P4U sequel officially announced as Persona 4 The Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold

Famitsu reported that the sequel of Persona 4 The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena will be called Persona 4 The Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold. Three new characters are revealed for now but the first trailer (at the end) suggests that we will see more.

The second location test will begin tomorrow from September 27 to 29. The game will be released in the arcades in early Winter 2013.

P4U was the best selling conventional fighting game since 2008 until JoJo ASB beat it early this month.

Umehara's new book "Match Theory" now open for preorder

Shoubu Ron: Umehara no Ryuugi is now open for preorder at Amazon Japan and some other stores.

Shoubu Ron: Umehara no Ryuugi or Match Theory: Umehara Style is Daigo Umehara's second book that will come after Willpower to Keep Winning. It will again be published by Shougakukan. The 256-page book will be released on October 1.

From the book description, the contents will focus on the philosophy of competition. It will go deeper into the subject than the first book.

Note that while Willpower to Keep Winning appears to tell story of a person, this book looks more like a work of a famous person.

Willpower to Keep Winning has sold 50,000 copies as of May 19. It reached top 3 bestselling books at launch and was one of the best selling pocket books in 2012 on Amazon Japan and also has an E-book version.

3rd TOPANGA League ticket prices, stream links revealed

The ticket prices of the 3rd TOPANGA League is revealed for both League A and B. The pricings is still the same as last season. But this time they will also sell League A plus League B package.

Pricings (You can buy in the links)

• One episode - 300 yen
• League B season ticket - 1,500 yen
• League A season ticket - 3,500 yen
• League A + League B season ticket - 4,500 yen

3rd TOPANGA League A

1. Round 1 - November 2
2. Round 2 - November 3
3. Round 3 - November 4
4. Round 4 - November 8
5. Round 5 - November 9
6. Round 6 - November 10
7. Round 7 - November 15
8. Round 8 - November 16
9. Round 9 - November 17
10. Round 10 - December 6
11. Round 11 - December 7
12. Round 12 - December 8

3rd TOPANGA League B

1. Round 1 - September 27
2. Round 2 - September 28
3. Round 3 - September 29
4. Round 4 - October 4
5. Round 5 - October 5
6. Round 6 - October 6
7. Round 7 - October 17
8. Round 8 - October 18
9. Round 9 - October 19
10. Round 10 - October 20
11. Round 11 - October 27

Notes
- The virtual ticket lets you watch live once, and recorded stream as many times as you like until it expires on January 7, 2014. (Click Timeshift button to watch recorded streams.)

3rd TOPANGA League A this November

Some new details of TOPANGA League were revealed on TOPANGA TV last Wednesday.

TOPANGA League A
- Will be held in November
- Offline stage is first to 7, there will be deuce but first to 10 win (it won't go on forever)
- Can play up to 2 characters in offline stage.
- Online stage is still first to 3 (only 1 character)

Promotion/Relegation Play-off rules
- Can play up to 2 characters
- First to 10

MadCatz exhibition TGS2013 Day 3

Umehara 3-1 Justin Wong

1. 1-2 *Ume's crMK got raw U1 in last second in 3R and failed to get a timeout win
2. 2-0
3. 2-0 *a comeback in 1R *Ume dropped important combo in 2 but still won
4. 2-0

- 6242 viewers peak (stream 1)

MadCatz Unveiled TGS2013 summary

Info
- MadCatz Unveiled TGS2013 announced
- Nico to stream in both  Japanese and English
- Event report from 4Gamer.net
- Event report from Dengeki
- GameSpot has an article about this event


Mago 1-5 Fuudo

1. 1-2
2. 1-2
3. 2-0
4. 0-2 *close 2R
5. 0-2 *very close 2R
6. 0-2 *Mago's unsafe Rekka got punished hard by Ultra in 1R *Fuudo missed command grab but still won in 2R

Bon-chan (U2) 5-4 Ryan Hart (U2)

