When I joined Evo nine years ago, the first concept I worked on was for a racing game that was all about racing with friends. It combined the best cars (and they would have to be real ones), on the most breathtaking roads in the world, with gameplay that was totally focused on team-based racing.

I loved the job from day one.

The game was all about utter car passion. It was about connecting people who are as in love with car culture as we are, and creating a universe for these impassioned racers to all play together. We created web design concepts that showed how you could connect with people and access your club when you were away from the living room, and we created prototypes of the most immersive, detailed vehicle interiors and exteriors possible.

Except…they weren’t possible. Our concept was simple, but needed a socially connected network and audiovisual technology that wasn’t available.

When we knew PlayStation 4 was coming, we realised that the time was right to make the Driveclub dream a reality. It was time to combine nearly 15 years of racing game pedigree and a rapidly evolving, connected gaming landscape – this seed of an idea was ready to be realized and the buzz at Evo was unstoppable.

So what did we do?

We expanded our vehicle handling and design team so that together, we have over 50 years’ experience working on the most prestigious racing titles out there, including – WRC, Formula 1, Gran Turismo, MotorStorm, WipEout, Project Gotham Racing, GRID 2 and many more.

We used our PlayStation Vita launch game as a bridge between MotorStorm and Driveclub, testing our theories about connecting social networks with asynchronous challenge-based racing on multiple devices at the same time. It worked really well.

We collaborated with the best car companies in the world, working with them to create the most detailed and authentic car interiors and exteriors possible. The result is staggeringly immersive and visceral. This isn’t cockpit view; this is first-person-racing.

And now, almost a decade later, we’re finally making the game we’ve always wanted to make. It’s time to share our passion, to show you the first glimpse of Driveclub and we can’t wait to show you more.

Here Comes a New Challenger

PlayStation All-Stars’ EVO showing included a chance to sample newly announced characters Heihachi and Toro. Intitially, I had the most luck with Toro, using his deadly Mochi bombs, shuriken blasts, and comical bicycle kicks to torment foes from a safe distance. But despite his adorable appearance and goofy combat style, Toro is no lightweight. He’s a versatile, nuanced fighter thanks to three fighting stances that enable him to alternate between close-range attacks (Justice stance), wide crowd control (Oni stance), and long-range strikes (Torobi stance). His Supers are no slouch, either: Level one sends Toro flying forward to plow through nearby foes, level two dumps a falling star into the middle of the screen, and level three scores an automatic kill against every opponent on the screen as Toro lashes out in a Mochi-spattered rage.

“Toro can change fighting styles… it’s essentially a stance system. He actually has more than twice the number of moves of the other characters because each stance represents an entirely different move set.” — Omar Kendall, Game Director, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale

Heihachi, meanwhile, excels in traditional close-range encounters. With his easy combo strings and trademark Demon Godfist uppercuts, Heihachi is a juggling machine capable of racking up loads of AP in short order. He’s also one of the few characters with a melee counter, which gives him an edge against other brawlers such as Big Daddy and Parappa. His Supers are eccentric but effective, beginning with a basic short-range unblockable hammer fist at level one and progressing to a devastating bear bodyguard (Kuma from Tekken) at level two. For his level three Super, Heihachi straps all three opponents to a missile and launches them into orbit — dude, harsh.

“At SuperBot, we’re huge fans of fighting games and I don’t think there’s any fighting game series that is more closely associated with PlayStation than Tekken. Heihachi is a great fit and he makes total sense.”
– Omar Kendall, Game Director, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale

Never Stop Flaying

Meanwhile, on the OLED screen, All-Stars looked virtually indistinguishable from its PS3 big brother. The PS Vita version rendered densely detailed characters, boisterous backgrounds, and an ultra-fluid framerate. Thanks to the development attentions of Bluepoint Games, the PS Vita version also sports an array of minor tweaks and enhancements aimed at portable pugilists, from the small (touch controls on menus) to the large (markers to help identify characters in wide camera angles). You can use the left analog stick or d-pad to control the action, and trigger those all-important Supers by pressing L and R together.

The game also supports Vita-to-PS3 crossplay support for multiplayer matches via Wifi. The crossplay feature was a pleasant surprise, based on my hands-on experiences, and it points to a future where portable gamers and console gamers can meet as equals. I played a series of four-player matches using crossplay, and the two PS3s and two Vitas coordinated the chaos without a single hitch. The future is now!

”We’re really happy with the PS Vita version, especially that it’s running at 60 frames per second with full crossplay support. I have to give credit to the guys at Bluepoint Games. They’re doing an amazing job.”
– Omar Kendall, Game Director, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale

Fighting Future

Elsewhere at EVO, the SuperBot crew presented the technical side of the game in a panel targeted at hardcore fighting game fans. PlayStation All-Stars fighters don’t have traditional health meters; instead, they attack opponents in order to build up energy, which they unleash in the form of several Super moves. Though you can’t block Super attacks, you can avoid many of them if you’re quick: SuperBot demonstrated a rolling technique that makes your character briefly invulnerable.

