Hey Capcom fighting game lovers, I have some exciting news regarding Udon’s San Diego Comic-Con exclusives . This year Udon is pulling out all the stops with three limited edition hardcover offerings: Street Fighter V – The Life and Death of Charlie Nash , Capcom Fighting Tribute (Convention Exclusive) and last but not least Street Fighter 25 – Akiman Hardcover Edition.

It doesn’t end there however, as Akiman will make an extremely rare appearance at the Udon booth on Saturday July 11 ^th to sign purchased Street Fighter 25 – Akiman books, a definite once in a lifetime experience.

Continue on for more information on each item and how to preorder to maximize your chances to score these exclusives!

The Life and Death of Charlie Nash

This 48 page hardcover exclusive explores the life and death of Charlie Nash leading up to SFV. See what Nash has been up to since his last appearance in Udon’s comics.

There are only 300 copies of this available at SDCC, so you can expect these to go fast. Reserve yours today.

Capcom Fighting Tribute – Convention Exclusive Hardcover

This 280 page tribute book contains art spanning all of Capcom’s famous fighters: Darkstalkers, Street Fighter, Rival Schools and Red Earth to name a few. In addition to receiving this tribute book, collectors will also receive an exclusive Evil Ryu Metal Trading Card.

There will only be 250 copies present, hopefully you’re able to get one as supplies are limited.

Street Fighter 25 – Akiman Hardcover Limited Edition

The legendary Akiman will be at SDCC to sign Udon’s exclusive Akiman Hardcover Street Fighter 25 ^th tribute books. With only 200 copies present, these books are definitely the rarest of the rare. In addition to receiving this tribute book, collectors will also receive one randomly selected Street Fighter metal card. 

If you’re going to SDCC, you’ll definitely want to reserve yours today .

For those that wishing to obtain Akiman’s signature, you must be present at the booth between 1:00pm and 3:00pm on Saturday, July 11 ^th , 2015 (NO EXCEPTIONS).

And just because they’re so awesome, here’s some more shots of the metallic trading cards!

For reference, here’s the full set of rules for the pre-orders:

RULES

1. YOU MUST BE AN ATTENDEE OF COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL (aka SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON) 2015 TO QUALIFY FOR THIS PRE-ORDER OFFER!

2. You must be able to pick up your pre-ordered items at the UDON Entertainment booth (#4529) during show hours between the start of Preview Night on Wednesday, July 8th, 2015 and 12:00pm on Sunday, July 12th, 2015.

3. For verification purposes, at the time of pick-up you must present a print-out of the order confirmation email, one form of photo ID with address, and the credit card associated with the order.

4. All pre-orders are final and non-refundable. Orders not claimed at the UDON booth by the pick-up deadline (see #2 above) are considered abandoned and automatically forfeited. After the deadline, any unclaimed products will be sold at the booth on a first-come, first-served basis.

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I personally can’t wait to get my hands on the trading cards, Nash hardcover comic and Akiman’s signature. If you’re going to comic-con, Udon’s booth is definitely where you want to be at!

See you guys there.

Part two in our ongoing series about each Robot Master in the Mega Man Legacy Collection! Today – Guts Man!

Number: DLN-004

Weapon: Super Arm

Weakness: Hyper Bomb

A land-clearing robot. He’s got quite the sturdy body. As long as you dodge the rocks he throws, he’s not tough to beat.

With the power to shake the earth around him, Guts Man makes an imposing debut in the original Mega Man. All the other bosses employ some of kind beam or projectile weapon, but Guts’ brute strength is enough to make him a threat. Plus his sprite is beefier than the other bosses, giving him an even more aggressive, powerful vibe.

Like the rest of the MM1 cast, Guts was a peaceful robot designed with industry in mind. Once Wily repurposed Light’s six robots, however, it was time for Rock to leap into action.

Besting Guts Man earns you the Super Arm, which gives Mega Man the same rock-tossing ability Guts displays during battle. Unfortunately you can only throw pre-existing rocks and not summon them at will, as Guts does when he leaps around the screen… but I wonder how exhausting it might have been if Mega Man shook the screen every time he jumped. Might get old real quick!

