Soul Calibur I to get XBLA outing

By Ellie Gibson Published 17 April, 2008

But no online play, looks like.

Namco Bandai has announced plans to blow the dust off the original Soul Calibur and whack the game on Xbox Live Arcade.

Apparently it'll feature "a variety of leaderboards spanning every character and mode", and you'll be able to choose from Arcade, Training and Survival modes. A "local-play Versus mode" is also listed but there's no suggestion you'll be able to battle it out online.

Still, there's always, er, Infinitum, a space-themed arcade shooter with "literally no bounds" according to Namco Bandai. As you destroy enemies you absorb their energy, and your ship changes in size, shape and capabilities as a result. It's on the way for XBLA and PlayStation Network.

Soul Calibur and Infinitum are out this summer.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (46) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • bad09 #1 4 years ago

    SC on Live???? OH MY GOD!!! I died and went to Dreamcast heaven :)

  • Zuiyo #2 4 years ago

    It's "Soulcalibur". One word. Please.

  • Nova5lag #3 4 years ago

    Best news of the day... and its only 9.15...

  • Darren #4 4 years ago

    Although I really enjoyed Soulcalibur II on the Xbox and GameCube (bought the latter just for Link!), it was in many respects too similar to the magnificent Dreamcast original to regarded as the classic that game undoubtedly was. God, I spent months playing that game, it was probably the finest game on SEGA's system IMO. I'd certainly like to see this second game (Soulblade was the first on the PS) appear on XBLA and I don't care about online gameplay anyway. It'll be interesting to see how they squeeze the game into 150 MB though...

  • DAN.E.B #5 4 years ago

    seems a bit weird to anounce this before the much more expensive new one is released!

  • neosalad #6 4 years ago

    one of the best games EVER!
    and yes, i wonder how they can fit it into 150MB! lol!
    Edited by 1 at 17/04/08 @ 09:24

  • Brogan #7 4 years ago

    with all these DC games going to LIVE any chance of some jet set radio love, Sega?

  • Arcadiian #8 4 years ago

    Great news, but leaving out online play seems ridiculous.

  • bad09 #9 4 years ago

    I''m with Brogan, how about MSR as well! I loved that real time lighting in the original PGR :)

  • Baronen #10 4 years ago

    Meh, who cares about having fighting games online anyway.

  • ZuluHero #11 4 years ago

    When i saw Soul Calibur “1”, I immediately thought “Soul Blade” – Still I loved Soulcalibur on the DC as well and after missing the third one I feel ready for the new SC, esp. the one coming soon to 360 and PS3. But that’s the kicker, because even though I really liked the first SC, is it really a necessary XBLA release given the imminent arrival of the aforementioned SC4? Can there be too much of SC? And given the reduced price expected from XBLA and PSN games in comparison of their full price game counterparts, esp. as SC hasn't really been a game that has evolved greatly with each iteration, I can't help but think that Namco are going to shoot themselves in the foot a little with this ‘duel’ release...

    Still news of 'original' XBLA games is still pretty exciting! :)

    EDIT: Actually thinking about it logically - thats probably the reason they left out a true online componant in SC 1 :)
    Edited by 1 at 17/04/08 @ 09:37

  • bigbadbeasty #12 4 years ago

    "with all these DC games going to LIVE any chance of some jet set radio love, Sega?"

    I imagine this was Namco who decided this, not Sega. It would be a bit like Sony deciding what formats GTA came out on

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #13 4 years ago

    any chance of some jet set radio love, Sega?

    Given their apparent focus on forgotten classics, I wouldn't be surprised to see JSRF pop up on Xbox Originals.

  • DAN.E.B #14 4 years ago

    +1 for Jet Set Radio
    that game was class and a real funky soundtrack!

  • ostrasized #15 4 years ago

    As if online play was something that's easy to add!

    Lol. People have no clue. If the game ain't designed for online, it's amazingly hard to retrofit it afterwards.

  • RexRunti #16 4 years ago

    One word: "Yay".

    As for online, would be nice just so I can finally prove to the world how great I was at the game but I understand why it's not there (probably just as well as I'm probably nowhere near as good as I think I am).

    As for JSR. JSR was a great game but after playing JSR:F it just feels slow and limiting (probably the only two games where I obtained every single collectable).

  • Arcadiian #17 4 years ago

    "I imagine this was Namco who decided this, not Sega. It would be a bit like Sony deciding what formats GTA came out on"

    I think the guy knows that, and was simply asking SEGA to release JSR.


    "As if online play was something that's easy to add!

    Lol. People have no clue. If the game ain't designed for online, it's amazingly hard to retrofit it afterwards."

    People have no clue? Adding online play certainly isn't impossible, and to many would be a great asset to a 10 year old game that will have the younger SoulCalibur IV to contend with.

  • NthSimulachum #18 4 years ago

    Impossible? No.

    Difficult? YES.

  • Xerx3s #19 4 years ago

    "seems a bit weird to anounce this before the much more expensive new one is released!"

    Actually, it's a brilliant marketing move. What better way to get attention on a brandname than re release an old version?

    "Given their apparent focus on forgotten classics, I wouldn't be surprised to see JSRF pop up on Xbox Originals."

    I thought that it was already on XBLo...

  • Ryze #20 4 years ago

    Excellent.

