PS3 Virtua Fighter 5 is gold
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Jan 23rd 2007 at 4:25AM }
Game delays have relegated PlayStation 3 to lesser uses for the immediate future, but Sega is making good on its promise, with Virtua Fighter 5 now just a disc-press away. The fighter will meet its target release date, February 20, retailing for $59.99.Sadly, Virtua Fighter 5 will lack online support (including basic leaderboards). But amidst the current software drought, come February, Sega's old standby will be as good as it gets for PS3. Good thing MotorStorm will be just around the corner...
Virtua Fighter 5 is also being ported to Xbox 360 for release this summer.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Bennett @ Jan 23rd 2007 6:48AM
I think people are in for a disappointment with Motorstorm.
v1cious @ Jan 23rd 2007 6:30AM
you do know the demo version is in alpha stage right? pretty much every publication has said it's nothing like the final product, in fact the final version looks closer to what they showed at E3. http://media.ps3.ign.com/media/748/748488/imgs_1.html
samsterling @ Jan 23rd 2007 6:40AM
You do know that they released it in Japan without any form of multiplayer, right?
Bennett @ Jan 23rd 2007 6:48AM
Sure, but you're wrong to assume that I am talking about the demo - I'm assuming it will be exactly as good as the E3 demo.
But it's an off-road wacky-wheels racing game. Name one classic, superlative game that meets that description. These games can be fun, but ultimately they aren't technical, they aren't very visceral, and the tracks are all pretty dull.
Pulse @ Jan 23rd 2007 7:18AM
Motorstorm did well in Japan :S Don't see why it can't in Europe and America with PS3, however, the force that is Wipeout once released will crush motorstorm, who wants dirt when you can have death defying loops and drops? :)
Like I said before VF4 is all graphics and nothing else. I'll wait for Tekken 6.
Razorback @ Jan 23rd 2007 9:01AM
I just wish Virtua Fighter had online play. At least mention a possible patch in the future.
I actually can't wait for Motorstorm and its online play. I have played the japanese version of the game and it rocks!
DBX00 @ Jan 23rd 2007 9:20AM
What's with everyone wanting online multiplayer these days? Virtual Fighter is a fighting simulation and Sega wouldn't wreck that by adding online support that has lag issues and cheating. The Japanese wouldn't like that very much and they are the ones that push Virtual Fighter sales.
jayntampa @ Jan 23rd 2007 9:38AM
hmm ... wouldn't it be interesting if the 360 version had online ... hmmm ...
sheppy @ Jan 23rd 2007 10:01AM
You know, I'm rather tired of anytime a game doesn't add an online portion, no matter how much that online portion clashes with the core gameplay concept, it's looked down upon.
Let's put it this way... VF5 is a fighter, based in those mythical ancient locations called Arcades. When one wants to play against another player, a quarter (this was before those swipe cards) was inserted. If you were good enough, you got to continue playing. Flash forward to home consoles. Friend comes over (some people actually have physical friends, you know) and says "Hey, is that the new Virtua Fighter? Sure enough, you boot it up and play. When multiple friends are around, loser passes the controller.
To me, playing a fighting game online goes directly against the core game concept. There is no "in your face" victory taunts. There is no seeing the look on their face when you pull off a cool combo. And there is definately no community spirit when someone does something super flashy and all the sudden all the players are intrigued about how it was done, suddenly command lists are brought up and players agree on a momentary truce until it can be replicated. You don't get that in online. Thus, even if VF5 did have online and Xbox Live support, I wouldn't be using it.
Ben Hobbs @ Jan 23rd 2007 10:53AM
"Thus, even if VF5 did have online and Xbox Live support, I wouldn't be using it."
So why would it hurt you to include it? Also not everyone plays online on their own, so most of your points about victory celebrations are moot.
bubbastump @ Jan 23rd 2007 10:50AM
#9 Your so behind the times. Play some Halo2 online and tell me there are no equivalent "in your face vitory taunts". Just because the person isn't sitting right there next to you doesn't meen the taunts or social aspects are diminished. Online gaming is not the future...it's the present.
It would sound about right for Sega to take an extra 6 months or so to add online play to the game...don't you think??? It would certainly be a complete slap in the face to the PS3 version. I think it's really sad in this day and age that PS3 games are still struggling to make it online even when it would be obvious to do so and they have had years to take a look at what the competition is doing and get this right.
Norm @ Jan 23rd 2007 11:06AM
Dude, No online in virtua fighter is a good thing. If you have ever played a fighting game online you will know that it doesnt work. Frame data in virtua fighter is so important, and if you have any kind of lag at all it would kill the whole game. If you are a serious virtua fighter player, you know what I'm talking about. # 9 is right on the money.
sheppy @ Jan 23rd 2007 11:41AM
Way to go, bubbastump. I mention games that don't fit the online arena and you come forward with "rarr! Get with the times, fucking Halo 2 is the shit!"