My first impression of Guts Man was “whoa,  this guy is huge!” His larger sprite and earth-shaking ability really sold his sturdy, girthy properties, and his tossing animation was a great comic-book-y flourish. His stage is also home to one of the series’ first great challenges – the conveyer belt. After some practice it’s not that bad at all, but I think many, many folks have some, uh, lively memories of trying to leap from platform to platform :3

Patrick “SPAZ” Spaziante ( Archie Comics )

“Being the first MM boss that I had encountered/beat, he holds a special place in my heart. His stage alone, with one of the most controller-crushing platform jumps, forced me to become an MM aficionado, long before I had to reach the exalted Guts himself. But there is something about beating the first boss in a brand new game, (at the time), that is thrilling, and just cemented my love for the series.

“On the art side of things, I also love Gutsman’s esthetic as a kind of jacked up body-builder with a huge mechanical “50’s robot” style chin. He is a blast to draw!”

Jamal Peppers ( Archie Comics )

“Guts Man is my favorite Robot Master. I’ve been fortunate enough to draw two stories featuring Guts Man for Archie Comics’ Mega Man series. I like big, powerful characters like The Hulk or The Thing and Guts Man is The Hulk/Thing of the Mega Man world.

From a character design point of view Guts Man has always stood out, to me, from the other Robot Masters. I’ve been a fan of Guts Man and his iconic jaw since I first played Mega Man as a child.”

The Monster Hunter Caravan is headed to Anime Expo  this 4th of July weekend, and with it you can expect a unique MH IRL experience and tons of cool new merchandising! Only thing  I expect from you is: come in cosplay !

Anyways, here’s a list of some of the awesome things you can own:

Since this is the  Monster Hunter Caravan, and you know MH is my jam, let’s start with the MH items:

Brand new series of Felyne Pins! Collect ’em all =)

In case you miss them, here’s Series 1 in a nice little package, a new MH4U logo pin and a FREE lanyard!

All new Melynx head pillow and (back by popular demand) the Meat pillow!

Wide selection of old and new MH shirt designs; all rad!

But as the title of this post indicates, there are lots of merchandise from other Capcom IP. Let’s start with everyone’s favorite robot boy,  Mega Man :

Mini helmet replica collection – btw,  Mega Man Legacy Collection is a thing!

Mega Mugs!

Speaking of mugs, here’s an Okamiden mug:

Okamiden backpack – so cute!

Now onto  Street Fighter :

Chun-Li, Ryu and Ken plushies

A variety of shirts: some very obvious, others quite subtle

And the Shadaloo watch! As a fan of timepieces, definitely WTB!

And this is why I haven’t bought anything yet; can’t decide between the Shadaloo watch and this  Resident Evil  Umbrella watch, below:

Resident Evil  wallets to match your watch…

And belts to match your wallets… and watch!

Like I said, these are just some of the items we’ll have there. Please come by (booth #019b ) and see the full list for yourself. And again, if you own any  Monster Hunter  cosplay, make sure to bring it with you and take a photo in front of the Caravan ! See you there!

Welcome to the first entry in our summer-long-look at the Robot Masters found within Mega Man Legacy Collection!

As a wee lad, Mega Man’s foes were what pulled me in. Sure the game itself was fun, and in the early NES days the music was well ahead of the curve, but the diverse, colorful bosses (and their stealable weapons!) kept me glued to the TV even before there was a Mega Man 2.

So! To honor these bad boys, let’s take a look at each Robot Master from MM1~6, including classic art, their weapons and some comments from other folks who have a thing or two to say about their favorite bosses…

Number: DLN-003

Weapon: Rolling Cutter

Weakness: Super Arm

A robot created for deforestation. He can be beaten easily with rapid-fire attacks .

Presumably the first of Dr. Light’s industrial-minded Robot Masters, Cut Man began life as a dutiful timber-felling ‘bot. His ceramic titanium blades could make quick work of trees, buildings and just about anything else, while his lightweight frame made it easy for him to leap around worksites.

This nimble – yet deadly! – design made him a perfect candidate for Dr. Wily’s schemes.

Mega Man obtains the Rolling Cutter after defeating Cut Man; it’s an interesting boomerang-style weapon that arcs outward and then returns to you in sort of an oval circuit.  Since it deals damage as it flies out and returns, you can often score some last-minute hits as it makes its way back to you. Elec Man in particular can go down thanks to a Rolling Cutter making a return trip.

