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A pretty hardcore VF fan tweeted a thread to me, basically saying that an esports push right out of the gate for a new VF would be on-brand because the series since VF3 has been very much focused on the competitive side, while the first three were initially meant to be technical showpieces (arcade VF3 looked freaking real in 1996 -- the same year as Mario 64, Quake, and Tomb Raider). They also said the VF series has been an arcade-first game for better or worse.
Also, not really related, but I kinda want a new port of VF1, or maybe something like that anniversary VF1 that's in VF4 Evo. A SEGA Ages VF1 would've been great.
Also, not really related, but I kinda want a new port of VF1, or maybe something like that anniversary VF1 that's in VF4 Evo. A SEGA Ages VF1 would've been great.
Think the most we will see is that VF 1 port on the mini arcade.
Even if this turns out to be nothing the excitement that it generated can't go ignored by SEGA someone there should have noticed.
I mean, all fighting games have been arcade-first games...until they weren't. I remember thinking Super Street Fighter 4 would be an arcade-first update because SF4 Vanilla was in arcades for over half a year before it came to home consoles, but Super released like half a year before Arcade Edition was announced. Even Tekken 7, which was out in arcades for what felt like an eternity before the home version now is releasing characters first for home and the FR machines got the Season 3 content much later.
Unless you're pulling revenue like Gundam, a change is in order.
I think it does absolutely. Spent some time researching it, reading the original Famitsu where the story broke, and listening to Nishikawa talk about it on YouTube. Makes sense that they would use their "Fog Gaming" technology for VF. As the equipment in the game centers may be largely dormant, someone in Japan signs into to the main server in a Data Center, then based on their proximity to the nearest arcade, the Data Center server routes them to the nearest arcade where there is a local server and they effectively stream the game from that.
Lines up with Haruki Satomi saying it will come "first" in Japan. Given the low latency and high-speed networks in Japan, it makes sense to me.
i might be grasping at straws here, but i find it interesting he has mentioned "looking back at competitive fighting games." that's got little to do with the other thing he has been working on:
and with this I think we can confirm this is a complete new project built from the ground up. (I wasn't in doubt myself)
sounds like they will rely on their own engine like they used to.
interesting to see a foreigner working with AM2 and a fan too!
The impression I get from AM2's recent work (KanColle Arcade, Soul Reverse, Fate/Grand Order Arcade, etc.) is that a significant chunk of the older talent who had a hand in making the older style games of AM2's past like VF4 or Fighting Vipers 2 or Scud Race have kinda hollowed out (Suzuki himself aside), so to make a game that will in all likelihood be closer to their early/mid-2000s output, it shouldn't be a shocker that they reached outside of their typical pool of developers.
and with this I think we can confirm this is a complete new project built from the ground up. (I wasn't in doubt myself)
sounds like they will rely on their own engine like they used to.
interesting to see a foreigner working with AM2 and a fan too!
BORDER BREAK & Soul Reverse were both remarkable projects in the arcade scene. (Border Break producer also confirmed working on a new global project to be revealed this year)
AM2 still got the talents including the 2 key leads Makoto Osaki (producing Project DIVA & KanColle) & Daichi Katagiri (recently interviewed by Famitsu as an AM2 staff) who were both responsible for VF5 & it's iterations.
Virtua Fighter 5 - Behind the Scenes - AM2 Talks History
Virtua Fighter 5 - Behind the Scenes - AM2 Talks History - http://www.iplaywinner.com
www.youtube.com
Apologies, I didn't mean to imply there wasn't talent (in the generic sense) left at AM2, and I know Katagiri is still around (and I think Hiroshi Kataoka as well), but my point was more that no one on that team has been involved in creating an original fighting game for at least 16 years, given VF5 originally released in 2005, and even its final iteration's release was over a decade ago.BORDER BREAK & Soul Reverse were both remarkable projects in the arcade scene. (Border Break producer also confirmed working on a new global project to be revealed this year)
AM2 still got the talents including the 2 key leads Makoto Osaki (producing Project DIVA & KanColle) & Daichi Katagiri (recently interviewed by Famitsu as an AM2 staff) who were both responsible for VF5 & it's iterations.
Virtua Fighter 5 - Behind the Scenes - AM2 Talks History
Virtua Fighter 5 - Behind the Scenes - AM2 Talks History - http://www.iplaywinner.com
Apart from Project DIVA and Border Break, which I'm very glad eventually got home releases, their marquee titles have also found themselves progressively divorced from the console space ever since the PS3/360 era--though, that is just a Sega issue more than with AM2, pretty much none of AM1 or SAI's titles have home ports either. To put it another way, I really want VF6 (or whatever this ends up being) to be as good as anyone else, but it seems fairly apparent to me that Sega's shifted their arcade dev pipeline pretty significantly, if in no other way than at least how the sausage is made, since the mid-2000s.
If Kataoka, Osaki, and Katagiri are all on it though, that is pretty re-assuring. I wonder if Tatsutoshi Narita will be involved as well; VF always has great soundtracks.