”You’re not whittling down life bars, you’re building up energy, or AP. The more damage you do, the more AP you gain. So it’s all about unleashing these Supers, which are essentially one-hit kills that score you points.” — Omar Kendall, Game Director, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale

The EVO panel confirmed that the final game will support 1v1 and 2v2 team modes in addition to the default free-for-all mode, while an “infinite combo avoidance” system will prevent unstoppable combos. The developers also discussed the game’s grappling system, which presents players with several throw options: up, down, and lateral, with each choice presenting certain strategic benefits depending on your play style. Initiating a vertical throw, for example, gives you a chance to execute a juggle combo and score more AP.

After the panel, SuperBot also took time to field community questions regarding character customization (“there are definitely a lot of unlocks in the game”) and future guest characters (“there will be a combination of first-party [PlayStation] and third-party characters”) to netcode (“it feels fundamentally different…we don’t slow the whole game down to compensate for lag”).

One attendee asked about the studio’s plans for a final boss battle, and though Kendall confirmed that the game will feature a final boss, he admitted that the studio wasn’t ready to share who, exactly, it is. “Stay tuned,” he added. “For fans of PlayStation, our final boss will make a lot of sense.”

Hailing from the ever-popular Tekken series, the original mastermind behind the Mishima Zaibatsu joins the battle! Making his first appearance on the PSX in 1995, Heihachi is one of only five characters to appear in every iteration of Tekken thereafter, brawling his way through 17 years of King of Iron Fist tournaments. Heihachi fans will feel right at home with this newest interpretation.

Familiar moves such as his Electric Wind God Fist and Twin Pistons are intact and as deadly as ever. He excels at close-range combat, overwhelming opponents with quick, powerful strikes. Heihachi’s combo potential ranks among the best in the roster, turning every encounter into a stylish martial arts exhibition. Though the battlefield has changed, Heihachi brings his signature fighting style and brutal attacks to PlayStation All-Stars!

Toro Inoue, also known as the Sony Cat, has been a faithful mascot to Sony in Japan for over a decade! He has made appearances in numerous video games spanning several different Sony consoles and is a welcome addition to our roster. Though appearing to be simply a cute feline, the warrior within proves to be as formidable as the next.

Toro brings a unique stance-based fighting style to PlayStation All-Stars, affording him several different sets of attacks to utilize in combat. He transitions seamlessly from a close-range fighter in his Justice form, to a ranged specialist in his Torobi form, to an effective wide-area controller in his Oni form. All the while, Toro’s fun-loving charm comes through in every action he performs. Be sure to check him out!

Finally, we are pleased to announce our newest stage, Dojo! Fans of the original Parappa the Rapper on the PSX will immediately recognize this kung-fu dwelling, which is where Parappa originally acquired his martial arts arsenal from Chop Chop Master Onion. However, not everything is as it seems in the city; could danger be looming ahead?

For those of you who are here in Vegas participating in the tournaments, you can now go hands-on with these new characters at our booth in the Tournament Hall starting Saturday morning when the booth opens at 8AM. So be sure to swing by.

That’s it for now! We have plenty more information coming in the near future, so stay tuned for more reveals to come as we get closer to October 23, 2012! Don’t forget to pre-order your copy!

We know fans have been hungry for more information about PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale after E3, so it’s time to deliver! We’re excited to announce that we will be participating in the annual Evolution Championship Series (EVO) taking place this weekend from July 6-8 at Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. As PlayStation’s premier crossover fighting game, we will be participating in a number of activities throughout the weekend. If you’re going to be in town, we’d love for you stop by and join us to check out the latest and greatest from PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.

First up, on Friday, July 6th, we will be showcasing the game on the main stage of the tournament hall at 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time. You won’t want to miss this special presentation as we’ll be unveiling our newest All-Stars (along with a few other surprises) in a live exhibition by the SuperBot team! We also invite you to join us for our panel presentation on Saturday, July 7th at 2:00 p.m. Straight from the developer, Superbot Entertainment, Omar Kendall, Paul Edwards, Tommy Ho, Artavan Mkhikian, Edward Ma, and Daniel Maniago (that’s me!) will be discussing the finer points of the game engine as well as answering fan questions.

Of course, EVO attendees can come get hands-on time with PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale at the PlayStation booth in the exhibit hall throughout the weekend. Check it out on the PS3 and experience true cross-play with the PS Vita. Fans will even get a chance to play all-new content following our announcement on Friday evening. So come visit us and give the game a try! On top of that, players that register in the booth will receive a free month of PS Plus (while supplies last) and the chance to win 1 of 10 PSAS copies at release!

Below are the details on all of our activities at the show. We look forward to seeing you there.

EXHIBITION: PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Exhibition Presentation
Friday, July 6 | 6:00 – 6:15pm
Augustus Ballroom – Main Stage (Caesars Palace Hotel)

PANEL: SuperBot Entertainment: Here Comes A New Challenger
Saturday, July 7 | 2:00 – 3:30pm
Emperors Ballroom (Caesars Palace Hotel)
SuperBot Entertainment will be showing off its new game, PlayStation All-Stars Battle
Royale, at EVO 2012! Omar Kendall, Edward Ma, Paul Edwards, Tommy Ho, Artavan
Mkhikian, and Daniel Maniago will be giving a detailed rundown on the technical aspects of
the game engine as well as answer any questions that players might have. Join us for the inside
scoop!