I could go on about Cut Man, but instead I’ve asked a few folks to chime in with their thoughts – including our friends in the Japan office and members of the community!

David Oxford , The Mega Man Network ( +Robot Master Field Guide )

“You always remember your first, and in my case, my first was pretty much the first: Cut Man. He was the first one the cursor was on (and it turns out the first Dr. Light Number after Roll), plus he looked kind of weak compared to the others. Not only was he the first Robot Master I ever faced, but the first to meet his end by my hand.

“In a way, he was almost like the original anti-Mega Man, featuring the same body but with a head sporting a set of giant shears. Plus, he’s always been pretty amusing in other media, and has a tendency to keep popping up in other games. Who didn’t enjoy blowing him away, in all his 8-bit glory, with just two shots in Mega Man X8 ?

“Here’s to you, DLN-003 — you’re a cut above.”

Takekuni Uchida, Rockman Unity administrator

“My first foray into the Mega Man series was with, well, Mega Man. I played it at my friend’s house back then, and amidst a repeating process of trying out different stages and failing, Cut Man’s—with its incredibly awesome BGM (I could listen to that famous track on loop forever)— was the first one in which I managed to make it to the boss (after countless attempts).

“Sure he used his incredible jumping ability to toy with me for a bit, but in the end he became the first boss I ever defeated with just the regular buster. That left a big impression on me, and he’s still my number one favorite boss.

“He’s the first boss I fought and the first boss I beat in the first Mega Man game I ever played. If I hadn’t been able to beat Cut Man, I might have never fallen in love with the Mega Man series. Cut Man was the starting point that first made me think, ‘This game is really cool.’”

Kazuhiro Tsuchiya, Mega Man 5 (debug), Mega Man 7 (programmer)

“Aside from being downright adorable, you can also instantly tell what Cut Man’s ability is just from looking at his visual design. Cut Man is a very good boss battle for practicing the game, and gives the player a good sense of the Mega Man universe’s unique appeal. I believe he is the ‘greatest instructor.’”

H.M.D., Mega Man 1, Mega Man 2 (programmer)

“Cut Man was the first character I programmed while I was working on the project. When we were developing Mega Man, we created the bosses first and worked on the more minor characters later. So after Mega Man himself, Cut Man was born. Cut Man’s body actually looks the same as Mega Man’s.

“I like him a lot as a character as well as from a development standpoint.”

Looking for new hunting AND partying jams for the weekend? Here are six slam dunk tracks mashing up favorite  Monster Hunter battle themes with Quad City DJ’s Space Jam:

Brachydios

Zinogre

Dire Miralis

To One with Life

3rd Gen Fanged Beast battle theme (Black Lute ver.)

Rukodiora (from Japan’s MHFrontier; actually the first time I hear this track)

White Fatalis

If you don’t find this wonderful, please turn in your basketballs now.

As a bonus, here’s a perfect GIF to go with that Brachydios track, by mr-sunabozu :

Have a great weekend!

EDIT: Adding ’em as you make ’em, so keep ’em coming!
White Fatalis remix by DerpyAxolotl added 8/24/15.

Hey, remember our awesome  Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate Caravan Tournament? It felt like a Kushala Daora was right next to our tents given how windy it was, but it was a super fun and exciting tournament!

Well, now you can catch the Chaotic semi-finals and Apex finals on YouTube and re-live those thrilling moments:

And if you want to see the rest of the tournament (including evidence of the aforementioned IRL Kushala Daora feeling ), check out our recordings on Twitch [ Part 1 ] [ Part 2 ].

Hey everyone, just wanted to put out a reminder that SFV will be playable this weekend at the BET Experience taking place this weekend. We’ll be having a few tournaments, with winners receiving a PS4 and limited edition Ryu faceplate, so try to make it if you can.

Remember, this is completely free! Continue on for event hours and the tournament schedule.

BET Gaming Lounge at the LA Convention Center

Saturday 6/27, Floor Hours: 12pm~9pm

Tournament 1: 1pm~2:30pm

Tournament 2: 3pm~4:30pm

Celebrity Showdown: 6pm~6:30pm

Sunday 6/28, Floor Hours: 12pm~9pm

Tournament 1: 2pm~3:30pm

Tournament 2: 6pm~7:30pm

*Please not that all players who have won a PS4 from Capcom at another event will be barred from entering the tournaments at the BET Experience.

