A stellar fighter, to go

Launching just seven months ago on consoles, it seems that Street Fighter X Tekken never really caught on in the fighting game community. Some would argue this was a result of the quality of the game itself, but a bit of controv?ersy surrounding the on-disc DLC and confus??ion about which characters would appear where certainly didn't help matters.

Having said that, back in February, we told you that with Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 on the Vita, portable fighting has never looked so good or played so well. It appears that Capcom h?as outdone themselves again i?n making the most beautiful, playable portable fighting experience out there.

Street Fighter X Tekken (PlayStation Vita)
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Released: October 23, 2012
MSRP: $39.99

There's no question about it: this game is gorgeous, and it's easily one of the most colorful, eye-catching games on the Vita right now. With Ultimate Marvel, Capcom cut the effects and backgrounds down (maki?ng the latter static) to keep the rest of the game as visually striking as it appeared on? consoles.

This time around, backgrounds are fully animated and the effects were only nicked ever so? slightly. The character models are fully detailed and you won't find any jaggies on screen, making the high locked-in frame rate all the more impressive.

If you've played the console version, you've played the Vita version -- for the most part. The slick, tag-team-based gameplay is? still here and better than ever as the responsive Vita buttons make you feel like you're more in control than with a standard gamepad (in fact, the game even lets you Cross Link with the PlayStation 3 version to use your Vita as a PS3 controller).

Just as in Ultimate Marvel, Street Fighter X Tekken gives you the option to use the front and rear touch screens to basically play the game for you. While still as useless as before, it's certainly there if you just want to destroy your opponent as mindlessly as possible; no reaso??n to use it otherwise?.

If you've played the 3DS port of Super Street Fighter IV, you'll feel right at home with SFxT's other touch control option. On the right half of the front touch screen, there are four tiles. Each of these can be set/sized to your liking, such as your preset combos or maybe even just one of your punch or kick buttons, or nothing at all if you so choose. It doesn't make the game significa??ntly easier in any way (or offer any advan??tage), but simply acts as a convenience.

The entire menu system can be interacted with the front touch screen (Trophy Viewer, Gallery, and Customize modes require you to use the touch screen). It's worth noting as Ultimate Marvel didn't offer this for some reason. There's also a new mode that lets you use the Vita's augmented reality capabilities to put your favorite characters into your living room or wherever else and take pictures of them. It's cute, but it was extremely slow and didn't quite work right in my time with it.

Exclusive to the Vita version is a download code which will net you all twelve of the added characters for your copy on PS3 (these characters are on the cartridge, so it is not necessary to redeem this code to have the characters on the Vita), and will give you all of the alternate costumes for the original 38 characters.

Multiplayer is comparable to the console version. In fact, it's the exact same as cross-platform play is supported. Vita p?layers can face each other, against PS3 users, and vice versa. Fighting against a PS3 player from the Vita works flawlessly -- there's also something to be said about being able to play against someone who's on a console from wherever you might be.

The only lag to speak of from my experience only appears right before and after the fight. Obviously, it doesn't interfere with the actual match, but it's strange that it even happens. Everything went down smoothly, and none of the weird audio syncing errors that plagued the console versions of Street Fighter X Tekken are here.

Whether or not you'll enjoy the handheld version of the game is really up to you. If you couldn't stand the original console release, there's likely nothing here that will make you change your mind. But if you do decide to pick it up for the first time (or again), you will ??be treated to an absolutely gorgeous game that plays better than its older console brother, and gives you the most bang for your $40.

Street Fighter X Tekken for the Vita is not only the best version of the title, but it's also easily the best-looking fighter on the handheld, and it could be said that this is the best fighter on t??he Vita right now. Considering its competition, that's saying quite a lot.

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The PlayStation Vita's library has already seen its fair share of console ports, especially when it comes to fighting games. Mortal Kombat, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and now Street Fighter X Tekken has made th?e jump. Having played many of these ports, there seems to be a common theme to them: get the base game, all the DLC released, then add in some Vita-specific extras.

In that respect, Street Fighter X Tekken isn't doing anything particularly new. Still, the Vita version packs a hell of a lot of content, o?ffering fightin??g fans a good amount of incentive to take the dive.

Street Fighter X Tekken (PlayStation Vita)
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Release: October 23, 2012

The biggest addition to the Vita iteration is the expanded roster -- 12 new characters, to be specific. From Street Fighter, expect to see Dudley, Sakura, and Blanka, among others, while the Tekken roster is buff??ed by Bryan, Lei, Lar?s, and a few more.

Bringing the total roster to a staggering 55, the new characters are certainly the biggest draw to the Vita version, and the core cast will be getting treated wit??h additional costumes. What's more is that you can use the Vita's Near functionality to send and receive custom costumes with other playe??rs.

Perhaps the best thing about all the added content is the cross-sharing feature. This lovely little tool allows anyone who owns a Vita copy of SFXT to transfer all of the bonus content between their Vita and PlayStation 3. Personally, I'm really excited to see how this feature pans out. As much as I loved the Vita port of Mortal Kombat, I was always bothered by the fact that the DLC characters' alternate costumes remained Vita exclusives. So seeing SFXT allow us to bring the definitive experience to the version we've already invested month??s of our time in is a huge plus.

While the Vita port does bring the full online and offline suite of modes with it, there isn't a whole lot new in that department, save Burst Kumite. Essentially an endless battle mode, Burst Kumite pits players against the AI in never-ending waves. Not to be confused with a survival mode of any kind, your characters start each round with full healt??h. Enemy AI doesn't gradually ramp up either since you determine your difficulty beforehand.

The objective is really to test yourself, seeing how well you can battle and for how long. One interesting feature about it is a qua??si-ghosting mechanic where the game mi??mics your online experience by picking teams that you've recently played against. As the sole new mode, it's looking to be a fun, quirky little addition for those wanting a more intense offline challenge.

In terms of gameplay, SFXT on Vita is functionally similar to its console brethren, bringing the same juggle-heavy leanings of the Tekken series with the six-button system of Street Fighter. There are some Vita-specific controls, though, that take advantage of the front and rear touch. Using the touch screen, you can queue up to four moves on portions of the screen for instant access. Additionally, from the options menu you can determine how much space each grid takes up, and even overlap them to form simpler combos. It's an easy, non-intrusive system that works well enough when combined with standard button presses. Not as impressive is ??the rear touch functionality.

With the rear touch pad, players can swipe on the left side to tag characters in and out, while swiping on the right initiates a launcher. More often than not, using the rear touch felt more awkward than u?seful, and isn't exactly ideal for combos. Depending on how you hold your Vita, it is entirely possible to accidentally initiate the rear touch controls. Thankfully, any and all of the touch controls can be disabled in the options menu, so fighting purist need not worry.

While we've seen many fighting game ports on Vita, Street Fighter X Tekken is certainly poised to be? one of the stronger ones. Having only one new mode may be a bit of a bum??mer, but that's hardly a complaint when you take into account the 12 new characters, costumes, and the ability to trade all of that content between your PS3 version. And if you're a content-starved Vita owner who's never played the console version, there isn't much of a reason to hold out.