BOOTH: PlayStation Booth
Friday, July 6: 8:00am – 6:00pm
Saturday, July 7: 8:00am – 6:00pm
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale hands-on gameplay – PS3, PS Vita and Cross-Play.
Augustus Ballroom – Tournament Hall (Caesars Palace Hotel)

Killian did me one better, discussing Capcom’s evolving view of community engagement and sharing his analysis of Noah “The Prodigy,” the eight-year old Marvel vs Capcom 3 competitor who captured the imagination of EVO attendees when he outmatched much older players to place among the competition’s top 64 finalists.

PlayStation.Blog: Street Fighter III was famously a huge departure from Street Fighter II, earning it a fair bit of controversy. How does it hold up today?

Seth Killian, Strategic Director of Online & Community: For me, the essence of any great fighting game is learning how to read the mind of your opponent. If you can do that, Street Fighter III gives you the ultimate way to show that off — you can deflect any move that your opponent can do using the Parry mechanic, where you tap forward or down to deflect attacks. The Parry is at the center of SFIII; if you use it correctly, you can get out of any situation. That’s why it has this enduring legacy.

As for its reputation, there’s no question that SFIII is an incredible game. It has a huge tournament legacy, particularly in Japan. It’s one of those games where the execution bar is a little bit higher: it took everything that had come before and built and built upon it. Particularly with the Parry, which is a bit harder to learn — you need to be familiar with the kind of attack that is coming, knowing how it hits and how many times it hits. With Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online Edition, we’ve added a new mode to specifically help people understand that Parry, practice it, and get comfortable with it.

PSB: Aside from the training mode, what else is Capcom bringing to SFIII: 3rd Strike Online Edition?

SK: We wanted to preserve the integrity of the game, so we used the arcade code and removed a few minor crash bugs. Otherwise, the core gameplay is untouched. We did add a few extras to the online and single-player modes, including the ability to unlock items though in-game challenges. It brings a little bit of that Call of Duty, carrot-on-a-stick incentive but it’s purely optional.

Online is a key focus. We’ve added new netcode developed by the EVO organizer, who happens to be a programming genius who created a piece of middleware called GGPO. It’s extremely popular with fighting fans because it’s a great online experience; it was designed by hand for 2D fighters. It has some very crafty ways of getting around input lag. It doesn’t defeat the speed of light or anything, but it uses a fixed frame setup. It will skip frames of animation to hide latency, which makes an attack finish at the same time as it would if we were playing offline. I’ve never heard a piece of middleware get an eruption of cheers at a panel, so that’s how seriously this is taken among fighting-game fans.

We also have online tournament and spectator modes, plus YouTube uploads that enable you to share your favorite matches with your friends whether you’re on your PS3 or off it.

PSB: Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 comes this fall. Other than the new characters, what new features will be included?

SK: They’re going back to the drawing board with some of the netcode, and adding a spectator mode — a major request from the North American and Japanese fans. It’s particularly challenging for a hyper-busy game like Marvel vs Capcom 3, but the team did manage to figure it out.

There will also be some additional single-player surprises, some new graphical elements, and of course re-tuning for the existing characters. There are little changes to certain moves, and sometimes all-new moves, animation tweaks…it’s a complete package and coming in at a lower price point. If you missed out on Marvel vs Capcom 3, this is the perfect time to dive in.

PSB: Tell me about this eight-year old kid, Noah “The Prodigy,” who fought his way into the top 64 players in the Marvel vs. Capcom 3 EVO world finals. Is he as good as they say?

SK: He was finally eliminated, but he took down some of the best players in the world. His brother is in the competitive fighting scene, so this kid has grown up with this stuff. The thing that distinguishes Noah is, here’s got skills, but he’s very composed. He’s got this weird calm for an eight year-old kid playing on stage in front of hundreds of thousands of people. We’ve had 12- or 13-year old competitors who have done some damage, but Noah is unprecedented. He took out real players. I think he’s got an amazing competitive career ahead of him.

Once he develops more agility and insight he’s got a lot of room to grow, even using his existing gameplan. He also played some slightly unusual characters, and his opponents may not have been ready for that.

PSB: Let’s shift to Street Fighter X Tekken, one of the more unusual fighters to come out of Capcom in recent memory. How much of Tekken’s gameplay made the cut?

SK: It’s set in a Street Fighter world on a 2D fighting plane but, at the same time, we’ve tried to preserve some of the Tekken elements. For me, the essence of Tekken is getting in your opponent’s face and forcing him to guess between your high, low, and mid mix-up attacks. Not only are the Tekken characters performing some of their signature moves, they’re able to do it in the same sort of style. They have a more fluid ability to execute those kinds of mix-up attacks. The Street Fighter characters are a little stronger at a range with their projectiles. The other nod to Tekken is that many of the traditional Tekken combo strings will still work.

PSB: How can the Tekken characters get past those projectiles? It seems like a major disadvantage.

SK: I feel like, in many ways, there’s less difference between Tekken and Street Fighter than people often think. In Tekken, you have sidestepping — moving into the third dimension to dodge attacks. In Street Fighter, you have a similar concept: Cammy, for example, can use her Spinning Backfist move to flip around an incoming projectile if you time it correctly. From a game design perspective, it’s quite similar — she’s briefly moving into the third dimension to dodge that fireball. The Tekken characters have moves that work much like that, where they spin, dash, or slide around projectiles. So the Tekken characters are very adept at passing through projectiles if you read your opponent correctly.

PSB: Explain this new “Tag Assault” move, where you call out both of your characters to pummel your opponent.

SK: Street Fighter X Tekken is a tag-centric game, an homage to Tekken Tag Tournament, so you can tag normally or cancel a special move into a tag. With the Tag Assault technique, you can bring in both of your teammates at the same time — you control them both simultaneously. Then you can do all sorts of dirty tricks like creating a sandwich so you can ping-pong your opponent between both of your fighters from both sides. It’s actually really strong right now — we’ll probably tone it down a bit as we move forward.

PSB: We’re surrounded by some of the best fighters in the world here at EVO. What are they saying about Street Fighter X Tekken? What’s the feedback been so far?

SK: I get worried, because this is the toughest audience in the world. If these guys are good at anything besides fighting, they’re good at complaining. [laughs] They will let you know exactly what’s wrong with your game. The worst complaints we’ve had to date has revolved around certain UI elements and the lifebar being hard to read. Ono-san has already gone back to the drawing board to re-tool them.

In terms of gameplay, people seem to be walking away with a smile on their face. Which actually just makes me nervous! I want to say, “Guys, this is the time! Let us know what you love and what you hate.” So far, it’s sort of a half-step between Street Fighter and Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

So right now, the EVO crowd is digging in and finding the worst possible things they can do to each other.

PSB: Fighting game creators haven’t always been hugely receptive to their fans. But Capcom has clearly led the way in terms of enabling community feedback. What’s the philosophy there?

SK: It’s been a learning process. Capcom is a traditional Japanese company, and Japanese companies tend to engage in one-way communication. You know: “Here is what we are doing. Please enjoy. We’ll see you again in a year.” [laughs] There wasn’t a lot of back-and-forth there.

But today’s social media tools have changed the game. Capcom, I think, has led the pack among the Japanese game publishers in adapting to that — though obviously, PlayStation is no slouch either! Capcom has been aggressive with community interaction and they’ve seen the power of it. I’m proud to be a part of it because I came from this very community, the EVO community. It’s how I got my start at Capcom.

It’s not a matter of being bound by the demands of fans. You know, “well, fans voted to put a clown wig on Ryu, so that’s what we have to do.” It’s about good ideas, and fans have some of the best ideas in the world. Being able to bring those ideas forward and presenting them to the right people who can evaluate them is what it’s all about.

The games are all here at EVO for a reason: the designers want to hear feedback from the fans. As a business, you need to be responsive to the concerns of your fans, or you’re doing it wrong. It’s smart business to have a real dialogue with your fans.

PlayStation.Blog: What made you and Harada face off in the Ono X Harada video?

Yoshinori Ono, Producer, Street Fighter X Tekken: We started a tradition at last year’s Comic-con, this kind of a pro-wrestling-style rivalry. The new video is just this year’s version of our wacky rivalry. The game itself has kind of a festival atmosphere, so we didn’t want to be too serious about it. We wanted to bring Tekken fans and Street Fighter fans to the same table, and the best tool for something like that is humor.

PSB: On that note, what was the genesis of Street Fighter X Tekken? Who came to who?

Ono: It’s something we’ve both wanted to do for a long time. We’ve known each other for a long time, and years ago we’d have dinner and talk about the idea. But we were in different companies, so there was kind of an invisible wall between us…especially to combine our top brands and mix them together, that would have been unheard of a few years ago.

At one point, Capcom got out of fighting games for a little while. By the time we got back into them, I had risen within the company a bit; Harada had as well. So we have more political capital to make things happen back in the home office, so to speak. So it seemed like the right time to make something happen, and sure enough we pulled it off.

We actually set up a meeting between the presidents of both companies (Capcom and Namco Bandai). I was a little nervous — I thought they might back out or be lukewarm on the idea. Sixty seconds later, they’re shaking hands and the deal is done. So this was the right time to do this.

PSB: What are some other series that you have considered a crossover with? I know that, in the US, many fans would love to see a Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat…

Ono: I actually get a lot of requests for Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat on my Twitter feed and elsewhere. I understand why people want it, but it’s easier said than done. Having Chun Li getting her spine ripped out, or Ryu’s head bouncing off the floor….it doesn’t necessarily match.

But I’ve had a couple of dream projects in my head for a while, one being Street Fighter X Tekken, which is actually coming true. Another would be a Marvel vs DC game which would be pretty damned cool if we could ever pull it off. I’m a big comic-book fan.

