Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] Side Tournament at Arc Revolution Cup 2015

The second revision of Under Night In-Birth will get some spotlight at the latest iteration of Arc System Works' annual tournament series.

Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] was announced as a side tournament game at Arc Revolution Cup, next to Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. While P4AU will be a 3v3 team tournament, UNIST will be a singles event with 32 players battling it out. Both P4AU and UNIST are the only games to be running on arcade hardware while both Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- and Blazblue: Chronophantasma Extend are on PlayStation 4.

While UNIST isn't available in Japanese arcades, it can be expected that the game will be available before the tournament's Aug. 15 date. The game recently concluded its latest location test that started on June 24.

Arc Revolution Cup Qualifiers to be Held at Evolution 2015

Several weeks ago, St1ckbug joined Super Desperation Radio to announce two Aksys and Arc System Works-sanctioned team tournaments for Guilty Gear Xrd and Blazblue Chronophantasma Extend at Evo 2015. It is now official that those tournaments will be qualifiers for Arc Revo 2015.

In a posting on the Aksys website, the company has revealed the details for these events. Both three-on-three tournaments will feature a $5000 prize pool with half coming from each company, along with the winning team receiving a paid trip to Japan for the Arc Revo. The entry fee for each team—$10—will also be added to the pot.

The biggest news, however, is that the winning team must be made of U.S. citizens with valid passports. Aksys says more details about the event will be forthcoming.

-Revelator- Play Guide Reveals Throw Techs, Other New Mechanics

The location tests for Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- will start later today in Japan, and Arc System Works has released a manual for players who will be coming to the event. The guide not only shows the move listings for Jack-O and the returning Johnny (who sees some tweaks and new additions) but also details several new features for Revelator.

One big addition to Xrd is the return of throw breaks. First added to Guilty Gear during Accent Core, throw breaks return as a one-button input like in those older GG titles. There is no indication of the length of the throw break window yet.

Another addition to Revelator is that of a generic blitz shield follow-up, that will cost 25 percent tension. Finally, players will be able to spend their Burst meter to supercharge one of their character's Overdrive attacks.

Players will be able to find out more details about these and other changes as the location tests occur on June 5-7 in Japan.

Jack-O Joins Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator-

The mystery character for the upcoming location test of -Revelator- has been revealed, and her name is Jack-O. According to an image uploaded to Twitter from this week's Famitsu, Jack-O is a woman working for Guilty Gear's enigmatic antogonist That Man, although little else is known about her. A ball and chain is attached to her leg and she holds a mask that seems to mirror the appearance of the face on the ball and chain.

Guilty Gear player Ho-chan also says a new system change is coming to Revelator that will allow players to “trigger a fatal blow after successfully activated blitz shield.” It's unclear at this time what that could mean.

With the location test coming up on June 5-7, it's likely that more information about the new game will be available soon. Hit the jump for the full image of Jack-O.

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Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- Adds Johnny, a Mystery Character

Famitsu has announced the location test for Arc System Works' newest Guilty Gear Xrd iteration, named -Revelator-. The game, which will test during June in Japan, will mark the series return of Johnny and also adds a new mystery character to the series. -Revelator- will also introduce the option of Stylish Mode controls, a feature originally found in BlazBlue.

The Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- tests will occur on June 5-7 at Sega Akihabara Building 1 in Tokyo, Sega Nanba Avion in Osaka and Neo Amusement Space a-Cho in Kyoto. Further testing will happen on June 19-21 at locations to be announced.

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R Coming to Steam on May 26

The final version of Guilty Gear XX will be heading to the PC platform very soon.

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R will be available for Steam on May 26. Developed and published by Arc System Works, GGXXAC+R will feature the same content from the digital console release such as the rebalance to the existing cast including previously banned Kliff and Justice, M.O.M. mode and online modes. A digital soundtrack will be available as a bonus for owners of the game. A price for the game has not been revealed as of this announcement.

You can check the trailer after the jump!

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Arc System Works Releases Play Guide for UNI[ST] Location Test

French Bread and publisher Arc System Works have released a PDF play guide for the upcoming location test of the new Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[ST]. The guide features descriptions of the basic systems of the game as well as a move list for every character, including new entry to the series Phonon.

