Umehara to talk about his book on Nico live show

Daigo Umehara's book "Willpower to Keep Winning" is coming in a couple days, and it is revealed that Nico Nico will have a special live show about it on April 8.

On the show, Umehara will come to talk, and also have "online autograph event" in which the books he signs, 50 of them, will be sold via Nico Nico's online shop. The books are now available for purchase until April 20.

Please note that the signed book will be delivered on April 9. The book actually comes out on April 2.

People from outside Japan who can read Japanese can import this book (no autograph) from Amazon Japan.

Umehara is famous on Nico Nico not just from his gaming skills alone, but also from Denpa Jikkyou Internet meme. And when you consider everything, the release of his book should warrant a live show like a celebrity.

Oricon (the so-called Japan's Billboard) also had a news about Umehara's book last week.

Gunslinger Stratos official site opens

The teaser site of Gunslinger Stratos is replaced with official site just now. There's a lot of juicy information and Beast Note has a summary of it.

General
- 200 yen (1 credit) for 2 plays. (both finished product and beta version)
- Players can check stats and customize weapons via smartphone at the official mobile site.
- Headshot and "Quickdraw" deal more damage. (Quickdraw - Quickly point the gun to the screen and shoot)

Basic rules
- Each team member has his own life point, but they share the same Power Gauge. Make enemy team's Power Gauge go down to zero in time to win the match.
- The Power Gauge is decreased when a team member is defeated. The loss differs according to the weapon the defeated player is using.
- A match has 180 seconds time limit.
- If the winning team has no credit left, they can continue next match for free (1 time only).

4 game modes

1. Online Players vs. Online Players - Team up and fight players from around Japan. The winning team gets one free play.
2. Local vs. Online Players - Players in the same arcade can form a team to fight online players. (Online players will be added if the team has less than 4 players.) The winning team gets one free play.
3. Individual Mission - Fight alone against CPU.
4. Team Mission - Local players fight against CPU.

Characters
Toru Kazasumi
Kyoka Katagiri
Kyoma Katagiri
Shizune Rindo
Olga Janetine
Aaron Burroughs
Jonathan Sizemore
Akira Rakando
Ryo Kusakage
Remy Odhner

Stages
Tokyo, Shibuya - Advantage: sniping
Osaka, Nanba - Advantage: close combat
Tokyo, Ikebukuro - Coming soon

Controls

• Side Style - Attach both left and right gun sideways to change into weapon such as machine gun.
• Tandem Style - Place the right gun on top of the left gun to change into heavy weapon such as bazooka, rifle, or missile.
• Close Combat - Point both guns outside the screen and use only triggers.
• Symbol Chat - Press right stick twice then select message using left stick.
• Move - Move left stick.
• Camera Control - Press both sticks at the same time then move camera using right stick.
• Jump - Press Jump button.
• Air Dash - Press Jump button twice in the air.

Gunslinger Stratos is an arcade 4 on 4 light-gun shooter from Square Enix. Daigo Umehara is "official supporter" of the game.

First official Ougon Musou Kyoku Cross tournament detailed

07th Expansion, Ougon Musou Kyoku maker, has updated the information about the first official Ougon Musou Kyoku Cross tournament.

Summary
- There'll be 2 tournaments for 2 modes -- Princess Mode and Normal Mode.
- Single elimination, 3 life bars, 180 seconds time limit, 1 round.
- Princess Mode is for female beginners (who couldn't beat CPU at Hard or don't usually play online).
- Normal Mode is for anyone.
- It's mini tournament so it's limited to 8 players each (selected by raffle).
- Application deadline is April 1.
- MC and commentator is Sentosu.
- There's possibility that footages will be uploaded later.

This OMKC mini tournaments is a part of "07th Expansion Party," a doujinshi (self-published works) event that will have only its series related products. It will be held on May 5.

Evo 2012: SFxTK rules announced

The rules of the Street Fighter X Tekken tournament at Evolution 2012 is announced.

- It will be 2 on 2 tag team (not in Scramble Battle mode). One player controls one character. Tagging in the game means tagging in real life. (as in the video below)
- Gems will be disabled.
- Seeding points of a team is the same with the seeding points of the player who registers. (The team member who has more points should register their team.)

The 2 on 2 tag team decision is rather good news. It differentiates the tournament from SSF4AE2012 one. And this is the first time for such gameplay. This alone should guarantee the hype.

Dropping Gem System is understandable. The system is a great idea but is badly implemented by Capcom, especially for tournaments. There is tournament support DLC, but it did not address all the problems. All players should be able to use all the Gems equally without DLC or unlocking, thus no unfair advantage in Gems knowledge or strategies. There should also be 30-second time limit in selection. (The first official tournament allows up to 3 minutes.) The match should start automatically after that, ready or not.

There is still no evidence that Daigo Umehara actually plays this game, outside Capcom's videos. He is an arcade gamer. So it is presumed that, like UMvC3, he will not be serious about it. His partner can be anyone but Mago and Tokido.

Evolution 2012 will take place between July 6-8.

First image of Umehara actually playing Gunslinger Stratos

It is revealed that Daigo Umehara, Mago, Tokido, and Fuudo participated in Gunslinger Stratos's close playtest yesterday. Square Enix also posted a photo of them.