Now if I can get the presidents of those two companies in the same room shaking hands, then we could get something started. I’d love to see that just as a fan!

PSB: It’s got to be tough to combine two radically different fighters; Tekken couldn’t be more different from Street Fighter. What were some ideas you had early on the process that you had to discard?
Ono: There was one feature that we gave up on, but then we brought it back: the Cross Rush combos. When you think of Tekken, it’s always been about aggression and in-your-face combos; dodging a move and then letting the opponent have it. The long Tekken combo strings…we thought, should we put them all in SF X Tekken? At first we thought, should we put them all in there? But if we did, we’d just be making a Tekken game. But we couldn’t take them all out, either, because there wouldn’t be much Tekken-ness left.

So we decided that the Cross Rush would be a good way to mix them together. You have that feel of rapid combos from Tekken, but it still feels like Street Fighter…or more precisely, a bit more Darkstalkers. But it’s sufficiently Capcom-y, so to speak. So the Cross Rush serves as a bridge between the two gameplay styles. It fits in there pretty nicely.

PSB: Tell me why you chose Cole from inFAMOUS for Street Fighter X Tekken. Did you seek him out? Are you an inFAMOUS fan?

Ono: Actually it was 50/50. I had been talking to SCE about perhaps getting Cole into one of our games because he seems well-suited to a fighting game: he’s got all of these cool moves. And it just so happened that, almost simultaneously, Sucker Punch was also wanting to do some sort of tie-in with Street Fighter. So it was a perfect storm, it was almost exactly 50/50. Luckily we could pull off the E3 announcement, which tied in nicely with inFAMOUS 2’s launch.

Here’s a little bit of behind-the-scenes info for you. inFAMOUS 2 was still in development and we didn’t have a lot of visibility into it, so our original version of Cole was mostly based on his appearance in the first inFAMOUS. Then we started talking to Sucker Punch and they showed us inFAMOUS 2 and we said, “Oh crap, he uses weapons now! We don’t have any weapons.” So we went back to the drawing board to make his moves more familiar to inFAMOUS 2 players.

It was a good collaborative process. Sucker Punch offered us a lot of information and data, so we’ve done our best to mimic the way he looks and feels. It was a fun process that’s still ongoing, but it’s been a real pleasure working with those guys.

PSB: How would you describe Cole’s play style?

Ono: If I was going to compare him to any character, it would be Seth — he has a lot of sneaky, tricky moves. I took the latest build of Street Fighter X Tekken up to Sucker Punch just before EVO, and even those guys were wondering if Cole wasn’t too strong [laughs]. So there’s still some tuning to be done. I don’t want to upset Street Fighter and Tekken fans by making the strongest character from neither camp!

PSB: What did you think of your first trip to Sucker Punch’s studio?

Ono: Actually, the impression that I got there was that it felt very Capcom-y to me, a lot like our Osaka office. Clearly these guys love games, and the dedication and energy that they put in reminds me of our Osaka office. And for an American studio, they’re in kind of a unique position in that they’ve worked on the same IP for a long time with a lot of the same time — that’s not necessarily common in America. That part is very much like Capcom. I think we can do something really special together.

All joking aside, I talked to the president of Sucker Punch while I was there about how awesome it would be if SCE, Capcom and Sucker Punch could get together and do something really cool. I plan on taking that conversation to SCE next time I’m there!

The biggest difference between Sucker Punch and Capcom is that those guys have all this free soda and cereal and snacks…Capcom’s way to cheap to do that kind of thing, we have nothing like that! [big laughs]

PSB: Have you played any interesting fighting games lately?

Ono: I’ve been playing a couple of things, and some of them make me feel a little bit bad about myself. One of the reasons we went with a tag system in Street Fighter X Tekken is because I personally loved the first Tekken Tag Tournament so much. In talking to Harada, he dropped that he thought of that in five minutes and it was a simple idea. That made me feel like a dumbass and just reinforced to me what a genius he is. I still do play Tekken Tag Tournament when I can.

I also have a penchant for wacky, over-the-top games so I’ve been playing a lot of Mortal Kombat, enjoying their Story mode. And they did such a good job with their Story mode and some of the other features that I feel like they kind of beat me in that sense. So I’m playing these other fighters and enjoying them, but sometimes it depresses me, too.

As far as upcoming games, I can’t wait to play Skullgirls. It looks like a really cool independent fighter, I’ve been on YouTube checking it out. I would love to meet that team someday, those guys seem like they know what they’re doing.

PSB: There’s obviously going to be a PS Vita version of Street Fighter X Tekken. What’s your philosophy for PS Vita development?

Ono: First of all, it’s always fun to work on new hardware and try new things….We’re doing a lot of customization and tweaking to make sure it’s as good as possible on PS Vita.

The really cool thing about PS Vita, of course, is the wealth of new features: Wifi, 3G, GPS, the gyroscope, and touch panels on both sides. There are all sorts of cool things that we can do with those. We want to take advantage of that and really encourage people to get out into the world with their PS Vita and play Street Fighter X Tekken. And we’re looking at ways to link to the PS3 version as well to get you into the habit of leading a double-life of Street Fighter X Tekken. When you’re out of the house, you play it on PS Vita and then you come home, turn on your PS3 and keep going.

