Drink From The Capcom Cup, and Fight Forever!

Last weekend, I had the chance to attend the Capcom Cup finals in San Francisco—the place where this year’s Capcom-sponsored Street Fighter IV tournament would be coming to an end.

It was an interesting experience, really. While my involvement has never been to a serious degree, I’ve been a part of the fighting-game community for as long as I can remember. As a teenager back in my hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, I came to know a number of  the members of a local fighting-game crew, with a few of them becoming my good friends. I’d run into them at the local arcade and marvel at their talents in whatever the latest Capcom or SNK joint was. My ability to play was typically nowhere near enough to really give them some serious competition, but knowing them, seeing their skills, and talking to them about the genre, I really came to appreciate fighting games far more than I ever would had I not met them.

At this point in my life, I always eagerly look forward to the return of Evolution, probably the largest fighting-game tournament event in the world. However, every year that I’ve experienced EVO, I’ve done so in the comfort of my own home, watching the matches unfold streamed over Twitch (or whatever other service). I’d never actually attended such an event live until last Saturday—and being there in person now makes me want to finally head to Las Vegas one of these years.

Attending a fighting-game tournament event is, for me, sort of like going to see a live wrestling show. While watching from home lets you avoid succumbing to overpriced snacks and the overall fatigue of spending hours and hours crowded in a room full of other people, those people—and their energy—can really raise your hype levels for what’s going on. Seeing major competitors like Daigo taken out sooner than expected was more shocking when I was surrounded by others feeling the same surprise; at the same time, as Ryan Hart battled against seemingly impossible odds and overcame time and time again, the excitement shown for his victories was so much more tangible and emotional when experienced in person. Plus, seriously—you just can’t appreciate how gorgeous Ricky Ortiz’s hair is until you see it with your own two eyes.

By the way, if you haven’t seen the PR Balrog vs. Daigo match (where Daigo finally dropped out), I definitely recommend that you do—if for nothing else than the amazing use of the under-appreciated Red Focus addition to Ultra SFIV.

There’s been a lot of arguments and accusations levied against the fighting-game community over the years, and I won’t shy away from saying that some of that has—at times—come from me. Saturday’s Capcom Cup finale, though, was the kind of thing that we all wish for: proof that we can all come together in our love for gaming as one, with everyone welcome so long as they’re there to share in that love and have a good time.

Of course, the day wasn’t just about pleasure—there was also a little business to attend to. First, Capcom announced that, thanks to their partnership with Sony Computer Entertainment, next year’s Capcom Pro Tour will see a bump in total winnings from $50,000 to $500,000. As SFIV producer Yoshinori Ono stood onstage revealing that number, it felt like another victory for eSports, and for videogames in general. (It also made me wish I had the time and ability to commit to playing Street Fighter professionally.)

Then came Street Fighter V. It’s still likely not to come until at least 2016—Ono admitted this week that the game is only 20 percent finished currently—but it was kind of crazy to see a few actual matches played in a game as early as it is. Legendary FGC faces Peter “Combofiend” Rosas and Mike Ross came to the stage to compete in a few rounds of SFV, and it was interesting just how different the game seemed to feel from SFIV. To me, it was almost Street Fighter III–esque—no doubt thanks to elements such as what looks to be a much higher level of character animation. The pace seemed slower, the attacks meatier—again, as I’d equate with Capcom’s previous Street Fighter series.

We need to remember, though, that there’s still a lot of time and work that’ll be going into Street Fighter V, and it’s going to be a long wait for more tangible information on the game—not to mention more proper judgments on how it’ll play in the end.

…Well, except that we did get one final reveal about the next generation of Street Fighter. A quick trailer teased the game’s third roster addition: Charlie (or Nash, for you Japanese players), Guile’s military pal and stand-in for the Alpha series. In the quick tease, we got the hint that Charlie is under Shadaloo control, but there’s really a bigger question to be asked (and answered): How is he alive? Seeing as how he’s canonically dead by the time Street Fighter II happens, does that give us a hint as to when this game will be taking place in the Street Fighter timeline? Or, perhaps, it’s not actually Charlie—but a clone or some other explanation, instead.

Given that I’d gotten up at 5 a.m. that morning to catch my flight to San Francisco, by the time Capcom Cup was over, I was really ready for it to be over. Still, I had a whole heck of a lot of fun at the event—and not only have I indeed decided that I need to try to attend EVO live next year, but some of my initial hesitations about Street Fighter V have softened.

Just, really—can some of the characters finally get a change of clothing? If Sakura shows up and she’s dressed as a schoolgirl yet again, I just won’t be able to take it.