technology
The Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection appears to be removing one of the goofiest guest characters of all time
Though you’ve probably never gotten to play him in the first place
The recent announcement of the Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection got fans around the world excited to finally gain easy access to these arcade classics though not everything is going to be the same as it was on the cabinets.
On top of the addition of some nice new features to modernize the compilation, it appears Capcom is going to be cutting arguably the silliest fighter they’ve ever made.
This would of course be the infamous yet still farily obscure inclusion of Norimaro in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter.
Norimaro was a special guest character created by Japanese comedian Noritake Kinashi as a pretty stereotypical cowardly / awkward high school nerd who asks the other fighters for their autograph and wants to take their picture.
Although he started out as mostly just a joke, former Capcom artist, writer and translator Katsuya Akitomo revealed that Producer Yoshiki Okamoto said they promised Kinashi to feature Norimaro in their next Street Fighter release.
Okamoto himself wasn’t reportedly wasn’t a fan of the “mind-bogglingly uncool” character, but legendary artist Akiman loved him and so was made a reality for Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter.
“back on topic: ultimately, MSHvSF’s most impactful character was Norimaro—he’s a character created by Noritake ‘Noritaro’ Kinashi with the TV show Tunnels no Namade Daradara Ikasete, and Okamoto-san thought he was mind-bogglingly uncool, but…”https://t.co/FxMCf1tbLY
— GSK | https://cohost.org/gosokkyu (@gosokkyu) October 31, 2020
Unsurprisingly, Marvel themselves apparently were not down with Norimaro at all either, so he was made a Japanese-exclusive character as a compromise.
As for the new MvC collection, it certainly looks as though the comedic guest has been removed entirely.
“Marvel was violently opposed; naturally, they didn’t want some random unpowered gag character going to-to-toe with their heroes. we pleaded desperately & tried to assuage them—’we’ll only use him in Japan!’—and so he’s missing from the overseas versions”https://t.co/UheWyNgZUj
— GSK | https://cohost.org/gosokkyu (@gosokkyu) October 31, 2020
While other hidden fighters like Cyber Akuma can now be unlocked through settings in the changes made to the arcade originals, there is no mention of removing Norimaro — though there’s no reference to him at all on the Japanese website for the compilation.
No entry exists for him on the character page for Marvel vs. SF (where as even Cyber Akuma now does), and a screenshot of the fighter select screen shows Norimaro’s usual spot at the bottom has been replaced by the game logo like in other releases of the game.
Norimaro’s absence likely boils down to licensing issues with Capcom probably not wanting to need to rope Nippon TV and Arrival back into the fold on top of Marvel/Disney.
Or maybe the powers at be still simply do not like him and wished to avoid jumping through the extra hoops just to get him back.
Norimaro also didn’t really play like a normal fighter with the majority of his damage not coming from big attacks and combos but comedically throwing random items at the opponent from his bag and trying to push / kick them away.
It seems this inadvertent fighting style likely helped inspire Phoenix Wright’s playstyle and mechanics years later in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
And though he technically remained a Japan-exclusive character, localization and translation work for Norimaro did appear to basically be done and still in the code but unused.
Other English versions of Marvel vs. Street Fighter could be modded to use Norimaro where he’d be shown to have fully translated victory quotes and character ending too (though he shows up with Captain America’s name).
The new Marvel vs. Capcom collection could have been a fun way to make Norimaro officially playable and finally use that work officially, which likely would have confused much of the playerbase outside of Japan, though it seems that won’t be happening.
He won’t be the only removal / content adjustment found in the compilation either.
Comparison of Noritake Kinashi’s motion capture shenanigans at Capcom headquarters and the Marvel Super Heroes VS Street Fighter Norimaro sprites based on them. pic.twitter.com/NV1SotI8yC
— felineki (@felineki) February 15, 2020
The first Marvel vs. Capcom title is listed as having some stages that were altered, which likely includes Honda’s Bathhouse to take out the rising sun from the background as well as potentially the pinup model on the calendar and man toweling himself off though that hasn’t been fully confirmed yet.
This new MvC Fighting Collection won’t be releasing on Xbox at all nor have a native PlayStation 5 version, and we recently took a look into why that is too.
Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is set to release in 2024 on the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC.
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Akinwumi Ajadi
Akinwumi Ajadi is a passionate blogger and technology enthusiast specializing in the information technology niche. With a keen eye for the latest trends and innovations, Akinwumi delivers insightful, engaging, and practical content to help readers navigate the ever-evolving world of tech. From software development to cybersecurity, Akinwumi's expertise spans a wide range of topics, making complex concepts accessible to both novice and experienced tech enthusiasts alike.
technology
Here’s an alleged Pixel 9 in a vibrant pink [Video]
Google is releasing the Pixel 9 series very early, and right on cue the leaks are coming. In a first leaked video, we’re getting a look at a surprisingly vibrant Pixel 9 in a pink color.
It’s almost inevitable for every Pixel to leak in a hands-on video ahead of its launch, and that’s what it seems we’re now seeing for the Pixel 9.