1. 1-2 *close 2R *nice Ultra reaction in 3R from Hart
2. 0-2 *nice Ultra reaction in 1R from Hart
3. 2-0 *Bon won by timeout in 1R
4. 0-2 *nice comeback in 2R by Hart
5. 2-1 *very close 1R *nice combo in the end of 2R by Hart
6. 2-0
7. 2-0 *close 1R
8. 0-2 *Both traded Ultra in 1R but Hart survived *nice Ultra reaction in 2R from Hart
9. 2-1 *nice Ultra reaction in 1R from Bon *Hart won by timeout in 2R *nice comback from Bon in intense 3R

Kazunoko (U1) 3-5 Xian (U1)

1. 2-0 *Kazu won by timeout in 1R
2. 2-1
3. 1-2
4. 0-2 *nice Ultra reaction and big comeback in 1R *nice Ultra in 2R
5. 2-1 *close 2R
6. 1-2 *nice Ultra in 1R by Xian
7. 1-2 *perfect in 2R by Kazu *big comeback in 3R by Xian (nice Ultra follow)
8. 0-2

Kami-chan (Hilde) 3-1 Kayane (Viola)

1. 3-?
2. 1-3
3. 3-2 *perfect in 1R by Kami-chan
4. 3-1

Tokido (U2) 5-2 Justin Wong (U1)

1. 0-2
2. 2-0
3. 0-2 *close 2R
4. 2-0 *Tokido dropped Ultra but won by timeout in 1R
5. 2-1 *Tokido dropped combo and lost 1R *perfect in 3R
6. 2-0
7. 2-0

Umehara (U1) 10-2 Infiltration (U1)

1. 2-1 *nice 1R by Ume *nice MK>SRK in 3R
2. 2-0
3. 2-0 *Arigataya finish in 2R
4. 2-0
5. 2-1  *nice Ultra finish in 1R *intense 3R
6. 1-2 *Ume missed his Super, cost him 3R
7. 2-0 *nice Ultra finish in 2R
8. 1-2 *Umecopter bait Raging Demon in 3R
9. 2-1 *Ume missed Ultra, cost him 1R *nice Ultra finish in 3R
10. 2-0  *Arigataya finish in 1R
11. 2-1 *Infil missed, cost him 3R
12. 2-1 *Ume got 2 RD'd in 1R *very close 3R (they tried to chip each other)

- Umehara failed for Okizeme only twice in the entire fight? (in 11th and 12th game)
- Umehara wasn't hesitated to spend Ultra early after LP SRK because he can get Ultra back if get Raging Demon'd?
- Ricky Ortiz mentioned that Umehara was using fireball in the range where FADC forward (Infiltration's signature move) is useless.

Interview after the match
- (Quote from GameSpot) "Ever since I became a pro, I've been to a lot of tournaments, but this exhibition match was the one match where I thought about 'how to win' the most," Umehara said, discussing the match after it was over. "I was thinking 'If I've come this far and still lose…, I'd have to throw away all of my past experience and start again from zero.' 
- Umehara said he studied Infiltration's videos a lot.
- Infiltration still felt positive. He thanks the viewers and said sorry that he didn't perform well though he said he will next time.

