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]

My recent purchase... Tekken 5

I realized that with my last post I haven't mentioned my recent purchase late last month. I was out bowling with my wife and a few friends, and since I'm not much of a bowler, I spent pretty much all of my time sinking quarters into the small arcade area since they had a few new games that I hadn't seen before (2Spicy for example - which I was mildly impressed with).

There was a Tekken 5 dedicated cabinet in the corner of the arcade with the screen turned off and a small for sale sign posted in the corner that had the words "Broken" underneath it. Being mildly curious, I asked the bowling alley manager what was wrong with the machine and how much he wanted it for it. He stated that the joystick and buttons weren't responding and he didn't have time to mess with the machine. He said that he was simply wanting to get rid of the machine because it was in his mind too much of a hassle for not enough return.

I offered him about $200 cash to take the game off his hands if he could turn it own for me and let me inspect it. He agreed and after making sure the only damage that I could find was the joysticks and buttons (which were going to be a fairly simple fix), I went ahead and agreed to purchase the game for that amount. The next day I went back and loaded up the game in my friend's truck and hauled it home.

I currently have the replacement parts on order so hopefully I should be getting them fairly soon. In the meantime, I have a really crappy cell phone picture to show off my latest 'wares'. Since I already own Dark Resurrection online on my PS3, I'm not quite sure if I'm going to keep the cabinet a dedicated Tekken cabinet or if I'm going to end up doing something a bit creative with it. If I do decide to gut the thing, I'll keep everyone updated on the process since I'm sure people enjoy that sort of thing.

All in all, this is probably one of the better arcade buys that I've picked up over the years for cost and value. It just amazes me that people would be so quick to just dump a game that probably ran them $5-6,000 (or at least someone that much at one time). But I guess if someone doesn't want to be hassled, they don't want to be hassled.

As I mentioned in my previous post though, this pick up ended up putting me on a no more arcade games moratorium for the time being. That is until I can convince my wife I really do need another one...

[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 casting news - Cung Le is Marshall Law

I missed out on the announcement earlier this month that Luke Goss would be playing Steve Fox in the new Tekken movie, but I won't miss out on this one...

Based on a tip I was sent via e-mail, Mixed Martial Artist Cung Le has taken on the role of Marshall Law in the new Tekken movie. This information was revealed in an interview he gave with MMAJacked.com.

Check out the interview below (about a minute-forty in) to hear him mention his role in passing while speaking about some of his other recent Hollywood projects. For those who are unfamiliar with Cung Le, I would recommend doing a search on YouTube for his name or visiting his wesbite. Several of his fights are posted on online and his website gives a good breakdown of his career history (including images) and film projects. According to the Strikeforce official website (the MMA company Cung Le is currently involved with), he also has an upcoming fight against Frank Shamrock on March 29th.

I'm not sure if he necessarily looks the part of Marshall Law, but considering what little we know about the Tekken movie, I'm willing to hold off final judgments until we get a bit more information.


With Tekken and Street Fighter both set for a theatrical release in late 2008/2009, I'm curious if either one will end up satisfying their rabid fan-bases. I know i've been a bit critical of both, but we'll see what happens when we get our first trailers. I think that's probably going to be the tell-all about the direction the two films are heading.

[Discuss on Forums]

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

Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection Update Now Available

The long awaited updated to Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection for the Playstation Network is now available for download for $9.99. Though most players will immediately download it for its inclusion of online play (which makes the download worth the price for that alone), the game also now will feature the much needed Practice mode and a Survival mode. I probably will download it this weekend to check it out. Hopefully the series' presence on the PSN will increase the demand stateside for the Tekken 6 cabinets once they become available.

Tekken 6 Updates - New Photos

The Tekken 6 official website had a few updates posted yesterday. There are three new pages of screen shots posted and more importantly the opening of the movelist and profile section of the game. Currently listed on the page and available for viewing are Leo, Zafina, Miguel, Jin, Kazuya, Heihachi, Yoshimitsu, Xiaoyu, Bruce, Lee, and Dragunov. Unfortunately only the profiles are available at this time. No moves lists have been posted. I've posted a small selection of the screenshots below, but the rest of them can be found by browsing over to Tekken's home on the web.

The more that I see of the game, the more I'm impressed by the little things. I can't wait to see some more high definition footage when Bandai Namco get around to posting some more videos online. Though the location test footage was nice, everything I've heard and seen has stated that it doesn't hold a candle to the real deal.

The game is currently still on track for a late 2007 release.

Playstation Premier Info - Tekken 6 to Feature Online Multiplayer

Bandai Namco recently announced that the home console port of Tekken 6 on the Playstation 3 will be featuring a full multiplayer component allowing for one on one duels between Tekken fans.

The announcement, which was made at the recently held Playstation Premier event in Japan, finally confirms the wide spread belief that Tekken 6 would be following its predecessor, Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection, and its sister franchise, Soul Caibur, online when it is finally released for home gamers. Little new information was revealed at the event in regards to new features for the port, but Bandai Namco has promised an assortment of new modes different from the arcade version when the game is released.