As an avid UT, Timesplitters, Tribes, and Resistance player, I can attest the value to online gameplay. In genres that it fits. But let's put it this way, here are some of the more prominent online games that have me scratching my head why "WHY?!"
DDR... online... FUCKING WHY? Are you really that depraved that you want the bragging right of "perfect attacking" the west coast champ? Isn't the whole point of this game showing rhythm ability, not "I can fucking riverdance with more accuracy than you?"
Fuzion Frenzy 2... it's a PARTY game. You grab four controllers, a case of beer, and make it a party. The whole core concept of this game is ticking off friends, in your face victory dances, and swatting the controller out of the hands of the current leader. An online mode to this game adds NOTHING and it would actually detract from the core experience.
Go! Sudoku! You have to be kidding me. Not only did they completely tard up the experience by making "Xtreme" game modes, but competitive sudoku? This is like putting 4 players in a solitaire match. "Ohhhh but it's online!"
And finally, the one everyone is clamoring for, online Guitar Hero II... because, once again, having a friend over just have have a good time is a foreign fucking concept to some people. What's the purpose? Bragging rights? Do people actually believe their five star on superhard Godzilla will gather women to their knees?
Fighting games just happen to be one of those niches that online play doesn't enhance the experience.
Wei @ Jan 23rd 2007 12:48PM
@ Sheppy
Not all of us live near our friends. As the gaming generation has grown up, we have had to watch ourselves leave our neighborhoods and spread out across the country and even overseas because of work, spouses, or a myriad of other reasons. Do I have friends that live nearby and come over to play? Yes. Do I have friends with whom online play has kept me in touch even though they live several states away? Yes. Why shouldn't we be able to play Virtua Fighter or guitar hero together without having to buy a plane ticket?
I agree that fighting games online have a laundry list of problems, but to say that the very idea playing one with people over the internet is harmful to the game is just wrong.
SonicTHP @ Jan 24th 2007 1:01PM
There is the fact that Virtua Fighter is so technical that any sort of lag can actually ruin a fight. I for one am in full support of Virtua Fighter never having online until online can support a completely lag free environment for both players.
StMadnes @ Jan 23rd 2007 8:31PM
NO ONLINE SUPPORT????!!! It's not like the days of Tekken for the PS1. Now, online support can make a game. What the hell were the developers thinking???
Turkdaone @ Jan 24th 2007 3:12AM
wELL SHEPPY YOU DO KNOW THAT IF VIRTUA FIGHTERS ONLINE ASPECT WASNT YOUR CUP OF TEA, THAT YOU COULD ACTUALLY JUST STICK TO SINGLE PLAYER RIGHT?Or you could just play with your friends.
I mean if you dont feel fighters should be online then okay fine, but to knock a feature just because you wont use it is very childish.
In a sinilar case, should there not be anymore final fantasy mmorpgs because you think that they suck in a particular case?
Or what about that song on guitar hero that isnt hard to you, but you just dont like it.Sould it have been excluded?
Of course not!You dont have to play virtua fighter online, and I will be the first to tell ya that I like extra stuff with my games.Think about it.Halo3 releases and we know all about it, but they release a gun that has to be earned by playing online for say a 1,000 hours.Does that hurt?
Seriously the ps3 would greatly benefit from a online fighting game as tekken and soul calibur dont look to be doing that anytime soon.But if tekken was online would that kill the game?Of course not!
wakusei @ Jan 24th 2007 3:15AM
As a big vs. fighting game fan and an avid online gamer the news that VF5 isn't including online play (which we've known for a long time now) is disappointing on some levels, but ultimately th right decision when it comes to gameplay.
Ask any fan of the VF series how much they'd enjoy playing the game with poor latency. On the technical level the moves in the VF series literally require split second timing that the developers did not feel could be matched by current broadband standards. Hell, a round of SFII on Live is a nightmare when the connection is bad and that game is 16 years old.
Obviously we'll get broadband adequate enough to play these sort of games online someday, but for now give me some imported Hori sticks and have the friends over.
resistance: fall of 360 @ Jan 24th 2007 1:42PM
You guys might as well give up...you are arguing against 360 fans who believe the only thing worthwhile in gaming is multiplayer shooters - GoW, halo, etc etc.
Puaru @ Feb 23rd 2007 10:01AM
A crappy online system is better then no online system. You guys say, "Online VF would suck! Just have friends come over!" Well what if your friends suck at that game? Then your just beating a character who's worse then the easiest computer setting.
Or what if you want to play at 3 in the morning, every morning? Am I gonna call up my friend and tell him to come over and get on some Virtua Fighter?
When you play online, you can always find an opponent who will test your skills.
Online gaming is very important.
Not caring if VF5 has an online mode or not is fine. Not wanting it, and not wanting anyone else to play it online, because you think it clashes with the orignal game is retarded.