Cross Assault announces seeding points for Evolution 2012, submissions extended for Feb 8

Cross Assault update! Fresh news from the production team, who come with a special announcement:

Cross Assault is the first ever week-long, internet based fighting game reality show which will be airing LIVE starting this February 22^nd. Under the leadership of legendary coaches Alex Valle and Aris Bakhtanians, five players will be chosen to represent Team Street Fighter, and five will be chosen to represent Team Tekken. Players will go head to head in a series of challenges competing for pride, fame and a chance at the grand prize of $25,000 dollars.

The deadline to submit your entry as a contestant on Cross Assault is rapidly approaching, and the team could not be more pleased with the amount and quality of entries thus far. We’ve been hard at work here trying to tie in the best in the fighting game community to ensure this will be a true milestone for fighting game fans across the world.

With the news that Street Fighter X Tekken is to be an official tournament game at Evo – the largest fighting game tournament in the world – Capcom and Evo are teaming up to offer Street Fighter X Tekken tournament seed points to the final four contestants of Cross Assault.

Tom Cannon, founder and organizer of the Evolution Championship Series had this to say:

“Cross Assault will be a great display of the drive and energy that fuels Evo and the whole fighting game scene. This is a great opportunity to see how top players approach a new game. I'm looking forward to seeing how the seeded Cross Assault players perform at Evo's Street Fighter X Tekken tournament.”

The Evolution Championship Series (Evo for short) represents the largest and longest-running fighting game tournaments in the world. Evo events bring together the best of the best from around the world in a dazzling exhibition of skill and fun, as players and fans gather to honor the competitive spirit in an open format to determine a champion.

Since this announcement raises the bar for Cross Assault, Capcom has decided to extend the entry phase to become an contestant on the show until Wednesday, February 8^th. If you haven’t created your video blog yet, do so now, as you don’t want to miss out on your chance to participate in this once in a lifetime opportunity.

To learn more about Evo and how to register, click here.

To submit your entry to become a contestant on Cross Assault, click here.

SFxT Dev Blog: Street Fighter X Tekken Goes Gold

Another dev blog from Ayano-san! Character tease, Street Fighter patch info, and more!

Just when I thought the year was just starting, suddenly it's February! It's been unusually cold in Japan, and we've gotten a ton of snow, but we have some big news that will surely warm your hearts!

Street Fighter X Tekken has finally gone gold!

Thank you, thank you! Honestly, this is all thanks to the support from you, our fans. We would never have been able to do this without you! Now all that’s left is to wait for the release of the game on March 8^th!

Huh? You want some new character information? Okay, how about this!?

↑I bet everyone can guess who this is, right!?

Switching gears a bit, let’s rap about SSFIV AE Ver. 2012.

Thanks to all of our fans for waiting. We’re really sorry for taking so long to handle the bugs that were discovered in the Ver. 2012 build. But we’re going to be delivering a patch to get rid of those bugs.

Patch release date:

Arcade: Feb. 14 – 8am (Japan only)

PS3/X360: Feb. 21 – Time TBA (depending on the download, distribution time can change)

Patch Info:

Arcade version (Japan only)

- Bug that caused player names and BP to not show up has been fixed.

- On a 4:3 ratio screen, in the title screen the version number not being correct has been fixed.

- In the Car Crusher stage, a bug that caused made it impossible to advance has been fixed.

- Against specific characters, a bug that caused Juri to pass through her opponents when they were hit at point blank range with close standing medium punch has been fixed.

- Against specific characters, a bug that caused Dee Jay to pass through his opponents when executing close standing heavy kick super canceled into heavy Sobat Carnival has been fixed.

- Against Sagat, a bug that caused Cody’s EX Bad Stone to miss when Focus Attack Lv. 3 -> Dash -> EX Bad Stone was performed has been fixed.

- In SSFIV AE, a bug where Dudley’s Step Straight caused an opponent’s hit animation to not operate as expected has been fixed.

PS3 version

- In the Car Crusher stage, a bug that caused made it impossible to advance has been fixed.

- Against specific characters, a bug that caused Juri to pass through her opponents when they were hit at point blank range with close standing medium punch has been fixed.

- Against specific characters, a bug that caused Dee Jay to pass through his opponents when executing close standing heavy kick super canceled into heavy Sobat Carnival has been fixed.

- Against Sagat, a bug that caused Cody’s EX Bad Stone to miss when Focus Attack Lv. 3 -> Dash -> EX Bad Stone was performed has been fixed.

- In SSFIV AE, a bug where Dudley’s Step Straight caused an opponent’s hit animation to not operate as expected has been fixed.

Xbox 360 version

- In the Car Crusher stage, a bug that caused made it impossible to advance has been fixed.

