Level Up!

Today, I ask, how long until the fighting game genre is placed into the limelight of the mainstream? This year has seen the release of some heavy hitters thus far, Street Fighter IV and Blazblue hit consoles, the return of Garou: Mark of the Wolves, and KOF98: Ultimate Match is sure to start up some hype for the upcoming KOFXII, and Tekken 6 is coming as well later on down the road. Tatsunoko vs Capcom brought us back to our dream matches, even though most of us statesiders don’t know who the hell half the cast is, and who the hell knows what’s in store for the future?

This weekend, we get to see the best in the world compete in what is pretty much the biggest fighting game tournament there is. Everyone who’s anyone who calls themselves a fighting game fanatic knows all about that infamous Daigo vs. Justin Wong, EVO is where that went down, and this year is apparently going to be bigger than ever. As you can read right off the front page of shoryuken.com, Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono is showing up to make a special apperance, both Marvel vs Capcom 2 and Tekken 6 will be playable on console, IGN Insider will be offering complete coverage, and plenty of downloadable footage will be avilable there after the tournament, MadCats has some hidden suprise up the sleeve, and so much more will be going down.

Among that laundry list of things, the thing that sticks out to me the most is the fact that the tournament’s going to be live, streaming. Not too long ago, another major tournament, DEVASTATION, was also streaming. With fighting game fans all over the world watching, and expert commentary something akin to watching boxing on HBO, how long until the fighting game genre takes a seat next to the FPS games on Pro Circuit? I have plenty of friends that arent too into fighting games that will sit down and watch high level play, and be fully interested in watching the matches.

It’s gonna be crazy shit, kids. Now, I can’t up and make it to Vegas, but I know what I’m doing this weekend. Even if you aren’t a fighting-game fanatic like myself, check this shit out. An event powered by Capcom, Namco-Bandai, AND PlayStation 3 is definitely a big thing, and if you call yourself a gamer, you should definitely check it out.