Notes
- Mori from Arc System Works didn't come (was invited), Pachi came instead.
- The door opened 18:00 but the first match started on 20:12 (Mago vs. Fuudo)
- [19:30] There was some talk before the exhibition. Harada looked upset probably because they kept him waiting. (He also mentioned that the place is narrow and hot.) Maybe it's his usual dark humors. Beside that, he was funny and make Ayano and Pachi look extremely awkward with questions about private life. He gave away T-shirts, games, Idolmaster cards and file folder via 4Gamer. (Nothing worth except Idolmaster goods.)
- [20:08] The exhibition delayed because some players weren't there (they said Kayane and Ryan Hart). Then they had to change match order.
- [20:35] They had a problem with the microphone on the Japanese stream.
- [20:35] Zhi is on the mic, time to mute.
- [21:06] Ono appeared but Harada is gone. He asked Ayano to hint about 5th character in USF4. (Ono didn't even know) Ono asked if it's A (completely new) or B (not actually new). Ayano didn't want to answer so Ono said do you like letter A or B? Ayano said he "likes letter B."
- [21:49] Spooky and MarkMan on the mic, this's much better.
- [22:05] Oh no, it's back.
- Momochi, ChocoBlanka, Karipaku, Nekohashi, Umezono were there.
- The show is so popular it has more than 9,000 Timeshift'd.
- The show ended with 117,451 attendances (239,751 comments) on Japanese side, and 37,175 attendances (23,557 comments) on English side.
- 90% of viewers voted this show is extremely good on JP side.

Niconico to stream MadCatz Unveiled TGS 2013 in both Japanese and English

It's revealed today that Niconico will stream Pre-Tokyo Game Show 2013 MadCatz Unveiled through two separated streams for both Japanese and English speaking audience.

The stream will start on 18:30 JST of September 20.

Niconico occasionally has two separated streams for two languages for big events such as E3 press conference, but this's the first time for fighting game event.

Umehara Tokido Mago poster from Kengoro Nishide

Kengoro Nishide, the artist from Daigo Umehara manga "Umehara: To live is to game," has posted his illustration for poster to celebrate the release of the manga and for the upcoming MadCatz event during Tokyo Game Show 2013.

TOPANGA League B season 2 online qualifier stream link revealed

Stream link: Here
Date: September 23
Time: 14:00 JST

The online qualifier will have 2 rounds: 14:00 and 19:00. The winners of both rounds will earn the right to play in TOPANGA League B season 2. The runner-ups of both rounds will play each other for the last spot.

The rule allows players to apply for both rounds so some players may get a second chance.

TOPANGA League B season 2 announced (update and correction)

TOPANGA founder and representative Nyanshi or Mr. Toyota announced tonight on TOPANGA TV (special episode) that the season 2 of TOPANGA League B will begin on September 27. The online league will have 16 players, only 13 players (coincidently 13 characters) were announced at this time.

The last three players will come from online qualifiers that will be held on September 23 and will be streamed by Niconico (most likely free).

1. Tokido (Akuma) *was relegated from losing the play-off after League A season 1
2. Mago (Fei Long) *was relegated from League A season 2 1st stage
3. Cabbage (Viper) *was relegated from League A season 2 2nd stage
4. Eita (Ryu) *not Akuma *was relegated from League A season 2 1st stage
5. Naruo (E-Ryu)
6. Michael-tan (Ken)
7. Inco (well-known Rufus player)
8. Tsuna (Juri player)
9. Youshikibi (Cammy)
10. Kyoku (well-known Yang player)
11. KojiKOG (well-known T-Hawk player)
12. Matsugoro (Dudley player)
13. wao (Japan's 4th place Oni on BP ranking)

Promotion and Relegation (from the latest rules)
1st place - To League A
2nd place - To League A
3rd place - To League A
4th place - Play-off against Momochi
5th place - Play-off against YHC Mochi

Top 3 finishers will be promoted while 4th place and 5th place will play offline against YHC Mochi and Momochi for two spots in the next TOPANGA League A.

The net ticket price of League B season 2 wasn't announced.

The 3rd TOPANGA League (A) is expected to be announced next week.

2nd TOPANGA League A standings

1. Fuudo
2. Umehara
3. Sako
4. Bon-chan
5. Kazunoko
6. Uryo
7. Haitani
8. YHC-Mochi
9. Momochi
10. Cabbage
11. Mago
12. Eita

Umehara on this week's TOPANGA TV

- Umehara came to promote his manga "Umehara: To Live is to game" and his new T-shirt.
- Umehara joked that if the manga gets a sequel then there will probably be a chapter dedicated to Bon-chan.
- When asked to talk about upcoming exhibition match against Infiltration, Umehara joked that the Korean viewers who know Japanese language probably send the tip to Infiltration so he didn't want to talk.
- Umehara said that you will see something new from him (in vs. Infiltration exhibition). However, he couldn't say with confidence that he'll win.
- Everyone was shocked when Umehara said (whisper) "Akuma .......is a weak character."
- Umehara said that there's still unexplored territory in Akuma matchup.

(Skip to 01:30:30 for Umehara)

JoJo ASB is the best selling fighting game in past 5 years

Media Create, the well-known Japanese console game market researcher, reported today (via GAF) that JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All Star Battle has sold 425,718 copies in its first week in Japan.

Last week, we said that JoJo ASB will become the best selling (conventional) fighting game in the past 5 years, the sales data confirmed today that it is.

As always, we put the number in the chart so you can compare.

First week sales of fighting games between 2008-2013 in Japan by Media Create

1. [PSP] Dissidia Final Fantasy (Square Enix) {2009.12.18} - 489,100 | NEW
2. [PS3] JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle (Bandai Namco Games) {2013.08.29} - 425,718 / NEW
3. [PSP] Dissidia: 012 (Duodecim) Final Fantasy (Square Enix) {2011.03.03} - 286,117 / NEW
4. [PS3] Persona 4: Arena (Atlus) {2012.07.26} - 128,485 / NEW 
5. [PS3] Tekken 6 (Namco Bandai) {2009.10.29} - 103,105 / NEW
6. [PS3] Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm 3 (Bandai Namco Games) {2013.04.18} - 87,661 / NEW 
7. [PS3] Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2009.02.12} - 86,000 / NEW
8. [PS2] Fate/Unlimited Codes (Capcom) {2008.12.18} - 82,900 | NEW
9. [PS3] Super Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2010.04.28} - 80,882 / NEW 
10. [PSP] Naruto: Shippuden Narutimate Accel 3 (Namco Bandai) {2009.12.10} - 76,596 / NEW
11. [PSP] Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Battle of Aces (Namco Bandai) {2010.01.21} - 76,088 / NEW
12. [PS3] Soul Calibur IV (Namco Bandai Games) {2008.07.31} - 74,607 / NEW
13. [PS3] Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (Capcom) {2011.02.17} - 67,187 / NEW
14. [PS3] Dead or Alive 5 (Koei Tecmo) {2012.09.27} - 66,586 / NEW
15. [PS3] Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm Generation (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.23} - 65,758 / NEW
16. [PS3] Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm 2 (Bandai Namco) {2010.10.21} - 63,675 / NEW
17. [PS3] Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.09.13} - 62,630 / NEW
18. [PS3] Street Fighter X Tekken (Capcom) {2012.03.08} - 58,471 / NEW
19. [PS3] Dragon Ball: Raging Blast (Namco Bandai) {2009.11.09} - 57,972 / NEW
20. [PSP] Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Gears of Destiny (Bandai Namco) {2011.12.22} - 57,320 / NEW
21. [PS3] Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (Capcom) {2011.06.30} - 54,924 / NEW
22. [PSP] Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Impact (Bandai Namco Games) {2011.10.20} - 53,148 / NEW 
23. [PS3] BlazBlue: Continuum Shift (Arc System Works) {2010.07.01} - 49,871 / NEW
24. [PS3] Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 (Bandai Namco) {2010.11.11} - 47.610 / NEW
25. [3DS] Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition (Capcom) {2011.02.26} - 44,649 / NEW
26. [PS3] Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi (Bandai Namco Games) {2011.12.08} - 44,593 / NEW
27. [PS2] Melty Blood: Actress Again (Ecole Software) {2009.08.20} - 44,292 / NEW 
28. [PS3] Naruto: Narutimate Storm (Namco Bandai) {2009.01.15} - 44,065 / NEW
29. [360] Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2009.02.12} - 38,000 / NEW
30. [360] Soul Calibur IV (Namco Bandai Games) {2008.07.31} - 34,786 / NEW
31. [PS3] Soul Calibur V (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.02} - 34,328 / NEW 
32. [PSP] Fate/Unlimited Codes Portable (Capcom) {2009.06.18} - 34,205 / NEW
33. [PS3] BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Arc System Works) {2009.06.25} - 33,768 / NEW
34. [PS3] BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend (Arc System Works) {2011.12.17} - 32,992 / NEW
35. [360] Super Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2010.04.28} - 28,454 / NEW
36. [PSP] Tekken 6 (Namco Bandai) {2010.01.14} - 25,131 / NEW
37. [360] BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Arc System Works) {2009.06.25} - 24,812 / NEW
38. [WII] Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes (Capcom) {2008.12.11} - 24,100 / NEW
39. [PSP] BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II (Arc System Works) {2011.03.31} - 23,808 / NEW
40. [3DS] Dead or Alive: Dimensions (Koei Tecmo) {2011.05.19} - 23,078 / NEW
41. [PS3] Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 (Capcom) {2011.11.17} - 22,436 / NEW
42. [PS3] The King of Fighters XIII (SNK Playmore) {2011.12.01} - 21,525 / NEW
43. [PS3] AQUAPAZZA (Aquaplus) {2012.08.30} - 20,935 / NEW
44. [PSP] Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team (Bandai Namco) {2010.09.30} - 19,080 / NEW 
45. [PS3] Arcana Heart 3 (Arc System Works) {2011.01.13} - 17,219 / NEW
46. [360] Dead or Alive 5 (Koei Tecmo) {2012.09.27} - 14,811 / NEW
47. [360] Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (Capcom) {2011.02.17} - 13,779 / NEW
48. [PSV] Dead or Alive 5+ (Koei Tecmo) {2013.03.20} - 13,291 / NEW 
49. [360] Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (Capcom) {2011.06.30} - 12,326 / NEW
50. [PS3] Darkstalkers Resurrection (Capcom) {2013.03.14} - 11,591 / NEW
51. [360] Phantom Breaker (5pb.) {2011.06.02} - 9,960 / NEW
52. [360] Persona 4: Arena (Atlus) {2012.07.26} - 9,801 / NEW 
53. [3DS] Tekken 3D: Prime Edition (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.16} - 9,421 / NEW
54. [360] Street Fighter X Tekken (Capcom) {2012.03.08} - 8,527 / NEW
55. [360] Soul Calibur V (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.02} - 7,679 / NEW 
56. [PSP] Saint Seiya Ω: Ultimate Cosmo (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.11.29} - 6,448 / NEW
57. [PSV] Street Fighter X Tekken (Capcom) {2012.10.25} - 5,420 / NEW 

Pre-TGS2013 MadCatz Unveiled announced

Dengeki reported that Pre-Tokyo Game Show 2013 MadCatz Unveiled will be held on September 20, near Kaihin-Makuhari Station. People who want to participate must apply by Email, there's no entrance fee. This event will also be streamed by Niconico.

Exhibition matches
SSF4AE2012

• Umehara vs. Infiltration (first-to-ten)
• Ryan Hart vs. Bon-chan (first-to-five)
• Xian vs. Kazunoko (first-to-five)
• Mago vs. Fuudo (first-to-five)
• Tokido vs. Justin Wong (first-to-five) 

Soulcaliber V

• Kayane vs. Kamizono (first-to-three)

Guests

• Toshimichi Mori from Arc System Works
• Tomoaki Ayano from Capcom
• Katsuhiro Harada from Bandai Namco
• Masaaki Hoshino from Bandai Namco

Note that this's the first time you'll see these gamers and producers all in one place.

Tokyo Game Show 2013 will be held between September 19-22, the first two days is business day, the last two days is open to public.