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Here are some Street Fighter X Tekken trailers showcasing the PlayStation Vita version of the game. The best thing about?? this version of the game is th??at there won't be any on-disc DLC -- because Vita games don't ship on discs. What a victory!

Anyway, if you like fighting games, here are some moving pictures o??f people?? punching each other. Only smaller this time. Do you like it?

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Despite the fact that the data for Mega Man and Pac-Man are on the?? game's disc, Capcom will not be unlocking the two mascots on the 360 version of the game. You can unlock the these mans for free on the PS3 versio??n of the game, and they'll also be immediately playable on the Vita port of the title. We can only guess that Sony paid Capcom a pretty chunk of change for these exclusives. Otherwise, I'm sure they'd love to sell these additional characters to 360 owners.

The fact that Capcom screwed up and left the characters on the 360 disc isn't that surprising to me. What I find strange is that Sony's presumed attempt to make the PS3 version of Street Fighter X Tekken more desirable just didn't work, at least in this country. Des??pite having five fewer characters and no same-console online tag team mode, the game still sold better on the 360 than the PS3 in the US by a fairly large margin. 

I'm sure that's partially because the 360 has a larger install base in the US tha??n the PS3, but I also think that the lemmings-like attitude of some 360 owners also had something to do with it. If their friends are all getting a game on the 360, then they're getting it on the 360 too, even if it's a worse game on that console. As long as that mentality is so prevalent in gaming culture, developers and publishers are going to continue releasing substandard products without suffering any negative consequences. 

Why Street Fighter X Tekken’s Tag Team?? Mode On Xbox 360 Is Lacking Local Co-op [Siliconera]

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The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Street Fighter X Tekken will be getting 12 additional fighters on July 31. Capcom was planning on releasing this DLC after the PS Vita version hit stores, but have moved up the date to coincide with a patch balancing update for the console ?versions.

The six characters from Street Fighter are Blanka, Cody, Dudley, Elena, Guy, and Sakura. The Tekken side will see Bryan Fury, Jack, Alisa, Lars, Lei, and Christie. The DLC will will cost you 1600 Microsoft Points/$20.00. However, PS3 owners of the game will get these 12 characters for free if they get Street Fighter X Tekken for the PlayStation Vita, w??hich comes out on October 2.

As for the patch content update, here's some of the changes you ?can expe??ct detailed during a panel at EVO earlier today:

Ryu, Ken and Akuma's Tatsumaki Sempuu kyaku ha???ve all had their hitboxes reduced in size

Rolento's jabs addressed!

Xiaoyu's crouching hard kick phoenix loops

Raven crouching HP loops

Auto-block gem has been re-balanced

There was a lot of fan outrage earlier this year due to these characters being "disc locked conte?nt" as opposed to actual downloadable content. Capcom's Community Manager Brett Elston didn't shy away from the issue in the Capcom-Unity posting, stating that "the dev teams are listening, and promise to incorporate [fa??n] feedback into future titles - fighting or otherwise."

12 DL??C fighters coming to SFxT on July 31, balance patch included [Capcom-Unity]

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We knew that a Vita version of Street Fighter x Tekken was definitely possible after seeing Capcom's work on Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, but?? how well will the two versions work together in cro?ss play?

Beautifully. Well, at least on the same network. I went hands-on with both the Vita and PS3 versions to test it out, and from what I could tell??, the action was perfectly synced. Playing the Vita version, I held it up in front of the television displaying the PS3 session for a bit and noticed no difference; it was a frame-to-frame match. Throws, supers, cancels -- everything perfectly mirrored. If it works this well online, over both WiFi and 3G (and yes, 3G online play is confirmed), Capcom will have set the bar high for console-to-portable cross play.

There's another benefit to nabbing the Vita version of Street Fighter x Tekken beyond the cross play features. The 12 new chara??cters in the portable version w?ill carry over to the console version, unlocking them for play. And, in turn, all DLC will also carry over. 

We look forward to putting the cross play features of Street Fighter x Tekken to the test when it drops this fall.

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We've all had a hearty laugh at Street Fighter X Tekken's take on the Blue Bomber -- part homage and part caricature. For better or worse, people will be talking about fat, middle-aged Mega Man for years to come. Still, how exactly did the artists settle on such a bizarre l??ook for one of gaming's most noticeable icons?

When Inafune still worked at Capcom, he suggested a more "unique" look for Mega's inclusion in SFxT. The artists submitted various concepts, many (or perhaps all) of which were collected in Street Fighter X Tekken Artworks, a book available in Japan. In that massive to??me, we learn that not only did Mega go through a few wardrobe changes, he also got aged up and down numerous times.

In the photos below, we see variations of Mega's gold-blue costume as well as one modeled more after his traditional outfit. There's also a "bad box art" design that looks more like X in gold armor. T?hen there are the teenage designs, including one that turns his armor into a hoodie. To top it all off, Roll underwent a few revisions as well.

It's amazing how wildly different things c?ould have turned out. Is there any design among these that you would have preferred?

The Making of an Old Man [The Mega Man Network]

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With Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, the PlayStation Vita proved itself as an ideal portable platform for fighting game ports. Capcom is back again with another portable fighter, Street Fighter X Tekken, set to release later this year. At a press conference last week, Yos??hinori Ono and game producer Tomoaki Ayano gave us a rundown of SFxT's new features

Capcom would like you to know that this isn't just a quick port, and that they're doing their best to add Vita-specific features. There's already support for the touchscreen and rear touch panel, letting you do things like set hot buttons f?or the front surface, or flick the back screen to switch characters. We saw a demonstration that lets players fully customize characters using the touch screen to scroll through colors, and shaking the Vita randomizes parameters.

Capcom says that they're not done with the game yet, and are open to adding more features that will use the to??uch panels and cameras. Capcom is already looking at using the Vita's digital compass, and Near functionality, and may try something with augmented reality in the future. Stay tuned. 

The big news with the Vita version of Street Figher x Tekken is that 12 new characters have been added to the line-up, and that connecting this Vita verson to the PS3 will unlock the new characters in the console version. These unlocked characters can even be used in PS3-to-PS3 battles, making the Vita version of the game work as a sort of expansion key. The 12 added characters are as follows: Blanka, Cody, Dudley, Elena, Guy, and Sakura from the Street Fighter side, and Alisa, Bosconovitch, Bryan Fury, Christie Monteiro, Jack, Lars Alexandersson and Lei Wulong from the Tekken side.

Vita-to-PS3 connectivity goes beyond characters, as game saves and customized data can be transferred via a data link. All DLC purchased on the PS3 can be ?used on the Vita version, and vice versa.

Worldwide cross-platform play is supported over two Vitas, or a Vita and a PS3, with full support over 3G or Wifi connect?ions. We saw a real-time demonstration of local play between a Vita and PS3, with the action perfectly matched between the two systems. The systems never fell out of synchronization, and the action was equally smooth on both platforms. If the same tight synchronization is available over online battles, gamers will be impressed. 

Much like UMvC3, the Street Fighter x Tekken portable port is very impressive, being almost a perfect match to its console counterpart. All of the action, animation and framerate ar?e there, with a side-by-side PS?3 and Vita demonstration proving that. I was also able to play a few Vita vs.Vita matches with other attending press members, trying out new characters like Blanka, Sakura, Elena and Dudley. Battles went off without a hitch during my sessions, with Vita game play holding up nicely to the console versions. 