What the guide also does is include details of another new system mechanic coming to UNI[ST]. In addition to the new Cross Cast Veil Off, the game has included First Attack, which will give vorpal to the character that lands the first hit each round. There are also subtle changes to returning characters, such as input changes.

As this does not appear to be a detailed list of patch notes for the new title, it's hard to tell just how many other changes will be in store for each character in UNI[ST]. However, with the location test starting May 22 in Japan, players in the U.S. may not have to wait long to find out.

AnimEvo Lineup, ASW-Sanctioned Team Events Announced for Evo 2015

During the May 18 episode of Super Desperation Radio, Daryl "DJ Cream" Bunao and Alan "St1ckbug" Bakes joined the cast to announce the side airdasher tournaments that will be taking place at Evolution 2015. The two announced eight titles that will be part of AnimEvo, which be handled by a collaboration of East and West Coast organizers.

In addition, Bakes also announced that Arc System Works and Aksys Games will be sanctioning two 3-on-3, single-elimination tournaments for BBCPEX and Xrd aside from the main tournaments at Evolution. The entry fee, prizes and rules for the tournament, however, are still to be announced in the future.

Check out the full list of games below.

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Arc System Works Announces UNIEL ST, Location Tests Begin May 22

Arc System Works official site has announced that French Bread's Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late is getting an arcade update.

The new game, titled Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late ST, will have a new character (in addition to the previously console-only characters) as well as balance changes and a new system mechanic.

The new character, named Phonon, is a girl wearing headphones that carries a whip with her. The new game mechanic, Cross Cast Veil Off, will allow players to cancel an attack and enter Veil Off if the player has both Vorpal and 100 or more meter.

The location test will run from May 22-24, 2015, at Club Sega Shinjuku Nishiguchi and Sega Namba Avion in Osaka.

Guilty Gear Xrd Console Update to Arcade Version 1.1 Coming May 8

UPDATE: Aksys Games has revealed that the patch will launch in North America sometime on Friday, May 8. 

Arc System Works has announced that Xrd console version 1.05—the equivalent of arcade version 1.1—will be releasing May 8 in Japan.

The 1.1 arcade update brings balance changes to many of the characters and in particular strengthens both Axl and Slayer.

There is no word at this time as to whether the patch will roll out for the U.S. version on May 8 as well, or whether owners will have to wait.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Will Use Current Version at Evo 2015

According to Atlus, players will not be receiving the 2.0 update for P4A2 before Evolution 2015 in July. On the official Atlus Twitter, the company wrote

"Regarding Persona 4 Arena Ultimax at EVO: We are confirming that the current PS3 console version will be the version used at @evo2k."

This is a relief to some players, who feared that the U.S. would not be getting the updated version of the game until weeks before the event, but a disappointment to others who hoped to have the newest version by July.

The arcade version of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax 2.0 released in Japan in January 2015.

Guilty Gear Xrd 1.1 Second Location Test Changes Released

Arc System Works has released the list of changes it is implementing during the second location test of Guilty Gear Xrd version 1.1, happening Feb. 14-15 in Japan. 

The pdf contains both system changes as well as changes for every character in the Xrd cast. Changes new to the second location test have been highlighted in yellow or have added red text, while it seems that changes which have been reverted to their original properties have been struck out.

The document is again in Japanese, so players may have to find a secondary means of translation. And as this is a location test, none of these changes are final.

Guilty Gear Xrd 1.1 Changes Revealed

Arc System Works has released the list of changes it is implementing during the location test of Guilty Gear Xrd version 1.1, happening Feb. 4-5 in Japan. 

The pdf contains both system changes as well as changes for every character in the Xrd cast. That includes the formerly console-only characters Sin Kiske, Elphelt Valentine and Leo Whitefang.

The document is in Japanese, so many players will have to wait for others to translate the document or attempt to decipher the changes through automated means. And as this is a location test, none of these changes are final.

UPDATE: Shoryuken has posted a translation of the change list.

