Games aren't standalone products, folks. They're services. From Call of Duty Elite to Resident Evil.net, publishers are looking to expand game connectivity by offering online stat-tracking services. Namco Bandai is ready to jump into the fray with the World Tekken Federation, the first stat tracking service created for a fighting game.

Set to launch alongside Tekken Tag Tournament 2 for both Xbox 360 and PS3, the World Tekken Federation service will allow players to follow their own progress online with stats detailing wins, losses, percentages, characters used, etc. WTF stats will update in real-time, offering players an opportunity to analyze what teams work best for them. The WTF will also allow players to scout out the stats of other players all around the world, which promises to have ramifications for players of all skill levels. Tekken tournaments will be a little more interesting now that participants can study their opponents' teams and strategies at any time.

The World Tekken Federation will be free when Tekken Tag Tournament 2 launches on September 11 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Namco Bandai Games have revealed the first images for the upcoming Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition S+ from Mad Catz.

Not to be confused with Hori’s Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Arcade Stick, the Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition S+ is made by Mad Catz. The product will feature a "Femme Fatale" Art Panel, featuring the various female characters in the fighting game.

The Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition S+ will be released for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 systems in North America later this year. Namco Bandai Games will be launching Tekken Tag Tournament 2 for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms on September 11th as well as the Nintendo Wii U sometime after.

The Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter knows how to deliver virtual punches in the Tekken and Street Fighter games.

Shaffer Chimere Smith is best known by R&B fans as Ne-Yo. And to gamers, he may be their worst enemy if they happen upon him online in a game of Capcom’s Street Fighter X Tekken. The Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter recently took to the real gridiron to play flag football in the EA Sports Madden NFL 13 Pigskin Pro-Am alongside Brett Favre and other football legends on NBC. The singer loves to play games when he’s not writing music or singing. He talks about his gaming prowess in the exclusive interview below.
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The Hollywood Reporter: What was it like for you to be part of the NBC EA Sports Madden Pigskin Pro Am?
Ne-Yo: It was exciting. We had NFL Hall of Famers out there. The fact that I shared the field with them was super exciting.
THR: How big a Madden video game player are you?
Ne-Yo: I’m good, but not great at Madden. I have friends that their whole life is based around this video game. A shout out to them; they’re extremely jealous that I played in this game and they didn’t. I’m good at the game, but I’m more of a fighting and adventure games type guy.
THR: So what do you normally play?
Ne-Yo: I’m heavy into Max Payne 3. That’s a good one. I like any of the fighting games and all of the Tekken and Street Fighter series. They just did Street Fighter X Tekken, and I’m huge on that one right now. Undefeated, currently.
THR: Who’s your go to fighter?
Ne-Yo: Ryu for Street Fighter, and for Tekken probably Paul Phoenix.
THR: And they’re coming out with Tekken Tag Tournament 2 this year, too.
Ne-Yo: I heard. I’m looking forward to that. I’m sitting in front of the store with everybody else waiting on that game. Oh, yeah. Um-hum.
THR: When you do play Madden, who’s your “go to” team?
Ne-Yo: Let me see; I normally go with the Falcons.
THR: Do you have a secret strategy that you like to use?
Ne-Yo: Not necessarily, which is probably why I’m not as good as the other guys at the game. I just go in and go for it, pass the ball, and pray that the guy I’m passing to catches it. That’s pretty much it.
THR: Do you use the video game as preparation at all for the Pro Am game?
Ne-Yo: No. Actually, I went hard for a few weeks getting my knees right, and making sure that I can still catch and pass, and all that. I hadn’t played football in a few years. I’m pretty quick. I think I was one of the quickest on the field, so my plan was to just outrun everybody. High knees; that’s what it’s all about.
THR: At what point did you feel like Madden went beyond being a video game and became part of pop culture?
Ne-Yo: You know what? Madden is the closest thing to actually being on the field yourself. It’s so ridiculously realistic. Before I play it, I honestly didn’t understand. “What’s all the hype? It’s a video game.” Then I sat down and played it, and you feel like you’re on the field. It’s that incredible. Kudos to the designers and programmers, because they did the most with this one. Absolutely.
THR: When it comes to looking back when you were playing as a kid, do you have a favorite Madden memory you can share with us?
Ne-Yo: No, a lot of losses. As I said, I have friends whose lives are dedicated to Madden. I play them in their game and let them beat the hell out of me, and then we play one of my games, and I win.
THR: What role do you feel video games play in music these days?
Ne-Yo: I feel like the two are starting to go hand-in-hand. The right song in the game might just make you play a little bit better; you never know.
THR: Would you like your music to be in any of the Street Fighter or Tekken games?
Ne-Yo: Come on, man, I’ll write a song specifically for it.  Let me know. Just make me a character in the game; the strongest character. Make me one of the bosses in the game, and I’ll write a song for the series. I’ll do it.
THR: That’s a message straight to Capcom and Namco.
Ne-Yo: If you’re reading this, come on, I know what I’m doing. Trust me.

