Atlus to publish The King of Fighters XIII in North America

Atlus has announced it has secured North American publishing rights for The King of Fighters XIII, the latest entry in the fighting franchise, for PS3 and Xbox 360.

Fan favorite characters like Mai, K', and Vice are back with refinements made to the core engine as well as "vastly improved network functionality," all at the request from the community.

Fights play faster and the addition of over a half dozen play modes offers variety and replayability. The games animations and character sprites are better distinguished from the backgrounds and the camera perspective is less restricted. Fighters also have more moves, including new supers and the all-new NEOMAX supers; and more.

"We are excited to work with Atlus to bring The King of Fighters XIII to North America," stated Ryo Mizufune, president of SNK Playmore. "Fans have waited patiently for an HD iteration in the series that could live up to the proud tradition of classics like KOF '98.

"We view KOF XIII as an opportunity to deliver a high definition KOF game that meets and exceeds fan expectations. We have worked very hard to listen to all of their concerns and suggestions, to incorporate all of their feedback and ideas, and we hope that XIII becomes one of their favorite games in the series."

KOFXIII is slated for a holiday 2011 release.