Unveiled in March, the eve of the Amusement Expo, the new Big Buck is now available! This series of hunting games developed by Play Mechanix is very popular in the U.S.A. where it appeared in TV shows. As its name suggests, Big Buck HD sports a high resolution (1080p). And it's true that the graphics are impressive (video)! Regarding new content, there are new dangerous trophy animals such as tigers and bears that attack you. The game can be connected to the internet by ethernet, wi-fi and even cellular connection in order to offer online rankings, online games, Facebook and Twitter integration and of course tournaments where players can win money. As in Dirty Drivin', an achievement system is integrated. Each achievement grants a badge and unlock a new challenge. The player can check his status via his free Big Buck Online account. The game is updated automatically via CoinUp for connected machines. The standard version of the cabinet features a 32" screen but there is also a "Panorama" model which is cheaper but has no screen. It's up to the operator to attach a screen of 42", 47" or 55". Another novelties is the ability for the player to pay using debit and credit card. No doubt that Big Buck HD will meet the same success as its predecessors. In Europe, this game can be purchased from Namco.

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Chaos Code Ver 1.02 is out today. This second update of the 2D fighting game from FK Digital makes some balance adjustments. Furthermore, it adds a new fighter: MG Hikaru (a figures fan version of Hikaru, the main character of the game). There are now 13 selectable characters. A new trailer is also online.

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Magical Beat is a puzzle game developed by Magical Bit Team, a development team of Arc System Works. This game is a mix of musical and puzzle game, the gameplay is hard to explain, so let's have a look at the trailer to understand it. Two players can enjoy Magical Beat, several game modes are available and the players can send blocks to the opponent's playfield. The game is available on NESiCAxLive (Taito Type X²).

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Information about European qualifications for the Toukegi 2012 have just been published. For easy access to all European players, the qualifications will take place in two arcades: Versus Dojo (Paris) and Gamespirit (Lyon). The tournaments will be played in two winning rounds on Street Fighter III - 3rd Strike and Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition Ver.2012. All the characters from the arcade version are allowed and the selected character must be kept during the entire qualifications. The qualifications will be divided in three stages: the first round will take place on 16, 23 and 30 June. The 16 qualifying players will gather for the second round which will be held, as the third (final round), during July in Paris. Qualifications will be solo and the final winner may choose the members of his team who will represent Europe at Toukegi. In addition, he will receive a round ticket to Japan, a Toukegi card and a personalized Vs Dojo polo shirt. The selected players from the top 8 will receive a 50% discount on the airfare and selected players out of top 8 will have a 10% discount.

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Namco Bandai's Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme VS. Full Boost 2nd update is available today. This version adds the CB-0000G/C Reborns Gundam operated by Ribbons Almark. It comes from Mobile Suit Gundam 00 series broadcasted between 2007 and 2009. This Gundam is equipped with five different guns. A new stage is also added : Africa Tower, a battlefield where all the buildings are destroyable.

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May was the month of Sangokushi Taisen 3 for Sega: Sangokushi Taisen 3 - War Begins Ver.3.594_A will be available tomorrow. The combat system was changed and some special tactics were rebalanced. In addition, on May 19, Sega has organised the "Festival of Sangokushi Taisen Akihabara" at UDX Gallery in Akihabara. Players could compete in tournaments and exclusive cards and other objects in limited editions were sold during the event.

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Namco Bandai has just announced Dragon Ball Zenkai Battle Royale Super Saiyan Awakening. As its name suggests, Dragon Ball Zenkai Battle Royale's update introduces the Saiyans! Indeed, Super Saiyan Goku, Vegeta, Gohan and Trunks will be added to the roster. A story mode will also be added and there will be some updates not yet specified to the battle system. The game will be released mid-July.

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Sega Sammy Group published its results for the past fiscal year. Profit is down 47.5% with 21.8 billion yen (211.1 million euros). Sales of pachinkos and pachislots represent 50% of the turnover through the Sammy, Rodeo and Taiyo Elec brands. 177,000 Hokuto no Ken pachislots (Sammy) and 56,000 Monster Hunter pachislots (Rodeo) were sold, which contributed to a profit of 71 billion yen (€ 687.7 million) (10.6%). The sale of arcade games is doing well (+5.7%), the three major titles being StarHorse Season I, World Club Champion Football Intercontinental Clubs 2010-2011, Sega Network Taisen Mahjong MJ5, Border Break Air Burst and Sengoku Taisen. Although it is slowing down in Japan (+2.8%), the foreign sales climbed 33.3% (one imagines that most orders are from Asia). Profit: 7.4 billion yen (71.7 million €). What worries some is the reduction of 10.8% of expenses planned for this year in research and arcade content development. Sega operates 241 game centers in Japan (8 locations less than last year) whose profits are constant. The firm maintains three facilities abroad (the 7 remaining arcades of the "Gameworks" chain having been sold to Steve Dooner). The problem comes from the consumer division; despite the 17 million of console games sold, a loss of 15.1 billion yen (146.2 million €) is recorded. The best selling title is Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games on Wii and 3DS (3,280,000 units). For the future, Sega Sammy expects a strong increase in sales of pachinkos (35%) and pachislots (57%). But they predict a decline in arcade games sales of 20% in Japan and 10% abroad which would lead to a loss of 82% of the income. 4 arcades will close down. On the console side, a drop of 48% in games sales is expected, the currently allocated budget for research and development will be reduced by 42%.

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Hatsune Miku Project DIVA Arcade Version A Revision 4 is available since today. In this fourth revision, there are not much changes except some new features to the interface: the volume button can be adjusted, six new "sounds" buttons were added (like in Hatsune Miku Project DIVA-2nd), the songs are sorted by release date,... A new cloths module was added for Miku and the twins Len and Rin Kagamine. Furthermore, three new songs will available on May 15.

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SNK releases The King of Fighters XIII Climax today. It's the update of KOF XIII released in July 2010. SNK has worked on balancing characters to reflect more home versions of the game. The major new feature in this Climax version is the new characters included: NESTS Kyo, Flame Iori, Mr. Karate, Billy and Saiki who were present as DLC characters in console versions of KOF XIII. Moreover, KOF XIII Climax offers a new stage, some extra character costumes and new features for the training mode (also coming from the home versions).

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