Don’t forget that the BET Experience is a four day event, beginning tomorrow through Sunday, June 28. You can go here for more information on daily activities and here for tickets to the various shows.

See you all in a few days.

Hey Street Fighters, it seems there’s been quite a bit of confusion on how the SFV Beta program will work. Well that changes today as I come bearing details on how to access this exciting program, which starts on July 23rd!

The first Beta is exclusive to PlayStation 4, so the below instructions only apply to this initial test.  The first PC Beta test will start this fall, and we will post up further details on the PC Beta at a later date. 

How to access the Beta differs depending on where you live, so please refer to the below instructions on how to access. 

North America:

Supported Countries:  United States, Canada

Users can get guaranteed Beta access by pre-ordering the product from the following retailers:

GameStop / Amazon / Best Buy / PSN 

Beta redemption keys will be e-mailed from the retailer you pre-ordered at starting on 7/20.  Once you get your Beta key, you can input immediately into PSN to download the Street Fighter V Beta client. 

Users who pre-order digitally through PSN will not need to redeem a Beta key, but will need to manually download the Street Fighter V Beta client from the PSN store starting on 7/20. 

LATAM:

Supported Countries: Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay

Users can get guaranteed Beta access by pre-ordering Street Fighter V on PSN .

Users who pre-order digitally through PSN will not need to redeem a Beta key, but will need to manually download the Street Fighter V Beta client from the PSN store starting on 7/20. 

Europe & Rest of World:

Supported Countries:

Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus , Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, German, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kuwait, Luxembourg , Malta,  Netherland, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania , Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UAE, United Kingdom, Ukraine

Users can sign-up via PSN for a chance at being selected to participate in the Beta program. 

You can sign-up at the following link:

Street Fighter V Beta Enroll

Sign-ups will close on 7/15. Users who are selected to participate in the Beta will receive an email on 7/23 with instructions on how to access their Beta redemption key. 

Asia:

Supported Countries: Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong

PlayStation Plus members can apply for Beta access by downloading the “Street Fighter V Closed Beta Test Ticket” at the PlayStation Store from 7/9-7/14 (Asia time zones).  Notifications will be sent out to selected users starting on 7/21. 

Japan:

PlayStation Plus members can apply for Beta access by downloading the “Street Fighter V Closed Beta Test Ticket” at the PlayStation Store from 7/8-7/13 (Asia time zones).  Notifications will be sent out to selected users starting on 7/21.  

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And there you have it. Be sure to follow the steps in your respective country to gain access to the latest and greatest entry in the Street Fighter series! See you online.

Y’know, it just wouldn’t be a launch without some snazzy launch assets–but it  is a launch! Hit the jump for  Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition’s  shiny launch trailer and a few more rad screens to get you in the mood. Then go grab the game if you haven’t already!

• PS4
• Xbox One ,  
• PC

I know I’ve overused this line by now, but let’s face it—we all have. And so it is that I declare to you all: The time has come, my friends.

Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition is out in North America today in for PS4 , Xbox One , and PC . It’ll run you $24.99 for a ton of content and one of the finest action gaming experiences of all time.

In celebration, the game’s director Hideaki Itsuno has offered some more words of insight on Nero and Vergil’s designs. I also highly recommend you watch the archive of his E3 livestream appearance. It was wonderful.

Enjoy his text after the jump.

———————-

Regarding Nero’s new “Prototype” costume:
I was originally planning to have him in the standard Order of the Sword uniform, but the producer felt I should include the costume that meant the most to me personally as the director, so I went with this. It’s one of the early designs that was nixed early on in the original game’s development. 

The costume is characterized by the double-button coat, a motif borrowed from old Japanese military uniforms, along with the scarf, which symbolizes his role as the hero. We strove perhaps a bit too hard for uniqueness, and in the end we felt it came off a bit too comic booky, so it wasn’t selected as his final design. But it does look considerably more “heroic” than his current design, wouldn’t you say? It’s pretty cool seeing his scarf flowing in the breeze during cutscenes when you select this costume, so be sure to try it out for yourself.