Bunbunmaru (the Virua Fighter player, now working for Famitsu), Ayana Tsubaki (tarento), and Kana Ueda (voice actress) were also there playing on the opposing team.

They sure need some training since they will all be participating Gunslinger Stratos beta event in April.

KSK banned from Nico Nico

If you still remember, one of Soushihan KSK's jobs is stream producer. He streams concerts of indie artists including music contests. Today, something went wrong during a big local music contest that he was streaming. KSK's Nico Nico account got suspended for 1 week because of that.

The vocalist of the first band suddenly stripped naked during their first song. Everyone was shocked because they didn't believe what they saw so it took 7-8 seconds until they cut it.

The show went on a couple hours and stopped when KSK's account got banned. The show then resumed using other person's account and channel. The organizer later came out to apologize and announced that the band was disqualified for that.

But don't worry, KSK and GODSGARDEN's Nico stream should be alright.

[Ougon Musou Kyoku Cross] J replay #3

J, the top OMK player, uploaded video of his matches tonight.

1. George & Lambdadelta vs. Kanon & Battler
2. Lambdadelta & Ronove vs. Kanon & Battler
3. Willard & Shannon vs. Kanon & Battler
4. Willard & Shannon vs. Battler & Ronove

(J is on 1P side.)

[Ougon Musou Kyoku Cross] Patch 2.20 released, adds Lambdadelta

As promised, the patch that adds Lambdadelta is released today just around midnight. The game will be updated from 2.11 to 2.20 with no other change except one bug fix.

The creator revealed that some part of Lambdadelta's story has Bernkastel as last boss, so you have to wait until that patch to fight her. Bernkastel is scheduled to be released this Spring.

Below are Lambdadelta's official PV from a couple days ago, and our command list translation and notes.

	Name	Command
SP version available	Sweets	236 + (A/B/C)
SP version available	Heartwarming	22 + (A/B/C)
SP version available	Confeito	214 + (A/B/C)
SP version available	Black Hole	63214 +  (A/B/C)
Ranbu (cost 2 SP)	Rainbow Firework	236236 + C
Meta Special	Sweets Comet	641236 + C

Notes
- Her Ultra PER ability resets user's Break Gauge, making it very hard to break her guard.
- Her Sweets Comet can cause 100% Guard Break on block.
- Her J2C is dive kick, can be followed with an attack after connected.
- Her 6B or 3B (popcorn) is a projectile.
- Her 3C (slide) is fast and long, can avoid some projectiles. She can slide through Ange's Sakutarou.
- Battler's Meta Blue Truth with Stun Boost cannot make her dizzy (same with Dlanor).
- We did the stun test, nothing seemed to change.
- As of now, she has only one CG ending with Jessica as partner.
- The names of her moves are written in Gyaru-moji, making it hard to read even for the Japanese.

Sweets Comet Test
- Lambdadelta/Battler vs. X/Ronove (and Ronove/Battler)
- Use Sweets Comet right after the round starts
- Opponent uses Auto Guard

• Rosa - Break
• Ange - Break
• Battler - Break
• Beatrice - Break
• Lucifer - Break
• Virgilia - Break
• Willard - Break
• Kanon - Break
• Shannon - Break
• Black Battler - Break
• Eva - Break
• Chiester 410 - Break
• Ronove - Break
• Lambdadelta - Break
• Jessica - Break
• George - Break
• Erika - Break
• Dlanor - Break

Umehara confirmed for 2nd TOPANGA Charity Cup

Daigo Umehara, who was the special guest on tonight's TOPANGA TV, confirmed that he will participate in The 2nd TOPANGA Charity Cup on April 8.

Umehara, Mago, Tokido, Bon-chan, Fuudo will form a team for this tournament. When asked, he said that he will use Ryu, since it is a charity event. He is not serious about his character.

Capcom X GODSGARDEN: SFxTK tournament detailed

The details of the world's first Capcom official SFxTK tournament has been revealed just now. The full name is "Capcom X GODSGARDEN SFxTK Spring Start Dash Festival in Akihabara Clark Studio." It'll be held on March 30 at Akihabara Clark Studio. It's an offline open tournament for 32 players. Nuki, Kokujin, Nekojita, and Kazunoko are already confirmed to participate. You can apply now here. There'll also be streaming here starting from 8 p.m. (JST).

Prizes
1st place - PlayStation Vita, SFxTK parka, SFxTK smartphone case
2nd place - SFxTK parka
3rd place - SFxTK smartphone case
All participants - file folder, hand towel

The tournament was first mentioned on the stage in Capcom's official SSF4AE2012 national tournament.

Official BlazBlue Nationals now highest-paid tourney in Japan

The announcement on the yesterday evening revealed that Blue Revo, the BlazBlue Official National Tournament, this year on March 24 has one million yen prize money for the winner. This means Blue Revo will become the new highest-paid fighting game tournament in Japan, overthowing TOPANGA League.

Prize list
1st place - 1,000,000 yen and "Blue Revo Ruler" ingame title.
2nd place - 300,000 yen and "Blue Revo Finalist" ingame title.
3rd place - 100,000 yen and "Blue Revo Best 4" ingame title.

