For the Soulcalibur fans in the Melbourne, Australia area, CouchWarriors will begin holding a series of fighting game events, with their first event on March 31st also serving as a qualifier for the Video Games Unplugged event which will be held on April 12th, where the top 4 finishers will take home prizes and have the opportunity to play on stage as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra plays battle music from Soulcalibur V.

Additional details and a press release can be found after the break.

The other major tournament this weekend, NorCal Regionals 10, also has their stream schedule available to check out. According to the schedule, Soulcalibur V is scheduled on stream beginning at 11AM Pacific on Saturday, March 24th, with top 8 streamed on Sunday, March 25th beginning at 10AM Pacific.

NorCal Regionals will also have two streams running this weekend. Both streams, tournament brackets, and schedule of events can be found after the break. And don't forget to visit the chatroom to talk about the events as they happen.

Yesterday, MLG posted the broadcast schedule for their live stream which begins today at 5PM Eastern. You can watch the fighting game stream for free up to 480P quality. If you want to watch the stream in HD, you can do so either by purchasing a Gold Membership or by purchasing an HD pass.

While you are watching, make sure you stop in the chatroom to talk about the events as they happen. With two big tournaments this weekend, there should be plenty to talk about.

Some of you may have heard over the grapevine: Namco Bandai will be holding a Worldwide Finals for Soulcalibur V on April 10 at the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada! Namco Bandai is Working with community Tournament Organizers from around the world to bring forth a legitimate tournament with the best players from around the world to compete for $10,000!

Anyone can attend the tournament as a spectator, but only 8 players will be able to compete. Namco Bandai has yet to announce the invitees, but they will be tournament winners from all around the world including Final Round, NorCal Regionals and MLG Winter Championships. In addition to the $10,000 pot, the event will have both MadCatz and Hori sponsoring additional unannounced prizes at the event itself.

MLG has recently released their roster of registered entrants for the Soulcalibur V tournament at Winter Championships this weekend in Columbus, Ohio. If you missed the opportunity to purchase a competition pass online, you can still do so at the door on Friday, March 23rd between 10AM - 10PM.

You can also find the list after the break. If you are attending, make sure you also take a moment to check out the competition format, rules, and the event schedule.

I came across Namco’s official patch notes while sorting through the “incoming” pile here at the Hate Speech News Desk, so this week I’m setting aside my regularly scheduled diatribe in favor of the hot-button issue. Of course, this may also be my last column ever, too. Like many of you, I took one look at the information in the patch notes and realized that life is no longer worth living.

My perfect, beautiful, wonderful game—one about which I’ve never complained, ever—is now irreparably ruined and soiled. As such, my plan for the day is simple: post this article, make arrangements for bequeathing my cherished collections of celebrity bobbleheads and Yu-Gi-Oh cards, and then driving my car off of the Golden Gate Bridge so I can go out like a boss.

Actually, wait a second, everybody! THIS JUST IN: as it turns out, losing your mind over this patch actually isn’t the brilliant plan it seems to be. I guess it’s just all in how you choose to read it . . .

Well we got hints a while back of an upcoming balance patch for Soulcalibur V coming this Tuesday. And of course, when it comes to any sort of significant changes to a fighting game, we all get a bit worried. Would our favorite characters get nerfed? If so, how hard will they get nerfed? How will this affect tournaments?

Thankfully, for the first time ever, Namco-Bandai has supplied us with an extensive list of changes! While it may be "extensive", its not exactly "comprehensive"; there is very little mention of the actual frames of changes. But none the less, this gives us all a point of focus for our research!