Capcom Goes All eSports with $1/2 Million in Tournaments for Street Fighter's 25th Anniversary

Today, with little fanfare, at the end of a post confirming the Vita SFxT characters, Capcom announced a Street Fighter 25th Anniversary tournament series. The series will conclude with finals in December of this year, and the entire series will dole out over $500,000 in prizes. For those of you asking if we're eSports yet, does this answer your question?

The tournaments will feature "not only Street Fighter X Tekken, but also classic games from the past." If big money is on the line, it only makes sense that Super Turbo (or perhaps MVC2) is involved. Then again, I wouldn't mind seeing an Alpha 2 or CVS2 tourney featuring some of the old guard in serious competition for big money. What better way could there be for the new blood to get a live taste of fighting game history?

What say you, comment monsters?

Capcom-Unity Calls Out the Haters in Cross Assault Daily Blog Introduction

MattDeezie, host of Cross Assault, posted a beautiful piece on Capcom-Unity introducing the Cross Assault Daily Blog. The idea behind Cross Assault, he says, is to herald the sport and "mental warfare" of fighting games to people beyond the hardcore FGC. Capcom wants people who might disregard fighting games as nothing more than games to see the depth of the sport and the passion of the players. Having a high-stakes competition with a new game will give viewers a look into the exciting early days of discovery and experimentation by eager players.

Capcom's lofty, but respectable goal is for this experiment to expand to the level of having tournament coverage on SportsCenter. Help Capcom blow it up! Check out Matt D's blog post and tell your friends to check out Cross Assault!

SF x TK: Desk Teaser Trailer Hints at 99-hit Combos

Desk is reviving his combo video efforts with early access to Street Fighter x Tekken, thanks to Dawgtanian and Capcom. He's already got a short amount of time with the game and breaks down some system mechanics on his blog. He's promised to deliver a solo and a team combo video on February 26 and 27, respectively.

The teaser video after the break will give you a taste of the special Desk magic to come. Check it out!

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KOFXIII: UCI Fight Nights' "King of Fridays" Kicks Off Tonight

The very first first King of Fridays will be crowned this evening. The UCI Fight Nights crew announced (via an interview with The Answer) that the new biweekly, Friday night KOF stream will begin at 7:30 p.m. PST tonight. AS Reynald, Metaphysics, CMD Duc, Kane317, ER Richard Nguyen, ER Warahk and ER Tatsu are all expected to attend.

Watch the interview and announcement after the break, and tune in tonight via Offcast.

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SFxT: Shadowloo's EXC355UM Interviews Seth Killian About Customization, Tournaments, and Just Plain Fun

One of Melbourne's finest, EXC355UM (who may also be BossLogic), interviewed Seth Killian after playing a new build of Street Fighter X Tekken. Seth explains how new players are a game's lifeblood and that SFxT will let them "taste the magic" that we all enjoy. Other topics covered include the arcade business, Asura's Wrath, and the integrity of mirror matches.

Check it out after the break!

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SFxT: Cross Counter's Mike Ross and Gootecks X the Line, Love the Game

We already know that Pandora mode enables infinite super meter and a fatal countdown, but did you know that it can also trigger intense laughing fits? In the latest episode of X the Line, Mike Ross and Gootecks play Street Fighter X Tekken against each other and have a rollicking good time. They both praise the gem system, and Mike Ross says that SFxT may be his favorite fighting game of all time!

"It's gonna be crazy" after the break!

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Meet the IPLAYWINNER Staff

Dear readers, please welcome the latest additions to the IPLAYWINNER collective, Carlo Dela Cruz (The Phantomnaut) and Paul Dziuba (SuperFX). We wanted to introduce you to the newcomers, as well as the cadre of contributors that help us to produce content from a variety of perspectives.

After the break, check out bios of the new recruits and some of the old standbys you may not be familiar with.

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SFxT: Mega Man Fans Rejoice! The Blue Bomber Joins the Fray, Along with Pac-Man in New Trailer

Capcom just confirmed via press release that both Mega Man and Pac-Man are guest characters in Street Fighter X Tekken. But wait! You can play as the hideous Mega Man 1 boxart Mega Man and Pac-Man riding atop Mokujin. On second thought, will this please Mega Man fans or be seen as yet another troll by Capcom? What do you think? Is some freakish version of Mega Man better than none at all?

Head past the break for the Mega trailer!

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New Street Fighter X Tekken Arcade FightStick V.S. From Mad Catz Crosses the Line With Brand New Connector Kit

Mad Catz revealed a series of new joysticks and controllers today for Street Fighter x Tekken: the Arcade FightStick Pro, FightStick V.S., FightPad and brand new Connector Kit.

The FightStick V.S. is easily the most interesting of the bunch in that you can actually connect two together using the separate Connector Kit to replicate the arcade experience. The FightStick V.S. also appears to have a whole new, heavy-duty design, and looks quite a bit different to the standard TE's we've all come to know and love.

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Creator of Street Fighter, Takashi Nishiyama, Speaks Candidly in 1UP Interview

Takashi Nishiyama may be the most important man in the history of fighting games. Ryu is named after him — the kanji for "Takashi" can also be read as "Ryu." He created Street Fighter, the Hadouken, the Shoryuken, and the six-button input scheme. He created Fatal Fury, King of Fighters, and Samurai Showdown. He initiated the discussions that led to Capcom Vs. SNK. His current studio, Dimps, was instrumental in Keiji Inafune's vision of reviving Street Fighter with Street Fighter IV. The entire fighting game community owes a great debt to the visionary Mr. Nishiyama, which makes 1UP's interview with the normally-reclusive legend a must-read.

