Well, that's an extreme way to put it since most people can't possibly afford 1000 USD for a video game, but I get your point and totally agree.

I will buy this DLC to support Virtua Fighter. The hype is real, and tomorrow will be a remarkable day one VF history.

and yes: I hope they release new DLC skins like Virtua Fighter 2 models, stages and more. Instant buy for me !

This is what's going to be interesting and might be the deciding factor on if there is a VF6. It looks like there putting way more effort into pushing this game in Japan than in the west. Thing is all I saw was nothing but negativity coming out of Japan about this version of VF when it came out, popularity dwindled and Sega eventually stopped supporting the game. This is why I'm really surprised there bringing out the same game with no changes and trying to bring back some of the big names that ditched VF5FS for other games like Itazan, Fuudo and Nukki.

Do you mean Nuki the Chun Li player? If so didn't know he was playing VF too, who was he using in VF?

Actually looking again at a picture showed in the stream he wasn't one of the ones there but there were a bunch of old players there some of whom moved onto other games or it seems stopped playing.

Nukki did used to play VF4 seriously. He said in an interview that was his all time favourite game.

Okay so they got me a little: they've just revised the date back for Plus, according to this new list today:

https://blog.playstation.com/2021/0...-3-wild-hunt-virtua-fighter-5-slay-the-spire/

At the bottom:

"*Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown will be available to PlayStation Plus members until Monday, July 5."​

Come to think of it, haven't seen an end date for PS Now though, I don't think.

Western FGC early netplay reactions (I guess they got download codes? That could mean they're avoiding being negative--except Pat, of course ; ) are mostly positive so far:

https://www.eventhubs.com/news/2021/may/31/virtua-fighter-online-impressions/

That's generally generally how these things go, though; the real test is when actual significant numbers are playing once the game launches publicly.

Numerous 5US streams are live right now: https://www.twitch.tv/directory/game/Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown

Enjoying Blackstar_GA's: https://www.twitch.tv/blackstar_ga

Seeing short, split-second hitches in matches every now and then between players with four bars, it's a hosted room rather than ranked match-making though, and vs one particular opponent repeatedly. Saw one two-bar player so far but he left before playing a match. Update: says his connections are good now; he's got more people in his room. Micro-update: Ah, he's on ranked now. Oh! No he's in the room but it's counting toward rank, huh.

Spectator stickers appear on the sides of the win/entry screens between matches, with little sounds. Kind of amusing.

Oh they show in the lower middle during matches. Hm.

They're saying online rank is per-character. LiJoe, Blackstar seem to like that.

Blackstar showed the VF1 UI toggle (w/ DLC), it's just the bottom option in the game's Configuration menu.

VF1 UI replaces the flashy round start, win, etc center screen gold text with non-flashy, plain yellow VF1-style lettering. This is actually AMAZING for my photosensitivity. This is the best. : )

https://www.twitch.tv/jwonggg

^ Justin Wong doing ranked matchmaking, haven't seen those hitches here so far.

The net code is now named "zorbnet," I declare. : P (As in "mechanism for absorbing delay" from Aoki in the asahi interview; people have been saying "absorb" or "absorption" netcode. One person calling it "sponge netcode." ; ) )

https://www.twitch.tv/bbountyhunter

^ BBountyHunter doing ranked, a lot of matches vs Rodnutz.

The remade clothes look really good.

For the very few (I guess) among you who depend on the EU PS Store, the game is available.

Downloading it right now.

Oh man! Just checked the US store again, still don't see it. I don't have Plus or Now, though.

The description on the new VF5 retrospective video



says

"Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown launches June 1 as a PS4 console exclusive, and will be available for PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now members right away."​

which does not reassure me as a non-subscriber. I wish they would state an actual clear release date for the $30 purchase version. Oh well I guess we'll know soon enough whether it's today/tomorrow or...not until it leaves Plus, that would suck.

Just tested. I got the game without the DLC pack and I can see other people's custom costumes, VF1 models and DLC spectator emotes.

Re: availability, whatever this comment on LiJoe's stream is worth:

stacks717: Sega said midnight everywhere in TastySteve's stream
​

That would explain it being out in EU now. : )

9:39 pm here on the US west coast, but the game is listed for me in the store, I suppose because it's past midnight on the US east coast. Both the free-for-Plus base game and the $30 game + DLC are available.

When I went to checkout with the $30 bundle, it first sent me to a PS Plus subscription selection page, with no clear way to advance until I selected a subscription option. I backed out, then went into my cart, and the subscription selection page did not reappear, so I didn't actually have to subscribe to download it. : PPP Sheesh. Hopefully I'll be able to launch Arcade mode without a subscription.

DL size ($30 bundle) is 16.498 GB.

Just launched download before going to work. Can't wait for tonight :kreygasm:

i've experienced a range of emotions surrounding this games launch, but i was pretty excitied going in. played some ranked matches had some fun...but wtf is up with how much we're missing in customs? why are they witholding 10 year old content? i'm unsurprised (but disappointed) you can't name your customs anymore, but only 4 slots? come on, what the hell. why?

I forgot to say it was Aoi Nukki used to use though he doesn't appear to have come back as I thought.
Those other old players are shown here and where they have a tournament.

Regarding the save slots in particular, he means that in VF5US you can only save 4 custom costumes per character, from the looks of it. In FS, you could save oh I think it was about 42 custom costumes per character. Quite a come-down to 4. I suppose they could just add more slots as they add more items, but there's no particular reason I can think of why they couldn't provide more save slots now, if that's what they mean to do eventually.

Unless maybe they wanted to avoid having to add even more on top of however many they'd have because people would say "you gave us more items but I'm already out of save slots, I can't save my new costumes I made with these new items" but eh that doesn't seem like a real reason, especially when you have all the people who edited costumes in FS knowing they used to have way more slots available.

In the interview with director Aoki in Famitsu, he said they were still working on getting all the items from FS in; they're having to remake them by hand in the new engine and they didn't get them done by the game's launch date. They're remaking them in the order in which they originally came out in the arcade. He didn't say how or when the rest of the items would be added. He said that they also wanted to go on to make brand new items, too.

Tested to see if the AI is like FS in which you can just cheese it with attack spam, and it does seem to be exactly the same, with the same weak defense: