Two more Tekken 6 cabinets in the US

SD-Tekken has been following the Tekken 6 status here in the US just about as well as anyone else online. Because of this, it comes as little surprise when they recently updated a post revealing that two new Tekken 6 machines were imported into the US. The first machine is located in Warick, Rhode Island at the Warick Mall TILT arcade. The second machine is in Houston, Texas (which is the second Tekken 6 cabinet in Houston) at The Galleria TILT. I also have it on good authority that there has been a machine imported at an arcade in or near Orlando, Florida, but I haven't been able to verify the exact location yet. If you happen to find any Tekken 6 machines in the wild here in the US, I would love to hear about it.

Dragon Ball Z Burst Limit Demo Impressions

I have been mildly interested in getting a few hands on impressions with Dragon Ball Z Burst Limit for a while now. DIMPs, the game's developer, has recently been in the news for some of their 'other' projects and Burst Limit represents the company's first 'HD' console experiment and a good judge of what they may be capable of on a more powerful platform.

Because of this, I was excited when I saw that Atari posted a demo of the game on the Playstation Network as well as Xbox Live. Even though I didn't have much time when it was first put up to check it out, over the course of this weekend I did have the opportunity to download the demo and get in a few matches before other obligations took away my time. While I think it's safe to say that the primary audience for Burst Limit will be fans of the anime/manga (and previous DBZ releases by DIMPs), based on what little I've played so far, Burst Limit should be able to succeed with a cross-over appeal that some of the other titles in the Budokai and Tenkaichi series have been unable to capture.

Unfortunately, it's hard to escape the pigeon-hole of an anime/licensed fighter. There is a difficult balancing act that must be walked by the developer of the game in order to satisfy an enthusiastic (sometimes rabid) fanbase of the source material as well as the often times extremely critical fighting game community. Though some games are able to appeal to one or the other, it's a rare release that is able to find an overtly positive position from both sides. One of the best things that I noticed right off the bat with the Burst Limit demo is the apparent fore-thought that the developers have put into trying to satisfy both parties with their own special nods.


There was nothing really inherently wrong with the Budokai fighting system found in other DBZ releases that wasn't able to be fixed to create a stronger product. The core system has always been a bit simplistic in order to encourage gamers who aren't used to a traditional fighting game, but with the latest releases (in specific Shin Budokai which seems to serve as the base for Burst Limit in a lot of ways), DIMPs and Atari/Bandai Namco have been trying to tweak it slightly to satisfy a core fighting audience. With Burst Limit, due to the increased speed as well as the introduction of new offensive and defensive techniques, the tweaks should offer enough to warrant a second look for someone trying to find a good game to fill the void of a next-generation fighter before the flood hits later this year. It is clear that the primary focus of Burst Limit has been to refine the fighting engine, and it seems to have paid off exceedingly well for the game.

For fans of the anime/manga, Burst Limit serves as a 'restart' of the franchise on next generation consoles. Though some people may be a bit discouraged due to the lower number of characters compared to previous releases the last couple of years, the developers have instead opted for a more traditional story driven experience that should satisfy an ardent fan even if they aren't able to play with their favorite secondary character. The hidden in-fight 'cut scenes' should also reward fans with an unlockable play mechanic that allows them to revisit some of their favorite scenes from the anime in game based on meeting certain tasks (and defeats). The demo covers a couple of battles from Raditz's appearance on earth, so it only provides a taste of what can be expected in the full game (which goes through the Cell Saga), but there are several instantly recognizable in-fight scenes that should elicit a positive response from fans.

Of course there are a few issues I have with the game based on the demo so far, so it's not all smelling roses yet... The game is capped at 30fps, which seems to be both a positive and a negative in this case. While I would've loved to see it featured at 60fps, the cap does ensure that the action is always smooth, which in the case of a fighting game is the most important thing. Secondly, there is a bit of a disconnect in the voice overs and the character lip synch. It's a small complaint, but it is noticeable in game which tends to affect the illusion of an anime come to life as a game (as a side note Japanese voices will be included for those interested). Finally, the cut-scenes in game are not skippable. This isn't a big deal on your first play through, but as I unlocked a couple of the longer ones, I was wishing there was a way to skip past them after their first viewing. No offense to Raditz and Goku and the rest of the 'crew', but there's only so many times I can view the same scene...


Probably the strongest aspect of Dragon Ball Z Burst Limit demo is its general presentation. The game looks slick and in some regards actually seems to improve on the look of the anime. It's amazing to see how far cell-shading technology has progressed from its earliest uses on the original Playstation. The sound work and voice overs are also well suited to the slick look. The game really is impressive to watch and listen to, even if the actual script sometimes leaves quite a few question marks and blank stares...

Overall, I'm more excited about the game than I was prior to playing the demo. I am planning on reviewing the final product when it's made available, so look for that in-depth review in the next couple of weeks. Dragon Ball Z Burst Limit is set to be released in the US on June 10th.



(As a side note, for Dragon Ball Z fans out there, if you pre-order the game at Gamestop, they are currently running one of their pre-order promotions. For Xbox 360 owners, pre-ordering DBZ Burst Limit will also give you the first 7 episodes of Season 1 on DVD and a Burst Limit T-Shirt. For PS3 owners, pre-ordering the game will also include a special Blu-Ray feature of Dragon Ball Z Dead Zone and the Burst Limit T-Shirt. Not a bad deal for fans – especially the Blu-Ray feature...)

What is really going on with Tekken 6 and US arcades?

There is no denying Tekken 6's current status in Japan. Right now Namco Bandai's arcade game is currently riding a wave of popularity that sees it sitting pretty aggressively at the top of the list of the best performing arcade games on the market. Considering the length of time that Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection held one of the top 3 spots according to both Arcadia Magazine and Amusement Journal tracking, the chances are that Tekken 6 is also only beginning its run that should culminate with the same market success that its predessor received.

But despite this early positive performance, there have been some serious question marks surrounding the game for an international audience. While the Asian market (notably Japan and Hong Kong) have been enjoying the release of Tekken 6 for almost 3 or 4 months now, word of a UK or a US release has been relatively unforthcoming. This culminated with a report last week from SD Tekken that unequivocally stated that Tekken 6 will not be receiving an official release in the US.

At the time, the report was an acknowledgment of the current market mentality in a lot of ways. While no sources were named, it did strike an unnerving cord with me that Tekken 6 (arcade) may end up being forgotten in favor for the inevitable home console port of the latest game in the franchise. Regardless, I was holding off any final judgment on the situation until there were more definitive sources either confirming or denying the early speculation.

I have received word however that the situation is a lot more fickle than what I could have possibly imagined. An upcoming issue of The Stinger Report is currently set to feature an indepth look at the Tekken 6 situation and how it relates to the US and UK arcade markets. Though the article in question hasn't been circulated yet (it should be posted to the newsletter in the next week or so), I have had a chance to take a look at its sections in order to get a better feel for what Namco Bandai games may be doing in regards to what I presumed would have been a popular title for the company.

From the article:

The Stinger Report approached the key executives at both satellite divisions of Namco towards an official statement on these rumors. The contact was made at what is usually the busiest period for the amusement sales – the Easter / Spring Break buying period a very important revenue stream for manufacturers in America and Europe. Add to this the build up to the ASI exhibition – the first big show of the US season – and it was not unsurprising that no reply was forthcoming.

Well placed sources to Namco stated off the record that another reason for the tight mouth before ASI was that they had hoped that the situation regarding Tekken would have fallen off the radar. The company’s international division feeling lumbered to even have the machine on their books as they saw no real demand, and would be happy to be shot of the responsibility to have to sell it into a market they feel depressed, especially for a high price piece of ‘niche’ hardware.

Where with Tekken 5, Namco America had worked extensively on ‘localization’ (translation and hardware alteration to suit market requirements) the corporation did not want to spend this expense on an already expensive and impractical import. Rather than confirming they had abandoned selling the machine, they hoped it would just go away.

The article goes on, but the message is clear - despite the high entry price there is an obvious demand for Tekken 6 that is being attempted to be held back from Namco Bandai Game's downplaying the potential audience in the UK and the US. There are obvious concerns about the hardware, the pricing for example is an immediate detriment to some arcade owners who maybe considering the cabinet, however even with these concerns, the recognition of a potential audience is driving arcade operators to look at acquiring the game through unofficial means.

This sort of after-market purchasing is already beginning to undermine Namco Bandai's apparent position, and if it becomes widespread, may be set to cause a potential backlash at the decision which has made the process of obtaining a unit rather difficult for those interested.

It is true that the industry doesn't demand the attention it once did, however, to downplay the audience as it is apparent that it seems like the US and UK divisions of Namco Bandai Games are currently doing seems to be writing a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure and shrinking market presence. If gamers are going to expect this sort of narrow viewing of their audience (and the ostracizing of the 'hardcore gamer' as was done according to the Stinger article at ATEI London by the European division of Namco games), the response will not be one that Namco Bandai amusements will appreciate.

Furthermore, once again quoting from The Stinger Report, there is a major difference between the approach that was taken with Tekken 5 and the current attitude with Tekken 6.

With T6 the difference in player relations between Namco Bandai Gaming in Japan and the satellite is stark. In Japan the AM R&D team has worked closely with the player base, listening to their suggestions and requests and shaping the machines play accordingly. Previously Namco America had worked incredibly closely with the players – the 2004 ‘Tekken 5’ (System 256) US cabinet had been specially developed by the excellent American team, members of which had listened to players including the Joypad home game controller ports, creating localization and player based information; but sadly with T6 Namco Japan had other ideas.

Already released in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines, New Zealand, and even Canada the game has seen record breaking earning – supported by the secondary spend of the online connectivity (ranking) service, and the purchase of IC cards; so why not the UK or the USA? The Stinger Report approached a number of trade operator sources about Namco executive’s claims of a lack of interest in buying the game.

A major difference in the 2004 success of ‘Tekken 5’ (System 256) and the new release was blamed on the difference in pricing. Internationally Namco charged over $5,000 for the cabinet for T5 – a cabinet that confirmed to the norms usually requested by operators. In comparison T6 sits in a unique (Japanese style) HD sit-down cabinet, and is best operated with accompanying connected cabinets, and display screen – at a price of $16,000 per unit!

Beyond all else, this shift away from viewing the US audience as a potential market and exchanging with it an attitude of disinterest in building an alternative for their seperate regions will inevitably also hurt the US industry. While it is obvious that several regions are able to support $16,000 cabinets, the high pricing concerns could have easily been adjusted with specific region machines built to the demands of the market. The lack of interest due to cost is once again an example of a lack of motivation to try to re-engage an audience in the US that has fallen by the wayside to an industry who no longer views them as their base.

Reality is a harsh mistress, and though I can understand the corporate reasoning behind these decisions, it will be interesting to see if the 'gray market' sales of Tekken 6 will possibly cause a re-consideration of Namco Bandai's current trend of 'non-support'. However, as The Stinger Report also points out, that even these means may not end up being the best solution for gamers and arcade operators, as 'sources close to Namco’s International divisions stated that they are prepared to block those using unauthorized routes (Grey) to import machines. Operational issues regarding official IC card availability (a card can only be used 200 times), and the issue that international systems will need to be hocked-up to the online component of the game for updates, and that unauthorized machines will be locked out by Namco.'

The whole situation is creating a stark separation that is highlighting a negative trend towards traditional arcade fighting games in the US industry. With the inevitable PS3 port of Tekken 6 scheduled for later this year (which will undoubtedly be a million seller), the period of exclusiveness for Tekken 6 has already been severely limited by Namco Bandai's 'decision of indecision'. It really does seem that in a lot of ways, it is a situation of the company having no one to blame but themselves...

The Stinger Report ends on a note about the implications of the entire situation with future releases. There were rumors at one time that Namco Bandai's US division could possibly be handling the distribution of Street Fighter IV in the arcades stateside. It is readily apparent that this is probably not the case under the circumstances, and it calls into question of whether or not Capcom (who has no arcade division in the US anymore) will be finding a way to make Street Fighter IV's arcade release available to arcade operators. Is the reluctance to put Tekken 6 on the market going to negatively effect the perception of an audience for Street Fighter IV with Capcom? I would hope not, but at this stage I'm still shocked that there isn't more of a push to demand Tekken 6 via official channels.

For those interested in the full article on Tekken 6, including more insights on the entire breakdown of the game's availability in the US and UK, I recommend heading over to The Stinger Report and subscribing to the newsletter. The newsletter article should be coming out soon and it provides an even greater look at what exactly is going on that has caused the current course of action both on the part of arcade operators who want the game and a company who doesn't seem to want to be bothered to supply it...

There is always another side to every story, this one included. While I'm sure it would be great to receive official comments in regards to Tekken 6 (which has been hard to come by at this stage), over at the SDTekken site one Namco employee spoke up about the entire situation.

T6 in NA and other countries is a mere supply and demand equation. Ultimately, NA player’s penchant to sit on their asses until the game hits console has brought this upon themselves. No operator is willing to take the financial risk on T6 knowing the ROI will never be reached and player loyalty is only as long as the game remains off consoles

For Namco America we did everything we could, even hosting massive tournaments at our own loss couldn’t turn the boat around. Not only did operators lose tons of money in T5, Namco America did as well.

The real ugly is that players brought this upon themselves.

This seems to be the closest to an official statement as we may get. The attitude is a bit disturbing and self-defeatist, but none-the-less, shows the opinion that Namco Bandai's American arcade division has elected to take with Tekken 6.

And on that note, I think it's important to bring up that the second Tekken 6 machine been officially spotted in Southern California...

[Discuss on Forums]

SD-Tekken reports Tekken 6 will not receive a US release in arcades

There has been a bit of speculation over the last couple of weeks as to when exactly distributors in the US would receive Tekken 6 cabinets. As has been pointed out previously, the game has failed to show up on the 'usual suspects' lists of companies that often times handle the distribution of Namco Bandai arcade games here in America. While no official sources were named, over at SD Tekken, one of the largest US based Tekken fansites, it is being reported that Tekken 6 will not be receiving a release in the US via official channels.

Of course, this won't limit arcade operators and distributors who choose to import the game, but as was pointed out in the article posted by SD Tekken, those wanting to get their hands on a cabinet will be facing some increasingly hefty price hikes. There are a few cabinets that can be found here and there, but it seems that for anyone who was expecting to see Tekken 6 meeting the same market penetration in the US as Tekken 5/Dark Resurrection will end up being disappointed.

As a side note, Kevin Williams of the Stinger Report posted a comment over at Arcade Heroes, where he states (prior to the latest revelation from SD Tekken) that he was going to be asking some tough questions in regards to this situation and how it relates to the US/UK distribution of the title to the Namco Bandai CEO at ASI in late March. It'll be interesting to see the response from an 'official source'.

I can't help but feel despite the obvious lack of faith in the US arcade industry by some companies, this may end up being a big missed opportunity due to the rabid fan base of the series. The only thing that I can see this really doing for the US base is drawing more fans away from arcades to begin with... Especially with the heels of an impending console release of Tekken 6 being planned late 2008.

[Discuss on Forums]

Tekken 6 Hidden Boss in action (slight spoilers)

Earlier this week, I saw a couple of images of Tekken 6's hidden boss posted over at SDTekken.com.

According to the original post that was put up by MarkMan, Nancy MI847J appears in the second to last stage (right before Azazel) and is a massive robot that uses her (its?) size to her (its?) advantage (the comparison with Kuma is really telling since as MarkMan points out - Kuma is one of the taller characters in the game). Nancy is unable to be stunned or juggled, meaning that most strategies revolving around the games new bound mechanics or classic wall juggle abuses are practically worthless against her (it?).

Today, SDTekken went ahead and linked to a YouTube video created by some players in the Hong Kong Tekken community that actually featured Nancy in action. I've embedded it below for easy viewing, but needless to say, if you want to be surprised - don't view the video.


My local game center is in the decision making process about whether or not they will be purchasing Tekken 6. I've been trying to encourage it since Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection has performed rather well around here, but the price point is really making them second guess the value. I'll be heading out for business soon, so I'm hoping that when I'm on the west coast I'll be able to locate an arcade that has a Tekken 6 cabinet in place. I'm looking forward to seeing the game in a more natural setting than a random warehouse...

[Discuss on Forums]

Tekken 6 Gamer's Vision tournament

[Video removed due to Stage-6 going down]

I saw this video linked over at Neo-Arcadia and decided that it was well worth being featured here as well.

Over on Stage6, a user by the name of MarcoRomeo has posted the video from Gamer's Vision's Tekken 6 tournament and includes a full hour and a half of footage of the game in action. Unfortunately, the footage isn't in high definition, but the quality is substantially better than most of the Youtube footage that has been floating around online since Tekken 6's release.

I will offer the advice to turn down the volume a bit before viewing... The announcer can get a little over zealous on occasions. Also, be warned that the file is a large video, so those who aren't on broadband may have a substantial wait while the video loads.

MarcoRomeo also has a few other Tekken 6 uploads that are worth checking out if your Tekken 6 "fix" hasn't been served enough from the Gamer's Vision video.

[Discuss on Forums]

Soul Calibur IV - Yoda/Darth Trailer

Okay... I've recovered from the shock a bit. I guess in some regards, Yoda and Darth Vader in Soul Calibur IV makes as much sense as Link, Heihachi, and Spawn. There is just something about it however that just leaves my jaw dropped to the floor.

As a Star Wars fan - I'm interested. As a Soul Calibur fan - I'm interested.

I just wonder how in the world both of these characters are going to fit into the Soul Calibur backstory (like they forced Spawn, Link, and Heihachi into it with Soul Calibur II).

In a world with demon swords, undead pirates, and contortionist mutes who see through sound, I guess arguing about whether or not a character "fits" is really not much of an issue. But still - Darth Vader and Yoda in Soul Calibur IV? Really Namco?

[Discuss on Forums]

Fear? Uncertainty? Doubt? Soul Calibur 4 is tempted by the darkside of the force

I don't think I've been more confused in my entire life.

See 1up to find out why.

[Discuss on Forums]

Tekken 6 movelist posted in a convenient PDF

Namco has posted the full movelist for each of the characters in Tekken 6 in an easily searchable PDF file. The PDF is only about 3MB, so if you are interested in checking out some of the changes to your favorite characters before the game makes its way stateside, this is your opportunity. I've only glanced through the file, but I can already tell that most of the returning characters have quite a few new tricks up their sleeves. Tekken 6 has already been released in arcades across Japan. Though the game is not seeing wide distribution in the US, gamers should be seeing it slowly trickle across North America as arcades jump on the new bandwagon. The PDF can be found here.

Tekken 6 Intro Trailer

andyelmo over at Gametrailers has posted the full arcade intro to Tekken 6. After watching Heihachi Mishima die at the beginning of the Tekken 5 intro, I'm a bit disappointed. But then again, when I first heard the words "Heihachi Mishima is dead", I became an immediate Tekken 5 fanboy. Of course, it didn't stick (it never does), but at least Namco Bandai let us believe that there was going to be a Tekken world free of Heihachi's "Iron Fist" at least for a short while (until we got to the end of the game that is)...

Tekken 6 Official Released (Spoilers ahoy on the final boss)

Early yesterday, Namco Bandai released a PDF press release announcing the official start of availability for Tekken 6 across arcades in Japan. In a lot of ways, this is an extremely ambitious release for the company due to the nature of the high definition cabinets as well as the new Cell-based hardware that the game is showcasing. It will be interesting to see how this performs, especially in the US where the game is not receiving a mass distribution like the previous Tekken titles received.

In addition to this news, a lot of new YouTube! videos have started to pop up on the internet featuring Tekken 6. In a handful of them, the new final boss of the series has been revealed. Don't scroll down or read below (or view the videos) if you want to be surprised.





SPOILER
The final boss in Tekken 6 is Azazel, a demon traditionally associated with goats of all things. He is a massive opponent in Tekken 6, easily the largest in the series history. For those who thought that Jin Pachi was evily delicious, you haven't seen anything yet...

The videos below are a couple shaky cam shots of the final boss in action...

Eddie vs. Azazel


Zafina vs. Azazel

SDTekken's IAAPA Tekken 6 Report

After months of having to rely on second hand reports out of Japan as the basis of about 75% of all Tekken 6 information, attendees at the IAAPA Expo in Orlando have had the opportunity to go hands on with the game for the first time in North America. For more information on the testing, including a great breakdown of the game from the High Score Online and SDTekken team, head over to High Score Online's official write up of the event. There are also a ton of great pictures of the promotional material and the cabinets on the article as well, so I highly recommend checking it out.

Most of the impressions of the game is information that we've already had for months now based on Japanese gamers' accounts, but there is a couple of bit of great "nuggets" about Tekken 6 revealed in the article. Jason Arney (of Namco Bandai Games America) has revealed to the High Score Online/SDTekken teams that Namco Bandai Games America will not be mass producing this cabinet as they have done with previous Tekken titles. Tekken 6 will also only be sold in North America as a dedicated cabinet; there will be no kit version of Tekken 6 due to the unique USB based hardware and necessary HD output.

This does mean that Tekken 6 may be a bit hard to find unless dedicated arcade owners make it a point to order the game. If you have a local arcade near you, it may be in your best interest to go ahead and plant the bug in the owner's ear that you feel Tekken 6 may be a good investment for his business should you want to see it.

The cabinets themselves are set to begin shipping sometime in January and will retail at around the $10,000 mark.

Namco Bandai announces a lawsuit against Eagle Distributing

According to case information found over at Justia.com, Namco Bandai Games and Namco Bandai Games America have filed suit against Eagle Distributing of Frankfort, Illinois for alleged copyright infringement and intellectual property violations.

The suit claims that Eagle Distributing is currently in violation of Namco Bandai's properties through the sale of unauthorized and counterfeit products without authorization from the company. These products include their GameboX Multi-arcade systems and Ms. Pac-Man and More Cocktail and Upright cabinets. The lawsuit seeks damages, right of seizure, and a stop to any further violations from Eagle Distributing.

It will be interesting to see what sort of response this lawsuit has. Namco Bandai has notoriously fought to protect its copyrights on arcade properties in the past (including a famous lawsuit against Midway over Ms. Pac-Man), so this is no surprise if Eagle Distributing is indeed in violation of Namco Bandai's copyright protections. It also poses the question of just how many of these companies that feature multi-game units such as the one's from Eagle Distributing are actually doing so without the appropriate authorization from the holder of the intellectual property. It seems in light of this lawsuit, it may be an important question to ask (so long as financially supporting an IP holder is important to you that is).

I'm in the process of getting a copy of the actual lawsuit so I can go over it in a bit more detail. Once that's made available to me, I'll post a few more details from the case filing.

Eagle Distributing's website can be found at http://www.eagled.com/index.htm.

Tekken 6 Release Date Revealed

After a rather vague Fall/Winter 2007 target, Namco Bandai has finally revealed the official release date for Tekken 6. According to sources from the company, the new deluxe kits will begin shipping to arcades across Japan on November 26th (the regular units and PCB shipments will come sometime in December). Unfortunately, there is no word yet on when we should start to expect them stateside, but several sites such as Coinopexpress have the kit as being available for order as of November 30th. The game will ship on specially designed Cell-based arcade hardware - the first of its kind from the company.

Dig Dug Islands Trailer

Namco Bandai and Verx currently has plans to release an online PC game based roughly on the classic arcade title Dig Dug II. Though details about the game are a bit scarce right now, it should definitely be noted that this isn't the Dig Dug we remember. For more information about the game, I recommend heading over to Gpara where a few screens and details have been revealed.

Banpresto to be integrated into Bandai Namco

As of April 1st, Banpresto will be fully integrated into Bandai Namco games according to a recent report released by Game Watch. The company is citing that a "fast changing gaming market" is the primary reason for the decision to merge the smaller Banpresto studios with its parent company. Over the last couple of years, Banpresto is well known for its work on the Gundam arcade series as well as several prize and medal games released in Japan. The report states that despite the restructuring, Banpresto's internal division will continue its focus on the arcade and amusement sector.

New Time Crisis 4 (PS3) Trailer

Gametrailers has posted a new trailer for Time Crisis 4.

I wasn't the biggest fan of this version of the game in arcades (Time Crisis 2 is probably my favorite out of the series), but this release along with the new GunCon 3 is looking mightily attractive for the Playstation 3. I'm not sure about the "first person action" mode, but the arcade mode looks solid enough since the PS3 should be able to provide a "near" perfect arcade port of the game.

More Tekken Movie Details

I've had a change of heart when it comes to holding off on judging a book by its cover in regards to the upcoming Tekken Live Action movie.

After seeing some of the first details about the film come out of IESB.net, I can unequivocally say that this movie is heading for a Bloodrayne-styled disaster. Somehow, the writers, directors, and producers of the film have taken an already convoluted back story of Tekken and replaced it with a multi-headed beast worthy of ridicule.

Harsh?

Absolutely. But check out the details below and judge for yourself.

The IESB has gotten their hands on the audition sides from the upcoming live action flick TEKKEN based on the popular video game of the same name (which has TEKKEN 6 coming to the USA sometime in 2008).

Audition “sides” just use certain scenes in the script, usually emotionally charged ones, to see how the actors would react in that situation. We’ve gone through them all and have some character descriptions for ya plus a few details of the story.

Characters first –

JIN – Hero supreme with a serious drug problem, he’s hooked on ZEN and does what he can to get his next fix. He has entered the tournament in order to get near MISHIMA to kill him. He finds out along the way that he is the son of KAZUYA and grandson of MISHIMA. He is the people’s favorite to win KING OF THE IRON FIST. Suffering from ZEN withdrawals and sweating profusely, he enters the arena to try out for the latest IRON FIST tournament, his opponent? MARSHALL LAW. *See KAZUYA’s details for more on his lineage.

BONNER - The scene used for the sides for the character of BONNER is actually our first introduction to the character. It’s about 10 minutes into the film and we find BONNER in his chop shop working on some underground black market kind of stuff listening to an “old” Black Eyed Peas song “Pump It” and singing along. A knock at the door rattles BONNER and his crew and they quickly cover up what they are working on. Luckily, it’s just BONNER’s acquaintance JIN at the door with his latest run of illegal goods. He hands over the microprocessors and gets a fix of ZEN (via inhaler) in exchange. Clearly a ZEN junkie, JIN asks for more but BONNER doesn’t give it out for free. JIN offers to take part in the “fights” later that evening in order to make some extra dough for BONNER so he will give him more ZEN.

BRYAN FURY – Tekken’s favorite cyborg is a part of the live action TEKKEN film. BRYAN FURY of the ONYX CORPORATION. We meet him as we should, flexing his muscles for all the world to see. With his muscles rippling, veins protruding and sweat beading, FURY is more machine than man. His skeletal structure was replaced by flexsteel. He is being blackmailed (sorta) by head villain Kazuya. Not sure for what, but Kazuya knows Bryan’s secret. Did I mention it’s illegal to have more that 30% of bodily enhancements in Iron Fist? FURY sports his famous eye to chin scar.

MISHIMA – Head of TEKKEN Corporation that has taken over the world pretty much after the last big war. He sees TEKKEN as the saving grace of the human race, things were in complete disarray before the corporation stepped in and brought order to the world. He believes he is remaking the world. Of course, with great power comes great responsibility and it looks like TEKKEN CORP has gone overboard outlawing all sorts of things in the “best interest” of the people. And what’s a big world dominating power without a big “cage match” to find the ultimate fighter? IRON FIST is TEKKEN’s version. The KING of the IRON FIST is the best fighter in town. MISHIMA doesn’t seem as “bad” as he did in the video game. He may even have a change of heart about TEKKEN thanks to JIN.