Mad Catz this morning announced that they are teaming up with Namco Bandai once again, this time to produce an officially licensed Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Arcade Fightstick. Sure, by itself, that’s not a bad announcement.

The real exciting part though is that Mad Catz has confirmed that they will be bringing the TTT2 Arcade Fightstick to the Wii U along with the PS3 and Xbox 360. So, as of now, this will be the first Wii U fight stick announced for the console.

A release date or pricing has yet to be revealed.

Read on for the announcement.

"Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. announced today its agreement with Namco Bandai Games Inc, to produce the Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Arcade FightStick, a Tournament Edition fighting game controller for use with the upcoming Tekken Tag Tournament 2 videogame.

The agreement gives Mad Catz worldwide rights to ship products for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system from Sony and the forthcoming Wii U console from Nintendo."

Excellent news for that one guy making a Street Fighter X Tekken stop-motion animation film based on the one fanfic he wrote, as well as regular people with cubicles that need decorating: Namco Bandai will be releasing two new series of SFxT Minimates figures, with the first wave arriving in November.

Regardless of which wave they're in, characters come in fixed packs of two: Ken vs. Steve, Cammy vs. Nina, Poison vs. Lili and Sagat vs. King (above) make up November's offering. Wave two, said to release sometime in February, pits Chun-Li vs. Hwoarang, Abel vs. Kazuya, Ryu vs. Yoshimitsu and Rufus vs. Julia, all of whom can be seen after the break. No word on pricing, but we do know that some pairs will be more rare than others.

Lee Abrahams over at Xbox 360 Achievements wrote up a great Tekken Tag Tournament 2 preview from Gamescom 2012. In this article Abrahams recaps a presentation given by Tekken director Katsuhiro Harada at the event and provides details on such topics as the Tekken Tunes feature, World Tekken Federation, Fight Lab and more.

Below is a bit from the article.


Each time you clear certain stages in the Fight Lab you will be assigned a ranking, which in turn will unlock new moves to purchase and also mean that you have a bevy of points to spend on said moves. The idea being that players can constantly challenge themselves and always have a new goal, or series of unlocks, to strive for. “So it’s not like you can just play through once and be done with it,” Harada states, “As there is a lot on offer here so you can continue to play through this mode to unlock all of the content.” It’s clear that the focus is on creating an array of modes and content to keep hardcore players happy while also appealing to relative newcomers.

He also mentioned the new Tekken Tunes feature which lets players chop and change the in-game music as they see fit, or even introduce their own music to play over the menus, stages and so on. He immediately brandished a Red Hot Chili Peppers CD with a grin and popped it into the console to import 'Give it Away' over the action. It’s a neat feature and an example of the level of interaction Harada hopes players will come to enjoy. “You can also put your own music and soundtracks in there,” Harada continues, with a glint in his eye, “Or as a parent, you can leave messages to your kids to tell them to stop playing games and do their homework instead. So that when they clear the final stage they get yelled at for playing the game.” A novel approach to selling your game to be sure, but it shows the sense of humour on offer and that Harada is prepared to embrace a variety of ideas to make the game as unique as possible.

