Tekken Dark Resurrection plops down in North America's PlayStation Store later this month, following its debut in Asia. Namco Bandai's downloadable fighter joins Sega's disc-based Virtua Fighter 5 in the waning weeks of February, as two high-profile franchises battle for PS3 owners' idle attention. While unconfirmed, expect Tekken to be offered in the $15-20 range; VF5's gonna go for the standard $60.

1UP speculates that Namco Bandai could offer additional updates for Tekken -- like online multiplayer -- but the publisher has shot down rumors that the (initial) North American release was delayed to add new content. If you already nabbed the Asian version, no worries, you won't be missing out.

GamersReports has posted a workaround for PlayStation 3 owners eager to download Tekken 5.

Unless you're living in Hong Kong or Japan you're forced to wait until Sony gets around to releasing Tekken 5 in other territories ... or you could cheat the system. This trick is relatively simple, if not inherently dishonest:

• Create a new user (not sub-user)
• When entering the credit card info, pick Hong Kong as country, and then a corresponding city
• After account is created, select 'Add Funds' (a sub-option within 'Account Management')
• Add $40 (Hong Kong dollars) to your 'Wallet' twice (total should now be 80 HKD); never add more than $50 in one transaction, as this will prompt a validation of the address registered with the credit card
  
• Now go to the PlayStation Store and select Tekken 5
• Opt to add more funds (bringing Wallet total to 125 HKD)
• Purchase and download Tekken 5

Sony is no doubt taking measures to lock out this workaround as you read this. Act now if you must. Our advice: sit patient and wait for the official worldwide releases.

Less than a month after a downloadable version of Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection was announced for PlayStation 3, Namco Bandai's fighter has belly-flopped onto PlayStation Store in Japan (¥2000; $16.85) and Hong Kong ($125HK; $16.07). And it's a beast, weighing in at 830MB; well exceeding the arbitrary limit proposed last month.

But Sony's done it, introducing the first full-featured digital distribution title to consoles. Sure, certain Xbox Live games could be just as valuable (if not more so) to the on-demand movement, but let's not downplay Sony's achievement. This is exactly the sort of move that will pressure Microsoft to give up on its enforced 50MB Live Arcade size limit.

The hefty HD version of Tekken 5 includes arcade battle, ghost battle, and offline versus modes, in addition to an artwork and video gallery. Final boss Jinpachi Mishima has also been made playable. No word on the inevitable North American release.

According to GAF, Famistu is reporting that Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection will be offered as a downloadable PlayStation 3 title. The PS3 version will be an arcade port (Dark Resurrection was also released on PSP) with new content, including a playable Jinpachi. The game will also be enhanced for high definition displays.

Release date and cost have not yet been disclosed, though Dark Resurrection will almost certainly exceed Xbox Live Arcade's current peak price ($15). Still, Tekken 5 has a bit more to offer than the likes of Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat 3, no? Should Microsoft be concerned?