Release Dates

07/29/08

07/31/08

08/1/08

07/31/08

Soul Calibur IV is the fifth game in Namco Bandai's long running Soul fighting game series. Namco Bandai has announced that Soul Calibur IV will be released in 2008 for the Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 consoles. The game is being developed by Project Soul, the studio behind previous entries in the series. Director Katsutoshi Sasaki has announced that for the first time the series will have competitive online play for both consoles. Additional features will include new modes, new fighters, interactive stages, enhanced AI, and a new battle system.

Namco Bandai has also announced the surprise addition of Darth Vader and Master Yoda from the Star Wars franchise as playable bonus characters. Each fighter will be exclusive to one console, similar to the bonus characters in Soul Calibur II. Darth Vader will appear on the PLAYSTATION 3 and Master Yoda on the Xbox 360. There has been speculation that both characters will not remain exclusive and that each may appear on the other console via additional downloadable content at a later date.

Three other new non-exclusive fighters have also been revealed. First announced is Hilde a German female knight wielding both a short sword and spear and two guest characters who have been designed by famed Japanese manga artists, Scheherazade an elfish fencer designed by Yutaka Izubuchi, and the staff wielding Angol Fear designed by Mine Yoshizaki.

The confirmed roster includes fighters Astaroth, Cassandra, Cervantes, Ivy, Kilik, Lizardman, Maxi, Mitsurugi, Nightmare, Raphael, Rock, Seung Mina, Siegfried, Sophitia, Taki, Talim, Tira, Voldo, Xianghua, Yoshimitsu, Yun-seong, and Zasalamel.

NPD Sales Data
July 2008: 218,900

See also Soul Calibur (PS3)