However, Blue Revo is a 3 on 3 tournament, the money will be split between members. The prize-winners will also have to join Arc System Works's future activities. And if you only count player-organized tournaments, TOPANGA League is still No.1.

This news is good for Japanese players, but bad for Capcom's image. Capcom is well-known for not giving any prize money. In the latest official national tournament, the best prize was certificates, trophies, ingame titles, and 17,000 yen arcade sticks.

As expected, we made a list for you to compare.

1. Blue Revo (team, 2012) - 1,000,000 yen
2. TOPANGA League (single, 2012) - 555,555 yen (related post)
3. GODSGARDEN Online #2 (single, 2010) - 500,000 yen
4. GODSGARDEN #4 (single, 2011) - 250,000 yen
5. GODSGARDEN #3 (single, 2011) - 200,000 yen
6. GODSGARDEN #5 (single, 2012) - 100,000 yen
7. Official Tekken 6 tournament Japan Round (single, 2010) - 100,000 yen
8. GODSGARDEN Classic (single, 2011) - 50,000 yen
9. LG Cup SF4HD Japan qualifier (single 2012) - $600 (50,000 yen)
10. Nippon e-sports Agency's Soulcalibur V tournament (single, 2012) - 50,000 yen

Tougeki did not disclose the details about prizes, but it is expected to be around the bottom of this list.

Gunslinger Stratos beta events featuring Daigo Umehara announced

Square Enix announced today a series of Gunslinger Stratos beta events featuring "official supporter" Daigo Umehara.

The game is set for this Summer, and the events look to be both location tests and big marketing campaign. You will be able to try the game at 3 different locations in Tokyo and Osaka between April 4-22. Players who fill in the questionnaire will also receive limited original goods such as T-shirt, keychain, and data card sticker. On top of that, your statistics in the game will be carried over to the finished product. There will also be tournaments on Sunday in which winning teams will have their name added to the staff credits.

And for the most important part, Daigo Umehara and his team "Team Umehara" will play the game at the events every Friday. The teammates are Tokido, Fuudo, Mago, "and more."

Umehara will also participate in the "welcome events" with the game's voice actors (Atsushi Abe (Kamijo from To Aru Majutsu no Index), Hisako Kanemoto (Ikamusume), Kana Ueda (Rin from Fate series)) on April 4 and 11 in Tokyo and Osaka respectively.

Umehara playing a 4 on 4 light-gun shooter could be considered a game changer for the industry. He is hailed as the world's most famous Street Fighter player, yet Capcom never made him a presenter of their games. Square Enix saw the opportunity and approached him last year. In the future, if Square Enix gets serious about fighting games, they could put him on an exclusive deal that prevents him from playing fighting games from other game companies.

Umehara usually plays at Taito Station. The big arcade game center chain, with more than 100 branches around the country, is also owned by Square Enix.

Reports from Japanese media
- Famitsu
- 4Gamer.net
- Game Watch
- Dengeki

Umehara book name changed

It's not a big news, but the name of the upcoming book from Daigo Umehara has been changed from "Power to Keep Winning" (勝ち続ける力) to "Willpower to Keep Winning" (勝ち続ける意志力).

The reason is probably, as some people pointed out after the revelation, there's already a book with that name. It's a book of Yoshiharu Habu, a famous shogi player.

SFxTK first week sales in Japan

Media Create, the Japanese console game market researcher, reported (via GAF) that Street Fighter X Tekken has sold almost 67,000 copies in its first 4 days last week in Japan 2 versions combined.

As usual, we put the new data on the list so you can compare.