On Vergil:
Vergil was devised from the beginning as a character who uses a Japanese sword, but determining how he used it was a process of trial-and-error. We were still deliberating over it when I was in America hashing out motion capture details with our action director, Mr. Shimomura, and that’s when I witnessed the Japanese swordplay of one Dan Southworth (the voice and motion actor for Vergil). It was not exactly like that of a true Japanese warrior, but had its own Western flavor perfectly mixed in, and I said, “That’s it!” It showed a respect for authentic Japanese swordsmanship, but balanced with a slightly rough, wild style that perfectly fit Vergil’s profile of a Western man using a Japanese sword.

This image of the character was carried on to his rendition in DmC Devil May Cry, which we made in England, and his movement in DMC4 Special Edition is a definitive amalgam of his past renditions.

Thank you for reading, and before I leave, since it was not a feature on consoles when DMC4 first released in 2008, I would like to encourage all of you that are playing Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition to upload and share your own combo videos online. The entire dev team is really looking forward to watching these.

Thank you all so much for your ongoing support for DMC4 Special Edition and the DMC series.

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Happy demon hunting, everyone, and don’t forget to upload those combo videos! We’ll add ones we love to the DMC4SE Community Videos playlist , so be sure to check it periodically. Now get practicing for the next Style Tournament, beginning a little later this summer!

Hey everyone! We have some exciting announcements for you all today! Just announced at the Sony press conference at E3, Cammy and Birdie will be joining the roster of Street Fighter V!

Cammy

Cammy has been a staple of the Street Fighter series since Super Street Fighter II, and returns faster and stronger than ever before. Utilizing a wide variety of quick ground and aerial attacks to pressure her opponents, her rush down style is sure to please offensive minded players everywhere.

V-Skill : Axel Spin Knuckle

Cammy performs a short hop that evades projectiles and delivers a gut punch to her foe. If used close enough, she will cross over to the other side of the opponent before delivering her attack.

V-Trigger: Delta Drive

When activated, the speed and number of hits Cammy’s special attacks deal increases dramatically for a short period of time, further increasing her ability to pressure and damage opponents.

Birdie

Birdie makes his long awaited return, having last appeared in the Alpha series over 10 years ago. When we last saw him, he was a henchman for Shadaloo and was definitely in better shape. Although he’s clearly been slacking on his diet, don’t let the giant belly fool you! Completely redesigned and reimagined, Birdie’s comedic look masks the fierce power packed behind every move. With access to long-range chain attacks as well as up-close command grabs, Birdie is a threat from every distance.

V-Skill : Break Time (3 Variations)

Depending on the direction you push when activating the V-Skill, Birdie pulls out one of three different items from his pockets: a banana peel that trips up opponents on the ground, an energy drink that is rolled as a projectile, both of which give him a minor V-Gauge boost and lastly, a donut that is quickly eaten and gives him a major V-Gauge boost!

V-Trigger: Enjoy Time

Birdie’s V-Trigger enrages him and powers up his special attacks by increasing their movement for a short period of time, while also adding armor and damage, making him that much harder to stop!

That’s not all that was announced though! The first online beta test for Street Fighter V will be PS4 exclusive, and begins on July 23, for a period of 5 days, until July 28. In North America, fans who pre-order the game through select retailers or PSN, will be granted automatic access to the beta. In Europe or Asia, anyone who would like to take part in the Beta should head to www.streetfighter.com , and follow the various steps and sign up for a chance to join the fight! Additional beta tests will be taking place throughout the rest of the year and we’ll have more details to share about them at a later date.

Finally, we are pleased to announce that Street Fighter V will be releasing in Spring 2016. Be on the lookout for new surprises and announcements as they become available, as there is so much more to come!

Hey everyone, looking to get your hands on Street Fighter V ? Well your chance has come as Street Fighter V will be open to the public and playable for the first time at the BET Experience in the BET Gaming Lounge on Saturday, June 27 ^th and Sunday, June 28 ^th , 2015.

In addition to being able to try out all the characters revealed up to E3, players will also have the chance to participate in a series of single elimination tournaments where they can win a custom Street Fighter V branded PS4. Players may even get a once in a life time chance to challenge a celebrity or two to see who’s the best in Street Fighter .

I’ll be back later in the week with a more detailed schedule of events. In the meantime, if you would like more information on the BET Experience at L.A. Live presented by Coca-Cola®click here and for show tickets, go here .

As the BET Gaming Lounge is completely free and open to everyone, I encourage all to come out and play SFV. See you there.