We already mentioned BlazBlue Continuum Shift II when it was released in Japan in December. If you hear about it again today, it's because this game is officially released in the rest of the world. The information is reported by Arcade Heroes: Taito has announced the global release of the game. Contact your Taito distributor to obtain this title. In Europe, it is Electrocoin in the UK. Speak directly to Taito if there is no distributor in your area. As a reminder, this new version of the popular 2D fighting game by Arc System Works includes new characters (Platinum the Trinity, Makoto Nanaya, Valkenhayn=R=Hellsing and µ -No. 12 -) for a total of 18 fighters. The balance has been completely revised. BlazBlue Continuum Shift II is distributed as "main board with hard disk drive" or as "hard disk drive only" for those who already own a Type X² system. It straightly plugs in all JVS cabinets and supports 4:3 and 16:9 monitors. A good way to recycle old Naomi Universal cabinets for example. BlazBlue Continuum Shift II is a great game for a fraction of the price of Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition.

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A new attraction has just opened at Joypolis (Tokyo): Gyakuten Kenji in Joypolis (Ace Attorney Investigations in Joypolis). Sega has teamed up with Capcom to release this attraction based on the video game Ace Attorney Investigations, the spin-off of the original Ace Attorney series starring an Attorney instead of a lawyer and whose second episode is just out on DS. As in DS version, the player takes the role the main character: Attorney Mitsurugi Reiji (Miles Edgeworth in the English version / Benjamin Hunter in the French version). The player begins the adventure in the Attorney's Office, he moves inside the attraction to collect evidence and to discover the culprit of a crime. To achieve his goal, he can consult PCs with touch screens, listening to witnesses and suspects. He also gets a card to save gathered informations and his degree of progress. To get to investigation end, twenty minutes will be needed to apprentices Attorneys.

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A new gaming place opened in Las Vegas (512 Fremont Street) recently. The particularity is that this time, it's not gambling but video games! Retro oriented, the INSERT COIN(S) Videolounge Gamebar offers forty fully restored original arcade machines: Space Invaders, Asteroids, Centipede, Missile Command, Defender, Donkey Kong, Frogger, Galaga, Ms. Pac-Man, Burger Time, Dig Dug, Joust, Moon Patrol, Pac-Man Plus, Tron, Dragon's Lair, Elevator Action, Star Wars, Tapper, Gauntlet, OutRun, 720°, Operation Wolf, Tetris, Golden Axe, The Simpsons, Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting, Mortal Kombat II, Raiden II, Virtua Fighter 2, The House of the Dead, Rampage World Tour, NFL Blitz 2000, Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, Tekken Tag Tournament, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Capcom vs. SNK 2, ... INSERT COIN(S) is a concept that goes beyond the simple arcade, you can also drink at the illuminated bar of 50 seats, shake it on the dance floor on the music and visuals of ScreenWerks Video DJs or simply sit comfortably in one of the couchs playing of the many consoles available (Colecovision, Atari 2600, NES, Mega Drive, Super NES, Dreamcast, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3). Many events and competitions will be organized regularly. The place is open from 16:00 to 4:00 on weekdays and from noon to 4:00 on weekends (it closes at 6:00 on Friday and Saturday). Happy hour every day between 16:00 and 19:00. Admission is free but like any drinking establishment in Las Vegas, access is denied to persons aged under 21. That's what lacked in Vegas!

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Two titles are released today on NESiCAxLive (Taito). These games are Senko no Ronde DUO ver 2.3 (Senko no Ronde DUO was already out in December on NESiCA) and Dragon Dance. Senko no Ronde DUO is a shoot developped by G.rev. Dragon Dance is a solo mahjong developped by AlwaysNeats and published by Success. In both cases, home versions has been released before arcade versions: on Xbox 360 for Senko no Ronde DUO (version 2.2) and on DS and PSP for Dragon Dance.

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The Antwerp Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror Convention will be held this Sunday. The program is heavy with more than 50 European sellers of figurines and collectibles, the presence of Star Wars associations Rebel Legion and Teekay-421, a cosplay contest organized by Cosplay Belgium, an inflatable laser shooting arena and face painting (Elanor). But there's more! Jan Bartels will exhibit original props from movies like Gremlins 2, Evil Dead, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and The Shining. There will be music with an horrorific DJ set by Chris Verelst and a live performance by Eekhoorn-x. Many special guests will answer your questions and sign autographs: short films directors Jonas Govaerts and Robin Pront, writers Mel Hartman and Meta Thirza and illustrators Micha Hoeylaerts and Gerben den Heeten. Of course, if this event is mentioned here, it's because video games will be part of the show: PushStart will bring consoles and Carl Jacobs will come with arcade machines and pinball tables! The convention will be held at Antwerp Expo on Sunday 1st May. A preparty is scheduled at the Roma (Borgerhout) on Saturday with screenings of old horror movies. The atmosphere will be provided by Radio Modern DJs. Now you know what to do this weekend!