First week sales of fighting games between 2008-2012 in Japan by Media Create

1. [PSP] Dissidia Final Fantasy (Square Enix) {2009.12.18} - 489,100 | NEW
2. [PSP] Dissidia: 012 (Duodecim) Final Fantasy (Square Enix) {2011.03.03} - 286,117 / NEW
3. [PS3] Tekken 6 (Namco Bandai) {2009.10.29} - 103,105 / NEW
4. [PS3] Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2009.02.12} - 86,000 / NEW
5. [PS2] Fate/Unlimited Codes (Capcom) {2008.12.18} - 82,900 | NEW
6. [PS3] Super Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2010.04.28} - 80,882 / NEW
7. [PSP] Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Battle of Aces (Namco Bandai) {2010.01.21} - 76,088 / NEW
8. [PS3] Soul Calibur IV (Namco Bandai Games) {2008.07.31} - 74,607 / NEW
9. [PS3] Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (Capcom) {2011.02.17} - 67,187 / NEW
10. [PS3] Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm Generation (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.23} - 65,758 / NEW
11. [PS3] Street Fighter X Tekken (Capcom) {2012.03.08} - 58,471 / NEW
12. [PS3] Dragon Ball: Raging Blast (Namco Bandai) {2009.11.09} - 57,972 / NEW
13. [PSP] Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Gears of Destiny (Bandai Namco) {2011.12.22} - 57,320 / NEW
14. [PS3] Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (Capcom) {2011.06.30} - 54,924 / NEW
15. [PS3] BlazBlue: Continuum Shift (Arc System Works) {2010.07.01} - 49,871 / NEW
16. [PS3] Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 (Bandai Namco) {2010.11.11} - 47.610 / NEW
17. [3DS] Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition (Capcom) {2011.02.26} - 44,649 / NEW
18. [PS3] Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi (Bandai Namco Games) {2011.12.08} - 44,593 / NEW
19. [PS2] Melty Blood: Actress Again (Ecole Software) {2009.08.20} - 44,292 / NEW
20. [360] Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2009.02.12} - 38,000 / NEW
21. [360] Soul Calibur IV (Namco Bandai Games) {2008.07.31} - 34,786 / NEW
22. [PS3] Soul Calibur V (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.02} - 34,328 / NEW 
23. [PSP] Fate/Unlimited Codes Portable (Capcom) {2009.06.18} - 34,205 / NEW
24. [PS3] BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Arc System Works) {2009.06.25} - 33,768 / NEW
25. [PS3] BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend (Arc System Works) {2011.12.17} - 32,992 / NEW
26. [360] Super Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2010.04.28} - 28,454 / NEW
27. [PSP] Tekken 6 (Namco Bandai) {2010.01.14} - 25,131 / NEW
28. [360] BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Arc System Works) {2009.06.25} - 24,812 / NEW
29. [WII] Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes (Capcom) {2008.12.11} - 24,100 / NEW
30. [PSP] BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II (Arc System Works) {2011.03.31} - 23,808 / NEW
31. [3DS] Dead or Alive: Dimensions (Koei Tecmo) {2011.05.19} - 23,078 / NEW
32. [PS3] Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 (Capcom) {2011.11.17} - 22,436 / NEW
33. [PS3] The King of Fighters XIII (SNK Playmore) {2011.12.01} - 21,525 / NEW
34. [PS3] Arcana Heart 3 (Arc System Works) {2011.01.13} - 17,219 / NEW
35. [360] Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (Capcom) {2011.02.17} - 13,779 / NEW
36. [360] Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (Capcom) {2011.06.30} - 12,326 / NEW
37. [360] Phantom Breaker (5pb.) {2011.06.02} - 9,960 / NEW
38. [3DS] Tekken 3D: Prime Edition (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.16} - 9,421 / NEW
39. [360] Street Fighter X Tekken (Capcom) {2012.03.08} - 8,527 / NEW
40. [360] Soul Calibur V (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.02} - 7,679 / NEW

2nd TOPANGA Charity Cup announced

Remember the hint in January? This is it!

TOPANGA announced today The 2nd TOPANGA Charity Cup. The event will be held at Saitama's Plaza Capcom Iruma on April 8. The title is SSF4AE Ver.2012. The format is still 5 on 5. All the entry fee, 1,000 yen for each player, will go to charity.

It is already confirmed that sako, Momochi, Haitani, Uryo, YHC-Mochi will form a team for this event. Nemo and Acqua also mentioned that they want to go.

Last year's TOPANGA Charity Cup on April 23 successfully raised over 760,000 yen for Japan's Red Cross in an effort to help the tsunami/quake victims. There were 24 teams. You can expect more this year.

Mad Catz T-shirt in Papakiki

When we say Japan's FGC is doing a good job making itself become more accessible, we really mean it. This's another proof.

The 10th episode of Papa no Iukoto o Kikinasai! anime features a character wearing Mad Catz T-shirt.

The image below is the intermission still image that separates the anime from the commercials in the half time. The characters playing fighting game are the protagonist and his love interest. The friend standing behind is wearing "Mago color" Mad Catz T-shirt. (The controllers, however, look like models from Hori.)

The anime is being broadcasted on 8 TV stations in Japan.

The T-shirt was first introduced to the public on April 23, 2010, in SSF4 launch party in Los Angeles. Daigo "The Beast" Umehara was invited to the event for exhibition matches and his Mad Catz sponsorship deal was announced at the same time. Without doubt, the claw mark was inspired by him.

After Mago and Tokido were added to Team Mad Catz, white/red version of the shirt belongs to Mago, and blue/yellow version belongs to Tokido. The anime staff probably knows something, since Mago is the only one in the team who watches some anime. You'll find him talking about anime from time to time. His recent watched anime are Rinne no Lagrange and Bakemonogatari's sequel Nisemonogatari.

Last year, Umehara was turn into a girl in an adult manga.

Capcom's Official SSF4AE2012 National Tournament 2012 summary

This post is not finished. More things will be added in the (distant) future. (At least that's what we hope!)

What: Capcom's Official SSF4AE 2012  National Tournament: Kakutou Hinamatsuri
When: March 3
Format: 3 on 3, arcade, no character duplicate allowed

Info
- Umehara confirmed for SSF4AE Nationals
- Umehara promoting new SFxTekken sticks
- Nico to stream SSF4AE Nationals 2012
- SSF4AE Nationals Zenyasai 2012
- Stream: Here (Japanese) or Here (English)

Schedule
11:00 - Open, appointed day qualifier
13:00 - Top 32
15:30 - SFxTekken special stage
16:30 - Semi-finals

Seeds
Team Mad Catz: Umehara, Tokido, Mago
Foreign Selection: Poongko, GamerBee, Ryan Hart
Taito Cup Champ: Shiro, Shungoku Neurosis, Hanamaruki