No firm release date has been established yet for Tekken 6 for the Playstation 3, but the arcade game is set for a wide release later this fall. Bandai Namco claims that the game should be available within a year after that release period.

I don't know how other people feel about this decision, but I'm personally glad to see a bit of a delay between when Tekken 6 hits arcades and when the Playstation 3 home console port will be available. This creates a certain demand and hype for the game in the arcade scene before the wave of Tekken 6 Playstation 3 press takes over. I'm interested to see the response this game receives, especially due to the game's higher entry point.

The cell based arcade hardware is a great favor for Sony. Not only does it help ensure quality ports of some of Bandai Namco's higher tier arcade releases, but it also helps encourage Bandai Namco to continue supporting Sony's console.

Part of the announcement mentioned at the Playstation Premier event included talks about the possibility of cross-platform capabilities between the Playstation 3 and Tekken 6 arcade machine. Though no further details were released on what was being considered, chances are some form of character save data and perhaps unlocked extras will be available for those players who spend time in the arcades before Tekken 6 hits home.

We'll have more on that aspect of Tekken 6 as we get it.

VS! Gametrailers.com throws down the Gauntlet on Virtual Fighter and Dead or Alive

For the last few years, 3D fighting games have been narrowly defined in the minds of most buyers as Tekken, Virtual Fighter, and Dead or Alive. For good or ill, these three games have helped shape the fighting game industry, and influenced wave after wave of copy-cats trying to follow their successful formulas.

Though Tekken 6 will not be in arcades until later this summer, both Virtual Fighter and Dead or Alive have seen recent next generation releases on both arcades and home consoles.

With a natural bit of competition, Gametrailers.com has pit the two successful fighters into a grudge match against each other to determine just who is the fan favorite. To view the video feature, and to place your own votes, click here.

Tekken 6 Story and Character Profiles Updated

UPDATED - New translation for Leo and Zafina as of 5/24/2007. I'll update if there is another one that proves to be more accurate.

The Japanese Tekken fansite Sunlight Yellow has posted some additional details of the Tekken 6 story from the June issue of Arcadia magazine. The posting outlines both the official Tekken 6 story arc as well as several character profiles from the series, including the two new characters Leo and Zafina. A rough translation has been provided below.

OFFICIAL STORYThe 5th King of the Iron fist tournament had ended in mystery with Heihachi Mishima missing and Jin Kazama crowned the winner.

Kazama assumed his role as the head of the Mishima Zaibatsu, and used the Iron Fist special forces for acts of espionage around the world. Eventually the suspicion created by Mishima's actions, was used as an opportunity to cede discontent among the people which lead to riots and civil wars.

With the world enveloped in conflict, the Mishima Zaibatsu used its influence to declare its independence and usurp its power from several sovereign nations.

The Mishima Zaibatsu was intent on being the most powerful country in the world, and no one seemed to be able to stop them. Eventually the G Corporation began to build the strength necessary to stand in their way. The G Corporation was seen as a savior to the world. They opposed the Mishima Zaibatsu forces at every corner, and tried to prevent the rogue nation from solidifying its power even further. They eventually offered a bounty to anyone who can bring in the root of all the world's discontent, the devil Jin Kazama, alive.

As expected by the G Corporation leaders, Mishima Zaibatsu used this as an opportunity to declare the opening of the King of the Iron Fist 6 tournament.

For those those who wanted recognition, for those who sought money, and for those who simply wanted revenge, all of the competitors had their own motives for why they were gathered when the tournament began...


CHARACTER PROFILES
LEO
Leo is the child of world-renowned male explorer, and a top female executive of the biotech firm, G Corporation.

Leo’s father, whom she respected, disappeared during an exploration when she was a child, but even so, she strove to become an explorer like her father. She grew up to be a straight and narrow person with her kind mother, but her happy days came to an abrupt end when someone killed her mother.

Saddened by her mother’s death, she shut everyone out of her life, but the unexpected and inconclusive end to her mother’s murder investigation, prompted her to continue the investigation on her own. Not too long after she started her, she came across the name of a man named Kazuya Mishima, G Corporation’s very own. And as G Corporation was praised as the world’s savior, all attempts at approaching had ended in failure.

News of the Mishima Financial Group opening a martial arts tournament called The King of the Iron Fist Tournament was spreading, and knowing that Kazuya was going participate directly in the tournament, Leo too followed suit, believing this would be her only chance to avenge her slain mother.

Zafina
Zafina, who has great spiritual powers, was born to a group of spiritual warriors with an ancient past.

Since childhood, Zafina was raised to be a protector of an imperial tomb. Several years ago, a foreign army attacked the imperial tomb she and her group were protecting, and Zafina single handedly wiped every single one of them out. Since then, the group’s guru appointed her to be its sole assassin.