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Each year, Rennes (France) gathers video game fans during a weekend for a festival full of activities: tournaments, demonstrations, screenings, concerts, competitions, conferences, ... The 2011 edition will be held at the Halle Francis Querné from Friday 29 April to Sunday 1^st May 2011. The Stunfest is famous for its tournaments attracting many foreign players: this year, Versus Dojo organizes the following tournaments: The King of Fighters XIII on Saturday and BlazBlue Continuum Shift II and Street Fighter III 3rd Strike on Sunday. Friday and Saturday, a Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition tournament will be held where the two winning teams will earn their qualification for the "European Masters Challenge – Road To Tougeki 2011 The Final Showdown" which will designate the European team which will travel to Japan to participate in Tougeki 2011. AH2R will manage the "Ichigeki 2011" Street Fighter Zero 3 solo tournament on Sunday. Note the presence this year of Japanese player RF who was part of the teams that have won the Guilty Gear XX Accent Core and Street Fighter IV tournaments at Tougeki 2010. For those who just want to play without competition in mind, dozens of Japanese arcade cabinets set on freeplay are available (with titles like BlazBlue Continuum Shift II, Super Street Fighter II X and Street Fighter Zero 3). Many activities are planned including the screening of "Pixel Kombat" (a documentary about versus fighting), concerts of Flying Penguins, Divag and Friends, Spintronic and Garage Sale as well as numerous discussions, conferences and quizzes. You can buy your tickets (5 € per day) and your registration in the various tournaments at the 3 Hit Combo online shop.

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Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown Version A is released today in Japan. This upgrade brings many changes to blows movements and re-balance characters. In addition to these gameplay changes, new features were added: the ability to create game videos of in WMV and MP4, Twitter integration to report results directly on the Internet. Players owning a card from a previous version will be able to use it with the Version A, their card will be directly upgraded but a card obtained with this version is not backward-compatible.

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During GP Hydra festival held last February 6, Ecole announced the future release of an update for MELTY BLOOD Actress Again Current Code. After being on location test last month, Melty Blood AACC Ver1.05 will be availabe tomorrow. This version adds a new character: "armed" Ciel. Regarding MELTY BLOOD, don't forget that the game based manga is currently published by Pika Editions, 3rd volume was released in March.

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BFK 2011 (Belgisch FlipperKampioenschap - Belgian Pinball Championship) will take place this Saturday April 16th, an event that pinball fans can't miss! Annually organized during the Collector Fantasies show at the Nekkerhal in Mechelen since 2007, the championship is held in another location this time: Bingovit Gameroom in Sint-Niklaas. Because of space limitations, only contestants and accompanying people are allowed inside. Hostilities begin at 9:00 with the qualifications, finals are scheduled at 18:15 (junior final), 21:00 ("Winner takes it all challenge" final), 21:30 (women final), 21:45 (men loser's final) and 22:00 (men final). The complete schedule and contestant list are available at Bingovit website.

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It is with great pleasure that we learn that Sega announces the forthcoming opening of a Joypolis in Brussels! The incursion of Sega in Europe is not new, everybody reminds the SegaWorld in London (1996-1999). More recently, we noted the presence of Sega of Japan representatives at ATEI 2008 looking for investors to open Joypolis indoor amusement parks in Europe. It seems they have found some confident people, the recent resurgence of the arcade market in Europe certainly played a role. We still have very few details except that it will be modeled on the Japanese centers while taking into account the specificities of the local market with the addition of standard arcade cabinets alongside the big simulators. There will be a stage which will host concerts by Japanese and European artists as well as cosplay contests and other various activities. The site location was not disclosed although the conversion work has already begun but we are promised that it is close to downtown and easily accessible by public transport. Brussels Joypolis will be a showcase for investors because Sega hopes to open other similar amusement centers in several major European cities. The opening of Brussels Joypolis is planned for the beginning of next school year. Welcome to the next level! This is an April fool!

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