Tekken 7 console characters coming to Fated Retribution this summer

The characters being added to the console version of Tekken 7 will also be included in an update for arcades.

At the end of EVO Japan's Sai tournament, Bandai Namco announced that Miguel, Lee, Kuma, Panda, Eddy and Eliza will all join the regular cast of Tekken 7: Fated Retribution in an update sometime in summer 2017.

This is welcome news after the arcade version of Tekken Tag Tournament 2 never received the characters and stages that were added to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox 360 versions of the game.

Readers can check out the announcement, via Flying Wonkey, after the jump.

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AfreecaTV & NiceGameTV announce Tekken 7 singles tournament league

South Korea's popular streaming service AfreecaTV will soon begin its inaugural Tekken tournament series featuring the nation's best.

AFREECATV TEKKEN LEAGUE SCHEDULE 

The AfreecaTV Tekken League, with help from NiceGameTV, invited 16 high-level Tekken players including Knee, Qudans, Jeondding, Lowhigh, Kkokkoma to compete for a total prize pot of 6,000,000 won. Unlike NiceGameTV's Tekken Strike, ATL will be a singles tournament instead of a team tournament.

Tekken fans in South Korea can come to the NiceGameTV studio in Seoul, South Korea. Everyone else can tune into Afreeca's international stream for ATL on Fridays (Korean stream here), and this coming Saturday, at 10:00 p.m. PDT. You can check out the schedule in the link above.

A quick look at the HDMI digital AV interface mod for CPS2 arcade boards

If you are looking to play Super Street Fighter II Turbo on real arcade hardware and have it on HD displays instead of a CRT, then you might want to look into this new technology.

Finnish developer Markus "marqs" Hiienkari is currently working on a board that's designed to provide digital audio and video output from Capcom's popular CPS2 arcade board through HDMI. Aside from inherent lag in a monitor, this interface only introduces microseconds of latency.

Currently it's in prototype phase so availability might be some time from now. Marqs intends to have this interface support 480p, 720p, 1080p and 1200p resolutions with audio upsampled to 48khz when finalized. Extra features such as scanline support and an on-screen display are being considered.

You can watch the prototype wired to the CPS2 as well as in action by UD-CPS2 and USB Decoder developer undamned after the jump! For those wanting to play fighting games on older consoles with very low latency in HD monitors, you might want to check marqs' popular Open Source Scan Converter.

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Third Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 location test starting March 16

The next location test for the new version of Guilty Gear Xrd is coming to select Japanese arcades for a week in March.

Club Sega Akihabara and Sega Kagurazaka will host the test, which will further refine the upcoming update.

Interestingly, Arc System Works announced the test only one day before its beginning and has yet to post any new balance changes. As such, it remains to be seen if the third (and longest) test will simply combine changes from the previous tests or bring more alterations to the cast.

Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 second location test changes released

The second location test for Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 happens Feb. 11-12, 2017, and Arc System Works has again made public its list of changes for this version of the new update.

The pdf contains both system changes as well as alterations for almost every character in the -Revelator- cast. Not featured are Baiken and Answer, who it seems will not receive any tweaks in this location test.

The original list is in Japanese, but a number of translations have started appearing online.

As before, since this is a location test, none of these changes are necessarily final.

Second Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 location test coming Feb. 11-12

The second location test for the new version of Guilty Gear Xrd is coming to select Japanese arcades early in February.

Club Sega Akihabara in Tokyo and High Tech Land Sega Nishinakajima in Osaka will host the test, which will further refine the upcoming update.

Arc System Works notes that content from the first location test may be changed, and an image linked in the company's posting shows Sol performing what appears to be a new move.

Players can likely expect a full list of the update changes a day or two before the test.

Ninth edition of Japan's biggest Tekken team tournament series Mastercup coming November 2017

The Mastercup tournament series in Japan will be on its 10th anniversary this year with a new entry.

The ninth 5v5 team tournament will take place on Nov. 4, 2017, with Tekken 7: Fated Retribution taking the helm. Since its inception back in 2007 with Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, Mastercup has been growing with each entry.

Aside from the tournament's date and its location in Tokyo, Japan, no other details have been announced at this time.

For now check out footage of the finals from Mastercup 8 after the jump!

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Square-Enix announces Million Arthur fighting game Arcana Blood

Japanese arcades will have a fighting game adaptation of a card-based mobile game series called Million Arthur this Fall.