With EVO’s popularity soaring in recent years, it’s become common to see legendary figures in fighting game design prowling the demo stations, studying player reactions and answering questions. At EVO I caught up with Katsuhiro Harada, the outgoing game director for Tekken since its inception on the PSone. I particularly wanted to discuss this November’s PS3-exclusive Tekken Hybrid, the upcoming Blu-ray compilation that will include CG film Tekken: Blood Vengeance 3D, an enhanced version of the seminal PS2 fighter Tekken Tag Tournament, and an appetizer in the form of Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Prologue.

PlayStation.Blog: How are you managing the creation of producing so many Tekken projects? It seems stressful: You’re working on Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Tekken X Street Fighter, and now Tekken Hybrid which includes a new Tekken CG film and Tekken Tag Tournament HD.
Katsuhiro Harada, Tekken Director: It is tough to manage all of these projects. But rather than having some sort of special method, the secret has more to do with the core team working on Tekken for so long that everyone knows what needs to be done. We’re right on top of things.

PSB: I think a lot of Tekken fans are going to be excited to hear about Tekken Tag Tournament HD, which comes with Tekken Hybrid this November. What has been enhanced?
Harada: We wanted to keep the feeling of the game itself from the PS2, so we haven’t changed a lot there. The graphics aren’t just upscaled or anything, we actually re-created a lot of the in-game textures. A lot of work went into refining the graphics. Another reason we’re doing it now is because a lot of people in Europe played the PAL version, which was a slower version of the game. Now they’ll be able to get the full experience here. There are also younger players out there who never played it, and I think it will appeal to them.

PSB: Tekken Hybrid will also include Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Prologue. How many characters will we be getting, and which ones?
Harada: Ahhh! [laughs knowingly] Well, for Prologue, we’re mainly focusing on the characters lineup that appears in the movie, Tekken Blood Vengeance 3D. We want them to have the spotlight. But we can’t say all of the characters that we have planned yet….but as you’ve seen with Devil and Ling Xiaoyu, we matched their costumes in Prologue to the movie. We also include a 3D model viewer in Tekken Hybrid. It’s a good package.

PSB: Do you plan on supporting stereoscopic 3D in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Prologue?
Harada: Yes, we do. We haven’t really announced a lot about it yet, because we’re still working on it. We weren’t quite sure if it would end up in the final version. But…we’re about 85% sure that 3D will make it into the final version.

PSB: What made you want to add stereoscopic 3D support for Tekken?
Harada: There are several factors. The movie, Blood Vengeance, is also in 3D on Blu-ray. Not only that, but our programmers and core staff were quite interested in 3D as a new challenge to tackle. So it all came together. Since Tekken is a three-dimensional fighter [in terms of fighting and movement style], I think a lot of people will like seeing what 3D adds to our gameplay model.

PSB: I remember Tekken 6 being a bit controversial when it first came out — with walls hits and juggles and bounds, some people were annoyed by how long combos could go on. How will you balance this juggle-heavy gameplay with the addition of a tag partner?
Harada: There are some people who say the combos are too long and that it gets out of hand. The flip-side is, if you’re the person doing the combos, it’s really entertaining and fun. But you have to look at it in a new light with Tekken Tag 2. A lot of tag combos aren’t as long as those in Tekken 6 but they’re of strategic value: they reduce your opponent’s red recovery gauge. So you may wish to play that way. Also, after the bound, you can do a “Tag Assault” where you and your partner pummel the opponent. It looks really over the top, and it does a lot of damage, but the flipside is that you lose your red recovery gauge. So there’s a strategic element to the tag juggles — the goal isn’t to just perform the longest combo possible. You really have to choose the best time and place for each combo that you use.

PSB: I understand that you’re veeery early in development for Tekken X Street Fighter (the Namco-produced, Tekken-centric answer to Capcom’s Street Fighter X Tekken). What’s your overall vision? Have you thought about how you might implement fireballs in a Tekken setting?
Harada: [laughs knowingly] Obviously, the Street Fighter characters will have to have their fireballs. Ryu without a fireball just wouldn’t be…right. Obviously we’ll need it. When you look at executing a fireball in a 2D setting, it works almost like a jab. It keeps your opponent where you want them. When we bring fireballs into Tekken X Street Fighter, there are two different ways we could go. It could be used as something similar to keep your opponent in the place you want, or it could be some kind of a special move or powered-up version of their techniques. We’ve not decided on what route we want to take with this yet.

Another element to think about implementing fireballs in Tekken is, how do you avoid them? When you play a 2D game like Street Fighter, you obviously can’t go back and forth in the screen — you usually jump over it. But in three-dimensional fighting games like Tekken you can sidestep. So do we want players to jump over fireballs? Or is it okay to sidestep them? That’s something we’re not decided on, we haven’t had enough time to look into it. We have a lot of staff, myself included, who grew up liking Street Fighter. I’m really confident that we can come to a good balance between the two worlds.