Street Fighter x Tekken Vit??a will launch with the upcoming improvements for the con?sole game already installed. In the coming months the console version will see improved online experiences, tweaks to the infinite combo issues, and continued support for tournament play organization. Capcom has also acknowledged the online sound issues and are working on a patch to fix these. Expect to see a patch in early April. 

 Capcom says to expect more news on new modes, features and content to be revealed leading up to the fall 2012 release date of Street Fighter x Tekken.

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A new patch has just hit Street Fighter x Tekken, and it addresses some recent community concerns. Fixes that are on the table are online sound sync issues, and the new ability to change gems at the character selection screen. Unfort?unately, many SRK community members are reporting that w?hile they have less sound issues playing online, they're experiencing more lag.

Ono has stated this consequence previously, noting that sound issue??s for less stable connections are a tradeoff for less overall lag online. Why can't we have both, Capcom? Likewise, why are you announcing 10 pieces of paid DLC for Operation Raccoon City when you know the game has numerous issues that need to be patched? Hopefully Capcom can attend to the needs of the community, as Skullgirls is on the way and is poised to steal some ??of their potential? DLC customers.

With that bit out information out of the way, you guys are free to discuss on-disc DLC and timed exclusives.

Street Fighter x Tekken Tournament Patch Now Av?ailable [Shoryuken]

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The Street Fighter x Tekken DLC saga continues. Capcom has responded to fan rage (in this case, rage directed at? the Better Business Bureau), and has outright said "There is effectively no distinction between the DLC being 'locked' behind the disc and available for unlocking at a later date."

I hate to break it to you Capcom, bu??t?? regardless of how pragmatic you think the system is, your paying customers seem to think otherwise. The lovely takeaway from this statement is that they're going to continue doing it -- further alienating more potential customers.

As Holmes already pointed out in a fairly large news piece near launch, on-disc DLC is clearly pissing off a lot of fans. To me, the absolute worst part is that hackers have not only been unlocking the content and playing with it while paying customers twiddle their thumbs in anticipation, but they've been playing these characters online. Whatever side of the fence you're on, this entire thing is a complete mess for Capcom, and has taken Namco's on-disc scandals to a whole new level.

Capcom Responds To BBB Complaints [Gaming Blend] - Art by ima

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Capcom has announced their pricing plans for Street Fighter X Tekken's DLC, and it's hard to say how fans are going to take it. The good news is, a lot of the DLC will be free (including a bunch of new gems, some pre-set combos, additional palate swaps, a patch to get rid of many of the game's infinites, and more). On the other end of the spectrum you have the new "swap costumes" which outfit the Street Fighter side of the roster like Tekken fighters, and vice versa. Swap costumes are $1 a piece, or you can deck out the whole Street Fighter (or Tekken) team in swaps for $13. My second grade math skills indicate that it'lll cost $26 minimum to get every swap costume. That's about the same price as Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom, an entire (and arguably bett??er) Vs. fighting game.

The 12 "new" characters (including Elena, Alisa, Guy, Cody, and many others) are a little more reasonably priced. You can grab them all for $20. That's more content-per-buck than the 4 characters and handful of modes that made up the Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition DLC (which cost $14.99). Still, the fact that most of this content is already on-disc is sure to sour the deal for many of you. No word on if Pac-Man and Mega Man (two other characters already found locked away on the 360 edition of the game) will ever be officially released ?on that console. They may remain PS3/PS Vita exclusives, at least "officially".

Speaking of the PS Vita, it sounds like all 12 of those DLC characters will be unlocked on the PS Vita version from the start for no additional cost. Including the 5 PS3/PS Vita exclusive characters, that gives  SFxT&nb??sp;on the Vita 17 more characters than the pre-DLC version of the "same" game on the 360. 

Does that have you leaning towards picking up the game on the Vita? If not, do you plan on getting all $46 dollars worth of SFxT DLC on consoles, or would you rather save that money to buy another game or two? Do you think Capcom should have made all this content free, or do you think people will gladly lay down their dough to get a whiff of?? these sweet, on-disc DLC cookies?

New costumes, gems, patches and more coming ?to Street Fighter X ??Tekken [Capcom-Unity]

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If you were wondering why only the Xbox 360 version of Street Fighter X Tekken is missing the four-player cooperative mode (2 local players online vs 2 local players), Capcom's Tomoyaki Ayano has an answer for you. 

Unfortunately, due to time and resource issues, we weren’t able to get that feature into the Xbox 360 version and we apologize to those players who were looking forward to it. ?Throughout the development process, there are times when new features are added (and we added a lot of them!) and there are also times where we have to make tough decisions regarding things to cut. This was one of those times.

The PS3 version has this mode; Ayano says that they found the architecture of the PS3 to be "more conducive to i?mplementing it." I'd bet that pisses some people off. 

Ayano teases that they'll have more information on new updates for SFxT soon, so stay tuned. Maybe a fix?

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The official word from Capcom has come down regarding the recent hack and subsequent Internet explosion of Street Fighter X Tekken's 14 DLC characters, which have been exposed as being actual on-disc content. First is the news that Mega Man and Pac-Man, the PS3 "exclusive" characters, will be made available to owners of that console on M??arch 13th, one week after the game's initial release. No word on if (and for what price) those two characters will be making it to the Xbox 360, but seeing as they're both already on the 360 game's disc, chances are they'll be officially unlocked by Capcom at some point. The question still remains as to whether they will charge 360 owners for thos?e unlock codes (but we'll get to that later).

Capcom has also given their official statement on the release of the other 12 DLC characters. Word has it? they will make their debut on the PS Vita, then will be made available via unlock code on PC/PS3/360 this fall. No pricing has been announced on the DLC, which is a good thi??ng. It says to me that Capcom still may be able to avoid a huge PR crisis surrounding this content.

The only way for Capcom to come out on top of this PR ?nightmare is to treat users on the PS3 and the 360 equally. You can sometimes get away with doing on-disc DLC. You can occasionally scrape by with releasing content that's free on one console and for a fee on another. There is no way you can do both, unless your goal is make hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of "fans" hate your guts.

It's tough to elaborate on this topic, not because it's complicated, but because it's so incredibly simple that I'm having trouble summoning up the words to further break it down. It's like trying to explain just how blue an entirely blue square is. It's just... entirely blue. Likewise, it's just an entirely bad idea to make Xbox 360 owners feel like you're singling them out and ripping them off by charging them for content that's already on a physical media disc that they have already purchased and giving the owners of another console access to?? the same content for free. 

It starts with the Mega Man and Pac-Man DLC. PS3 owners are definitely getting those unlock codes for free. Maybe Xbox 360 owners won't get them at all. Capcom may reveal that Sony paid good money for these two company mascots to be Sony exclusives (like they presumably did with Cole, Toro, and Kuro) and that they were left on the Xbox 360 version's code by accident. That will piss off a lot of people, but it will be easy for the more rational Capcom fans out there to write it off as a busin?ess thing and move on. They could say that it's "legally impossible to ever offer that content anywhere other than Sony consoles." Even if that's not true, it would sure sound convincing, and no one outside of WikiLeaks or some other super sleuth would have an easy time prov?ing that they were lying.