In her public life, she uses her spiritual powers as an astrologist, but recently she can only see evil omens, and her premonitions grow more and more intense day by day. Seeking to understand the meaning behind all of this, Zafina sought the advice of her guru, and he began to tell her an ancient tale passed down from generation to generation only to a select few. According to the tale, two evil stars will shake the world when they come into contact, and, inevitably, the two will unite with the sealed ancient evil being protected by her group, destroying the world. Zafina considered the meaning behind the guru’s tale and her premonitions well.

Setting out on a course that took her far east, to the place the evil stars were believed to be gathering, she journeyed with the intentions of destroying them.

Kazuya Mishima
Kazuya uncovered a conspiracy against him, and brutally killed all of the G Corporation employees which sought to betray him. Even with the world in chaos, Kazuya secretly maneuvered himself to become the head of the G Corporation. Kazuya, was unwilling to see Jin and the Mishima Zaibatsu conquer the world, and so, lead the G Corporation into war against Jin's elite forces.

He was seen as a hero by the people, and the G Corporation was praised as saviors. By his power and influence, Kazuya announced to the world that anyone that could bring in Jin Kazama would be awarded handsomely. Immediately following his announcement, Mishima Zaibatsu announced the opening of the King of the Iron Fist 6 tournament. Kazuya expected this reaction from his adversary, and smiled, deviously. The plan was going according to his design.

Heihachi Mishima
After the suicide bombing of the Jack unit failed to take his life, Heihachi awakened to discover that the King of the Iron Fist 5 tournament had already ended. When he attempted to return to the Zaibatsu's headquarters, an elite force of Iron Fist soldiers attacked and assaulted Heihachi. He was prevented from returning to his former home.

Soon after, Mishima Zaibatsu announced the King of the Iron Fist 6 tournament. From the announcement, Heihachi learned that Jin Kazama was the new head of Mishima Zaibatsu and became enraged. He is determined to recover his power and destroy Jin Kazama, at whatever cost.

Yoshimitsu
While attempting to avenge his fallen clan by defeating Bryan Fury, Yoshimitsu realized that his katana was weakening. His sword had become a cursed blade. It now sought the blood of evil, and when it received its sacrifice, it became more powerful. But if the wielder failed to give into its blood lust, it drove the user insane.

Yoshimitsu had to push the blade away, and was forced to use a new sword that blocked the powers of the demon blade. He entered the King of the Iron Fist 6 tournament in an attempt to seal away the blade's curse forever.

New Tekken 6 Updates from Arcadia

Courtesy of SD Tekken and Mukumuku on the Tekken Zaibatsu forums:

New tidbits from the latest issue of Arcadia Magazine indicate a massive overhaul for many of the older characters in Tekken 6. Among the main highlights of the article were:

* Animations have been changed for every character!
* All characters have an “item move”, like the Bryan shotgun we saw at the AOU trailer. Although not all of them will have the same effectiveness.
* An example of an “item move” will be Anna throwing her high heels at her opponents.
* Harada officially stated that Leo IS a girl.
* So far Yoshimitsu has gone under the most drastic change. Harada notes that it will be much more difficult to use Yoshimitsu this time around and they consider him an “Expert” character. Part of his story includes the fact that his sword is now losing power and he must take a new fighting style, Kenjutsu from the Manji clan, this includes both dual sword fighting and pure fist fighting!
* A lot of Lei Wulong’s laying down stances have been changed. They look more like Lei Fei and Shun Di’s laying down stance from Virtua Fighter 5. They also changed the properties where Lei can be counter-hit and juggled out of his laying down stances.
* Many changes were done to Marshall Law. It is noted that fans of Bruce Lee and those that know of Jeet Kune Do will be very pleased.

Tekken 6 Confirmed to be on Playstation 3 Based Hardware

Though this is no surprise considering Sony's relationship with Namco for their previous Arcade hardware, it does help clear up earlier rumors in regards to the hardware base for the new fighter. It also explains the Playstation 3 hardware and modified controllers that were being used to control the fighter at the AOU 2007 preview. People didn't think those were just there for show, right?

Source: http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/business/news/20070326p2g00m0bu023000c.html

Fighting game "Tekken 6" will go on sale later this year as the first arcade game using Sony's PlayStation 3 technology, game developer Namco Bandai Games Inc. announced Monday.

"Tekken 6" will be available for amusement parks and other game arcade facilities worldwide, but the company has not decided on the exact launch date for that game or others that will follow, using Sony's latest game technology, Namco Bandai spokeswoman Miki Baba said.

Tokyo-based Namco Bandai, Japan's second largest toy and game business group and maker of the "Ridge Racer" and "Pac Man" games, has previously used the predecessor PlayStation 2 technology to develop arcade versions of games, Baba said.

Namco Bandai has sold its PS2 arcade technology to other makers, but it is still undecided about whether to sell its PS3 cell-based technology, Baba said.

The PlayStation 3 went on sale in the U.S. and Japan late last year and in March in Europe.

Technology for PlayStation 3 includes a new computer chip called "Cell," which Sony Corp. developed with IBM Corp. and Toshiba Corp. and will be used in new gadgets for the home as well as video game products. (AP)