14 DAY TRIAL // What we know:
Street Fighter x Tekken might just be the game that ends the second revival of the fighting game engine, and both Capcom and Namco Bandai seem keen to create a cross-over event that will capture the interest of both sets of fans.
Because Capcom is creating the game, the main control scheme will be six-button powered, with the Tekken characters able to use four of them in order to deliver their own traditional combos.
The developers have also sought to enhance the tag team mechanics, mainly allowing for more possibilities to switch fighters and creating a super attack mechanics which allows all characters taking part in a match to share combo meters, in order to make the various special attacks more accessible.
Capcom also promised that the game would have a plot with details, with the two fighting game universes clashing together, and with a separate storyline for each character included.
Capcom currently plans to launch Street Fighter x Tekken on the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360, the PlayStation Vita handheld and the PC on March 6 in the United States, and three days later in Europe.
Why it matters: Years from now, Street Fighter x Tekken might be looked back upon as the game that killed the two franchises as commercial forces for a period.
Capcom and Namco Bandai are gambling big on the game, hoping that fans will be interested in getting Street Fighter x Tekken and its mirror game rather than pick up two classic series installments that arrived separate from the two companies.
If the game is successful, it could spawn a whole new crossover series and might provide fighting game enthusiasts a new classic title to test their skills on.
The full Incoming 2012 series of articles can be read on Softpedia right here.