E3 06: Virtua Fighter 5 to beat on PS3 exclusively

Sega announces its arcade fighter is coming to Sony's next-gen console--and only Sony's next-gen console.

LOS ANGELES--Last August, Sega announced it was preparing a sequel to Virtua Fighter 4, appropriately titled Virtua Fighter 5. The game was being developed for Sega's new Lindbergh arcade board, which is based on a 3GHz Intel Pentium 4 CPU. The fact the board was based on PC architecture led some to speculate the game would be coming to the Xbox 360, as the porting process would be less complex than that to other consoles.

Today, Sega announced that Virtua Fighter 5 is indeed coming to a next-generation console...but not the Xbox 360. The game will be exclusive to the PlayStation 3 when it is released in North America in Spring 2007. Like the 360, though, the game will feature high-definition graphics and will support 720p resolution.

Virtua Fighter 5 will sport more than 15 characters, including many from previous installments. Also, it will include two new characters, Eileen and El Blaze. Of Chinese descent, Eileen "uses a monkey kung-fu fighting style that she learned from her grandfather, a former kung-fu master," according to Sega. As one might gather from the name, El Blaze is a master of lucha libre, the flamboyant style of Mexican wrestling.

Besides introducing two new characters, Sega also released some gameplay details about Virtua Fighter 5. The publisher carefully avoided any mention of an online mode but did say players could win in-game money for their victories, which they could then use at an in-game shop. Sega also said that players could pick form several customizable costumes and "attachable items" that "can be placed onto each fighter's various body parts."

GameSpot will have more details on Virtua Fighter 5 as they become available.

204 Comments

  • catbuffalo

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 5:54 pm PT

    lol this doesn't surprise me considering sega is the epitome of murphy's law

  • thekey

    Posted Jan 1, 2007 9:02 am PT

    mark_unix
    "thekey pissed off because it doesn't run on his precious..."

    What? On my 360? The 360 version of VF5 is coming in Aug, now what? mark_unix YOU PISSED OFF?

  • jakeboudville

    Posted Aug 24, 2006 11:25 pm PT

    cool

  • mark_unix

    Posted Aug 15, 2006 7:13 am PT

    thekey pissed off because it doesn't run on his precious...

  • lalex2

    Posted Jul 12, 2006 11:07 am PT

    Now it's out in Japan, I can wait to play it on my PS3

  • thekey

    Posted May 14, 2006 12:25 pm PT

    The Game only runs at 720p HAHAH!!!!!! Doesn't the PS3 have a max resolution of 1080P? If its so powerfull why 720P?

  • thekey

    Posted May 14, 2006 12:21 pm PT

    How many sequals can one make and how many sequals is sony going to snatch up?(MGS17, Tekken 26, Virtua Fighter 100)

  • VinceL GameSpot staff member

    Posted May 9, 2006 5:44 pm PT

    Awesome.

  • VinceL GameSpot staff member

    Posted May 9, 2006 5:36 pm PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

  • Monkboon

    Posted May 9, 2006 12:22 am PT

    ****No 1080p... Ok, but come on, I would at least expect 1080i. Didn't Sony say the HD era of gaming starts when THEY say it starts, and those bold comments were made because it is the only one out of the 3 that will have 1080p support? Well, since Sony seem to consider anything less than 1080p to not be true high definition, it seems PS3 won't have much "true" high definition anyways.****

    And it took y ou how long to realise Sony was blowing smoke? As for VF5, I 'll probably get it when I get the Premium PS3 package but the lack of online play is really shallow imo. Considering good, competitive Arcades are all but gone, this would have been a great move on Sega's part. I guess they see the true value in Sony's online plans.

    I agree with many that VF4 was the deepest fighting game last year but not being to really test your skill against others and be able to brag about it took away some of the spark. Sure, you can beat the hell out of the comp at the hardest difficulty but that is nothing compared to being online, playing and watching others play while waiting your turn again if you lost. I 'm fine with the Sony exclusive but I think it was a dumb move not t o go online like DOA4 and the many other Fighting games online that have thrived, Monk....

  • segasin

    Posted May 8, 2006 11:45 pm PT

    Terrific!
    Now, I must wait for arc version first!

  • yallknowdatg

    Posted May 8, 2006 11:17 pm PT

    Wow... whichever one of gamespot's editors here who wrote this is showing a little too much Sony fanboyism here, eh?

    He's like oozing with Sony juice and glee. "VF 5 to beat on PS3... and ONLY PS3...yaaaaayayayayaaayyyyaaaaaaaaaaay!"

    Lame. These type of articles make me wanna cancel my subscription. Honestly. Just report the news... don't be excited about exclusivity like it means something other than the fact that many gamers who can't afford all systems can't play some games they may want to.

    Shameful.

  • radiocreed

    Posted May 8, 2006 7:29 pm PT

    This is THE game that will make me run to the store and get a PS3.

  • MysticGenie

    Posted May 8, 2006 5:18 pm PT

    Well, it appears that the PS3 will be a haven for fighting games like the PS2 was before it. With Tekken series being Sony exclusive since its inception, Soul Calibur series going Sony exclusive with SC3, and now VF joining the fray, the PS3 is a no-brainer choice for fans of fighting games.

    However, its hard to convince the DOA fanboys and the Ninty fans who classify Super Smash Brothers Melee as a fighting game of the same type.

  • marc_man3001

    Posted May 8, 2006 4:56 pm PT

    Awesome. Go Sega.

  • radiostyle

    Posted May 8, 2006 4:42 pm PT

    Oh god!! Come on!! I really want it!!!!!

  • chikahiro94

    Posted May 8, 2006 4:34 pm PT

    This is horrible, horrible news. I was hoping to see it on the 360 as well. Microsoft should've offered Sega some serious money (enough to cover dev costs and a nice "bribe") to get VF5 on the 360 - it would've been an excellent title for them in Japan.

    Of course, I'm sure Sony knew this, and offered Sega a nice chunk of change for the exclusive.

    Oh well.

  • B-bad

    Posted May 8, 2006 4:02 pm PT

    wow just on the PS3 didn't really see that coming, hope it does move to other consoles and maybe even hand-helds...... one can hope! Just glad there's another VF game coming out they are all cool easy to get into be hard to full master.

  • GoddBless

    Posted May 8, 2006 3:43 pm PT

    It doesn't even have online. SEGA said if you could fight online it wouldn't be Virtua Fighter. Guess I won't be getting it then.

  • mpeg3s

    Posted May 8, 2006 3:27 pm PT

    2007, HAH Sega's History

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