Qualifiers (notable)
Kou Mochibe: Itabashi Zangief, Fuudo, Dashio
Yjojon: aka jojo, Y24, Banbaban
Sabo Hani: Uryo, 6, wao
Makezugirai: Nemo, Kazunoko, Bon-chan
Golden Lettuce Fantasy: Cabbage, RF, Kindevu
Doguratanieita: Haitani, Dogura, Eita

Appointed day qualifier
Group B
[11:30] TOTALHEADS's Kyoku (Yan) OCV'd in first fight
[11:50] TOTALHEADS won second fight

Group C
[11:30] Amiyu (Gen) OCV'd Machabo (Fei) Yuu (Aku) Togawa (Ryu) team
[11:47] Amiyu team lost second fight (OCV'd by a Blanka)

Top 32
Block A
Team Mad Catz 3-0 Golden Lettuce Fantasy
O Umehara (Ryu) 2-1 RF (Sag)
O Umehara (Ryu) 2-1 Kindevu (Cam)
O Umehara (Ryu) 2-1 Cabbage (Vip)

Top 16
Block A
Team Mad Catz 1-3 Baikurimanda
Mago (Fei) 1-2 MDR (Ruf) O
Umehara (Ryu) 1-2 MDR (Ruf) O
O Tokido (Aku) 2-1 MDR (Ruf)
Tokido (Aku) 1-2 EX Mamehara (Adon) O

Top 4
Baikurimanda 3-1 Kou Mochibe
O EX Mamehara (Adon) - Dashio (Seth)
EX Mamehara (Adon) - Itabashi Zangief O
O Gachi-kun (Saga) - Itabashi Zangief
O Gachi-kun (Saga) - Fuudo (Fei)

TOTALHEADS 3-2 Oretachi
Kyoku (Yan) - Nishikin (Bla) O
Taku@Reshio 4 (Bla) - Nishikin (Bla) O
O Michael-tan (Ken) - Nishikin (Bla)
O Michael-tan (Ken) - Akimo (Hon)
O Michael-tan (Ken) - Nekojita (Abel)

3rd Place
Kou Mochibe 0-3 Oretachi
Dashio (Seth) - Akimo (Hon) O
Fuudo (Fei) - Akimo (Hon) O
Itabashi Zangief - Akimo (Hon) O

Final
Baikurimanda 3-2 TOTALHEADS
Gachi-kun (Saga) - Taku@Reshio 4 (Bla) O
O EX Mamehara (Adon) - Taku@Reshio 4 (Bla)
EX Mamehara (Adon) - Kyoku (Yan) O
O MDR (Ruf) - Kyoku (Yan)
O MDR (Ruf) - Michael-tan (Ken)

SFxTekken Special Stage
- Ono/Harada team beat guests, guests call for Mago/Tokido's help. The producer team lost, they were punished by getting kicked by the cosplay contestants.

[17:41] R interviewed Ryan Hart, GamerBee, Poongko
- Ryan Hart said Japan can play any character at high level.
- Big problem was Poongko couldn't find a chance to go to toilet between the matches.
- Poongko plays Ryu/Ken in SFxT.

Report
- 4Gamer.net

Umehara switches back to Yun

It is reported that Daigo Umehara now switched back from Ryu to Yun as more people saw him playing Yun again in the arcade.

There was actually a rumor about this since after the national tournament a couple weeks ago.

As you already know, Yun was hit by several changes in SSF4AE Ver.2012.

Here are some of the changes.

Target Combo 2	Damage decreased from 150 to 120
Target Combo 3	Damage decreased from 150 to 120
Target Combo 4	Damage decreased from 160 to 133
Target Combo 5	Damage decreased from 90 to 72
Zenpou Tenshin (command grab)	Startup increased from 7F to 10F
EX Zenpou Tenshin (command grab)	Startup increased from 5F to 8F, Throw-invincibility removed
EX Zesshou Honou (EX dash punch)	Block stun shortened by 2F
Raigeki Shu (dive kick)	Height restriction increased, Landing stun increased from 4F to 6F, Hit stun and block stun increased by 2F
Kobokushi (palm strike)	Less meter build-up from 30 to 20, Frame count increased by 2F, Damage decreased from 160 to 140, Stun decreased from 250 to 200, Chip damage decreased from 40 to 30, Hitbox active decreased from 15F to 10F
Nishokyaku (up kick)	Shortened invincibility, Distance shortened in M/H/EX versions, Landing stun increased by 3F for L/EX versions when whiffs, Damage decreased in M version from 130 to 110
Tetsuzanko (shoulder attack)	Damage decreased for H version from 140 to 110, More hurtbox added, Projectile invincibility shortened, Damage decreased for EX version from 150 to 130
Genei Jin	Effect shortened by 1 second
Stun	Decreased from 1000 to 950

But however, Yun is still better than Ryu in general because he at least has more tools to approach and has safer, faster meter building. Ryu, when facing a character with better poking like Fei Long, is forced to use risky Hadoken since crouching medium kick will get him nowhere, then no meter.

Umehara going back to Yun already made some impact. Kazunoko, who changed to Seth in Ver.2012, now considers changing back to Yun. (The two play at the same arcade in Shinjuku.) And it was Kazunoko's Yun that beat Sako's Ibuki 3-2 on last week's Kao TV.