BlazBlue Chronophantasma Extend Coming to PS Vita

At the end of 2014, Arc System Works announced that BBCP Extend would be coming to consoles in April 2015. The game will feature the characters added to Chronophantasma 2.0 in Japanese arcades and new story elements. Now the company has added that BBCPE will be coming to the PS Vita in Japan on the same day of its console release, April 25.

The game will be available as a download from the PlayStation Network, but a price has yet to be determined by Arc System Works. The company is also not willing to say what differences, if any, the game will have from its console counterparts. A physical release for the game was not detailed.

A release date for BlazBlue Chronophantasma Extend has not been announced for the U.S.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax 2.0 Changes Translated by Xie

Arc System Works recently released the list of system and character changes to Persona's second fighting game in a post on the company's website. However, as the document was in Japanese many U.S. players were left filtering the text through automated translation programs or waiting on fellow gamers to fill in the information.

James Xie has now come to competitors' rescue, releasing a Google Doc translating the entire change list for the public to view. Xie admits that his work may not be perfect and that the file "still needs to be proofread/formated/verified," but it certainly lessens the legwork players would otherwise have to do to see the changes for the whole cast.

Players can find the document here. 

P4U2 Arcade Update Releases Jan. 15, Changes Detailed

Arc System Works has announced that the new update to the arcade version of Persona 4 Arena's sequel—named Persona 4 The Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold in Japan—will launch on Jan. 15. After several loketests in November, the company has finalized changes in the title and is ready to release it to the general public. 

Changes in P4U2 include not only character tweaks but also system changes to the game. ASW has made all those changes available to the public in a recent post on the company's website. The change list is in Japanese, but posters over at Dustloop are in the process of sharing translations in the character sub-forums.

Celebrate the Holidays with Xrd Christmas Colors

Arc System Works was apparently thinking ahead to the eventual release date of Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- during development, because the company included a set of Christmas colors for the cast as downloadable content. Available now through Dec. 24 for owners of the Japanese version of Xrd and available Dec. 23-Jan. 13, 2015, for owners of the U.S. version of the game, the free DLC provides one new color for each member of the cast.

The color pack uses red, green and white palettes for every character in the cast—except Chipp, who becomes Rudolph—with some great results. To check out a preview of what the DLC looks like for each character, head on over to monoker0s' imgur. The page also shows previews of a 14th color for each character that may be the announced PlayStation Plus DLC.

BlazBlue Chronophantasma Extend Announced

Image courtesy of FamitsuThe newest console version of BlazBlue will be coming to Japan in early 2015. According to Famitsu, Arc System Works is readying BlazBlue Chronophantasma Extend for release on April 23 of next year as a new standalone title.

Chronophantasma Extend will contain the new characters from the recent arcade release BBCP 2.0, Celica Mercury and Lambda-11, and will introduce new story elements for the console version. The game will be releasing not only on PlayStation 3 and 4, but also on the Xbox One console.

There is no word whether Extend will have any other console-exclusive content at this time.

Guilty Gear Xrd Limited Edition Delayed

The limited edition version of Arc System Works' Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- will not be hitting store shelves when the standard version does on Dec. 16. According to North American publisher Aksys Games, worker strikes have caused the LE to fall behind schedule:

"However, we regret to inform our fans that the Limited Edition will be delayed due to the unforeseen strikes at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach, which have held up key components. Due to the unpredictable nature of the delay, there may be a one to two week postponement of the release of the Limited Edition.”

Aksys apologized for the delay and promises to provide updates on the situation as soon as it can. As stated above, the standard edition of the game will not be affected by the delay.

Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- Lands in the U.S. on Dec. 16

Aksys Games has announced the U.S. release date for Guilty Gear Xrd, and it is Dec. 16, 2014, less than two weeks after the Japanese console release.

Launching for both the PlayStation 3 and 4, Xrd will come in both standard and limited edition packages, with the latter offering

"a box to hold all the goodies, fashioned in the likeness of the 'Backyard', the Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- Vocal Collection (just like the Japanese version!), the Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- Character Book which will provide information on characters, terms, and concepts from the beginning of the series to the present, and finally, the Sol Badguy 'FREE' belt buckle keychain!"

Both versions are already available for pre-order, with the LE costing players $20 more than the standard edition on the console of their choice. Hit the jump for the release trailer.

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