It turns out the next game in Capcom’s Gundam Versus series of arcade multiplayer games will be called Gundam Extreme Versus. The game will be using a System 357 board, basically a PlayStation 3 in an arcade cabinet, and will feature almost every Gundam series (along with Crossbone Gundam and MS IGLOO). The fundamental gameplay won’t be changing much from Gundam vs Gundam Next though. The game will be beta tested over the Summer for an Autumn release in Japan.

As for the rumour we reported about this game being Gundam Unicorn specific, well that turned out to be false. That said, we were originally told merely that a Unicorn specific arcade game was in development. We assumed that this meant the upcoming Gundam Versus iteration, but it seems that there is another Gundam arcade game in the wings (maybe an update to the hugely successful Senjou no Kizuna?). Considering that the series will start airing tomorrow it’s fairly obvious that Bandai Namco want to capitalise on Unicorn as best they can.

This is currently a rumour at present but it seems the next Gundam Versus game, that’s been hinted at on the official site, will be Gundam Unicorn focused. This would mark a return to the series specific approach that the games had prior to the Gundam vs Gundam shift a few years ago. This also means we’ll get to finally see both the Sinanju and Banshee in a game with any luck. In addition to this news, it also appears that the Unicorn Gundam will also make an appearance in Gundam Assault Survive and separately Gundam vs Gundam Next Plus will also receive some “Special Edition” DLC sometime in April. In any case, we’ll know for sure on these by the end of the week.

Update: It turns out that the next Gundam Versus game, Gundam Extreme Versus, isn’t series specific to Unicorn. However, there is still another Gundam arcade game in development that will tie into the series in some way.

Well, it’s about that time of year again and the AOU show is almost upon us. Unsurprisingly a new Gundam Versus game has been announced. No specifics on the game are available as yet but it will be interesting to see if Capcom still opt for PlayStation 2 era arcade hardware. With any luck we may even see Capcom opt for the new Ring Edge board used in Border Break, as it would allow cross country networking amongst other things (something that a multiplayer focused series such as this would obviously benefit from). Anyway, conjecture aside, we’ll know more in a few days.

Model kit maker Hasegawa has announced that they’ll be releasing a Guarayakha kit in the near future. This rather cute looking mecha is a VR from Virtual On Force (though it also appeared in Marz too). This VR is rather interesting in terms of the narrative, as it’s meant to contain the terrifying force that is Jaguarandi. Unfortunately, this plan backfires and it actually allows Jaguarandi to manifest itself more readily (killing the pilot when it does so). Jaguarandi was an enemy in the original Virtual On that was triggered if you took too long on the initial missions in the game, it was a very fast and powerful VR with the sole purpose of stealing as many credits from the player as possible by being a particularly brutal opponent. Jaguarandi was replaced by Ajim in Oratan but returned in Force and Marz.

The more observant of you will realise that this isn’t a Kotobukiya kit, as this is due to Hasegawa having the rights to Force as well as Marz. As such they’ve been producing kits from these games for a while now (with the Shirokis Temjin being our favourite). On the whole Hasegawa kits are more technical in their construction than the Kotobukiya efforts, not to mention requiring a far defter hand when it comes to painting the finished kit. Guarayakha will be released later this month for 3,200 yen and you can pre-order it here.

The much loved Border Break has received an update today, which specifically features the addition of a new “Enforcer” frame to the game. This new frame apparently sports improved capacity and booster power, making it a good all rounder. As with all unlocks in Border Break, the Enforcer parts will need to be earned and paid for (with real money too). In any case, it will be interesting to see if Kotobukiya render this design in kit form in the near future.

Over at Hobby Stock there is some nice photo coverage of the current Wonder Festival. Apart from cool stuff like an SD White Glint kit, Kotobukiya also announced their intent to make a kit of SAV-07-D Belgdor from the original Virtual On. Belgdor is an interesting design both functionally and aesthetically, as it was the most real robot VR in the game (as it used solid ammunition amongst other things). It was also one of the weaker units too but that didn’t stop the versus community from coming up with a variety of techniques to keep Belgdor competitive, with the usage of rowing being notable. Belgdor also received various updates in both Oratan and Force; from Grys-vok, to Stein-vok and finally the Vox series. No word on a release date or pricing as yet but like the other Kotobukiya kits it probably won’t be that expensive.

In the recently released Sega Sammy Holdings fiscal reports Border Break seems to have made quite an impact. Now, we rather loved the arcade game in our review but it’s interesting to see that the game’s financial model hasn’t put punters off (something that we thought might be an issue). Instead it seems that the Japanese public have taken to Border Break very readily, to the extent that it’s topped the number of units sold. In any case, the fact that the has done so well only begs the inevitable question; when will a console port rear its multi-jointed mechanical head?

Thanks to Chazumaru for the heads up.

Over at GA Graphic they’ve previewed the upcoming Shrike kit from Border Break. Like the other kits from the game, this is also being handled by Kotobukiya so expect good things for the final product. The Shrike is one of the Support class frames but like everything in the game, the mecha can be re-purposed across each class. The kit will be available in May for 3,675 yen and you can pre-order it here.

Senjou no Kizuna, as in that Gundam arcade game with a panoramic cockpit, is getting another update with some rule changes and two new mobile suits. The latter are the MS-08TX (EXAM) Efreet Custom and the RX-79BD-2 Blue Destiny Unit 2, both of which come from the Saturn Blue Destiny trilogy and were piloted by the games’ main antagonist, Nimbus Schterzen. The Efreet is a unique design, as it pops up a lot in the better Gundam games. A new version, the MS-08TX/N Efreet Nacht, also appeared in the recent PS3 game Gundam Senki 0081. The original design came from the Super Famicom game Cross Dimension 0079 in case you’re wondering. The two new suits will also use the EXAM system once they reach critically low health, consequently giving them a performance boost. Both will also be available tomorrow on the 13th January.

Not that long ago, Banpresto funded the development of a rather insane Gundam arcade game called Senjo no Kizuna. The player would literally sit inside a panoramic cockpit and pilot a mobile suit. In addition, each of the hugely expensive cabinets would be connected via an online network to other such machines across Japan. Upon its release, Banpresto soon realised they’d cornered a new part of the arcade gaming market. As queues lengthened to play the game, the main draw wasn’t just the amazing cockpit but also its online capability.

It wasn’t long until other publishers like Sega decided to get in on the act. Learning from Banpresto’s example, Border Break was birthed along with a new arcade board called the Ring Edge. Sega also didn’t miss a trick either, instead of having a theatrically huge cockpit they instead opted for a smaller and more standardised cabinet, whilst also upping the potency of the board that would run the game (as Senjo no Kizuna’s was suitably basic in a graphical sense, which is why its PSP port was even feasible). However, to classify Border Break as a mere herd following cash-in would be a great injustice. To be perfectly frank, Border Break is probably one of the most refreshing mecha games seen this decade.