Skullgirls 2nd Encore coming to Nintendo Switch

During the Lab Zero Games panel at Anime Expo 2018, the company announced that the most recent version of Skullgirls will be coming to Nintendo's newest console.

Skullgirls 2nd Encore will come to the console with all the content of its PC counterpart, including Japanese voices, challenges and more.

There is currently no other information, including release date or price, for the title at this time. Readers can check out an image from the panel, courtesy of Twitter user AtroxChobatsu, after the jump.

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Replay program adds support for Rivals of Aether

A program used to create and watch Skullgilrs matches has simplified its use and added support for indie fighter Rivals of Aether.

NZMao's Automatic Replay Viewer was originally designed so that players could record and rewatch long sets of matches without having to individually record each one.

The newest version, 1.3, has not only added support for its second game, Rivals, but has also added a settings menu so players do not have to edit the program's config file. The program also offers hitbox, input and attack data during the replays but only for Skullgirls at this time.

Readers can check out the program and its accompanying ReadMe file on GitHub. 

Skullgirls' Limited Run Games releases near completion

There is good news for players waiting on the Limited Run Games physical editions of Skullgirls for PlayStation 4 and Vita.

In an email sent to buyers, LRG has confirmed that the PS4 edition of Skullgirls has been sent to manufacturing and that once completed—hopefully by late September—the company will be able to begin sending out copies of the completed package. The Vita version, meanwhile, has been given to Sony for certification with hopes that it will pass and move on to production.

This is good news for both the developers and consumers, as Skullgirls' path to physical production has been fraught with delays, from issues with Sony guidelines to the slow-moving processes of licensing Japanese voice acting and continued testing for the release. The physical products were originally hoped to be in the hands of gamers in early 2017.

With any luck, Skullgirls should finally be in the hands of gamers in a few months.

Skullgirls "lobby patch" detailed, release starting Jan. 23

Skullgirls 2nd Encore will received its long-awaited patch offering eight-player lobbies and plenty of other changes starting on Jan. 23.

The patch, which will launch for Steam, PlayStation 4 and Vita in North America, will include not only the lobbies but also support for both Japanese and English voices during a match, an expanded tutorial mode to teach players about concepts like double snaps and improvements to training mode.

In addition to the general system and infrastructure changes, the patch will include plenty of alterations for the entire Skullgirls cast. For the full list of changes, head over to the official Skullgirls website.  

The new update will only be available on Jan. 23 for Steam users worldwide and North American PS4 and Vita owners. Xbox 360, PS3 and European and Japanese players on other platforms will have to wait a little while longer.

Winter Steam Sale brings discounts to many fighters

The annual Winter Steam Sale has arrived, bringing big discounts to many fighting games offered through the platform.

Arc System Works has cut prices on many titles including Arcana Heart 3 LOVE MAX!!!!!, Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code, Battle Fantasia and older versions of the Under Night, Guilty Gear and BlazBlue series.

SNK is once again offering low prices for King of Fighters XIII, 2002 Unlimited Match and '98 Ultimate Match Final Edition, as well as The Last Blade 2.

Lastly, there are also sizable discounts for Street Fighter V, Mortal Kombat XL, Skullgirls, Blade Arcus, Koihime Enbu and many other titles. Sadly, it seems recently released titles such as Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- and Garou: Mark of the Wolves are not included in this year's sale. For a list containing most of the titles, head over to Steam.

Skullgirls to get limited physical release

Lab Zero Games is teaming up with Limited Run Games to offer a physical release of Skullgirls for PlayStation 4 and PS Vita.

Preorders for the title will begin on Oct. 31, 2016. The release will be mostly identical to the recent Japanese physical release but will also include the upcoming patch that adds lobbies to the Skullgirls console version.

In a later tweet it was further revealed that if the game gets 10,000 preorders, then Lab Zero will patch the Japanese voice acting into the U.S. and European PS4, Steam and Vita releases.

For more information behind Limited Run Games' history and past products, check out the small documentary by My Life in Gaming after the jump.

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PlayStation Store Flash Sale gives big discounts to fighters

The PlayStation Store is running a short sale with large savings, and several fighting game titles are priced so that players who were only considering a purchase before might be persuaded to spend some cash.

Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- (PS3 and PS4), BlazBlue Chronophantasma Extend (PS4), Skullgirls Encore (PS3), AquaPazza and NitroPlus Blasterz (PS3 and PS4) are all on sale from Sept. 23 at 10:00 a.m. until the same time on Sept. 26. Most of the titles are priced at 60 percent off the retail cost, with Skullsgirl Encore offering savings of up to 80 percent.