PSB: I work for PlayStation, and I’m a huge Tekken fan, so I have to ask: Are you interested in developing for PS Vita at some point?
Harada: Oh! [laughter] I have to be really careful in how I phrase this so it doesn’t get taken out of context. But since you’re a Tekken fan…you probably know the answer to that, right? [laughs]

All week long, I’ve had this strange tension in my shoulders. I was hunched up, and was even having trouble sleeping. As Comic-Con came to a close, I couldn’t figured out the source of my weird aches, until I finally realized: it’s EVO time.

EVO is the World Series of Fighting Games, and it’s this weekend, July 29th through the 31st, in Las Vegas. EVO has been running for over a decade, and has grown from a small gathering of friends into the biggest fighting-game event on the planet, with thousands of competitors and fans attending from dozens of countries (46 countries are represented this year!). The best of the best come not only to win prizes, but to claim a place in fighting game history, to earn a name, and to test themselves at the highest levels.

For fighting game fans like me, it is so exciting that my body literally starts tensing this far in advance because of what I know is to come. Wonder how little kids feel when they are on their way to Disneyland? For fighting game lovers, this is that feeling.

If you’ve always wondered why people still talk about arcades, EVO is as close as you’ll come to seeing it for yourself. It’s this big space, filled with people who are — at the same time — your friends and your enemies. You can feel the thrill, excitement, and anxiety of competition all throughout the room. Champions add to their legacies, and total unknowns walk in the door and take down some of the best in the world. EVO is a place where anything goes, and everything is possible.

People scream. They jump. They get hyped. It comes straight from the heart, because this is what we do. It’s the shared sense of excitement, anticipation, and the incredible heart that the competitors have on display, and even if it’s just pixels on a screen, you can’t help but get swept up in it.

I was competing and working at EVO for years before I came to Capcom, including a few finals appearances :)… though I never won :(…. But now, approaching it from the other side, I’m proud of everything Capcom will bring to the event in 2011. First and foremost we’ll be there with early access playable prototypes of our new fighters, including Street Fighter X Tekken, Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3, and a near-final build of Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition. In addition to the games, there will be a ton of Capcom staff on hand, not only to help out at the booth, but to simply watch the action. For the producers and teams that make these games, there’s no better payoff than seeing your work turn so many into grinning, screaming lunatics.

The producers on all our new fighting games are each holding their own panel (see below for full EVO 2011 panel details). For my part, I’ll be sitting down with Street Fighter legend and 2009 and 2010 champion Daigo Umehara to go in-depth on how great players make winning decisions, and how you can learn to think like they do. In the end, anyone can master the technical side of a fighting game with some practice, but it’s the mental games that separate champions from the rest of us. Apart from that, I’ll be trying to see as many of my old friends from around the world as I can, as well as tagging in to do livestream commentary on the Street Fighter and Marvel Vs Capcom 3 matches.

Oh right, the live stream! For anyone that can’t make it (registration for EVO is closed, but it’s free to attend if you’re not competing) the EVO action will be streaming live into PlayStation Home all weekend (you can also score a ton of cool EVO items and outfits for watching), leading up to finals on Sunday. Sunday features the final eight competitors, boiled down from thousands, and the excitement in the room is always through the roof, so check it out. If you aren’t able to watch from PlayStation Home, you can check out the stream on your PC here.

If you can’t be there or watch the whole time, Sunday is finals, and the day you do NOT want to miss. The greatest players will line up for the final showdown–who will it be this year? Two-time champion Daigo “the Beast” Umehara from Japan? The U.K.’s Ryan Hart, who defeated Daigo at the British championships? Justin Wong, one of the most dominant players in US history? Or Tokido, “the Murderface,” a vicious player strong across many titles, who also defeated US Marvel-master Justin Wong in their first meeting? Many will be watching Kayane from France, one of the strongest women in the world who has her eyes set on winning the main event, but regardless of who goes the distance, you can bet the road there will be full of surprises, tears, joy, and just plain hype.

Hope to see some of you in Vegas this weekend! It needs to come already, my body can’t take it!

EVO Panels

FRIDAY, JULY 29th

2pm: Inside the Mind of The Beast: Daigo Umehara Exposed!

Seth Killian sits down with EVO 2009 and 2010 Street Fighter champion MCZ Daigo Umehara for an in-depth discussion and review of past match highlights. You will learn to think like a Street Fighter master as they will talk over and explain the tactics, player reads, moment-by-moment thought processes, and even the mistakes that Daigo made on the road to his championship victories.

4pm: Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 Past, Present, and Future!

Capcom producer Ryota Niitsuma will share behind-the-scenes insights from the MVC3 development process and discuss thoughts on Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 and the future direction of the Marvel Vs Capcom franchise. He will be joined by MVC3 and UMVC3 battle system designer and Capcom fighting legend Hidetoshi “Neo_G” Ishizawa (whose credits include Street Fighter III: Third Strike, Capcom Vs. SNK 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Darkstalkers 3, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, and many more) to discuss the thinking behind the battle systems, and what the future might hold for everything from character balance, mechanics, and more. Fighting fans will not want to miss this rare opportunity for insight and discussion.