Last year, Umehara played 39 tournament matches and lost only 5 times using Yun. This does not include exhibition matches where he won Poongko (10-6), Nemo (3-1), and Kazunoko (3-2).

TOPANGA Charity Cup (3 matches)
Shiro (Mak)
Hanamaruki (Sag)
Shungoku Neurosis (Dic)

ReveLAtions (8 matches)
Zangief player
Seth/Oni player
Wolfkrone (Vip)
Online Tony (Set)
Laugh (Ryu)
Clakey D (Ibu)
Hsien Chang (Yun)
Mago (Fei)

NorCal 2011 (7 matches)
Unidentified
Unidentified
Air (Ryu)
Wolfkrone (Vip)
Marn (Yun/Dud)
Infiltration (Aku) twice

Evo 2011 (9 matches)
Unidentified
Unidentified
Unidentified
John Choi (Sag)
Alex Valle (Ryu)
Tokido (Aku)
Poongko (Set)
Kindevu (Yun)
Latif (Vip)

GODSGARDEN #4 (3 matches)
KOK (Fei)
Kazunoko (Yun)
RF (Sag)

Tougeki 2011 (8 matches)
Shinchan (Ado)
RB (Guy)
GamerBee (Ado)
MOV (Ken)
Ganon (Sak)
Noriyasu (Dha)
Momochi (Yun)
Nemo (Yan)

Nagoya Street Battle 30 (1 match)
Misshii (Dud)

Fuudo plays SFxTK on Gaccha!

Yesterday, Fuudo and Itabashi Zangief (and Capcom's Ayano) came to play SFxTekken with Ayana Tsubaki and online challengers on Gaccha!

It's too early to say it's their main team, but Fuudo used Ryu/King, and ItaZan used Zangief/Kuma.

Ayana, a fighting gamer herself, looked good in the game as expected. She used Chun-Li/Hwoarang and showed off some wall-bounce combo during the matches.

Gaccha! is a variety game show on Nico Nico where new games are introduced each week. It's hosted by Ayana Tsubaki and Takahashi Meijin (former Hudson Soft VIP).

Umehara's "walkthrough of life" coming this April

A book about Daigo Umehara will be released on April 2.

The book titled "The Power to Keep Winning: The Workstyle of World's No.1 Pro Gamer" (勝ち続ける力: 世界一プロゲーマーの「仕事術」) looks to be the first biography of Daigo Umehara.

Summary of the book description
- Study the philosophy of world's No.1 pro gamer.
- The person whom game fans called "God" and a record holder of Guinness World Records, Daigo Umehara speaks his mind.
- From the root "I was into games, and I didn't study and do club activity since elementary school, so I grew up with games," becoming the world champion at the age of 17, frustration during the brief retirement, the rebirth, becoming world's No.1 again, pro contract, Guinness record holder, all revealed in this book.
- How he went through many things such as "from easy win to rarely win." His philosophy can be applied outside game world. This book is not a walkthrough of game, it's a walkthrough of life.
- Message from editor (book publisher): It's the first book of Daigo Umehara. You'll feel like he's a young philosopher. It's for game fans who want improvements, as well as businesspersons who want to break through the obstacles in the career.

The 256 page book will be sold for 777 yen. People from outside Japan can import this book from Amazon Japan.

Nico announces all-night SFxT featuring Mago & Tokido

Nico Nico announced today an all-night Street Fighter X Tekken special show featuring Mago and Tokido. The show is scheduled on March 10, 10 p.m. or this Saturday night in Japan.

Mago and Tokido will spend all night fighting challengers on PSN. SFxTekken assistant producer Ayano will also be there.

First Tougeki 2012 qualifier announced, console game being planned

It's announced today that the first Tougeki 2012 qualifier will be held in Nico Nico's Chokaigi event at Makuhari Messe between April 28-29.

This special qualifier will have all the previously-announced 6 titles. The winners will receive the right to play in the finals without having to play in a block qualifier. There'll also be exhibition matches from star players on the stage.

The Tougeki organizer also revealed today that they're planning to add Soulcalibur V to the lineup even though it's a console game. (Tougeki is an arcade-only tournament.)

Chokaigi is a big event packed with Nico Nico related booths and stages. There's entrance fee for the event and the party inside the hall.

Ageo Joe wins UMvC3 at Final Round XV

Ageo Joe became the second Japanese player to win a Marvel vs. Capcom 3 major in the U.S. after he won the UMvC3 tournament at Final Round XV (March 2-4, Atlanta, GA).

Moreover, he did not just win it. He won it with styles. He defeated several well-known American UMvC3 players with unconventional "log" trick and there're funny showmanships from him between the matches.

His opponents were  Filipino Champ, Flocker, Combofiend, Mihe, Yipes (winners final), and PR Rog (grand final).

Although his alias was Ageo Joe at Final Round XV and he changed it each game, he's known more for some people under alias Kusoru. The "soru" is from Guilty Gear's Sol.

Frieda and (Tekken player) Ao were also with him at the tournament.

In June 2011, Tokido defeated Chris G and Justin Wong twice at CEO to become the first Japanese player to win a MvC3 major in the U.S.