KAZUYA – MISHIMA’s son who thinks his father is weak and he should be in control. Has waited for the torch to be passed down for a long time and is getting pretty frustrated with his father. Considering we find MISHIMA is the detention center later in the story with JIN going to him for help to escape, it looks like KAZUYA is the one who put him there and is now in power. He is also the one who raped JIN’s mom resulting in his birth.

MARSHALL LAW – Remember the guy at the end of OVER THE TOP? The final arm wrestling opponent for Stallone? Well, maybe not many of you do, but that’s SO this guy, MARSHALL LAW, he’s the bad ass scary IRON FIST opponent that JIN fights to qualify. He breaks bones, wills and has a tendency to throw his opponents, well, at least what’s left of his opponents. He demands respect from JIN, but JIN is the one who gets the respect instead.

STEVE FOX – Former IRON FIST competitor turned IRON FIST ANNOUNCER. Give him a hand, he’s British! He leads the open call fighters to the arena on opening day and helps JIN get through a tough match with MARDUK by revealing the fighter’s weak left knee. He also helps JIN discover who is really is. *See KAZUYA for more on that.

KING – Current champion of the TEKKEN IRON FIST TOURNAMENT. His face is all over the advertisements TEKKEN IS KING.

In sides, there is always some left over dialogue from the page before or the page after. From what I gather from the TEKKEN sides, other than the scenes and character descriptions I described above, the fighters (Marduk, Phoenix, Anna and Nina - sisters, Christie, Raven, Gorgo, Fury, Dragunov and Jin) seem to have gathered together and are trying to escape from the Mishima complex, they are ordered to return to their rooms, but refuse and an intense action sequence ensues. A fighter dies.

Well that’s what I’ve garnered from the pages we received. The character seem pretty close to the game thus far with just a few added twists. Also, there is plenty of violence, blood and a lot of “fucks” that would constitute an R-rating.

Stay tuned to the IESB for further updates!

Now I don't fault a movie-based site for not being up on the current history of the King of the Iron Fist Tournament, but how in the world are these characters "pretty close to the game"?

I don't mean to sound like I'm harping on film makers here... I'm sure that making a video game movie is on the lower tiered jobs that they would ideally take in some regards. But if you are going to do the movie, is it too much to ask to at least try to do them right?

I've lost pretty much all faith in this project. As was stated in the comments earlier today, there is still Soulcalibur to look forward to on the horizon. I have a bad feeling that Tekken is destined for the bargain bin.

New Series of Tekken 6 Images

Namco Bandai has posted a handful of new Tekken 6 images on the game's official website. We get our first shots of Eddie, but nothing too exciting by the way of anything new. The game is still shaping out for a solid late 2007/early 2008 release. With Soul Calibur 4 being developed by a different team within Namco Bandai, it makes you wonder how much inter-office rivalry there is between the two game development teams. A little healthy competition never hurt anyone, and perhaps the knowledge that the games are both going to see their way into gamers' hands next year is a motivating factor to push just a little bit harder.

Tekken Movie Poster

Over at ComingSoon.net, the first poster for the live action movie adaptation of Tekken was posted online. I know that it's not fair to judge a book by its cover (or a movie by its poster in this case), but by the plot synopsis provided and the absolutely horrible poster, I can't help but think that this movie may be thrown very quickly to the top of the "Worst Video Game Movies Ever" category.

According to ComingSoon.net, Charles Stone has been selected to direct the film (he previously directed Mr. 3000 and Drumline), which is contrary to the original reports that I read that Dwight Little was directing (he was responsible for Free Willy 2 and Halloween 4 alongside his multitude of television credits). I'm not sure which one is correct, but the Internet Movie Database still lists Dwight Little as the director and Charles Stone as the writer.

More information is sure to come soon. The movie is set for a 2009 release.

For those who have a hard time reading the tag on the poster:

After the Great Terror Wars, governments fell...
Seven corporations rose from the ashes to rule all men...
Together they were known as The Iron Fist...
The mightiest of which was...
Tekken