The Antwerp Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror Convention will be held this Sunday. The program is heavy with more than 50 European sellers of figurines and collectibles, the presence of Star Wars associations Rebel Legion and Teekay-421, a cosplay contest organized by Cosplay Belgium, an inflatable laser shooting arena and face painting (Elanor). But there's more! Jan Bartels will exhibit original props from movies like Gremlins 2, Evil Dead, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and The Shining. There will be music with an horrorific DJ set by Chris Verelst and a live performance by Eekhoorn-x. Many special guests will answer your questions and sign autographs: short films directors Jonas Govaerts and Robin Pront, writers Mel Hartman and Meta Thirza and illustrators Micha Hoeylaerts and Gerben den Heeten. Of course, if this event is mentioned here, it's because video games will be part of the show: PushStart will bring consoles and Carl Jacobs will come with arcade machines and pinball tables! The convention will be held at Antwerp Expo on Sunday 1st May. A preparty is scheduled at the Roma (Borgerhout) on Saturday with screenings of old horror movies. The atmosphere will be provided by Radio Modern DJs. Now you know what to do this weekend!

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Each year, Rennes (France) gathers video game fans during a weekend for a festival full of activities: tournaments, demonstrations, screenings, concerts, competitions, conferences, ... The 2011 edition will be held at the Halle Francis Querné from Friday 29 April to Sunday 1^st May 2011. The Stunfest is famous for its tournaments attracting many foreign players: this year, Versus Dojo organizes the following tournaments: The King of Fighters XIII on Saturday and BlazBlue Continuum Shift II and Street Fighter III 3rd Strike on Sunday. Friday and Saturday, a Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition tournament will be held where the two winning teams will earn their qualification for the "European Masters Challenge – Road To Tougeki 2011 The Final Showdown" which will designate the European team which will travel to Japan to participate in Tougeki 2011. AH2R will manage the "Ichigeki 2011" Street Fighter Zero 3 solo tournament on Sunday. Note the presence this year of Japanese player RF who was part of the teams that have won the Guilty Gear XX Accent Core and Street Fighter IV tournaments at Tougeki 2010. For those who just want to play without competition in mind, dozens of Japanese arcade cabinets set on freeplay are available (with titles like BlazBlue Continuum Shift II, Super Street Fighter II X and Street Fighter Zero 3). Many activities are planned including the screening of "Pixel Kombat" (a documentary about versus fighting), concerts of Flying Penguins, Divag and Friends, Spintronic and Garage Sale as well as numerous discussions, conferences and quizzes. You can buy your tickets (5 € per day) and your registration in the various tournaments at the 3 Hit Combo online shop.

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Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown Version A is released today in Japan. This upgrade brings many changes to blows movements and re-balance characters. In addition to these gameplay changes, new features were added: the ability to create game videos of in WMV and MP4, Twitter integration to report results directly on the Internet. Players owning a card from a previous version will be able to use it with the Version A, their card will be directly upgraded but a card obtained with this version is not backward-compatible.

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During GP Hydra festival held last February 6, Ecole announced the future release of an update for MELTY BLOOD Actress Again Current Code. After being on location test last month, Melty Blood AACC Ver1.05 will be availabe tomorrow. This version adds a new character: "armed" Ciel. Regarding MELTY BLOOD, don't forget that the game based manga is currently published by Pika Editions, 3rd volume was released in March.

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BFK 2011 (Belgisch FlipperKampioenschap - Belgian Pinball Championship) will take place this Saturday April 16th, an event that pinball fans can't miss! Annually organized during the Collector Fantasies show at the Nekkerhal in Mechelen since 2007, the championship is held in another location this time: Bingovit Gameroom in Sint-Niklaas. Because of space limitations, only contestants and accompanying people are allowed inside. Hostilities begin at 9:00 with the qualifications, finals are scheduled at 18:15 (junior final), 21:00 ("Winner takes it all challenge" final), 21:30 (women final), 21:45 (men loser's final) and 22:00 (men final). The complete schedule and contestant list are available at Bingovit website.

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It is with great pleasure that we learn that Sega announces the forthcoming opening of a Joypolis in Brussels! The incursion of Sega in Europe is not new, everybody reminds the SegaWorld in London (1996-1999). More recently, we noted the presence of Sega of Japan representatives at ATEI 2008 looking for investors to open Joypolis indoor amusement parks in Europe. It seems they have found some confident people, the recent resurgence of the arcade market in Europe certainly played a role. We still have very few details except that it will be modeled on the Japanese centers while taking into account the specificities of the local market with the addition of standard arcade cabinets alongside the big simulators. There will be a stage which will host concerts by Japanese and European artists as well as cosplay contests and other various activities. The site location was not disclosed although the conversion work has already begun but we are promised that it is close to downtown and easily accessible by public transport. Brussels Joypolis will be a showcase for investors because Sega hopes to open other similar amusement centers in several major European cities. The opening of Brussels Joypolis is planned for the beginning of next school year. Welcome to the next level! This is an April fool!

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Initially scheduled for March 24, Quiz Magic Academy VIII is finally released in Japan today. The game takes place in a school of magic, by correctly answering quiz presented in different forms (classical, multiple choice, open response, student ...), the player progresses in his studies to become a great magician. Very focused on the cooperative mode, QMA VIII once again offers an impressive number of questions on various topics. New questions will be regularly added. A national online tournament mode for up to 16 players is now available. Like all new Konami games, QMA VIII uses e-AMUSEMENT PASS for savegames and support PASELI payment system.

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A few weeks after the release of XG2, here comes GuitarFreaks and DrumMania V8 (out today). This latest version of both musical games offers over 600 songs recorded including 35 new ones. The game feature 3 modes: "Easy" mode for beginners that teaches them to play through a tutorial, "Standard" mode that offers the freedom to choose among all the titles of the game (except the hidden tracks) and "Battle" mode that is playable online through national network, this mode is recommended for experienced players. March has been very prolific for Konami that has released GuitarFreaks/DrumMania V8 and GuitarFreaks/DrumMania XG2 but also jubeat knit APPEND.

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Made In Asia 3 was a blast with more than 16,000 visitors! Those who paid us a visit at the show have come to realize that arcade games still appeals to people and that there is a real public demand despite what some companies are telling the media. The best evidence: Arcade Belgium was crowded the whole weekend! Absentees will want to check the event page featuring pictures and a video. There, you will also find the complete results of BlazBlue Continuum Shift and Hyper Street Fighter II tournaments. Congratulations to Nstalkie and Iori for their victories! Big thanks to Player for running the tournaments, Made In Asia and PlayerOne for providing the prizes and a thank you to all visitors!

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Haunted Museum II by Gamewax/Taito is available in the USA today. American version being manufactured by GlobalVR, the game is retitled as Shh...! Welcome to Frightfearland. This game is hosted in the same cabinet as Paradise Lost (with guns attached to the control panel). LCD screen sizes are 32", 42" or 50" depending on the model. Scenario is simple: two special agents are sent to a deserted amusement park to locate hundreds of missing persons. Haunted amusement park theme recalls Midway's CarnEvil but Frightfearland being powered by Type X², graphics are in high resolution (1280x720). Players can select their course through the 15 different levels. There are lso a hundred hostages to rescue, a bonus level, 6 special missions (mini games), 6 bosses and 3 ending sequences depending on player performances. Currently, the way the game will be distributed in Europe is a mystery.

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