On the other hand, if Capcom decides to charge for those characters on the Xbox 360 while PS3 owners get them for free, then there is really no wiggling out of it. It wouldn't work to say that Sony paid them to make the characters free on the PS3 any more than it would work for a parent ?to say that they "had" to save one of their ch??ildren over another from being eaten by rabid wolves because they knew more knock knock jokes. They didn't "have" to. They wanted to, probably because they like knock knock jokes. I think, in that scenario, the kid who now has rabies because he only told sucky knock knock jokes is going to be pretty bitter and not as likely to trust his parents again.

Similarly, there is no way Capcom could claim that they "had" to charge Xbox 360 owners for content that PS3 owners got for free, especially seeing as that content is already on the disc that the 360 owners paid for. Knowing that it would be that easy for Capcom to just give 360 owners what they're giving everyone else would be a true slap in the face, one that I'm not sure they could ever take back. It would show that Capcom was once again willing to c?hoose money (in this case, Sony's money) over the fair treatment of their fans.

If someone is paid to treat you worse than they treat other people, it still feels personal. It's still favoritism, even if it was bought. There is no reason why Xbox 360 owne??rs would be inclined to tolerate being treated that way.

It will be ten times worse if the remaining 12 DLC characters are free to PS3 owners but made available at a cost to Xbox 360 owners. Making them free on the PS Vita is something that Capcom might be able to rationalize. They did give away Super Street Fighter 4's DLC costumes on the 3DS port of the game with minimal fan outcry. Still, I have a feeling that console owners in general won't be too ?pleased with Capcom if 12 whole characters are given away free of charge to PS Vita owners while they have to pay for the same content. 

On-disc DLC is already such a touchy subject. While Capcom has done well to explain it? away in the past by claiming that, even though DLC is on disc, it has a separate budget and therefore requires a separate price tag. I'm just not sure if that rationale holds up when owners of select consoles get that same "separately budgeted" content for free. Combine that highly sensitive subject with already highly divisive, inherently alienating concept of "console exclusivity," and you have a situation that's way more of a problem than a little payola from Sony could ever be worth.

Or am I missing something?

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In case you hadn’t heard, there are two crossover games in the mix for fans of Street Fighter and Tekken. Both will use a different engine and feature a host of Capcom and Namco characters from either icon??ic franchise.

This month’s flavor is Street Fighter X Tekken (that’s “Street Fighter first!”) -- a game that utilizes a modified version of Street Fighter IV’s engine. As a fan who’s longed over a decade for a Rolento and Yoshimitsu dream team, I was prepared to put this crossover to ??the test.

Street Fighter X Tekken (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 [Reviewed])
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Released: March 6, 2012 (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) / May 11, 2012 (PC)
MSRP: $59.99

With all crossover fighters, the developers need to find a reason to get everyone in the mood to beat each other’s faces in. The crux of the game revolves around a powerful mysterious artifact called the “Pandora Cube.” Long story short, Pandora has crash landed on Earth after traveling through space on a meteor, and due to the power it holds, pretty much every fighter on Earth wants a piece of it. At the center of this mystic arms race are ??M. Bison’s Shadaloo organiza?tion and the Mishima Zaibatsu, which are vying for control and/or world domination.

But none of that really matters in the grand scheme of things, because all of this story really only plays out during the game’s Arcade Mode. If you’re expecting something fully fleshed out, I’d look elsewhere -- orig??inal content in Arcade Mode is extremely light.

Essentially, after picking select partnerships, you get a generic moving artwork opening video -- one that only initializes for certain themed teams and characters -- that often doesn't have much meat to it other than "these heroes decided to team up." Once you're in the thick of things, you fight a handful of other teams with little to no explanation, one rival team (sometimes with no indication of why they're "rivals"), and a fi??nal boss.

After everything is said and done, the only consolation you get at the end is another vague cutscene, or a black screen with two paragraphs of text, vaguely explaining what happens to the first character you picked after the final boss fight. As for the bosses themselves, don’t expect any epic Marvel vs. Capcom Onslaught-esque encounters -- they’re j??ust st??andard characters that are available at the start of the game.

Most of these endings are extremely unsatisfactory (such as “Rolento further dreams of a militant state”), and don’t even come close to Street Fighter IV’s robust character-specific anime cutscenes. While this mode won’t last you long, fans may find some solace in the fact that a second player can join in on the fun via co-op (not online though on the Xbox 360), given the tag nature of the title. In regards to the stages, there are only e?leven of them, and most have a number of cameos, ranging from Mecha Zangief to Kunimitsu.

Mechanics wise, SFxT uses the standard Street Fighter six-button system (low, medium, and high punches and kicks). Rounds themselves are won just like Tekken Tag Tournament: if either partner has t??heir health reduced to zero at any point during the round, it's over.

This creates a more strategic pull in terms of combat; you have to be deliberate with pretty much every switch you initiate. Due to pressure of one punishing combo losing a round for both characters, there are a number of saf??e ways to switch (or tag) out partners, and some special tag moves involving both fighters.

The roster of characters is the biggest yet for a Street Fighter game, and most of the Street Fighter characters play similar to how they do in Street Fighter IV. In fact, my personal favorite, Rolento -- who hasn’t made an appearance since Capcom vs. SNK 2 -- handles very much the same as he always has in the Alpha series. 

As for the Tekken characters, they translate fairly well to 2D combat. Most of their moves are intact, but are obviously changed to suit the game's six-button system, and hadouken/shoryuken input methods. If you're a fan of technical Tekken fighting, though, you may be somewhat disappointed to see your favorite character simplified. For instance, Raven goes from nearly a hundred different moves/combos to a paltry few.

The engine itself is a Street Fighter-oriented joint -- specifically, it’s a refined version of SF IV’s engine. EX moves? return, as do Supers and a Super Meter (now called a Cross Gauge). Characters have one "Super Charge" move, which allows you ??to “charge” a single specific ability by holding down the attack button. For instance, you can hold down a punch button to power Ryu’s hadouken into an EX, then a shinkuu hadouken super.

Tag teams have their own host of special moves and abilities. There’s the Cross Cancel, which allows you to cancel a block into a launcher that safely switches your characters and initiates a combo. The Switch cancel can be used to switch characters in mid combo. Cross Arts are essentially “double supers,” and are reminiscent of Marvel vs. Capcom’s team supers.

The Cross Assault ability, which is similar to the Alpha Series' V-ism, allows players to use their entire Cross Gauge to send out both fighters for a limited time. This can be particularly deadly in co-op fights, as e??ach player can control their fighters during this limite??d period. In addition to these new moves, there’s also the biggest new mechanic of all: Pandora Mode.

Pandora Mode, simply put, partially reminds me of Guilty Gear’s “instant Kill” mechanic mixed with Marvel vs. Capcom 3’s ?X-Factor. After your character has reached 25% or less health during a fight, you can sacrifice them to super-charge your partner. At that point, you have about eight seconds (it feels like less!) to finish your opponent with an infinite meter -- otherwise, you in??stantly lose the round.