The Entertainment Software Rating Board has revealed their rating summary for the upcoming multiplatform title, Tekken Tag Tournament 2. The Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the fighting game got tagged with a T (for Teen) rating due to contents relating to alcohol reference, crude humor, mild blood, partial nudity, sexual themes and violence. Furthermore, the user-generated content will be unrated while the DLC music tracks may also be inconsistent with the rating. You can check out the full summary from the ESRB below:

"Includes online features that may expose players to unrated user-generated content (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)

Features downloadable music content that may be inconsistent with the ESRB rating (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
Rating summary: This is an arcade-style fighting game in which players engage in hand-to-hand combat with a large cast of human, animal, and supernatural characters. Players use martial arts punches, kicks, and throws to drain opponents' health meters. Some fighters also use melee weapons or laser blasts to knock characters across the screen or to the ground. Some attacks reference alcohol (e.g., Wine Opener, Tequila Sunrise), and one character uses “drunken” fighting moves. Matches are accompanied by cries of pain, punching sounds, and impact effects. Cutscenes depict additional acts of violence/blood: a man getting shot from a rooftop by a sniper; droplets of blood falling from a wounded fighter. During the course of the game, there some references to sexual material: a fighter arrested for “voyeurism” after spying on a woman; a red-light district (neon signs that read Sexy Cats, Sexy Rouge, and Girls Paradise appear nearby); a fight stage with women pole-dancing in the background. During one cutscene, a woman appears partially nude as her ink-like costume dissolves underwater; in another, a character is shown covering her breasts after a shower. In one comedic scene, two fighters eat pizza that has been laced with laxatives; gurgling/flatulence sounds can be heard as they race to the bathroom."

A new Street Fighter X Tekken developer blog has been posted on Capcom-Unity today. Ayano mainly focuses on the PS Vita version packaging, giving detailed descriptions and showing images of the proofs.

Ayano also gives a small update about the iPhone version of Street Fighter X Tekken, telling everyone to expect big tings.

"I got word from the mobile development team that the iPhone version of SFXTK is “almost ready to go” -and come to think of it, the mobile team was cheering about something; they must have finished their master submission! Definitely expect big things from SFXTK mobile!"

Fans of the King Of Iron Fist Tournament are looking forward to next month, when the long-awaited console release of Tekken Tag Tournament 2 makes its way to the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3!  

The game was originally released in arcades last September 2011, and it’s been a year-long wait for the second installment of this tag team series —and now it’s finally upon us, with more material and updates to please long-time followers. 
 
Based on the engine of the updated arcade port Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Unlimited, the console version of TTT2 will be packed with more extras and additional characters. Among the extras included are new stages and items for customization, as well as returning characters from the Tekkenverse not seen for a while, such as Tiger Jackson, Kunimitsu, Ogre, and Angel. A new Practice Mode called “Fighting Lab” will also be added to satiate the hunger of those looking to test their might and combo skills. 
 
To give players a taste of things to come, Namco Bandai has released the official cinematic intro to Tekken Tag Tournament 2 online: 
 
LINK TO VIDEO

The opening CG sequence shows a regular cab driver listening in to the announcement of the new King Of Iron Fist tag team tournament, while a silent and powerful Jinpachi Mishima broods behind in the passenger’s seat. Later, the action shifts into the tournament arena, where fighters old and new converge to take part in the greatest battle of them all. The ninjitsu tag team duo of Raven and Kunimitsu enter the ring, while sibling rivals Anna and Nina Williams reluctantly join forces to face them. 
 
In the midst of the battle, True Ogre suddenly appears, and to combat the menacing threat is none other than Angel. The opening mixes up the excellent electronic intro music with fantastic visual highlights, setting the stage for the big tag battle to come!
 
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 smashes its way into Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles this September 11. — TJD, GMA News

For  Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and possibly subsequent Tekken games in the franchise. The service is launching for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and will be like a social community for players of the Tekken series.

Players who utilise the service will be able to track their personal statistics, create teams with friends, compete in events and discuss the game and it’s strategies. On the service Namco Bandai had this to say -

“World Tekken Federation is a premium service that aims to connect players to the TEKKEN worldwide community in a way never before seen with a fighting game,” said Carlson Choi, Vice President of Marketing for NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.  “Being able to unite the entire TEKKEN global community is an incredibly exciting initiative that will help extend the competitive nature of the series well past TEKKEN TAG TOURNAMENT 2’s launch date.”

The World Tekken Federation is able to keep players connected to the world of Tekken Tag Tournament 2 as it can be accessed through any online connected device. This means that Tekken players will be able to communicate and look up stats for fighters and other services wherever they are.

The service launches alongside Tekken Tag Tournament 2 on the 9/11/12 – US Date. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 will retail for $59.99USD.