the system has to offer.

The game will be on display at E3 (alongside KOF 2006/KOF: MI2 as we reported the other day) and is scheduled for a release third quarter this year.
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DOA: XB2 confirmed by Microsoft
Posted by White_Pointer at 18:58:57 CST
A couple of weeks ago we reported that Tecmo producer Tomonobu Itagaki mentioned in an interview with Famitsu magazine that Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball 2 was in development for the Xbox 360. Now it seems Microsoft have officially confirmed this as fact as the game has appeared on their list of titles they have announced for this year's E3. Microsoft have said that all of the games they will have on show will be "playable game demos and/or trailers", so we don't know at this stage whether XB2 will infact be playable at the expo.
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Fighting Games appearing at E3
Posted by White_Pointer at 19:44:14 CST
IGN has posted up an official list of many of the games publishers are looking at showing at this year's E3. Looking through the list, we can find a number of fighting games on there:

Capcom

Power Stone Collection (PSP)
Street Fighter Alpha Anthology (PS2)

Midway

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (PS2, Xbox)
Mortal Kombat: Unchained (PSP)

SNK Playmore

King of Fighters 2006 (PS2)

On top of those, as we reported the other day we are also expecting Namco to be showing off Tekken 6 for the PS3 so chalk that up onto the list as well. A number of the newly announced titles on that list could also be fighting games...we won't know until the show rolls around so don't rule out that possibility either. We can also expect most publishers showing off as-of yet unannounced games at the expo as well.

Check out the whole list here.
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Evolution 2006 games chosen
Posted by White_Pointer at 19:09:39 CST
The final list of games have been chosen for this year's Evolution fighting game tournament, held every year and run by several large sites including Shoryuken and Tekken Zaibatsu.

Tekken 5, Capcom vs SNK 2 and Marvel vs Capcom 2 all make a welcome return. Street Fighter 3: Third Strike and Hyper Street Fighter 2 are in the lineup as part of the Street Fighter Anniversary Collection - tournaments will be held for both games. New additions for this year are Dead or Alive 4, Guilty Gear XX Slash and the biggest surprise yet - Mario Kart DS. That's right, you read that correctly...Evo is branching off into the racing genre this year and will be holding a Mario Kart DS tournament.

What's more is that for the first time, this year they will be holding regional qualifiers on the east and west coasts of the US. You can still enter the finals if you don't qualify, but the top qualifiers will be the top seeds at the tournament.

If you want to know more about Evo 2006, head to the official website.
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Tekken 6 being revealed at E3?
Posted by White_Pointer at 19:29:41 CST
The source of all Japanese gaming news Famitsu magazine is reporting that Namco is planning on showing off Tekken 6 at this year's E3. The article doesn't mention however whether the game will actually be playable, but previous experience with Namco's E3 showings would certainly suggest it could be, with perhaps 1 or 2 characters to choose from. Also of note is that it seems at least that Namco have finally decided on the official name for the game and aren't just going by the working title "Tekken" anymore. One way or the other we'll know more information when E3 rolls around in a couple of weeks.

EDIT: Namco have now officially announced their E3 lineup and have confirmed that Tekken 6 will be there at the show. Still no word on whether it will be playable.
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