- Against specific characters, a bug that caused Juri to pass through her opponents when they were hit at point blank range with close standing medium punch has been fixed.

- Against specific characters, a bug that caused Dee Jay to pass through his opponents when executing close standing heavy kick super canceled into heavy Sobat Carnival has been fixed.

- Against Sagat, a bug that caused Cody’s EX Bad Stone to miss when Focus Attack Lv. 3 -> Dash -> EX Bad Stone was performed has been fixed.

- In SSFIV AE, a bug where Dudley’s Step Straight caused an opponent’s hit animation to not operate as expected has been fixed.

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This patch does not have anything that changes the nature of the game, but we hope that you can enjoy a more perfect version of SSFIV AE Ver. 2012!

Moving on, there are only a few qualifying spots left for the SSFIV AE Ver. 2012 Capcom Official Spring National Tournament. This tournament will show us just who the best AE player in Japan is. ...No, wait, we have some international players coming down as well, so this tournament will decide who is the best in the world perhaps...?

Speaking of qualifiers, yours truly will be dropping by the Taito Men of Valor Cup grand finals on Feb 12^st. Which team will earn a spot in the Spring National Tournament? This is something I definitely want to check out!

I hope you all can also make it out to one of the remaining qualifiers!

These tournaments are 3 on 3, and as a team you can choose a cool team name. But please be warned that if the tournament organizers find your team name to be inappropriate we reserve the right to change it. But I’m sure you guys already knew that, right?

Ok, that’s all for this week! See you next week!

And before that, tonight I get to go out drinking! Whee!

Alex Valle and Aris Bakhtanians Confirmed as Coaches for Cross Assault

For those unable to figure out who the coaches were from our teaser trailer earlier this week, Capcom, Iplaywinner and Team Spooky are excited to confirm that Alex Valle will be the coach of Team Street Fighter and Aris Bakhtanians will be the coach of Team Tekken.

Both players are legendary within the fighting game community, and have a wealth of experience to bring to their respective teams.

Here is what the coaches had to say about being chosen to lead their team to victory:

“I'm thankful for the opportunity to coach Team Street Fighter in Cross Assault. New and innovative competition is what brings hype to our scene and I'm excited to lead the team. With that said, I'm going make sure the bearded lady and his crew get rushed down!” – Alex Valle, Team Street Fighter

“I'm happy to be a part of any iPW x Spooky production and I'm looking forward to sending Valle and the rest of his team back to Mexico. I understand that team Street Fighter has the advantage in this competition, however, I doubt they know who they are messing with.” - Aris Bakhtanians, Team Tekken

For those unfamiliar with their accomplishments, here are a few of the reasons why they were chosen:

Alex Valle:

- US National Champion in both Capcom's Street Fighter Alpha 3 Championships and Namco's Tekken Tag World Tournament
- First overall fighting game player to win championships in multiple fighters SF,VF,TK series
- First American player to fight Daigo in 1998 which started his international career
- Defeated Daigo Umehara in both 3s / ST(Anniversary Edition) - EVO 2006
- Captain of Team USA for SBO numerous times
- Featured in 3 documentaries - Bang the Machine / I Got Next / Focus
- Consistent top place finisher in major fighting game tournaments today
- President of Level|Up LLC - Internet broadcasting company for gaming entertainment and creators of Weds Night Fights / SoCal Regionals

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Aris Bakhtanians:

- Placed top 8 in 7 Regional tournaments in Tekken 6 including Nationals

- Qualified to represent the US in the Tekken 6 world tournament in Japan

- Qualified for SBO 2010 for Tekken 6

- Soul Calibur 2 world champion

- Soul Calibur 2 nationals, 5th

- EVO 2003, 4th Soul Calibur 2

- Won over 100 Soul Calibur 2 tournaments

- Qualified for nationals, Soul Calibur 4

- EVO 2011, 9th MK9

- Commentary at several events including multiple Evos

- Self proclaimed to be younger, more charismatic, and better looking than Alex Valle

The submission phase to enter as a contestant on Cross Assault ends this coming Sunday, February 5^th. A massive $25,000 dollars is up for grabs, so if you haven’t created your video blog, do so now and submit at www.capcom-unity.com/go/crossassault/signup.

Streaming Fight Club tonight, including SFxT matches from pro players

Can't make it out to our San Francisco Fight Club tonight? Don't worry - we'll have a live feed of Street Fighter X Tekken flowing throughout the night, plus guest appearances by six local top players.

In addition to random showgoer matchups that begin at 8pm PT, we're excited to announce guest matches from Filipino Champ, ShadyK, Ricky Ortiz, Hoodaman, LPN and Crackfiend that should kick off around 9pm PT. That said, if you can make it out, the first 150 will get this awesome SFxT Pandora shirt:

If you simply must take a break, be sure to hit up Adam's Grub Truck, which will be parked outside serving up all kinds of amazing sandwhiches. I know it's preying on my nostalgia, but I can't resist anything called Double Dragon...