A leaked video posted by @hanibioud on Twitter/X supposedly shows the Pixel 9 in a bright pink color. The device is supposedly from Algeria and is claimed to have 256GB of storage.
Focusing in on the color, it’s way brighter than any color we’ve seen in recent years outside of the A-Series, but matches the leaked “Peony” color that first surfaced back in May. The color is unusually vibrant for Google’s flagship lineup. As mentioned, we’ve not seen a color this vibrant on a Pixel outside of the A-Series since 2019’s Pixel 4 (with its delightful “Oh So Orange”).
The design, of course, lines up perfectly with past leaks, with the device having flat edges and a glossy back, just like we’ve seen previously. This model also has two cameras, unlike what the similarly-sized Pixel 9 Pro is expected to have.
We’re taking this video with a grain of salt, but the user posting images claims we’ll hear more details tomorrow.
More on Pixel 9:
H/T Mishaal, Brandon
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Update: Removed speculation over date.
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About the Author
Akinwumi Ajadi
Akinwumi Ajadi is a passionate blogger and technology enthusiast specializing in the information technology niche. With a keen eye for the latest trends and innovations, Akinwumi delivers insightful, engaging, and practical content to help readers navigate the ever-evolving world of tech. From software development to cybersecurity, Akinwumi's expertise spans a wide range of topics, making complex concepts accessible to both novice and experienced tech enthusiasts alike.
technology
The first Thunderbolt 5 cables are here, but there’s barely anything to plug in
Available today from Amazon in 1-foot (0.3m), 1.6-foot (0.5m), and 3.3-foot (1m) lengths for $23, $27, and $33, respectively, the new cables obviously don’t do anything on their own — you’d need a computer with a Thunderbolt 5 port and a dock or accessory of some sort to get some real use out of it.
But as of today, the only laptop we’ve heard of with a Thunderbolt 5 port is the Razer Blade 18, and even there, it’s not guaranteed. You’d have to buy the $4,500 Mercury edition of the laptop to get that port. (You do also get an Intel i9 and a mobile RTX 4090 for the money.)
And unless you own two of those laptops, there’s still probably nothing special you can do with a Thunderbolt 5 cable as of today because the peripherals we saw at CES aren’t yet ready: Belkin, J5Create, OWC, and Sabrent do not yet list any of those Thunderbolt 5 products on their websites, and Hyper still shows its $400 dock as being out of stock with a “Sign up to be notified” button.
But if you do have two of the exact same $4,500 Razer laptops, could you use Thunderbolt Share to transfer files between them at ludicrous speed? Inquiring minds want to know. If not, I suppose you could use it as a USB4 / Thunderbolt 4 cable for now.
According to Cable Matters’ press release, its cable is manufactured by Lintes, the same company that provided the prototype cable we saw at CES.
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About the Author
Akinwumi Ajadi
Akinwumi Ajadi is a passionate blogger and technology enthusiast specializing in the information technology niche. With a keen eye for the latest trends and innovations, Akinwumi delivers insightful, engaging, and practical content to help readers navigate the ever-evolving world of tech. From software development to cybersecurity, Akinwumi's expertise spans a wide range of topics, making complex concepts accessible to both novice and experienced tech enthusiasts alike.
technology
Instagram’s ‘Made with AI’ label swapped out for ‘AI info’ after photographers’ complaints
On Monday, Meta announced that it is “updating the ‘Made with AI’ label to ‘AI info’ across our apps, which people can click for more information,” after people complained that their pictures had the tag applied incorrectly. Former White House photographer Pete Souza pointed out the tag popping up on an upload of a photo originally taken on film during a basketball game 40 years ago, speculating that using Adobe’s cropping tool and flattening images might have triggered it.
“As we’ve said from the beginning, we’re consistently improving our AI products, and we are working closely with our industry partners on our approach to AI labeling,” said Meta spokesperson Kate McLaughlin. The new label is supposed to more accurately represent that the content may simply be modified rather than making it seem like it is entirely AI-generated.
The problem seems to be the metadata tools like Adobe Photoshop apply to images and how platforms interpret that. After Meta expanded its policies around labeling AI content, real-life pictures posted to platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Threads were tagged “Made with AI.”
You may see the new labeling first on mobile apps and then the web view later, as McLaughlin tells The Verge it is starting to roll out across all surfaces.
Once you click the tag, it will still show the same message as the old label, which has a more detailed explanation of why it might have been applied and that it could cover images fully generated by AI or edited with tools that include AI tech, like Generative Fill. Metadata tagging tech like C2PA was supposed to make telling the difference between AI-generated and real images simpler and easier, but that future isn’t here yet.
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About the Author
Akinwumi Ajadi
Akinwumi Ajadi is a passionate blogger and technology enthusiast specializing in the information technology niche. With a keen eye for the latest trends and innovations, Akinwumi delivers insightful, engaging, and practical content to help readers navigate the ever-evolving world of tech. From software development to cybersecurity, Akinwumi's expertise spans a wide range of topics, making complex concepts accessible to both novice and experienced tech enthusiasts alike.
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