Read about why Nishiyama left Capcom for SNK (spoiler: his boss was a jerk) after the break, and don't hesitate to check out the entire, extensive interview by Matt Leone over at 1UP.

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SFxT Gem Preview: Who Needs eSports When You Have Gems?

Are you ready for the most detailed look at Street Fighter X Tekken's gem system yet? Capcom-Unity has a post detailing all of the standard gems in SFxT (pictured below) and listing all of the pre-order gems available from various retailers. There's also a new episode of "X the Line" in which Andrea Rene and Capcom Senior Product Manager Matt Dahlgren demonstrate a bunch of gems and their activation conditions. An interesting revelation is that Assist Gems are active at all times and have drawbacks. Having a significant handicap for assist gems might alleviate concerns that the gems would be overpowered.

Now that we actually have solid information about gems, what do you think of them?

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Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 Combo Counter Can't Count

Brian Kasugano discovered an odd glitch in vanilla MVC3's combo counter that persists in UMVC3. Desk, as he is wont to do, has explored the glitch and documented his results. Under certain circumstances (detailed in Desk's blog post) the combo counter will continue counting hits that don't actually combo.

Check out the video below to see the fraudulent "combos" in action!

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SFxT: Japanese Dev Blog Hypes Up Onslaught Gems

Unfortunately, the Marvel Vs. Capcom boss is not in Street Fighter X Tekken. The deceptively named Onslaught Gems actually give a boost to the rate at which you gain meter. Capcom-Unity has a full translation of the latest Japanese Dev Blog, including some new, detailed information about gems.

Read an excerpt after the break, or check out the whole translated blog post at Capcom-Unity.

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Capcom Fighting All Stars: The Game That Never Was

Once upon a time, Capcom tried to make a new crossover fighting game featuring characters fighting on a 2D plane with 3D graphics. Long before SFxT was ever conceived, the game brought together Strider, Haggar, Charlie (Nash), Alex, Akira (from Rival Schools), Batsu, Poison, Ryu, and Chun-Li. It also introduced newcomers Rook, Ingrid, and D.D. Of the three, only Ingrid ever appeared in another game.

The game featured a strange Cinematic Combo system, along with Cinematic Counters. The last boss was reportedly Death, though I have never seen a single (non-silhouette) image or video of him. Does anybody out there have any footage of Death in action?

The game did go into beta test at some arcade locations, but was subsequently canceled without an actual release.

Check out videos below from Unseen64 and Majiel, along with an image showing what I assume to be the silhouette of Death, courtesy of this thread on Capcom-Unity.

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Game|Life Podcast Teases Skullgirls Soundtrack, DLC Skullguys, Possible PC Release

Peter Bartholow, one of the Skullgirls developers, sat down with Wired's Game|Life podcast to talk about the upcoming indie fighting game. Though Chris Kohler and company don't usually talk much about fighting games, they all seemed to really enjoy Skullgirls and the time they spent with it. Bartholow talks about the proposed male DLC characters in a bit more detail and even hints at a possible PC version of the game. The real treat, however, is a couple of clips from the game's soundtrack, which is composed by Michiru Yamane of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night fame.

Download the podcast over at Wired's Game|Life.

Maximilian: At Its Best, UMVC3 Online is "Buttery Smooth"

Maximilian tested out the online features of UMVC3 and came away rather pleased. He says that even when playing coast-to-coast, inputs don't drop as frequently as they did in MVC3. When playing with iPLAYWINNER's own Haunts, he said that the online play was "buttery smooth." While he questions whether or not it will hold up upon retail release, it's looking great so far.

See his full impressions in the video after the break!

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UMVC3: SRK Giving Away $3000 in Coast-to-Coast Tournaments

Shoryuken.com is hosting a set of three eight-player UMVC3 tournaments, each with a $1,000 pot. Mark your calendars for Nov. 26 in San Francisco, Dec. 10 in New York, and Dec. 16 in "Southern California." They also tease ways to "tune in online."

We'll share more details as soon as they become available!

MVC3: The LAST Last Hurrah by Caj814

The third and final part of Caj814's MVC3 combo video series, The Last Hurrah, was released just before its ultimate replacement arrives. Among its many highlights are an absolutely brutal Dormammu combo and the Mayor of Earth putting She-Hulk into a seemingly endless spin cycle.

Even if Ultimate is a worthy successor, videos like this make me miss MVC3 already. Check it out after the break!

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MVC3: Skrull Stars in Desk's Final Penultimate Marvel Combo

Desk has this to say about his final MVC3 combo video:

2x Sent assist, 4x Inferno, 10x awesome

Is there any better way for MVC3 to go down in flames? I also can't help but notice that the video is tagged "RIP." Is Desk trying to tell us something from beyond the grave?

Check it out after the break and bid adieu to Desk MVC3 combos!

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UMVC3: Smile! Ace Photographer Frank West Can Hit Level 5 in a Single Combo

Shadowloo has been putting in work from down-under, exploring the ins and outs of Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3. Here's a combo they came up with that gets Frank to Level 5 immediately, giving him access to all of his most powerful moves and his CVS2-style roll.

Watch the Frank combo after the break and check out TheShadowloo channel for more interesting discoveries.

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