How this will end up playing out within the competitive community will be interesting to watch, as I can easily see how the ??mechanic can both be abused and easily c?ountered (by running slow launchers, OTG combos and switching carefully). Beyond this drastic new addition, there is an entirely new, out-of-combat Gem mechanic.

At first, the Gem System sounded like something out of Marvel Super Heroes. But in actuality, they bring back heavy memories of Alpha 3’s RPG-like abilities that you can equip in certain modes. Before battle, the player is allowed to outfit characters with up to three gems. Boost Gems  activate under set conditions (such as blocked attacks). Oth?ers, titled Assist Gems, instantly activate at the start of the battle, but decrease other ??statistics.

Nothing so far seems game-breaking, and the system allows you to play to your strengths. In fact, the whole gem system seems confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's not so bad. All you have to do is equip your favorite characters with a setup that you are familiar with and then play the way you want? to. There are a few rookie-oriented changes, however, that may have hardcore fans on guard. First off, there are no "double hadouken" inputs for any moves whatsoever. In other words, all moves have been simplified, and in some cases, have been streamlined or eliminated.

Capcom also installed an easy combo system called “Boost combos” (essentially lifted from Guilty Gear's Gatling Combinations), that allow easy combo strings from Low to High. What's m??ore, the game makes use of a Quick co??mbo system, which allows you to queue up small combos before battle, and map them to one customizable button. To help balance this seemingly broken mechanic, it does cost a bar of Cross Gauge to initiate.

While these changes seem alarming at first, I think they are a step in the right direction when it comes to easing people into the genre. Capcom has been musing with a way to incorporate new players for decades, with mechanics like the “Easy Operation” (EO) system in Capcom vs. SNK 2’s GameCube and Xbox editions, but all they really did was fragment different versions of the game. ?For instance, if a player became adept at EO, they couldn’t play it in the arcade, Dreamcast, or PS2 version because their play style wouldn’t translate.

Street Fighter X Tekken is basically an amalgamation of various mechanics from a number of different fighting games -- thankfully, it all gels. When you think about it, things like Boost Combos and the Quick Combo system are hard-built into every version of SFxT -- every player has an equal opportunity to use o?r ignore these features without fragmentation. The fact that Quick Co?mbos cost a segment of Cross Gauge is a good move to help balance the system, as veterans will have more access to better abilities and can just perform combos using their own skill.

But what good would all these mechanics be without a host of modes to play them in? Like Tekken Tag before it, SFxT features a “2v2” mode, where a team of two players faces off against another player-controlled team. If you’re really not keen on waiting, you can also tackle the game’s Scramble mode, built for four players at the same time. This is particularly reminiscent of a mode found in the long lost Street Fighter stepchild series EX.?? While it isn't the most competitive mode ever made, its an absolute blast to play with three other friends who just want??ed to waste the afternoon away.

On top of the aforementioned user-friendly mechanics, novice fighters will also feel right at home with Street Fighter X Tekken’s modes. There's a standard training mode, but the game also features an all encompassing tutorial (with fan-favorite Dan) and a character-specific trial mode (like Street Fighter IV), allowing y??ou to pick up the gam??e more quickly than most fighting titles.

Then there's replay mode, where new users can study top players an??d emulate their tactics (or vets can just plain show off), and a Mission Mode, which allows you to tackle a number of different challenges with any character. Strangely, there’s also an online co-op training gametype -- a really welcome addition. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to hang out with someone and shoot the breeze while learning a few new combos. I think this will help the online community overall, as it eases the learning curve when you have someone who’s able to easily explain mechanics to you explicitly in ways that a CPU is unable to.

Moving past the host of modes available, there’s a decent amount of customization options, like being able to change your character’s color scheme online player title. The costume-coloring system isn't fully featured, meaning you aren't allowed to drastical?ly alter the character’s wardrobe (that will probably be reserved for DLC costumes).

Outside of the interesting online modes themselves, the?? netcode is sufficient. Other than some extended loading times before fights, I had no issues in any ranked or unranked fights. Matchmaking was also pretty quick to find other fighters.

In the interest of transparency, I should also note that the only available version for testing was the Xbox 360 version, which precludes us from commenting on the PS3 exclusive Pac-Man, Mega Man, Cole, Kuro, and Toro characters. It’s also important to note that the Vita version will be shipping later this year with the additional roster of Guy, Christie, Cody, Lei, Sakura, A??lisa, Blanka, Lars, Dudley, Jack, Elena, and Bryan.

We'll be reviewing the Vita version later this year, but according to Capcom, the Vita characters will come to other versions as DLC. Exactly what that time frame is remains unknown. What is known, however, is that with the information Capcom provided us, they state that Street Fighter X Tekken is the only disc-based product you'll need to own, and all future u?pdates will arrive via DLC -- good news for people who are worrying about multiple SKU fragmentation.

It’s hard to tell whether or not Street Fighter X Tekken will blow up like Street Fighter IV did with the competitive community (probably not), but given how good it is, I hope it does. Despite the lack of story options, there’s plenty of solid gameplay to be had here, and the online features are going to keep people playing for quite a while. Namco has its work cut out for them with Tekken X Street Fighter.

The post Review: Street Fighter X Tekken appeared first on Destructoid.

This year marks the Street Fighter franchise's 25th anniversary. Capcom has several plans for this grand celebration, not the least which is the upcoming Street Fighter X Tekken. Another plan is a team-up with toy maker Multiverse Studio to add Street Fighter characters to the Bobble Budds figurine line.

Capcom previously tapped Multiverse to make Bobble Budds of a pair of Servbots from Mega Man Legends, and now a whole army of Street Fighter wobble-headed reps will appear beginning in?? April. First up are Blanka, C??hun-Li, Ryu, and Sagat, with more appearing at later dates.

If you check out the Bobble Budds Facebook page, you'll also learn that Budds of Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono and Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada will be made available to those who pre-oder Street Fighter X Tekken. I kinda w??ant those more than the game characters!

Street Fighter Bobble Budds turn gaming pugilists m??ini [Tomopop]
SFxT - Ono & Harada Bobbles! [Facebook]

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If there's one thing next month's Street Fighter X Tekken is trying to be, it's accessible. Besides?? combining one of the deepest fighting game casts -- since Capcom dabbled with the SNK crew -- the dream fighter is throwing in 4-player batt?le royals, a robust online package and enough customization options to satisfy even the finickiest of fans.

Amid the game's various customization options lies the Character Color Edit mode, which you can check out in our video preview above. While the mode is nowhere near as controversial (for now) as the Gem system or as in-depth as, say, SoulCalibur V's seemingly nev?er ending Cre?ate-A-Soul mode, it does offer up quite a few hilarious outcomes with its basic coloring choices.

So sit back and enjoy our video breakdown of Street Fighter X Tekken's color editor, or at the ??very least to catch a glimpse of some pasty white Cammy buttocks.

