Tekken 5 hits US arcades next month

In an announcement that went out to arcade owners this week, Namco narrowed down the US release window for the latest game in its premier fighting game series. Originally scheduled for a vague "fall 2004" release, Tekken 5 has now been confirmed to hit in October.

Namco also announced that there will be official local and national tournaments for the game. Local tournaments are set to run from the game's release until the second week in January 2005, with the national tournament slated to begin in February. Arcade owners who buy the Tekken game are encouraged to register their location with Namco to get in on the action.

Players will have the option of bringing their standard PlayStation 2 controllers, which will plug into the machine to be used instead of the standard joystick. A home version for the PlayStation 2 is scheduled for release in 2005. For more details on Tekken 5, check out our recent hands-on preview.