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Shenmue Anniversary Celebration
From 1up.com

Technically, it's not Shenmue's 10th anniversary. That was about a month ago in the U.S., and a year before that in Japan. But thanks to a new mobile game overseas, and a long-in-the-works Yu Suzuki interview coming together from former 1UP editor in chief/current Q Entertainment producer/guest 1UP interviewer James Mielke, we figured it was close enough. So for this week, we fudged the dates to celebrate the kind-of anniversary of one of Sega's most ambitious games, as well as the career of creator Yu Suzuki, who's been out of the spotlight since Shenmue II shipped.

1up.com:
» Shenmue Cover Story
» Shenmue World Preview
» The Disappearance of Yu Suzuki - Part 1
» The Disappearance of Yu Suzuki - Part 2
» The Yu Suzuki Resume
» Win Signed Games

» Discussion

VF5 Now Available On Demand in XBOX Marketplace

Virtua Fighter 5 is now available under Games under Demand in the XBOX Marketplace. Its retailing at a super low $19.99 USD. If you're the type (like me) who never takes their VF5 disc out of their console (ever), then this is a great convenience!

Check your local XBOX Marketplace as availability and prices may vary.

» Discuss VF5 On Demand

Three New Star Players!
The third season of Battle Auditions is currently underway in Japan, and Sega has announced a trio of new star players, joining the 13 that are already part of the staff.

The three new Star Players are Morimoto Leotard (Vanessa), Drum's Ko (Akira) and Joseph (Akira), all of whom won their respective Battle Audition tournaments to earn their star player status. In future Kumite events, these players may show up as representatives of Sega, so be on the look out for them!

Final Showdown Revision 1 Out Now
The first update to Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown is now available across Japan.

...Yeah, that's it!

For a full list of specific character changes, check the ongoing discussion thread on our forums.

» Final Showdown Revision 1 Changes

The 13th P-CUP Results
Last weekend saw the running of the 13th P-Cup (Popy Cup) 5-on-5 tournament at the Niigata POPY Game Center in Japan.

A total of 42 teams (that's 210 players) battled for the title. The winning team 1Q82 (shown pictured) consisted of Gorgeous (EI), Jin (KA), Sasaki (JA), Yuutenji (LA) and Itoshun (BR).

The tournament was also streamed live, but if you were unfortunate to miss out, or would like to watch it again, check out the following links for the stream archives:

Movie 1 | Movie 2 | Movie 3 | Movie 4 | Movie 5 | Movie 6 | Movie 7

Some fantastic photos of the event are also available on Ohsu Akira's blog in his 2010 Niigata POPY Cup Tournament article.

Links
» Discuss the 13th P-Cup
» Niigata POPY website

Final Showdown Revision 1 Update
Starting today, the first update to Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown will be on test at Ikebukero GIGO, Club Sega Shinjuku West Exit and Club Sega Akihabara. Players won't have to worry about their cards either as you'll be able to play both games without having to update your data.

Game System Changes
* Multi-throw escape will most likely be removed, as the way throw escapes are calculated will be changed.
* When characters are hit while crouching, the hit stun / effectiveness of the hit will be made more consistent.
* For moves that are half circular, the direction of the rotation will be changed.
* The timing to avoid certain attacks with defensive move will be changed.
* The hit stun / effectiveness of certain attacks that hit during a backdash will be changed.
* Aoi's win item command will be fixed, as it was not correct in the original version of FS.

For a full list of specific character changes, check the ongoing discussion thread on our forums.

» Final Showdown Revision 1 Changes

BAM: Battle Arena Melbourne
Australian VF5 Championship

BAM returns with Virtua Fighter 5 as an official tournament title!

Hosted by Couchwarriors BAM is stepping up in its second year with an amazing new venue and a feature focus on all tournament titles with multiple projected screens, recording and stream.

Australian VF players must not miss this - hit the BAM website to book your spot in the tournament and support the game! Players of all skill levels are welcome and casual play will be available.

PRIZES
As an official tournament Virtua Fighter 5 players are vying for a championship trophy and cash prize pool. Extra prizes for the Virtua Fighter tournament have been provided again by SEGA Australia in the form of games, merchandise and more. MADMAN ENTERTAINMENT are also BAM sponsors and each tournament will receive a share of DVD/Blu-Ray prize support.

Follow the links below for more information!

» BAM: Battle Arena Melbourne: Aus VF Champs Oct 2-3
» Official BAM website
» Blast from the past: BAM 2009 Photos

Tougeki 2010 VF5FS Results

This past weekend saw the 8th Arcadia Cup Tournament held in conjunction with the Tokyo Game Show.

The results of the Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown 3-on-3 team tournament are:

1st: Serori (Kage) / Morimoto Leotard (Vanessa) / Hiragana de aoki (Jacky)
2nd: Hirayaman (Shun) / Kurobo (Lau) / Jaga (Goh)
3rd (tie): Gorgeous (Eileen) / Joseph (Akira) / Yuutenji (Lau)
3rd (tie): Baidaaman (Kage) / Itoshun (Brad) / Itabashi Zangief (Shun)

Videos
SBO 2010 Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown Best 4 Part 1
Baidaaman (Kage) / Itoshun (Brad) / Itabashi Zangief (Shun) vs Hirayaman (Shun) / Kurobo (Lau) / Jaga (Goh)

SBO 2010 Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown Best 4 Part 2
Serori (Kage) / Morimoto Leotard (Vanessa) / Hiragana Deaoki (Jacky) vs Yuutenji (Lau) / Joseph (Akira) / Gorgeous (Eileen)

SBO 2010 Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown Best 4 Part 3
Serori (Kage) / Morimoto Leotard (Vanessa) / Hiragana Deaoki (Jacky) vs Hirayaman (Shun) / Kurobo (Lau) / Jaga (Goh)

» See these and more in the Tougeki 2010 VF5FS Videos thread.

Final Showdown Trademark Registered for Consoles

Originally posted by Hayama Akito at SRK, according to Game Nyarth it appears that SEGA have registered the trademark FINAL SHOWDOWN for consoles:

2010-056172 FINAL SHOWDOWN

Is this a sign that Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown is, finally, heading to consoles? Or, is this a totally new IP which coincidentally shares the same name as the latest VF5 release? Will there be further news at the upcoming Tokyo Game Show?

Time will only tell...

» Discuss Final Showdown Trademark Registered for Consoles

Central 8 August Tourney Vids

Central 8 in Hachioji, Tokyo recently held their first Final Showdown tournament and uploaded the footage to Nico Douga. The arcade just started uploading tournament footage online, so have a looksie! According to official webpage, they didn't really advertise the tournament, but managed to get 20 entries.

On a side note, thanks to Myke, we're now able to embed Nico Nico Douga videos on the forum, so even if you don't have an account on that site you can still enjoy their content!

Part 1
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://ext.nicovideo.jp/thumb_watch/sm11990096?w=490&h=307"></script><noscript>test</noscript>

Part 2
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://ext.nicovideo.jp/thumb_watch/sm11990301?w=490&h=307"></script><noscript>test</noscript>

Part 3
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://ext.nicovideo.jp/thumb_watch/sm11990446?w=490&h=307"></script><noscript>test</noscript>