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A friend once told me he thought fighting games had cool characters. After he wiped the blood from his head, he quickly apologized to me and said, "Perhaps I should rethink that statement." Then miraculously, out of a nearby TV jumped Roger from Tekken, Voldo from SoulCalibur, and Rufus from Street Fighter. Though I wasn't surprised in the least, my friend stood perplexed as he watched Roger jump around adorably, Voldo slither on the floor and hiss in a homoerotic fash??ion, and Rufus consistently break wind while yelling PG-rated obscenities because, you know, he's American and we're all fat and obnoxious these days.

Just in case anyone couldn't tell by my facetious little anecdote, I'm not the biggest fan of the genre. From an outside perspective, most of it looks silly and doesn't seem to change much. So when the opportunity to preview Street Fighter X Tekken came up, ??I thought, "F*ck it, I'll step outside my comfort zone??." The result was a loud, bass-laden event, filled with sweaty geeks, free drinks, and lines of kiosks featuring a game I knew little to nothing about.

I had a mission with three objectives: one, find out why people liked Street Fighter X Tekken, two, figure out what I liked about it, and three, GTF??O.

Street Fighter X Tekken (PC, PlayStation 3 [previewed], PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360)
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Release: March 6, 2012

Something about competition and skill

After a few whiskey sours, my overwhelming anxiety amidst?? the crowd of warm, odorous bodies began to die down (yeah, I'm a freakin' mess at public events). I eventually snuck away from my fellow Dtoid peons and proceeded to watch people play the game then interview the losers as they gave up their spots.

After one particularly close game -- close enough to evoke a roar from onlookers -- I asked the loser, Daniel, about those moments after a defeat. "Sometimes you get a rush that, win or lose, you walk away from feeling pretty pumped," he told me. "Sometimes, though, it feels like your five-year girlfriend ??has just br?oken up with you ... leaving you with a broken heart."

Although I haven't dedicated much time to thi??s genre, I could see where Dan was coming from. These guys aren't button mashers. They've studied these games to the point where certain characters are like extensions of themselves. "You basically pick your pony and roll with it," Daniel added. "After enough practice, everything becomes second nature, and you focus more on th??e other player than yourself."

I've never really had anyone explain this genre's gameplay in that way before. Any gamer can understand what it's like to know a game so well that you don't even notice your own actions -- you just do things impulsively. I've gotten great at games that require a lot of time to attain that sort of intuition, which includes those "hell yes" moments upon victory. The appeal of Street Fighter X Tekken was starting to dawn on me.

A one-of-a-kind clash

At the same station, Daniel's victor had lost the subsequent m??????????????????????????atch. As the woman, Jessica, walked away with a bit of a satisfied grin, I asked her something I had asked Dan: What's the most attractive thing about these games? "Are you kidding?" she exclaimed. "Where else do I get the chance to b??eat the crap out of other guys?"

After I took a step back, I asked her to elaborate on her statement. "Fighting games don't have much in common with others," she continued. "I mean, other games sometimes have fighting gameplay, but they don't have the kind of depth or all-out aggression that games like Tekken have. ??I can't really find other games like these."

What Jessica said made perfect sense to me. Once you look at the medium as a whole, fighting games really are a standalone genre. It's easy to find minute similarities between other types of games, but ones like Street Fighter X Tekken are about as pure as they come. Fighting games haven't changed much and that's e?xactly their appeal -- no extra baggage that others have accumulated over the years.

This, to me, seems like a big a reason why these games have held on for so long. While other genres have slowly melded together into a lineup of little distinction, series like Street Fighter and Tekken have retained what made them appealing from the start. Because such an undiluted experience can't really be found elsewhere, fightin??g games have managed to retain a substantial fo??llowing.

Another point goes to Street Fighter X Tekken for appeal.

Eye gouging me with good looks

Street Fighter X Tekken's aesthetics are basically a throwback to the old sprite-based graphics of the genre's earlier years. Whenever other franchises try this approach, though, the results are usually either overly simple toon shading that looks boring or the exact same visual style from that genre's inception. Thankfully, this is not the case with Street Fighter X Tekken.

Sweet cinnamon-swirled Christ, this game is gorgeous. The textures on character models and backgrounds have a very painterly feel to them, breathing new life into a medium that's overloaded with technical trickery. Most other titles use straight power to cover up their shitty art, but this game lets the talent of its visual designers shine through. It's especially interesting to see the Tekken characters with such colorful personality -- at ??tim??es, Heihachi looks like a cute, huggable elder.

The slick art direction is?? greatly complimented by smooth animation as well as vibrant an??d striking particle effects. Fighters' moves connect with a sort of fluidity and flare that makes them actually seem like they're doing some damage. Ultra combos are presented in the type of exaggerated style only found in Japanese animation; some of them even got me laughing at how insane they were.

In this age, it's getting more difficult to dazzle people with visuals. Fortunately, Street Fighter X Tekken doesn't try to make the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 sweat via shaders and maps. It knows exactly what it's trying to be -- an insane rolle?r coaster of dropkicks and haymakers -- and doesn't pull any punches whatsoever, no pun intended. You are definitely going to anticipate every character's different moves, because each one is pure sex for the eyes.

Can someone lend me $60?

As a previewer, my job is to remain objective about each gaming experience and only deliver the facts. I'm not here to sell a game; I just state what I found interesting and worthy of keeping tabs on. But, son of a bitch, I've sort of already made up my mind about Street Fighter X Tekken.

After speaking with two more gamers following Jessica, it was my turn to play. I looked around to make sure no coworker or associates were watching, and then proceeded to have my own digital testicles handed to me. While losing is never a great feeling, I had a blast playing a genre that I haven't been into since the 90s. I found it particularly nice that certain moves from Ryu and Guile were just as I remembered from older days.

So I kind of want this game now. I'm flat broke, but I'm definitely going to try to pick it up some time after it hits the shelves. I have no doubt that most fighting fans out there have already decided to pre-order Street Fighter X Tekken, but those undecided folks who like fast gameplay, beautiful visuals, and crave an untainted old-school experience should definitely? be on the lookout for this title.

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Previously hinted at company mascots Pac-Man and Mega Man have been confirmed as PS3/PSV exclusive characters for Street Fighter X Tekken, joining Cole from inFamous, and Sony Japan mascots Toro and Kuro. Unless the 360 version of the game gets an all star group like The Prince of all Cosmos, Linn Kurasawa, Alan Wake, and Ilo and Milo as its own exclusive characters, then there is no way it's going to be able to compete (at least not for my money). Seeing as the game is coming out really soon, chances are slim that the 360 versions will be getting any exclusives at all. Microsoft has got to be feeli?ng pretty hosed right about now!

Another group who's already reportedly feeling hosed over this development is the Mega Man fan community. A lot of them are already saying that the fact that Capcom is choosing Bad Box Art Mega Man over all the other Mega Mans in the history of Mega Mans for this coveted position on SFxT's roster is a slap in the face, especially seeing as his in-game story closely matches the mythology of the Mega Man Legends universe.

As a 35 year old man and?? a Mega Man fan since 1988, I can say that I don't feel that way at all. Not only do I think that Bad Box Art Mega Man fits with this particular game much better than any other incarnation of the character, I also see this move as a brilliant form of self-mockery on Capcom's part. Read the rest of the post for an explanation of the logic on that.