There's no MvC3 tournament in Japan except KUBODSGARDEN's one in Osaka and Final Round's Japan qualifier. Players like Fuudo and Momochi do have UMvC3 but no one knows how much time they've spent to the game.

[Ougon Musou Kyoku Cross] Willard combos by J

J, the top OMK player, uploaded his latest combo video last night. This time it's Willard H. Wright combo video.

The trick in Combo #23 (7:21) is genius, he was able to connect Erika's Meta Special to the downed opponent by canceling Cheese Split. (You can't do it directly.)

It seems like this's from version 2.10, Ange's SP Suplex glitch won't work in 2.11.



Combo #1
Will & Rosa vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 17
Damage: 2609 + dizzy
Cost: 1 SP

Combo #2
Will & Shannon vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 15
Damage: 2517 + dizzy
Cost: 1 SP

Combo #3
Will & Lucifer vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 19
Damage: 2547 + dizzy
Cost: 1 SP

Combo #4
Will & Shannon vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 13
Damage: 2553 + dizzy
Cost: 3 SP

Combo #5
Will & Battler vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 11
Damage: 2444 + dizzy
Cost: 1 SP

Combo #6
Will & Shannon vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 28
Damage: 3251 + dizzy
Cost: 3 SP

Combo #7
Will & Battler vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 16
Damage: 3006 + dizzy
Cost: 2 SP

Combo #8
Will & Battler vs. Battler & Beatrice  
Hit: 39
Damage: 3576 + dizzy
Cost: 2 SP

Combo #9
Will & Rosa vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 15
Damage: 2322 + dizzy
Cost: 2 SP

Combo #10
Will & Virgilia vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 21
Damage: 3764
Cost: 2 SP

Combo #11
Will & Jessica vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 15
Damage: 1743 + dizzy
Cost: 1 SP

Combo #12
Will & Dlanor vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 115
Damage: 3152
Cost: 5 SP

Combo #13
Will & Ange vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 25
Damage: 2941
Cost: 1 SP

Combo #14
Will & Beatrice vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 46
Damage: 1743
Cost: 1 SP

Combo #15
Will & Kanon vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 39
Damage: 2865
Cost: 1 SP

Combo #16
Will & Kanon vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 33
Damage: 2955 + dizzy
Cost: 1 SP

Combo #17
Will & Shannon vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 36
Damage: 3542
Cost: 2 SP

Combo #18
Will & Shannon vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 29
Damage: 3579
Cost: 1 SP

Combo #19
Will & Ronove vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 35
Damage: 3564
Cost: 2 SP

Combo #20
Will & Ronove vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 36
Damage: 3572
Cost: 1 SP

Combo #21
Will & Black Battler vs. Battler & Beatrice 
Hit: 33
Damage: 3666 + dizzy
Cost: 3+1 SP

Combo #22
Will & Erika vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 17
Damage: 2235 + dizzy
Cost: 2 SP

Combo #23
Will & Erika vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 44
Damage: 4914
Cost: 4+3 SP

SSF4AE Nationals Zenyasai 2012 summary

What: SSF4AE National Tournament: Kakutou Hinamatsuri Zenyasai 5 on 5
Where: Club Sega Shinjuku West
When: March 2, 18:00 start
Format: 5 on 5, character duplicate allowed
Entrance fee: 2000 yen per team

This tournament was organized by Kagecchi, a staff from the team behind the national tournament, Tougeki, Ayano Cup. Zenyasai means "the eve (of)" so it's like a big rehearsal for the players who will play on the next day in the national tournament (March 3). You will find players from around (and outside) Japan here just like Ayano Cup (pre-Tougeki).

Daigo Umehara and friends, the Shinjuku gang, Ryan Hart, Poongko and fellow Korean players were in this tournament. There were 32 teams.

- Umehara team lost in third fight (to The World Is Mine).
- Poongko team lost in second fight (to Janken Shiyouze!).
- Ryan Hart team lost in second fight (to Neko Punch).
- Choco Blanka team lost in first fight (to Hineri). (Her team had 5 Blankas.)

Block A Final
Hineri 2-5 The World Is Mine
Tokido (Aku) - Dogura (Dic) O
One Chance Taro (Mak) - Dogura (Dic) O
O Umehara (Ryu) - Dogura (Dic) *Must see!
O Umehara (Ryu) - Kindevu (Cam)
Umehara (Ryu) - Eita (Aku) O
Jobin (Ryu) - Eita (Aku) O
Bon-chan (Sag) - Eita (Aku) O

Semi-finals
The World Is Mine 5-1 Neko Punch
O Dogura (Dic) - Oshino (Ado)
O Dogura (Dic) - Mago (Fei)
O Dogura (Dic) - Nyanshi (Sag)
O Dogura (Dic) - Nemo (Yan)
Dogura (Dic) - Kazunoko (Seth) O
O Haitani (Mak) - Kazunoko (Seth)

Janken Shiyouze! 5-2 Kou Mochibe
Karasu (Ado) - Monkichi (Hak) O
Super Santarouman (Sag) - Monkichi (Hak) O
O Dashio (Seth) - Monkichi (Hak)
O Dashio (Seth) - Akape (Cam)
O Dashio (Seth) - Strike-san (Ken)
O Dashio (Seth) - Itabashi Zangief
O Dashio (Seth) - Fuudo (Fei)

