Calling 2D fighting "a lost art," Shane Bettenhausen of Ignition Entertainment took the opportunity to ramp up publicity for King of Fighters XII (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3), the latest in the SNK Playmore 2D-fighting franchise. There aren't many 2D fighters out there anymore, with the exception of a few loyal franchises, and King of Fighters is one of the last ones standing. With its release, King of Fighters XII will be duking it out with younger fighters in the industry, so let's see how the veteran will make his move.

Have you ever been to an international championship tournament? Not yet? Well sit up and read cos this may very well be your first chance. Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) and EVO Championship Series have teamed with Ignition Entertainment to bring you The King of Fighters XII International Championship Tournament. And it's coming very soon, too, so get your game on.

Ignition Entertainment has announced today that The King of Fighters XII is still on track for a 2009 release, a release window they stuck with since they announced the game late last year. Sweetness.

Feeling nostalgic? Ignition Entertainment and SNK Playmore announced the upcoming release of The King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga for PS2, PSP, and Wii. The game will feature five KoF titles, over 60 playable characters, and a Colour Edit Mode where you can customize your favorite fighter!

Ignition Entertainment's Florida studio is stepping into the next-gen arena and it has a "ground-breaking FPS" inbound. To make the development process as smooth as possible, they licensed Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 for the effort. More details after the jump.

An Indian-based company called UTV Software Communication has claimed 70% of the controlling shares of game developer Ignition Entertainment Ltd. This ownership was declared effective as of March 12, 2007. Ignition is now in negotiations with leading development teams with a goal to improve their releases from now to next year.

Vijay Chadha, CEO and co-founder of Ignition Entertainment Ltd, spoke on how this changes the company's gameplan.

This transition marks the beginning of an aggressive plan for Ignition Entertainment’s future and we will soon be announcing new products for the upcoming year, along with further details of our first PS3 title, WarDevil. We are also actively seeking new product to ensure continued growth and focus for the company. UTV Software has vast expertise in the movie and entertainment industry which will provide greater potential to our development and publishing partners as we ensure their titles reach the biggest audience possible.

It has been noted that UTV presents Ignition Entertainment with many opportunities in the movie and entertainment arena. However, Ignition Entertainment will undergo restructuring from this year to the next, with the company focusing on releasing original IPs and licenses for multiple platforms.

Ronald D'Mello, the COO of UTV Software, noted how the restructuring and new focus for the company will manifest itself this fiscal year.

This fiscal year will see Ignition Entertainment sourcing next gen titles with premier development teams, as well as actively chasing original and key intellectual properties in our endeavour to ensure we position ourselves as a company that releases cutting edge and exciting games. We are currently in a period of rapid growth, and looking for partnerships with development teams that share our vision.

Both companies are excited about the up-and-coming WarDevil on PlayStation 3 which they consider to be the "cornerstone of the new type of media-rich synergies that are leading drivers in UTV’s overall global strategies." How WarDevil will fare with the new support behind it is still unknown, though we should expect to hear more on this game in the future.

The creation of games publisher Detn8 Games Ltd. was recently announced, and spearheading this venture are the two video game industry veterans Ellen Fuog and Jeff Hill. What makes this different from other publishing companies? Well, for one thing, the two heads of the company have 52 years of experience between them, thus giving this company an edge.

So who are these two veterans, exactly?

Ellen Fuog has 28 years experience in the video game industry. She founded and served as president of UK-based Ignition Entertainment’s US operation from 2002 until 2006, and was also president (and founder) of AIA USA. On top of that, she also served as the vice president of sales and marketing for Jaleco USA, and the vice president of sales and marketing for Kaneko Entertainment. Before that, she held the vice presidency of sales and marketing for WICO, a joystick and peripheral manufacturer. She also started up her own sales rep company, Ellen Fuog Associates.

Meanwhile, Jeff Hill has been in the video game industry for 23 years. Starting in the video game business as a tester for Mindscape in 1984, he started and operated his own company, Black Sheep, Inc., since 1994. He was also the product development director for Kaneko Entertainment and Jaleco USA.

Detn8 has already acquired an all-platform licensee status with Nintendo and SCEA and is scheduled to publish its first release in June, 2007. We will have to wait and see whether the experience of both owners will be enough to bring this company to greatness.

Ignition Entertainment, though a bit unknown, has a commendable roster of games under its belt. Mainly focusing on handhelds PSP and DS, the UK-based developer has somewhat managed to stay away from consoles, especially next-gen ones. The closest they got probably was the SNK deal involving Metal Slug, Samurai Showdown and King of Fighters.

However, it seems that is not the case anymore as a couple of things happened with Ignition behind the stage. What happened was UTV, an Indian media and entertainment company, recently proposed acquisitions of the controlling stake of Ignition together with mobile and broadband company Indiagames.

With a funding coming from a giant conglomerate, Ignition isn't talking "how" anymore. Currently they are discussing the "what and the when" of project War Devil. This is the first time we've actually heard of this game. This should not be mistaken with WarDevil: Enigma as that is being developed by Indigo Prophecy. According to Ignition Creative Director Andy Whitehurst:

The project is being developed exclusively for the Sony PS3 and we're excited to be associated with Sony's next generation system. War Devil is designed to leverage not only the videogames properties of the system, but also the Blu-Ray and media rich functions of the PS3 - presenting a unique combination of both Videogame & Motion Picture into a single, unique product, which gives cinematic High Definition content in real-time on the PS3.

Hmm... sounds quite promising if you ask us. However as of now, no other information is known about this project. But we will be sure to update you regarding the acquisition and if new details regarding the game comes out.