First? Images of Pac-Man,?? Cover Art Mega Man Added to SFxT Site [Shoryuken]

Pac-Man and Mega Man are clearly meant to represent Namco and Capcom and their efforts to come together to create Street Fighter X Tekken. Pac-Man, riding a giant version of Tekken's Mokujin, represents Namco's current philosophy towards working to simultaneously appeal to fans of their classic arcade days (with titles like Galaga Legions and Pac-Man Championship Edition DX) and fans of their more modern offerings (like Tekken and Katamari) at the same time.

Bad Box Art Mega Man does something else entirely. The character is old and out of shape. His costume has clearly taken a beating over the years. It shows multiple signs of damage (just look at that messed up helmet!). T?his is a man who has been through a lot. He's seen better days. That's not going to stop him though.

Despite being a bit long in the tooth, he's still clearly trying to win over the beauty-and-youth obsessed Western market, just as he did on the box of the original Mega Man when it was first rel?eased in the United States. Man, he's not going to have an easy time of that, is he? Not with that face. Not with those clothes.

He has all the makings of a failure: a fat, funny looking goofball desperately trying to look cool in the eyes of American teenagers, and failing hard at that goal. Yet, there is a fire in his eyes that makes him a charmer. He's got the spirit and the determination that only comes from having true passion for your work. He may be making an ass of himself, but he's a genuine ass, and that's to be respected. How could he not be genuine? Nobody looks, acts, and dresses like that because they think it's going to help them get ahead in life. If you look like Bad Box Art Mega Man, it's because you want to look that way for you.

In short, Bad Box Art Mega Man is legit. People may make fun of him for not being as cool and sexy as Western super heroes and Japanese anime characters, but he isn't going to let that stop him from giving it everything he's got in his efforts to win both our hearts, and the Street Fighter X Tekken tournament. 

If that's not the best representation of modern day Capcom, I don't know what is. Kudos to Capcom for making such an unexpected and interesting creative decision by using this version of Mega Man to represent them in what may be one o??f their biggest games of 2012. They could have gone the safe, predictable route and just inc?luded the standard "Mega Man" in this game, the one who is proven to be a crowd-pleaser, the one who has already appeared in multiple crossover titles. Instead, they went ahead and did something that not only has me wanting to shake their hands, but play the crap out of their game. Mega Man and Poison are definitely going to be my mains.

Gr??eat job, Capcom. You've made at least one Mega Man ??fan very happy this day.

The post ??Man up! Pac-Man and Mega Man in?? Street Fighter X Tekken appeared first on Destructoid.

Crikey, Capcom wasn't pulling any punches with this trailer. The amount of character reveals here is bordering on goofy, and I'm loving it. Lather my body in hot goofs, Cap?com! Make ??it rain with steaming goofs!

First we have the full reveals of Law, Paul, Xiaoyu (Tekken), Juri, Vega and Balrog (Street Fighter). Then we have the partially obscured images near the end of the trailer. It's hard to say for sure, but my powers of deduction (and those of Eventhubs) have determined that we've most likely got Akuma, M. Bison (Street Fighter), Jin, and Ogre (Tekken) revealed amid that final strobe of images.

That's not all, though! The craziest reveal of the video comes at the very end, during a highlight of the PS Vita version of the game. That's where we get a look at two mysterious silhouettes. One looks like Pac-Man, and the other looks like a guy in a Mega Man suit. That could mean a new weird "realistic" Mega Man redesign, Frank West dressed as Mega Man, Bad Art Mega Man, a crazed, ready-to-punch-Seth-Killian-in-the-face-because-he-single-handedly-killed-Mega-Man cosplayer dressed as Mega Man, ?or any number of other things. 

I hope that it's a new character named "Mr. Neato" who looks exactly like Mega Man but is not the real Mega Man because he is in reality called "Mr. Neato."

Megaman and Pac-man?? hinted as Vita exclusive SFxT characters [Eventhubs]

The post ??Street Fighter?????????????????????????? X Tekken character reveal JACKPOT WAD appeared first on Destructoid.

Filling out the roster of Street Fighter X Tekken ever so slightly, we hav??e two more charact?ers on board: M. Bison and Ling Xiaoyu.

The above image was found on the game's Xbox Live Marketplace page, allowing us blogger types to relax knowing we won't have to come back an hour from now with an update nullifying the leak??.

These combatants are nothing to get too excited about, if you ask me, but perhaps?? we should wait to see how they perform ?in-game before forming a mob -- for or against. Oh, who am I kidding? It's the Internet way!

M. Bison and Ling Xiaoyu Portraits Revealed in SFxT Sc?reenshot [Shoryuken]

The post Screenshot confirms M.?? Bison and Xiaoyu for SF X Tekken appeared first on Destructoid.

Here on Destructoid, almost no one is talking about the two PS3/PS Vita exclusive cat characters in Street Fighter X Tekken. That's weird to me. Toro and Kuro are awesome. That's one of the many things I learned from the great Topher Cantler. Ah Topher, how we miss you.

Another thing I've learned over the years is that a lot of fightans will happily take a mob hit out on you if you cause anything to ??obscure their vision from footage of an unreleased fighting game. Toro and Kuro would do well to enter the witness pr??otection program sooner rather than later.

In-between the the costumed cat theatrics, you'll get a peek at how Toro and Kuro take it to the streets. Toro has clearly been taking some lessons from Ryu, while Kuro is more of Kazuya-ass man. Speaking of?? which, did I ever show you that wall scroll that Hamza sent me? It's got butts. 

Street Fighter x Tekken -- Toro VS Kuro Video [Andriasang]

The post Check out Sony’s cat mascots in Street Fighter X Tekken appeared first on Destructoid.

Wow! Chun-Li in a panda suit has to be one of the sexiest things I've seen in a video game in quite some time. Actually I'm kidding, but I will say Kuma rocking the R. Mika threads -- with that unnecessarily peculiar bulge -- is frankly, a little disturbing. A recent update to the official Street Fighter X Tekken Japanese website dropped a handful of new s?creen?s showing off some  amazing character costume swaps as well as a character customization editor for the upcoming tag team fighter.

The character creator is pretty straight forward -- allowing the ability to alter the colors of a character's hair, skin, clothes, and accessories. From the screen on the official website it doesn't look to be as in-depth as what is typically found in a Tekken game and reminds me more of the palette alterations that were present in some of the Street Fighter Alpha games. Still, being able to make your own unique variant??s is a nice touch for distinguishing oneself online.

The costume swaps on the other hand seem to raise the most questions. While some characters, such as Julia, are wearing the costumes of announced characters (in her case Chun-Li's iconic outfit) others, like Heihachi (such a badass Sodom), are dressed in the garbs of fighters not currentl?y in the gam??e.

Whether this is Capcom offering up clues for the next fighters to join the roster or just some further trolling  -- like the Mega Man X DLC for Zero in Ul?timate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 -- remains to be seen. One thing's for certain, these costum??es will be offered as DLC and not included on the disc.

So what does everyone think? Do you have a favorite costume swap?? and what characters would you like to see make the final cut? Myslef, I'm still hoping R. Mika is more than just Kuma fan service.