SATURDAY, JULY 30th

12pm: Street Fighter III: Online Edition Reinventing a Classic

This panel will feature Derek Neal (SF3:OE producer and former EVO competitor), Christian Svensson (Sr. Vice President, Capcom), and Dave Lang, CEO of Iron Galaxy (SF3:OE developer). Join them to discuss the many decisions behind bringing back a classic, and for a spirited face-to-face chat about the kinds of features *you* would like to see in future fighting games!

4pm: New Directions in Street Fighter X Tekken

The one-and-only Yoshinori Ono will be on hand to discuss recent developments and new directions for his latest production, Street Fighter X Tekken. Will the always-surprising Ono-san have some special EVO-exclusive news to share with the audience? You’ll just have to come and find out!

The largest fighting game competition in the world is right around the corner and we are giving you, the PlayStation Home community, a front-row seat to witness the no-holds barred action of the 2011 EVO World Finals.

From Friday, July 29th until the final battle on Sunday, July 31st we will be streaming the event live from the Rio Resort in Las Vegas to the PlayStation Home Theater. Watch as competitors from around the globe duke it out on PS3 across five competitions: Marvel vs Capcom 3, Tekken 6, Mortal Kombat, BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II, and Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition. Players include 2009 and 2010 Street Fighter champion Daigo Umehara who will attempt an unprecedented “3-peat” victory. Along the way to his goal he’ll face one of the strongest fields of competitors ever assembled, including US legend Justin Wong, Korean wizard Poongko, French phenom Kayane, and UK champ Ryan Hart.

The purpose of this event is twofold: First, bring the world’s top fighting game competition directly to your PlayStation 3. Secondly, we have some new video streaming technology to test in the PlayStation Home Theater and what better opportunity than this? Join us for this special event and help us test this new video streaming technology by posting about your experience in GlassWalls’ EVO 2011 World Finals Stream Test thread on the official PlayStation Home forums. Attendees will receive a line of exclusive PlayStation Home/EVO virtual items: Visitors on Friday will receive a limited edition EVO t-shirt for their PlayStation Home avatar; on Saturday players will be rewarded with a special fighting stick companion item; and on Sun all viewers will receive a replica of the EVO trophy for their PlayStation Home personal spaces.

From high-profile grudge matches to the Grand Finals (running all day on Sunday, July 31st), this year’s EVO World Finals is not to be missed. Knuckle up and log into PlayStation Home this weekend to watch the best of the best throw down until only one champion remains.

Full schedule:

Friday, July 29th

8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Super Street Fighter IV Tournament, Early Rounds

6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Super Street Fighter IV Tournament, Quarterfinals

8:00 PM – 11:00 PM Super Street Fighter IV Tournament, Semi-Finals (top 32 players)

Saturday, July 30th

8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Tournament, Early Rounds

6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Tournament, Quarterfinals

8:00 PM – 11:00 PM Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Tournament, Semi-Finals (top 32 players)

Sunday, July 31th

9:00 AM – 9:00 PM The top 8 in each tournament square off for the 2011 championships. In order:

BlazBlue Continuum Shift 2 Tournament Finals

Tekken 6 Tournament Finals

Mortal Kombat 9 Tournament Finals

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Tournament Finals

Super Street Fighter IV Tournament Finals

See you in Home!

Wes Phillips and Sid Shuman discuss Marvel vs. Capcom 3’s new characters and gameplay tweaks at E3 2010.

Hello PlayStation Nation! This is a big weekend for fighting game fans, as the world’s best descend upon Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for the EVO 2010 World Fighting Finals this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Thousands of contestants from over 30 countries will battle it out for fame, glory and cash in Super Street Fighter IV, Super Street Fighter II HD Remix, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, and a couple non-Capcom games… Tekken 6 and Melty Blood: Actress Again.

Registration for the event is officially closed, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a piece of the action. If you can make the trip to Las Vegas, admission to watch the event is free.

We’ll also have the E3 build of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 available to play on PlayStation 3 for anyone who shows up! This will be the first time the game is playable for the general public.

Did I mention that Marvel vs. Capcom 3 just won Best Fighting Game at E3?

If that wasn’t enough, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 producer Ryota Niitsuma and Super Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono will both be on hand to greet the fans.

Can’t make the trip? Capcom and G4 have teamed up this year to bring the action into your home. G4TV.com will be streaming 45 hours of matches over three days, including the Super Street Fighter IV Grand Finals on Sunday night with special commentators Adam Sessler (G4’s X-Play) and Capcom’s fighting guru Seth Killian. (Big ups to the crew at Level Up for producing the stream.)

Also, during the live stream one lucky viewer will have the chance to win a limited-edition gold EVO fight stick furnished by the fine folks at Mad Catz.

It all culminates with a special episode of X-Play on Tuesday, July 20 at 6 p.m. PST entitled X-Play vs. Capcom: EVO 2010 World Fighting Finals. (Check your local listings.)

So much awesome to fit into one weekend, but I think you can handle it.