See you there, or on the stream over at Twitch TV!

Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition Now on Games on Demand

By popular demand! Super street fighting arcade game Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition is now on Games on Demand! On Xbox Live! This flash-kicking, hadokenning, thunder thighs-having brawlfest can be yours for $29.99, and you don't even have to worry about losing a disc or freeing up shelf space.

I mean 'cuz it's digital, yo.

Reminder: Street Fighter X Tekken Fight Club this Thursday

Wanna play SFxT a full month before release? Then take your nearest plane, train or automobile to San Francisco this Thursday, where we'll have tons of kiosks set up for not just SFxT, but also Ultimate MvC3 for PlayStation Vita. And seeing as it's a grand gathering of fighting folks, we also encourage cosplayers to represent Team Street Fighter at the event!

Where: Mighty (119 Utah Street, San Francisco)

When: 7pm (VIP), 8pm-11pm (General Admission)

We have to obey the rules and only allow those who are 21+ into the venue, and the event as a whole is first come, first serve - as in, it may fill up, so arrive early!

See you there!

SFxT Cross Assault reality show: who are our celebrity coaches?

Last week we announced our mega-massive Cross Assault reality show, in which members of Team Street Fighter and Team Tekken will compete for a $25,000 prize during a weeklong live stream. But who will lead each team to victory? We've recruited two legendary members of the fighting community to whip their respective teams into shape...

Can you guess who we've lined up? Odds are you can. But if not... we'll have the full reveal soon. Until then, hit up our earlier post about Cross Assault, which also includes additional information about Street Fighter X Tekken as a whole. And if you're eager to get some hands-on time pronto, we have a Fight Club scheduled for this Thursday in San Francisco:

See you there!

Street Fighter X Tekken Fight Club EX-uppercuts San Francisco Feb 2

In the SF Bay Area and itching for a fight? We'll have Street Fighter X Tekken open to the public on the evening of February 2, with plenty of kiosks for play and, I assume, loud-as-hell music.

The full details:

Location - The Mighty (195 Utah Street)

Time - 7pm VIP, 8pm~11pm general admission

Event is 21+ and also features Super SFIV Arcade Edition, with special appearance by Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 for PlayStation Vita!

See you there!

The Men Who Inspired Ryu

Artist and Unity member Arttronikhas pointed me to an absolutely fascinatingessay he wrote for his blog. The essay takes an incredibly deep look at the origins and inspirations for the concept and design of Street Fighter's Ryu. Namely, he draws numerous convincing comparisons to appearance and fighting style of legendary karate master Masatsu Oyama, who used to train by fighting live bulls, and his disciples.

He even delves into Oyama's influence on other characters, and praises the original SFcharacter designers for their masterful implementation of "intricate simplicity," notably pointing out the brilliance of their color schemes. Check out this simplification created by designer Ashley Browning, which he cites in the essay:

Bet you can name all these characters. A pretty clear testament to the strength of their color design.

Be sure to read the full essay right here.

SFxT Dev Blog: Check out these official arcade sticks

Time for another dev blog from Ayano-san. In case you missed it, we revealed some new characters yesterday, and there are more to be revealed in the near future.

We are proud to announce the official Street Fighter X Tekken arcade stick, courtesy of Mad Catz!

The premium model allows you to link up 2 sticks together for real two player action! There are a total of 6 models scheduled to be on sale!

These sticks will go on sale at the same time as SFXTK, on March 8th, for the price of 16,800 yen (approx. $216 USD)

My recommended stick is of course the premium version that you can link up with another premium version. For me, the ability to link up two sticks together when playing offline by myself or against friends is a really great idea, don’t you think?

Now, for Capcom’s official SSFIV AE Ver. 2012 national tournament “Hellish Spring War”...!

Pictured (left to right): Team Mad Catz - Umehara, Mago, Tokido | Overseas Team - GamerBee, Poongko, Ryan Hart

Capcom is very pleased to announce that we will have specially invited players at the tournament!

For our Japanese team, we are proud to have Team Mad Catz at our tournament! Joining the charismatic Daigo Umehara will be Tokido and Mago!

We are also happy to have an international team at the event! Playing together as the “International Team” are Poongko (Korea), GamerBee (Taiwan) and Ryan “Prodigal Son” Hart (UK).

Hmmm! This national tournament is quickly becoming a worldwide affair!

Next week marks the start of February, and the remaining qualifying spots for the national tournament are slowly disappearing.

Besides the usual charismatic gamers, I’m hoping that everyone who participates in this national tournament leaves no regrets at the table and gives it their all!

That’s it for this week! Please look forward to my next blog entry!