[TOPANGA Asia] Players characters revealed (?)

• Umehara - Ryu
• Sako - Evil Ryu (Main), Ibuki (Sub)
• Fuudo - Fei Long
• Bon-chan - Sagat (Main), Akuma (Sub)
• Poongko - Seth (Main), Cammy (Sub)
• GamerBee - Adon (Main), Cammy (Sub)
• Xian - Gen
• Xiao Hai - Cammy (Main), Yun (Sub)

From the official site, this's the list of the characters that the players in TOPANGA Asia League will use. It was actually revealed via the promotional video since Sunday, but we thought it's incomplete since it seems like 3 players will only use one character the entire tournament. Moreover, it seems like Sako will use Evil Ryu as main!

There're so many questions here.

- Umehara using only Ryu, to test himself or really confident? Clearly Yun (especially Upkick) will help him escape from corner and vortex. Adon and Cammy is also dangerous for Ryu. Please note that this's the first time we have Adon in the league. Kindevu used Cammy in TOPANGA League 1 but he wasn't good at her at all.

- Is Evil Ryu really new Sako's main, or just for this tournament? Sako did tons of damage from Ibuki's Okizeme and ambiguous cross-ups, he will miss that. Other reason is he doesn't want other players to catch up.

Niconico offers ringside seats for TOPANGA Asia League

Niconico has revealed that the ticket holders of TOPANGA Asia League can go and watch the matches live at the studio at Niconico headquarters in Harajuku district (Tokyo) free of charge.

Rules
- Must be the ticket holder (the virtual ticket you buy to watch the stream).
- They will start accepting 30 minutes before the show (from 17:30 JST). No reservation.
- Must provide Niconico user ID.
- If the number of participants exceeds the quota then they will decide by drawing.
- Niconico does not pay your traveling expenses.
- The scene (including the audience) will be on the stream.
- No photographing.

TOPANGA Asia League matchups announced for Day 1-2

TOPANGA official site is updated with the matchups of Day 1 and Day 2 of TOPANGA Asia League. (They will announce which pair will play first at the beginning of the show.)

Day 1 / May 3 / Friday

• Umehara vs. Poongko
• Umehara vs. Bon-chan
• Fuudo vs. Poongko
• Fuudo vs. Xian
• Sako vs. GamerBee
• GamerBee vs. Xian
• Bon-chan vs. Xiao Hai

Day 2 / May 4 / Saturday

• Umehara vs. GamerBee
• Fuudo vs. Bon-chan
• Sako vs. Xian
• Sako vs. Poongko
• Xian vs. Bon-chan
• Xiao Hai vs. GamerBee
• Poongko vs. Xiao Hai

Niitsuma is not working on a fighting game

The latest tweets from Marvel vs. Capcom 3 producer Ryota Niitsuma suggested that he is still not working on a fighting game. This also rules out the possibility that he is working on the new Darkstalker.

Yesterday's tweet

"Single tournament is over, next is 5 on 5. Anyway, it was hyped. This's my first time watching matches in a long while and it was extremely fun." (He then thanks the participants and organizers.)

Today's tweet

"I've got various new fighting game ideas from watching the UMvC3 matches yesterday ....Gotta get back to reality and work on what's in front of me. (laugh)"

The matches he was talking about is KGA 2013 UMvC3 tournament.

[Chokaigi 2] Exhibitions and TOPANGA Asia League qualifier summary

Info
- Chokaigi 2 announced
- Umehara confirmed for Chokaigi 2
- Umehara re-confirmed for Chokaigi 2
- Mad Catz Dojo planned 
- TOPANGA Asia League announced
- Niconico to stream Fighting Game Stage

Vampire Savior

1st Fight: Team R won 3-1

Sako (Bulletta) 1-0 Nuki (Morrigan)
R (Gallon) 1-0 Sakamoto(Q-Bee)
Komemaru (Zabel) 0-1 Kosho (Bulleta)
DD (Sas) 1-0 Haitani (Sas)

2nd Fight: Team Nuki won 3-1

R (Gallon) 0-1 Sakamoto (Q-Bee)
DD (Sas) 1-0 Nuki (Bishamon)
Sako (Bulletta) 0-1 Haitani (Sas)
Komemaru (Zabel) 0-1 Kosho (Bulleta)

3rd Fight: Team Nuki won 3-1

Sako (Lei Lei) 0-1 Nuki (Bishamon)
R (Gallon) 0-1 Kosho (Bulleta)
DD (Sas) 1-0 Sakamoto (Q-Bee)
Komemaru (Zabel) 0-1 Haitani (Sas)

SSF4AE2012
They're running out of time so they played only one set....

Team R won 3-2

R (Guy) 0-2 Nuki (Seth)
Umehara (Ryu) 2-0 Haitani (Rufus) *Arigataya finish in last round *Haitani was hit by SRK 6 times in last round
Mago (Fei) 2-0 Tokido (Aku) *last round was close
Sako (E.Ryu) 0-2 Fuudo (Fei)

Since it's 2-2, they sent one member to decide.
Umehara (Ryu) 2-0 Fuudo (Fei) *big comeback in last round

TOPANGA Asia League qualifier

Bon-chan (Sagat) 7-3 Uryo (Sakura)

1. 0-2
2. 2-0
3. 2-0
4. 1-2
5. 2-1 *a comeback in 2nd round by Uryo
6. 2-0 *a comeback in last round by Bon
7. 2-1
8. 0-2
9. 2-0
10. 2-1

Uryo didn't switch character even he could.