Fully named Million Arthur: Arcana Blood, this Square-Enix published game influenced by the legend of King Arthur will be an anime-style 2-D fighter. Based on the footage after the jump, players can expect mechanics like air-dashing and bursts. Special to MAAB is the "Support Knight" cards which act as assists. Players can equip a set of three cards with each requiring a certain amount of assist points to use.

There are currently five characters confirmed so far and the game will have a playable build at this year's Japanese Amusement Expo on Feb. 10-12. The final release will be running on Taito's NESiCAxLive 2 platform.

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Cooperation Cup 15 coming Jan. 7-8, 2017, English stream offered

The 2017 entry in the long-running Street Fighter III: Third Strike team event is here.

For those unfamiliar with Coop Cup, the event pits five-player teams against one another in a single-elimination tournament that brings in teams from all over Japan and the rest of the world. Like past entries, the main event will be preceded by the Pre-Cooperation Cup tournament where single-character five-player teams battle it out the day before.

The action will all be streamed on Game Newton's Twitch channel starting on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 10 a.m. JST (Friday, Jan. 6 at 5 p.m. PST, 8 p.m. EST) and continued with the main event the next day at the same time. For those wanting to watch the tournament with English commentary, Game Newton will be offering an alternative channel with commentary from Arlieth, Duralath, Zhi and rKf. 

French player jYaZu has created infographics breaking down character usage and other basic facts about this year's Coop Cup. They can be found on Imgur.

More details on New Japan Pro Wrestling x Tekken 7 content revealed

New Japan Pro Wrestling's biggest card of the year, Wrestle Kingdom 11, takes place on Jan. 4, 2017, and during a press event leading up to the show Bandai Namco gave more information on its upcoming collaboration with the wrestling company.

Starting on Jan. 22 and continuing until Feb. 23, players of Tekken 7: Fated Retribution will be able to unlock new customizations: New Japan Pro Wrestling and Bullet Club shirts for the cast, along with the pieces of King's previously revealed Rainmaker costume. The company will later offer shirts representing the Chaos stable as well as icons and banners that can be used to spruce up player profiles.

Wearing his Rainmaker costume—based on current IGWP World Heavyweight Champion "The Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada—King will gain access to a new "Rainmaker" rage art. In it, King mimics the pro wrestler's iconic pose before delivering a single short-arm lariat.

There are no details at this time as to whether this content will make it to any console version of Tekken 7. Readers can check out the trailer for the content after the jump.

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Original Tekken 7 releasing to US Round 1 locations

After speculation that Tekken 7 would be arriving to U.S. shores without its balance and roster updates, it appears that is indeed the case.

Tekken 7.0 is currently up and running at the Round 1 in Puente Hills Mall in Southern California, the first R1 store in the U.S.

There is no other information available at this time, including when other stores will receive the title as promised. It should be noted that of all the locations where Tekken 7 has been released, only Korea and Japan have received Fated Retribution.

IPLAYWINNER has reached out to Bandai Namco for a statement explaining its decision.

Round 1 locations in North America to possibly carry original Tekken 7, not Fated Retribution

According to Round 1's website, Tekken 7 will be hitting all R1 locations in North America in December 2016. With this information, players were left wondering if it would be the latest revision, Fated Retributon. Now, a new clue reveals that these stores may be receiving the original version of the game.

The once primarily Asian version of Tekken-Net, used for both rankings as well as customization, added United States to the multitude of nations in their Available Arcades page. Countries featured on the list such as the Philippines, Taiwan and Australia are still on the original arcade version of T7.

Both Japan and South Korea are the only places currently playing Fated Retribution. Both countries feature their own dedicated Tekken-Net sites and have indicators that show they are on FR.

This should be treated as speculation until Round 1 locations set up the units still planned for December of this year.

Empoleon joins Pokkén Tournament

The steel penguin is coming to the arcade version of Pokkén Tournament on Dec. 15.

Empoleon's addition comes after several months of speculation that the character was being added to Pokkén. The character was first rumored before Scizor's release in October, as data mining of the Wii U game found files for Darkrai, Scizor and Empoleon.

As with Croagunk, Scizor and other recent arcade additions, there has been no indication as to whether the Wii U version of Pokkén Tournament will be updated to include Empoleon.

Pokkén Tournament adds new character on Dec. 1

The arcade version of Pokkén Tournament will be adding another playable character to its roster on Dec. 1.

This will be the third month in a row the Pokémon fighter has added new content, as Croagunk was released in November and Scizor joined the game in October.

As with Croagunk, Scizor and other recent arcade additions, there has been no indication as to whether the Wii U version of Pokkén Tournament will be updated to include these new characters.

