[Thanks to CD ageS for the tip]
It’s been some time since we last heard of Arc System Works’ next installment of Guilty Gear, Guilty Gear Xrd Sign, but as of today the game is available in Japan via Sega’s ALL.NET Pras Multi 2 arcade network (i.e., it can be downloaded direct to ALL.NET+2 units). From the video description, it sounds like the game has undergone a lot of fine tuning since it was seen on some location tests last year. They also have released the opening video to the game to lay out the basic story and characters.
Here is a previous trailer
While not impossible, imports on this will be a little more difficult given the online distribution nature of the game but it already has been confirmed for PS3 & PS4 for the consumer side of the game.
Yeah. I’ll be waiting to see what kind of pull Round 1 USA has in getting this game out here in the states. If any one out here has the connections to get it, it’s perhaps them.
We’ve been working on it for a while now and still waiting on an update about it. Ultra Street Fighter IV has been confirmed already. We’ll let you know on any upcoming information if and when it’s to be disclosed or not.
Wow, That’s wonderful news! I hope Round 1 is able to get the game running for any of their 3 US facilities currently in operation in the SoCal area. And thank you for the tidbit concerning Ultra. That’s real good to hear.
If this truly is “Round 1” reps, I’d like to take this wonderful opportunity to address some minor concerns regarding your Puente Hills location which I frequent the most. I usually go to Round 1 mainly for its wonderful catalog of fighting games and shmups that this location possesses. I’ve noticed a lack of maintenance and upkeep of these machines as of late. Issues which I hope have already been resolved. Things like:
-1P side control panel not working properly in KoF XIII: Climax.
-Missing Ball Top on 2P side of 3rd Strike cabinet.
-Resetting on one of the Dual Cabs running Tekken Tag 2: Unlimited (perhaps as a result of the machine overheating as the machine itself displays “overheating message” onscreen all the while the image resolution of the cabinet is significantly altered perhaps as a result?).
-Button “4” not working on the same Dual Tekken Tag 2: Unlimited cab mentioned above.
-Fire buttons not working on Shikigami No Shiro 3 cabinet (I want to say 2P side).
-Many Issues concerning SSF4: AE Viewlix cabinet.
I’m fully aware that these machines go through some constant use and abuse from players overtime considering the nature of the genre and perhaps some careless patrons who aren’t as gentle with these machines. But please, PLEASE make their maintenance and upkeep a major priority among the appropriate staff.
Thank You very much for your time and response 😀
One note on that, I have found that often I will have a machine that will have a problem for days or even weeks and NO ONE tells me about it. One day when someone finally complains they will mention, “it’s been like that for a while” or “when are you going to fix it” (implying that its been a while). As an operator that is a real annoyance as we are more than happy to fix something but don’t have time to test machines every day – so why wasn’t it mentioned sooner? Of course with R1 or FECs I know it can be difficult to get word to the tech but still if no one says anything, then nothing will get fixed. Especially on fighters where people abuse the sticks/buttons beyond where they need to.
I’d really hate to see that venders are unwilling to allow fighting games such as this to be located in what’s left of our operating venues. The choice always comes down to them and they say “no”.
Can’t you at least rent these damned things out?!?
Rental would be a good way to go about it. While there have been attempts at bringing fighters over here, they have all dropped the ball:
SSFIVAE – Too expensive. Cost more as a kit than most dedicated games and the console version followed a short time later (in the case of the Taito kits, about a month and a half). Also no good distribution in the US.
SSFIVAE2012 – Free update everywhere except the US. You almost had to pay $10k over again through some sources; others offered a hack of some kind for a few thousand. Either way, it was a sour deal for operators. Also available on consoles pretty quickly so no one cares
Tekken Tag 2 – Might have worked if it was released when promised. Instead came after console release, was a pricey kit and virtually no marketing for it.
Blazblue I & II – No marketing. Good price, Taito had them for sale but not through any distributor here in the US
Arcana Heart – Andamiro was going to carry it but no interest. All-girl anime fighters are too niche-in-niche
Koihime Musou – REALLY no marketing. Pentavision “released” the game and told no one, then lamented that it was selling poorly.
Virtua Fighter 5 – This existed as a dedicated cabinet but like usual, no marketing push was given to it and consoles got a superior version in the US; when the final arcade version came along over here, it’s only used as a marketing prop.
Then in the case of these digital-only Japan releases, you have to either convince the company to release an offline version (which Taito did for BlazBlue 2) or release their digital systems here in the US, which they just don’t want to seem to do (I have almost begged Taito to try NESiCA here; other ops have asked but they didn’t want to change their pricing model; I’ve not heard any interest in ALL.NET+ since there were zero games for it until recently).
Nothing will change with fighting games until companies start treating them like other arcade releases or at least something like rentals. Using them as just as props, charging outrageous prices or hoping for imports that no one knows about isn’t going to cut it.
We’ve been trying as much as we could but all depends on the companies that supply the games to the USA consumer due to licensing issues. Whether or not they’ll be available to depends on them. We’re lucky to even receive one of their games in the USA. DDR for example went through a lot of turmoil in order for the game to be imported. Fingers crossed but all depends on them. On another note, in regards to PHM location, i can not disclose from which location i am from nor can i backlash or further condone to the quality of the machines in regards to each store due to conflict of interest. If at all possible, please kindly request that they resolve the issure then and there
That’s what I’m kinda finding hard to understand. Back when there were still bigger developers in the market, they had absolutely no problem sharing their titles here because they knew they made bank. So what is it we have now these days? SNK? Sunsoft? Does Namco even bother with US imports? What exactly was it that suddenly turned their attention away and basically told us that we’re not welcome to this side of the industry anymore?