3rd place
Neko Punch 5-4 Kou Mochibe
O Oshino (Ado) - Monkichi (Hak)
Oshino (Ado) - Itabashi Zangief O
Nyanshi (Sag) - Itabashi Zangief O
O Kazunoko (Seth) - Itabashi Zangief
O Kazunoko (Seth) - Akape (Cam)
O Kazunoko (Seth) - Strike-san (Ken)
Kazunoko (Seth) - Fuudo (Fei) O
Nemo (Yan) - Fuudo (Fei) O
O Mago (Fei) - Fuudo (Fei)

Final
The World Is Mine 5-0 Janken Shiyouze!
O Kindevu (Cam) - Karasu (Ado)
O Kindevu (Cam) - Dashio (Seth)
O Kindevu (Cam) - Reiketsu (Claw)
O Kindevu (Cam) - Super Santarouman (Sag)
O Kindevu (Cam) - Nekojita (Abe)

Tougeki 2012 first details

The official site of Tougeki: Super Battle Opera updated just now with new information about this year's event.

Here's a summary

- They announced 6 titles for now. More to be added.

• Aquapazza (2 on 2)
• Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena (1 on 1)
• Street Fighter III 3rd Strike (3 on 3)
• Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition Ver.2012 (3 on 3)
• Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Unlimited (2 on 2)
• Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown (3 on 3)

- The finals this year will not be held in Tokyo Game Show like the last 2 years.
- They are recruiting (ending March 8) affiliated game centers for the qualifiers.

Note that Tougeki usually has team tournaments, but P4U is 1 on 1.

Marn perma-banned from Level|Up stream

Level|Up announced that Martin "Marn" Phan and Christian "ETR" Cain will not be invited to speak on its future broadcasts. This happened after Kotaku broke the story about inappropriate remarks on Level|Up's Wednesday Night Fights stream.

Level|Up issued a statement (with the announcement above) and handled things very well in this case. It's clear that they are the only stream team (and one of a few FG organizations) who actually dare to improve and do something for greater good.

Some stream teams let just almost anyone have the microphone and don't take any responsibility for the things said on their streams.

And while we always have a hard time understanding articles on Kotaku, it doesn't matter who and how. A watchdog is good, and the "FGC" should get used to a bigger and hungrier watchdog by now after the Cross Assault scandal.

[OMKC] Patch 211 released

A new patch of Ougon Musou Kyoku Cross was released last night. It upgrades the game to version 2.11. (Download at the official site.)

Most of them are glitch/bug fixes. And there's a correction in the release note of version 2.10 (official typo)

Typo
Ange - Far 5A, Far 5B, Far 5C

Correction
Ange - Near 5A, Near 5B, Near 5C

Sexual harassment on Capcom's FG reality show

So mainstream media just found out the ugly side of "fighting game community."

Penny Arcade reported a new FGC scandal.

If it's too long and you don't want to read. Here's summary.

1. Aris, the Tekken player, said sexual harassment is a norm in FGC, and "not being welcome" is the beauty of FGC, on Capcom's reality show stream. (He was there as the Tekken Team's coach.)
2. A female contestant who was offended by Aris forfeited a match from the mistreatment.

What is happening right now is the "FGC" is deploying shoguns, ninjas, and foot soldiers to cover up/prove point/derail/damage control the incident (the usual procedures).

Luckily, mainstream media don't read Beast Note, because they will get some salts to the wounds and some nails to the coffins.

It'd be more fun if they follow up with a scoop about FGC's forbidden topics.

Examples

"A staff of a well-known stream team who refused to play with a Japanese player on the stream to avoid losing in front of the world at Evo 2011."

"A commentator of a well-known stream team who told big lies about his rival Japanese player in 2010."

"The deleted footage of underage girl getting sexually harassed by commentators from a well-known stream team in the middle of a tourney."

"A staff of a well-known stream team who couldn't hide the hate toward Japanese players and their fans through his 'commentating' and works."

Anyway, Aris did a good job explaining things on screen as an Evo commentator last year as we mentioned. This's a big loss in respect for him. His apology statement was great, but only for the first half. He should've just acknowledged the mistakes without defending "FGC" which will eventually go down to just some people with the same attitudes as his.

Real FGC doesn't need hostility, not even a mild one. Japan proved it. They successfully convinced Nico Nico (22 million subscribers) and established a real FG league this year. They clearly have the people with the right attitudes and the star players whom the fans want to see even they have to pay. They also beat the system (the strict laws) that prevented them from doing big things. And you know what? The commentators have to avoid saying the word "died" on the stream. Nothing is lost here.

American "FGC" does have bigger tournaments and better equipments, but in term of progress, they now fall behind the Japanese. They have yet to get rid of the dark image, let alone be more accessible. (Though it's not like they actually care.)

Don't let anyone tell you that the "FGC" is all about enthusiasms and energies to make violence, racism, or sexism acceptable in any degree. People enjoy WWE and pay to see even the villains because we know the dramas are fake and it's entertaining. But in "FGC" the real dramas are real and it's disgusting.