  • Darren #21 4 years ago

    @ostrasized - Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection which is a port of the offline-only PS2 original had an online only mode added to it later so I don't think it's as impossible as you imply. ;)

    I suspect the real reason for not including an online mode is that the game is just a hi-def port of the Dreamcast original, which is absolutely fine in my book as long as its faithful bar the 720p resolution. If they added online gameplay to this then it might actually reduce sales of Soulcalibur IV!!! I can't understand why everyone wants online modes anyway... don't people have any REAL friends these days? LOL

    Previous attempts to add an online mode to 60 fps fighting games have been variable at best as the slightest bit of lag can ruin the entire match. Better to play these games in multiplayer, offline I think.

  • peterfll #22 4 years ago

    Surely there's some missed trick here? You could have something similar to the VC \ Wii Shopping channel in terms of buying old games based on platform. Surely there's a market out there for a "Dreamcast Channel"?

  • Arcadiian #23 4 years ago

    "Surely there's a market out there for a "Dreamcast Channel"?"

    I am that market. :)

  • WinterSnowblind #24 4 years ago

    The original Soulcalibur was the best in the series, I'll definitely be buying this. Can't say the lack of an online mode is balanced, they won't want to be taken away from people playing the fourth game, which will likely be released at the same time. And the original SC was one of the most balanced fighting game ever, with all the bonus characters I doubt IV will be.

  • Gnort #25 4 years ago

    I'm a huge Soulcalibur fan, but I don't see what purpose this serves. I'm going to be buying SC4 the day it comes out, why would I want to waste additional money on a version with worse graphics, fewer characters and less moves?

    Maybe for completion's sake, as I own the home versions of every other Soul Edge / Soulcalibur game but never owned a Dreamcast, but I won't play it against my friends, they'll all want to play SC4 instead, as will I.
    Edited by 1 at 17/04/08 @ 10:31

  • Darren #26 4 years ago

    @Gnort - Soulcalibur IV is out 31st July... in the US anyway, so realistically this XBLA release should arrive BEFORE then so as to whet people's appetite's for the newer game when it comes out. I can't see much point in releasing it after ScIV myself...

  • Brodie #27 4 years ago

    ""Surely there's a market out there for a "Dreamcast Channel"?"

    I am that market. :)"

    Seconded!

  • Stu #28 4 years ago

    This is excellent news. Soul Calibur is superb, I still remember being wholly wowed by the graphics which seemed lightyears ahead of everything else at the time. And now in HD!

    +1 for JSR, but I think MSR is probably best left in my 'nostalgia' file; I doubt it would stand up well to PGR3/4.

  • vurt #29 4 years ago

    I would like to see space channel 5 too :S

    up down up down shoot shoot shoot...

  • optimusprym8 #30 4 years ago

    +1 for MSR, preferred the cities available in it, well mostly San Fran and the hills. Didn't they say about releasing cities as DLC? San Fran and Rome pls!

  • muscleblade #31 4 years ago

    Holy Crap!!

  • Diomedes117 #32 4 years ago

    Dreamcast classics for Xbox Live Arcade... COOL!

  • Vin #33 4 years ago

    Oh, that's so fucking SOLD.

  • Cloudane #34 4 years ago

    Lovely news marred by the fact that the d-pad on the Xbox 360 makes baby Jesus cry.

    I would thought this would be more suitable on the PS3 due to its unlimited size limit and the DualShock pad.

  • Razorus #35 4 years ago

    Yes. Yeeees. Yeeeeeees. YEEEAAAH!!!! Soulowa Caliburu!

  • tancredo #36 4 years ago

    Well personally the original soulcalibur wiithout online multiplayer serves me just right.
    I am not a fighting games nut, so having this little jewel will fulfill most of my fighting needs. A good fighting game to play with friends once in a while.
    (It does not make sense for me to play this type of games online since I do not play them regularly and I would get badly beat every time)

  • ChrisBravoTown #37 4 years ago

    THE SOUL STILL BURNS!

  • MiY4MOTO #38 4 years ago

    Personally I'd rather have "Soul Blade / Edge" with revamped visuals, than a port of the Dreamcast's "SoulCalibur". Don't get me wrong, I loved the Dreamcast and "SoulCalibur" in particular... but for me the original had far more depth.

    Remember how you unlocked different weapons in the original? These were weapons that had different appearances, lengths, speeds & attributes etc. rather than just the different skins for the same weapon that have come since.

    Or how your weapon had a health bar? Blocking attacks would drain the health of your weapon until it shattered and then you fought unarmed against an armed opponent. Vice versa it was possible to shatter your opponents weapon. With different weapons being more or less prone breaking.

    And who could forget the CGI intro of "SoulBlade"... Classic.

  • muscleblade #39 4 years ago

    The best XBLA announcment to date imo. Only SSF2THDR is close to this.

  • optimusprym8 #40 4 years ago

    "Your thumb was ser-i-ously wounded"

  • monkie_king #41 4 years ago

    Yay Soulcalibur! The
    day I can finally retire the Dreamcast draws nearer ... can I has XBLA Crazy Taxi?

    I hope you can
    still remix the SC intro sequence, that was a nice little feature.

  • J.C #42 4 years ago

    Shenmue for XBLA would be the icing on the cake for me.

  • Slipstream #43 4 years ago

    Even without the online, I really hope this game remains intact and untouched by the XBLA-ish tacky menus.
    If this will be the case then I'll buy without further questioning.

  • Pulsar_t #44 4 years ago

    It's impossible for Shenmue to appear on XBLA.

    When is nullDC ever going to be perfected? :(

  • mcbain23 #45 4 years ago

    jet_set_radio++

  • Antwandemarco #46 4 years ago

    Ivy wins!! But the crotch still burns...