There are also plenty of other non-fighting game titles being offered at great prices,. For the full list of games, head to the PlayStation Store.

Skullgirls 2nd Encore Features DLC released, on sale on Steam

Skullgirls has been updated with new gameplay modes and that DLC is 33 percent off on Steam for a limited time.

Priced at $10.04—the main Skullgirls game will cost players $9.99—until April 20, 2nd Encore now includes all DLC characters and colors along with the new 2nd Encore Features DLC. Features includes a fully voiced story mode, challenge mode, survival mode and a trial mode containing "actually-useful combos."

For more information on the new offerings, check out Mike Z's announcement on Steam.

Japan and the U.S. Face Off in Skullgirls Netplay Exhibition

Skullgirls players in the U.S. and Japan recently faced off in a high-level netplay exhibition that saw 10 players from each nation do battle.

The event was structured as a series of 10 separate exhibitions, featuring U.S. players such as WingZero, Duckator and SonicFox. The first five matches were preliminary bouts that were only first to two wins, while the five remanining fights were first to three wins.

GGPO, stage, character and assist changes were allowed at any time, and the exhibitions used 2-D backgrounds because the Japanese players believe 3-D ones "have a high probability of negatively affecting matches." All the remaining details of the event can be found at Skullheart.

The event was streamed live by Kick-Punch-Block! and can be found after the jump.

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Skullgirls Discounted as Part of Steam Halloween Sale

It feels like Skullgirls is always on sale somewhere, and this weekend is no exception.

As part of Steam's Halloween sale, which is currently running until Nov. 2 at 10 a.m. PDT, Lab Zero's fighter will be on sale for $3.74. Each of the DLC packs is also on special, costing $1.24 individually on $6.20 for all of them.

With the game and all its content primed to cost buyers just under $10, the holiday would be a good time to pick up the game if players don't already have it.

Skullgirls Added to Humble Indie Bundle 15

As part of the Sept. 29 Humble Indie Bundle 15, Skullgirls can once again make its way into gamer homes for very cheap. Players need only pay more than the average—currently sitting at roughly $6—and they will receive the game and all of its downloadable content. This Humble Bundle version of Skullgirls is available for Mac, Linux or PC and offered DRM free.

The Humble Indie Bundle 15 also includes Sir, You Are Being Hunted; Q.U.B.E.: Director's Cut;  and Goodbye Deponia and can include Planetary Annihilation, Xenonauts and and early acces to Gang Beasts. 

Arc System Works to Publish Skullgirls 2nd Encore in Japan

Famitsu and Arc System Works have announced that the developer will be publishing Lab Zero's Skullgirls 2nd Encore in Japan. The game, which has no release date at this point, will be coming to PlayStation 4 and Vita consoles.

Skullgirls 2nd Encore is the newest version of the game and includes all of the DLC characters. It will receive a full translation, complete with Japanese audio for all of the cast, and will include the modes found in the U.S. release of 2nd Encore.

Skullgirls has previously been available in Japan on PlayStation Network and on the NESiCAxLive arcade platform.

Skullgirls 2nd Encore Launches July 7 for PS4

The ultimate release of Skullgirls is about to land on PlayStation 4. Skullgirls 2nd Encore will drop July 7, bringing a wealth of content to the system:

All DLC characters included

Fully voiced story modes

New Challenges

New Trials

New Survival Mode

Cross-play with the PS3 and PS Vita versions

Full Platinum Trophy set

All of that will be included along with cross buy for the upcoming Vita version of the game, and PS Plus users will get 20 percent off if they pre-order as well as a new theme.

The game is also holding its own tournament at Evolution 2015 that will be streamed by Mad Catz. For those who are thinking about playing in the event, or who would just like to watch the action, all the details can be found at the Skullgirls forums.

CEO to Present "All Anime" Tournament in October 2015

Alex Jebailey is looking to make the dreams of AnimEVO a reality in October as he throws a tournament dedicated to all games that fall under the umbrella of "anime." Taking place in Orlando, Florida, on Oct. 17-18, the event will offer nine titles:

• Guilty Gear Xrd
• Blazblue Chronophantasma 2.0
• Persona 4 Arena Ultimax 2.0
• Under Night In-Birth 
• Dengeki Bunko FIGHTING CLIMAX
• Arcana Heart 3 LOVE MAX
• Skullgirls
• Melty Blood
• Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R
  

Jebailey also said that more titles may be added in the future, and that the six games with the most entrants will have finals on Sunday with the remaining titles finishing on Saturday evening. For more information on the event, head over to the CEO website or directly message Jebailey on Twitter.