Monkey Ball engine has been used for FZero, Hedgehog for Sakura Wars... Don't worry for Sega, there will be no waste ;)
Not sure how interesting this article/interview with is with regard to VF Esports, but it's new and mentions VF6 at the end
Seems like they're just asking YS what he would say if Sega asked him to work on VF6, but the translation isn't great and I don't read Japanese (was retweeted by Sega's official Twitter account, mind you)
news.denfaminicogamer.jp
Seems like they're just asking YS what he would say if Sega asked him to work on VF6, but the translation isn't great and I don't read Japanese (was retweeted by Sega's official Twitter account, mind you)
アストロシティミニきっかけで当時のゲーセンと『バーチャ』の話を聞いたら鈴木裕氏から「『バーチャファイター6』のお手伝いが必要なときはお声がけください」との衝撃発言が飛び出した【鈴木裕×原田勝弘×森利道鼎談】
今回の顔ぶれから、話題は格闘ゲームが中心となっている。かつての“あのころ”を知っている世代の方はもちろんのこと、当時のことをよく知らない若い読者のみなさんにも、かつてのゲームセンターがどのような空間で、そこから今のゲームに至るどんなものが生み出されたのか、ぜひ知ってほしい。
news.denfaminicogamer.jp
There does appear to be a question about VF Esports, but it's written as if none of them are involved. Who knows?
Not sure how interesting this article/interview with is with regard to VF Esports, but it's new and mentions VF6 at the end
Seems like they're just asking YS what he would say if Sega asked him to work on VF6, but the translation isn't great and I don't read Japanese (was retweeted by Sega's official Twitter account, mind you)
アストロシティミニきっかけで当時のゲーセンと『バーチャ』の話を聞いたら鈴木裕氏から「『バーチャファイター6』のお手伝いが必要なときはお声がけください」との衝撃発言が飛び出した【鈴木裕×原田勝弘×森利道鼎談】
今回の顔ぶれから、話題は格闘ゲームが中心となっている。かつての“あのころ”を知っている世代の方はもちろんのこと、当時のことをよく知らない若い読者のみなさんにも、かつてのゲームセンターがどのような空間で、そこから今のゲームに至るどんなものが生み出されたのか、ぜひ知ってほしい。
I've translated the relevant section below:
Essentially, none of them seem to hint at anything regarding the actual development, real or not, of any new Virtua Fighter game. Which would make sense, seeing as Suzuki wasn't the director/producer/etc. of VF5 anyway.
That was a great retrospective on arcades and the original Virtua Fighters in arcades, as well as the efforts that Sega made with community events that made VF such a monster in Japanese arcades, and the stories of bunbunmaru/shinjuku jacky were pre-modern esports story.
It's a bit sad to hear that Yu Suzuki wasn't that much across what was happening there as he was mostly focused on VF1-3, the console ports and then Shenmue. Hopefully Sega can do something about VF esports since the 3D fighting genre is pretty much Harada/Bandai Namco's space now with Tekken and Soul Calibur.
It's a bit sad to hear that Yu Suzuki wasn't that much across what was happening there as he was mostly focused on VF1-3, the console ports and then Shenmue. Hopefully Sega can do something about VF esports since the 3D fighting genre is pretty much Harada/Bandai Namco's space now with Tekken and Soul Calibur.
It's just unfortunate that the fighting games Sega did choose to invest in the past 5-10 years (Blade Arcus, Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax) diverged so heavily from their prior works in the genre, especially when they were already so well-known for Virtua Fighter.
That is, if you were someone who grew up in an age when Sega produced no less than 4 full-fat fighting games in a generation (Virtua Fighter 2, Fighting Vipers, Fighters Megamix, Last Bronx) only to see them give up on the genre outside of a niche light-novel tie-up game and a weird 2D spin-off of the new Shining games that feels more like an older ArcSys or Team Arcana game than a Sega fighter, it's quite a shame.
Everyone's asking about VF6, but I want to know where FV3, the true dark horse is.
My headcanon is that instead of FV3, that team worked on Fighters Megamix instead as Sega was looking to bolster their Saturn output. I feel that it would have made good business in the arcade as one of the earlier crossover games. (looking at Wiki Xmen vs Street Fighter was released the same year)
Doesn't quite work as FV2 (the Model 3 original) came out after the release of Fighters Megamix, but I can't help but feel like a Fighters Megamix 2 for PS2 or Xbox or something featuring characters from VF, FV, Last Bronx, as well as the other cameos from Virtua Cop, Sonic, and Rent A Hero would've been great.
Going by that interview and trying to read between the lines it doesn't really seem like they are working on one at the moment :\
Wow, I never noticed FV is VF backwards. Granted I've never seen anyone abbreviate Fighter Vipers before because it's too obscure to shorten.
Well, I mean, Yu Suzuki isn't at least (again, he didn't work on VF5 either). There's no reason Harada or Mori would be either, as they're from entirely different companies. If anyone at Sega is working on a new Virtua Fighter game, it would likely be people like Daichi Katagiri, Makoto Osaki, or Hiroshi Kataoka (the current head of Sega AM2), among others. Suzuki hasn't worked at Sega directly since 2009, and hasn't worked on Virtua Fighter since VF4.