The hype train is now rolling and it's getting faster and faster.
The Keynote of Phil Harrisons is not a secret anymore if a forum post over at Neoseeker is to be believed. Firmware update available on the 8th for North America/Japan and Asia. European PS3's will be preloaded with this latest update.
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"Hi, there! I'm Tohru Murayama from SEGA AM-2. In this fourth installment of the VF5 developer diaries I'm going to talk about the Dojo mode this time.

Regarding the title "Dojo", which means training hall, I'm a bit worried since I have no idea to what extent it will be accepted. Those who love martial arts or professional wrestling would understand the term, but I don't think it is a well-known Japanese word like sushi or samurai. In short, a DOJO is the place for practice or training of Martial arts such as JUDO and KENDO (Japanese fencing). As far as the DOJO in VF5, this is the mode that lets you train the characters of your choosing."

More at source.
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Things are looking up for the PlayStation 3 in Japan this week, as stellar Sega bruiser installment Virtua Fighter 5 blasts up the charts to snatch the console's first ever number one. The fighter beat off Nintendo titles Wii Sports, Wii Play, Brain Age and New Super Mario Brothers for the top slot, selling 48,000 copies since it was released in the country almost two weeks ago. Despite blitzing the competition in the sales charts though, the Wii continues to dominate Sony's console on the ... » Read More

"Sony's PlayStation 3 has taken plenty of knocks since its release in November, between the gaudy price tag and perceived lack of quality games.

But the PS3 hits back with SEGA's Virtua Fighter 5, a stunning brawler and one of the console's bright spots.

Much like its debut more than 15 years ago, Virtua Fighter's next chapter boasts a dynamic battle system both easy for beginners to learn yet complex enough to entice experts.

Fighting boils down to three actions: Punch, kick and block. Sounds simple enough, but each character can turn those moves into over 50 different throws and combinations.

Right away, the PS3's horsepower is evident in sharply-detailed character models and arenas. Chiseled muscles and individual strands of hair are easy to spot, while background elements like water splash vividly."
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Releases are starting to finally pick up steam this week as all three next gen systems have new games.

Check out the latest list of new video game releases (USA) for the week of 2/19/2007 on Xbox 360, Playstation 3 (PS3), Nintendo Wii, Sony PS2, PSP, Nintendo DS, and PC (USA)!
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Monday 19 February 2007 PlayStation 3's Virtua Fighter 5 has beaten off massed opposition from Nintendo to top the Japanese sales chart in its first week, giving Sony its first ever PS3 chart topper - and making it the first PS3 game to enter the top ten - in Japan since the next-gen console launched last November. The rest of the top ten boasts seven titles from Nintendo platforms, five of those released on DS, and two PS2 games. Meanwhile in the hardware chart, Sony spanked Microsoft, ... » Read More

Eight out of the top ten spots are occupied by Xbox 360 game requests. Crackdown is tops for the Xbox 360, Sonic for Nintendo Wii, and Virtua Fighter 5 tops the PS3 list. Anticipation for God of War II for the PS2 bubbles all the way to the 8th position on the cross-platform list.

Read on for the complete list:
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EGM has awarded Virtua Fighter 5 on the PS3 the prestigious honour of game of the month, scoring an insanely high overall Mark of 9.5. Looks like Crackdown has some strong competition on its hands. Interestingly, this is the HIGHEST score EGM has awarded over the past six months.
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Oh Friday, we reported that Japan was exactly kookoo for Virtua Fighter 5. To put things into perspective, Japanese game blog Ore Teki Game Sokuhou @ Katana points out the following:

* February 8th, 2007
* 600,000 PS3s
* Virtua Fighter 5 Copies Sold: 30,000

* December 29th, 2005
* 80,000 Xbox 360s
* Dead or Alive 4 Copies Sold: 60,000

Not exactly a system seller. (That, dear readers, should be the upcoming Gundam Musou!)
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Updated US Release Chart from IGN. Tekken 5:DR date confirmed and College Hoops 2K7 delayed.
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Virtua Fighter 5 is not only the latest in Sega's huge beat-'em-up series, but it also looks to be one of the PS3's best-looking games so far. Just look at the high-res awesomeness of this game, particularly the lighting in some of the sunset scenes and the super-sharp textures. It's going to look sweet running in 1080p on a nice 50" ... » Read More

Early reports are that Virtua Fighter 5 isn't exactly flying off store shelves. AsoBitCity in Akihabara had a hands-on for customers that was so slow, a Sega employee apparently killed time by playing the title alone. And why should it be a hit? Sure, VF hasn't really matter to most Western gamers since, oh, 1997, but the game has a huge following in Japan.
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Tohru Murayama from SEGA talks about the new Virtua Fighter for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in this second developer's column.
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IGN has updated their chart of big releases for the PS3 in 2007.
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Ign has the latest behind-the-scenes glimpse of the next-generation fighter's VF.TV Mode. For this installment Ign talk's about a mode called VF.TV. Put simply, players do not play VF.TV mode -- they watch it. Fans can watch saved content ripped from bouts and other matches through a variety of options.
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Famitsu Magazine, widely considered the most-respected gaming publication in the Pacific (not including Hawaiian Gaming Quarterly, of course), has released a new batch of reviews for upcoming games, with the PlayStation 3 version of Virtua Fighter 5 uppercuts and flying kicks ahead of the pack in this month's issue.
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Virtua Fighter 5 is nearing release (in Japan at least) as further details about the port became apparent in the latest issue of Famitsu.

Perhaps the most notable revelation is the fact that the game can be installed on the PS3 HDD to bring loading times closer inline with an arcade fighter. Exactly how much of the 50GB blu-ray disc will be installed on the 20 or 60GB drive, however, remains to be seen.
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Sega Europe has launched the official website for Virtua Fighter 5, the highly anticipated beat 'em up for the PlayStation 3 and xbox 360.
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Around wednesday midnight GMT, Sony finally released the European launch details. They also released a huge list of launch titles, including system sellers like MotorStorm, Resistance, Virtua Fighter 5 and SPlinter Cell: Double Agent. Unfortunately, one title didn't show up: Rainbow Six Vegas. Was it delayed? Or did Sony just forget about Vegas?

It seems Sony just forget about Vegas. The dutch PLAYSTATION 3-website PS3 Only contacted Ubisoft Netherlands and they told 'em that Rainbow Six Vegas will still launch simultaniously with the PLAYSTATION 3 itself, on March 23rd.
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There are just certain genres that need solid titles for a console to be competitive. Fighting games were notably missing from the PS3's launch lineup last year, but Sony's console is about to come back in a big way. Sega has announced that Virtua Fighter 5 for the PS3 has gone gold and will be available on store shelves in North America starting February 20th. The famed Virtua Fighter series will surely turn some heads towards the PS3's direction.
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