Latest PlayStation 4 System Software Disables Compatibility from Akishop Customs' PS360+

Players won't be able to try out the North American demo of Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- with the popular all-in-one controller board.

The recent firmware updates done to the PlayStation 4's operating system have prevented Akishop Customs' PS360+ board to work on the platform. At the moment, players are limited to using the DualShock 4 controller, arcade sticks licensed by Sony or padhacking the DS4.

Akishop Customs originally had plans to feature full PS4 compatibility on its board. Due to console limitations, the feature was limited to eight minutes of use per plug in. The company included this short-term solution on version 1.4 and 1.5.

Despite this disadvantage, the PS360+ (version 1.5) can still work on PlayStation 4 but only limited to Skullgirls on PS4 or any other game that features the custom compatibility software.

Skullgirls Encore on PlayStation 4 Now Compatible with PlayStation 3 Arcade Sticks

Lab Zero Games' fighting game Skullgirls will come to the PlayStation 4 with last generation controller support after months of testing.

Developed by Naughty Dog's John Bellomy in his free time, the code will allow the coming PlayStation 4 build of Skullgirls Encore to feature plug-and-play support for PlayStation 3 arcade sticks and controllers. Lab Zero CEO Peter Bartholow mentioned that sticks such as the Mad Catz Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition as well as custom controller boards including the Cthulhu series of boards will work immediately with this build. It was not mentioned if other arcade sticks or custom boards were compatible..

As long as the controllers when plugged in are generic USB controller-based and not recognized as a DualShock 3 controller, they will immediately work. Bartholow expressed that Akishop Customs' PS360+ controller board as well as the popular inPin PlayStation 2 to PS3 converter will not work.

Still in development, Lab Zero will release their driver for developers to use and update as long as they attribute the original developers. A compatibility list will be available online in the coming future so stay tuned! For now, check out a demonstration of the existing code by Lab Zero's Mike Zaimont after the jump!

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Skullgirls' Eliza to be Released Sept. 30

Tomorrow all Skullgirls players on both PlayStation 3 and PC will have the opportunity to play Eliza as she is released to the public.

The character, who is designed with an ancient Egyptian motif, wields a staff to help her attack and like much of the Skullgirls cast can transform parts of her body for normals, specials and supers.

To celebrate Eliza's impending release, the crew at Skullgirls has provided several links to community-created combo videos. These videos feature Eliza-only combos as well as combos featuring Eliza's possible assists and DHCs. Hit the jump for the videos.

There is no current release date for Eliza on Xbox 360, but the Skullgirls team is hopeful that it will be "soon."

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Super Desperation Radio Episode 324 Archive Online

The latest episode of Super Desperation Radio is now available for watching on IPLAYWINNER'S YouTube channel.

It was a Super Desperation Radio episode full of value as the cast covered some of the recent events in gaming. They talked about the reopening of Super Arcade and the first large-scale UNIEL events to take place before the game's first SoCal major at West Coast Warzone in September.

The crew also discussed the oddity that is the upcoming release of Guilty Gear XX #Reload to Steam, and talked about the ongoing development of Skullgirls' Beowulf.

Lastly, SDR talked at length about the SFIV bug list and SuperFX's recent interview with Mike Z and Omni about it. 

Super Desperation Radio is live every Monday at 6:30 p.m. PST on Twitch and YouTube.

Lab Zero Games Looking for Developers to Help Make PS3 Controllers Work on PS4, Will Offer Driver for Free

With Skullgirls Encore releasing on PlayStation 4 and Vita later this year, the team at Lab Zero Games is working to make those releases as user-friendly as possible. One way Mike Zaimont and his team would like to do this is by offering support for PlayStation 3 sticks so that players do not need to spend more money buying a new stick for only one system.

However, while Sony is allowing for games to create their own rules on what peripherals will be useable in-game, there are no software tools in place to do this at the present time. So the Skullgirls team has put an offer on the table: help develop the tools to allow PS3 controllers on PS4, and Lab Zero will license that product to anyone who wants it for free.

Hit the jump for the explanation from Mike Z.

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Skullgirls Encore Joins List Of Games Available For Free On PlayStation Plus In May

With the release of new character Big Band, Skullgirls will be free to play on PlayStation 3 very soon!

PlayStation Plus' Instant Game Collection for the month of May will feature Skullgirls Encore along with other games such as Pro Evolution Soccer for the PlayStation 3 and Limbo on the PlayStation Vita. This iteration will include all existing changes from the original Skullgirls as well as the new characters Squigly and Big Band.

You must be a subscriber to PlayStation Plus to play Skullgirls Encore and you must keep your membership active to keep the game unlocked.