Pros’ Woes – 06.29.09

Shortly after his big win at the SBO quals, Live On 3 took a few minutes to talk with Combofiend about the event. At one point, DJ Wheat referred to him as a pro fighting gamer, a description that Peter took issue with, clarifying that he is not paid to play. Street Fighter is his hobby, his passion, but it is not how he makes a living.

To hear some people talk, fighting games should look to more popular competitive endeavors for direction. First-person shooters tend to be a prime example, perhaps due to the shared “e-sport” designation. Counter-Strike, Quake and Halo tournaments are often large-scale events, complete with live coverage, professional players and corporate sponsors. The latter are particularly important as large monetary incentives ensure that the stakes are high and the tension is real; this forces more cut-throat competition and ostensibly better performances. Putting people’s livelihoods on the line is a surefire way to create hype.

Interest in fighters has dropped off severely since their heyday in the early to mid 90s and it is a safe bet that most fans would like to see some of that popularity recaptured. However, I have to question whether big money is really the best way to go about increasing attention. The only reason the genre survives to this day is love of the game; money matches and cash prizes are a large part of the scene, but they are not la raison d’être. Not to say that is the case with FPSes, but I feel as though the fighting game scene, though small, does a great job of sustaining itself on the dedication of the community. Evo is not a monetized event, it exists and thrives solely because people like Seth Killian, Joey Cuellar and the Cannon brothers work to create a place for enthusiasts can come together and geek out.

It would be a real shame to lose that sense of community by introducing threats to players’ living wages. There is enough pressure to represent yourself and your character as it is, why add the stress of fulfilling an endorsement? Money introduces a greater incentive to hide information and strategies, stifling growth of the general knowledge base and further scaring off new players. Friendly rivalries would turn bitter. Dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria.

I understand the draw of expanding the genre to the point where professionals can exist; hell, at times it sounds like a dream job. Keeping the games we love healthy obviously requires funding on top of all the commitment. I just hope that this current fighter resurgence and push to make them more mainstream does not sacrifice some of the things that make the scene so great.

Polynesian Warrior - 07.22.09

My family chooses the worst times to take vacations, insofar as there is a bad time to spend two weeks in Hawaii. I really should not complain, but this is a fighting game blog, so let's get on with it.

Our flight departed two days after the greatly anticipated release of Blazblue and between shipping delays and a full day of work/travel, I had only a couple of hours to play it with Pkadden before leaving for the islands. That brief taste made the ensuing wait even more difficult than the past few months have been; even while relaxing on idyllic beaches I could not help but pine for Arakune's gooey embrace. STSD has been rather Street Fighter centric thus far, but Guilty Gear X2 was my first love and Arc System Works' follow-up had induced a fair amount of frothing demand. Expect to see more about BB soon, if I can tear myself away from it long enough to post. Only two days back and the game has already consumed most of my free time.

Compounding the withdrawal was my lack of access to Evo coverage. I was ready to lose an entire weekend watching the stream, but for some reason never bothered to check the actual tournament dates, assuming it to be sometime in August. Consequently, I spent most of the 17th - 19th draining my phone's battery constantly refreshing the site brackets that never updated. Our hotel's crappy connection, coupled with the strain of several thousand other viewers, meant that I only got to watch slideshows of two SFIV matches. In some cruel twist of fate, the live chat worked fine, simultaneously lowering the IQ of all involved and giving no useful information about the event. While not representative of the community as a whole, it was a sad display nonetheless.

The little information that came through felt disjointed, as when semi-final brackets were posted and many of the big names I expected were nowhere to be found. Somehow I ended up on Twitter of all places, as the players' and official Evo feeds were the most consistent source of news to be found, especially towards the end. A forum may have yielded more updates but venturing into SRK for something like this was not terribly appealing.

Miraculously, my flight home landed in time to catch the great Daigo vs Justin grand finals, a much better fight than their contest at GameStop tournament. Is it just me or has Daigo improved considerably of late? I have not been following much Japanese SFIV since the game was released on console, but his Ryu seemed even more impressive than memory tells. The way he moved was simply incredible; it was like watching Poongko wreck some poor fool, but less predictably aggressive and one-sided. Frequent focuses, sloppy but unpunished footsies and, of course, psychic dragon punches made for a veritable whirling dervish of Shoto beat down. That Justin drew out the set as long as he did is quite a feat, but even with the all the whiffed low forwards and narrow comebacks, it was clear the Beast was going to win.

Despite the somewhat foregone conclusion, it was difficult deciding who to root for. On one hand I like the idea of Daigo as this completely dominating, though not unbeatable, figure that everyone is gunning for, it makes for great drama. On the other, America has really stepped up its level of play and deserves recognition and respect. Beating the Japanese would do a lot for the genre's hype and popularity, so here's hoping for a great SBO showing.