BlazBlue Central Fiction console characters coming to arcades on Dec. 8

Arc System Works has announced that Es, Susano'o and Mai Natsume are being added to the arcade version of BBCF on Dec. 8, 2016, as part of BBCF version 1.30.

This update will bring the game to parity with the console version of BBCF. ASW has indicated that there will be no additional balance changes in this arcade revision.

BlazBlue Central Fiction was released in Japan on Oct. 6 and Nov. 1 in North America for PlayStation 3 and 4 consoles.

Japanese 3rd Strike's premier tournament Cooperation Cup Vol. 15 coming Jan. 8, 2017

Illustration by Motoki YoshiharaOne of the longest-running Japanese Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike tournaments returns in 2017.

Cooperation Cup is on its 15th edition and will be taking place yet again at Tokyo Leisureland Palette Town on Jan. 8, 2017. This 3rd Strike 5v5 team tournament brings in many teams from all over Japan and the rest of the world to see who is the best. Like past entries, the main event will be preceded by the Pre-Cooperation Cup tournament where single-character five-man teams battle it out the day before.

If you and your friends plan to compete in Cooperation Cup, here are the signup forms for Pre-Cooperation Cup and the main tournament itself. Deadline is on Dec. 4, 2016, before midnight in Japan time.

Both tournaments will be streamed on Game Newton's Twitch channel.

You can check out the trailer and the finals from Cooperation Cup Vol. 14 after the jump!

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New guide helps viewers identify Japanese Guilty Gear players

For new viewers of Guilty Gear who do not speak Japanese, watching streams from Mikado—via Jonio's Twitch channel—or other arcades can be work. While many longtime players in North America and other regions have taken time to translate names or recognize signature colors, others looking to find footage of suggested players can be at a loss.

However, a new Google Document created by Twitter user breadsticks! aims to help by offering a guide to notable Japanese players. Included in the spreadsheet are player's name, character used, arcade card handle, rank, preferred color and any extra information that may be helpful.

The document is currently a work in progress, but can be useful for anyone looking to gain more knowledge about the Japanese Guilty Gear playerbase. Interested players can check it out here.

Toushinsai reveals The King of Fighters XIV for arcades, PC version of Street Fighter V coming to arcades and more

The inaugural Japanese arcade tournament Toushinsai brought about some big news for fighting games.

FK Digital's Chaos Code: New Sign of Catastrophe will finally be getting its PlayStation 4 release in November 2016. They also revealed that FK will follow up with a second expansion in 2017 that will run on full 16:9 widescreen.

Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel will be updated to version 1.08 on Oct. 27, 2016. Whether it will apply to the arcade version or will be featured on consoles as well is still to be determined.

Capcom will be bringing Street Fighter V to arcades in the near future in the form of the the PC version. Details will be clarified at a later time.

For Taito, the company announced NESiCAxLive 2, its follow-up arcade digital content platform. Companies such as Arc System Works, Examu, FK Digital and French Bread have pledged support for the system. SNK will also take part by announcing that The King of Fighters XIV will be coming to Japanese arcades through this platform.

You can check the announcements towards the end of the Twitch archive here.

Learn to punish Akuma in quick Tekken 7: Fated Retribution video

To players going against Akuma in the latest Tekken 7 iteration, the video after the jump is important to consider.

Japanese fighting game group Oasis Game Club released a video all about punishing Akuma when his moves are blocked. Whether you want to know if fireball, dragon punch or even some of his normal strings are punishable, the video also features frame data.

Tekken 7: Fated Retribution is available now in Japanese and Korean arcades. The game will also be at EVO 2016 as a world finals qualifier for The King of Iron Fist Tournament 2016 and at future Tekken Tour events as a North American finals qualifier.

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Tekken 7: Fated Retribution available in Japanese & Korean arcades, two Korean events teased

Both Japan and South Korea have upgraded to Tekken 7's expansion in arcades.

For people living outside either of these countries, you can always tune into streams. In Japan, check Tekken players Kurokuro and Shudy. In Korea, streaming channels will vary. Green Game Land, known for streaming Tekken every day, is on Twitch. Through Afreeca, players such as Knee, Lowhigh and MBC usually stream.

With the release of T7FR in Korea, Korean eSports site Inven released a picture showing two events. One of them is the The Fist by VSL Studio which will be streamed on Twitch. Another is the return of Tekken Strike by NicegameTV. No other information behind the events have been revealed.

Tekken 7: Fated Retribution will have its own tournament at EVO 2016!