SEGA Europe and SEGA of America have today confirmed development of Virtua Fighter 5 for PlayStation 3, with an expected release date of Spring 2007. The game will feature 17 fighters including two franchise debutants, El Blaze and Eileen that can be customised with a number of costumes and items.

Described as a Mexican fight champion, El Blaze utilises the Lucha Libre fighting styles to defeat opponents, whilst the Chinese-born Eileen uses a Monkey Kung-Fu fighting styles learned from her Kung-Fu master grandfather.

“Virtua Fighter 5 is without doubt the ultimate fighting game ” commented Matt Woodley, Creative Director of SEGA. “I really think that this title epitomizes the fact that SEGA are ahead of our competitors in producing the very best next-generation games.”