Character Customization and Swap Costumes [Capcom Japan via EventHubs]

The post Play as a Panda Chun-Li in Street?? Fighter X Tekken appeared first on Destructoid.

Earlier this week, Gematsu posted an interview with Street Fighter X Tekken producer Yoshinori Ono. Questions plucked from both the site's readers and NeoGAF were addressed, including the fear of a "Super" edition appearing soon after the game's release, the possibility of 360-exclusive characters to compensate for Sony's exclusives, and the chances of new Rival Schools or Darkstalkers games.

My Nintendo News tore through the BS and managed to boil down the interview to its base. It extracted the most eye-opening, most shocking bit of news from the article -- the reason behind the lack of any announcement regarding SFxT co?ming to either the 3DS or Wii U. Ono's response?

"There isn't any reason in particular actually."

What madness! Such gall!?? The nerve! Boycott, boycott, boycott!

Capcom Explains Why StreetFighter X T??ek?ken Isn’t Coming Out For Wii U And 3DS [My Nintendo News] ?(Thanks for the tip, Sh??adowboyT!)

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You know you want the Special Edition of Street Fighter X Tekken. No? Well, this fancy set was announced here at New? York Comic-Con. It contains:

• Street Fighter X Tekken, of course
• a Build-It-Yourself Arcade Cabinet Bank (not playable, LOL)
• an exclusive prequel Comic Book by UDON
• 36 Gems: Includes All Pre-Order Packs Plus An Exclusive Pack
• Pre-Order Bonus: Nine Exclusive Gems Only Available For Pre-Ordering SE
• Total of 45 Gems When You Pre-Order

Gems, dude! You'll get this all on th??e game's new release date, March 6, 20??12.

Are you getting the Special Edition?

The post NY?CC: Street Fighter X Tekken special edition detailed appeared first on Destructoid.

Yesterday at Capcom's New York Comic-Con panel for Street Fighter X Tekken, producer Yoshinori Ono unveiled the game's new Gem System. And I'll be straight with you: Some of the audience groaned. Some heckled. But the world of fighting games is l??ike that, isn't it?

The truly outrageous Gem system gives fighters power-ups that they can mix and match. You'll be able to choose from dozens of gems that modify abilities and stats. This lets you sort of cover your ass with perks -- it's like Materia (Final Fantasy VII) for your fighter! More groans? Those are my fault.

With this system you'll start out with a combination of Attack, Defense, Speed, Cross Gauge, and Assist gems. As you'd guess, having the Defense? gem on increases your fighter's defense stats. That's exactly what casua?l players like myself have been needing, and according to Ono, that is exactly the point of this new feature. He's working to bring this game to as many gamers as possible.

Other news tidbits came out of the event. First, a release date: March 6, 2012. Also, a PC version of Street Fighter X Tekken is being ?worked on. Finally, Street Fighter's Rufus has been added to the line-up.

Gems, huh? What do you think about t??his new system?

The post NYCC: Street Fighter X Tekken Gem system revealed appeared first on Destructoid.

[photo credits: fixelexif]

On October 4th, our good friends over at iPlayWinner and Southtown Arcade teamed up with Capcom to stream an "invite-only" NorCal Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 tournament. Many of the top players from the Bay Area gathered at San Francisco's premiere arcade to not only compete for prizes donated by Madcatz but also get their hands on the latest build of Capcom's other upcoming fighter, Street Fighter X Tekken.

After many great matches showcasing the power of Nemesis' one-frame Level 3 grab, how annoying Ghost Rider's jumping S can be, and some brilliant uses of Virgil's Level 1? O??uroburos in combos, coL.cc's Ryan "Filipino Champ" Ramirez showed that these players still have a lot to learn if they are going to beat his Dark Phoenix. But as Capcom's Seth Killian mentioned to me multiple times that night, "Just wait till you see Phoenix Wright...."

For some more coverage of this event, read on!

Southtown Arcade is a growing arcade tucked away in downtown San Francisco, and it's starting to be the hub of the city's fighting game community. The owners of the arcade aren't in it for the money -- like many of us, they miss the arcade days of the past. Therefore, this location was the perfect place to hold this Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 invitational.

It was really amazing to watch these professional fighting game players, some who had never played the game before, pick up the new characters. Dacidbro, a competitive BlazBlue player in his own right, picked up playing Virgil that night. Before long, he wa??s fully utilizing Virgil's quick teleport to initiate some crazy mixups. Two other characters that impressed me were Hawkeye and Captain America. Hawkeye's instant Level 1 Hyper Arrow was fast enough to catch Dark Pheonix right after her transformation, earning that player his win. As far as the Captain is concerned, many people were starting to utilize his new ?off-the-ground Shield Slash to extend his already powerful combos.

Check out this awesome match between? Dacidbro and X-Ray, one of the top ei??ght finishers at EVO 2011, to see how amazing Virgil can be!

Not only did Capcom bring Ultimate MvC3 to Southtown Arcade, but during the tournament, there were also two demo units of Street Fighter X Tekken. I've had some time with this game already, but it was great to pick it up and play against some high-level fighting gamers. The attitude for this game was pretty mixed amongst the competitors. Some players picked up the game fairly quickly, using Tag cancels to extend their juggle combos. Others took a while to warm up to the game. Filipino Champ, a seasoned Dhalsim player in Street Fighter IV, noticed that most of Dhalsim'?s normals are completely different and will re?quire extensive adjusting if he wants to maintain his previous strategy.

All in all, this was an awesome event that shows how close Capco??m seems to be with its fighting game community fans. Special thanks goes out to Southtown Arcade for hosting the event, Capcom for bringing the games for us to play, and iPlayWinner for inviting me along!

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There was a time when I was sure that the PS Vita would be my console of choice for Street Fighter X Tekken. The game looked exactly the same on the portable, plus it had an exclusive character. Sure, I don't give a rat's ass about inFamous, but Cole looks a lot more fun in Street Fighter X Tekken than he does in his own games, and beside??s, the more characters the better, right??

Now that I've got??ten another look at the game on the Vita, I'm not so sure. The game looks noticeably slower on the handheld. The graphics are also looking a little crappier, but that very well may be Yo??utube's fault. 

All in all, I remain optimistic, but ultimately undecided on the PS Vita port of the game. If the PS3 or 360 versions get their own exclusive characters, and those characters are Parappa the Rapper and Ms. 'Splosion Man, then I'm going to have to go with one of those two instead. I'm still hoping for a Pikachu infused 3DS version of the game as wel??l as well. Unlikely, but still worth wanti?ng.

Either way, I just hope they do something about that slowness. If Capcom needs to remove the character animations from backgrounds like they did with Super Street Fighter 4 on the 3DS in order to get things up to speed on the Vita, I'd be totally fine with it. How about you? How are you feeling about Street Fighter X Tekken on the Vita?

The post Check out Cole’s beefy ways in Street Fighter X Tekken appeared first on Destructoid.

Well here's a nice surprise! While I was looking for assets for Street Fighter X Tekken I came across a folder full of delicious artwork based on each character that's been revealed so far in the u??pcoming fighter. Even art for Rolento, Lili, Zangief and Heihachi, who were all revealed as playable characters at Tokyo Game Show this week.

Enjoy!

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