Notes
- Team members were decided by drawing team leader's name from box. The box was signed by Umehara and other top players. The box was later thrown away to the crowd as a souvenir.
- Before the match, they asked Umehara who did he want to play. Umehara said whoever has the worst form today (everyone laughed).
- At the end of the show, they interviewed Umehara and asked about TOPANGA Asia. Umehara said Cammy will give him a hard time.
- They showed TOPANGA Asia League promotional video at the end of the match. 
- 4Gamer.net posted an event report

[Chokaigi 2 Day 2] Umehara coaching Kokujin

Kokujin who also participates Chokaigi 2 in various booths came to get some coaching from Daigo Umehara at the Mad Catz booth! (Kokujin mains Ryu in SF4)

Reported by Mago

Bon-chan vs Uryo TOPANGA League stats

The fight between Bon-chan and Uryo will begin in 3 hours but we have statistics for you anyway. These are the results from TOPANGA League 1 and 2.

Their last match was a nightmare for Uryo since it's the first and only ten-zero match in the league. However, if he's allowed to use 2 characters (the new rule), Uryo can use C. Viper this time. Uryo was a famous Viper player.

TOPANGA League 1 Round 5 (online)
Uryo (Sak) 3-1 Bon-chan (Sag)

TOPANGA League 2 Round 2 (online)
Uryo (Sak) 3-1 Bon-chan (Sag)

TOPANGA League 2 Round 12 (offline)
Bon-chan (Sag) 10-0 Uryo (Sak)

[Chokaigi 2 Day 2] Game Contest Stage is packed after 10 minutes

The stage where 4 on 4 exhibition match will be held is already packed 10 minutes after the doors opened! People who want to see the exhibition will have to wait here 4 more hours!

First picture of Mad Catz booth @Chokaigi 2 Day 2

This's first picture of Mad Catz booth at Chokaigi2 around 2 hours and 15 minutes before the doors open. The red arrow is the booth. The yellow arrow is the stage where 4 on 4 exhibition of SSF4AE2012 and Vampire Resurrection will take place at 14:30 JST.

First picture of Mad Catz booth at Chokaigi 2

This's the first picture of Mad Catz booth before the doors open from Niconico's stream. The booth is located between Hall 4 and Hall 5, in Chou Game Area.

Chokaigi 2 exhibitions to be streamed

Niconico has now revealed that it will stream the 4 on 4 exhibition match of Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition Ver.2012 and Vampire Resurrection on April 28. The stream will start on 14:30 (JST).

In the same time, the stage show will have a match between Uryo and Bon-chan to decide who will compete in the TOPANGA Asia League which will be held between May 3-6.

TOPANGA Asia League announced

TOPANGA has just announced that TOPANGA Asia League will be held between May 3-6. Seven players from 5 Asian countries are announced, including Daigo Umehara, and the last one will be decided on the stage of the 4 on 4 exhibition match in Chokaigi 2 on April 28.

The tournament format is offline round-robin. It is first-to-seven (games). There is deuce when 6-6. The tournament will introduce a new character switching rule. Each time after 3 games are played, the player who lost more in the 3-game period can choose new character (regardless whether he lost in the last game or not), but he can only play up to 2 characters in the whole tournament.

Example
Player A 2-1 Player B = Player B can switch character in the 4th game
Player A 2-4 Player B = Player A can switch character in the 7th game
Player A 4-5 Player B = Player B can switch character in the 10th game (Player B is leading but he lost more in the last 3 games.)

Point calculation is still the same as TOPANGA League.  Winning 7-0 means +7 GD. Losing 4-7 means -3 GD. (*Game Difference)

The tournament again will be pay-per-view and streamed by Niconico. The all 4-day ticket costs 3,000 yen while 1-day ticket costs 1,200 yen.

Players

1. Umehara
2. Sako
3. Fuudo
4. Uryo or Bon-chan (from Chokaigi 2)
5. Poongko (South Korea)
6. GamerBee (Taiwan)
7. Xian (Singapore)
8. Xiao Hai (China)

Commentators
R (Guy player)
Shiro (Abel/Makoto player)

Prizes
1st place - 1 million yen
2nd place - 300,000 yen
3rd place - 150,000 yen

Tickets
All 4-day package (3,000 yen)
Day 1 (1,200 yen)
Day 2 (1,200 yen)
Day 3 (1,200 yen)
Day 4 (1,200 yen)

Stream links
Day 1 / May 3 / Friday (18:00 JST)
Day 2 / May 4 / Saturday (18:00 JST)
Day 3 / May 5 / Sunday (18:00 JST)
Day 4 / May 6 / Monday (18:00 JST)

[Updated 3] List of Chokaigi 2 streams

This's the list of Chokaigi 2 streams that we think you may want to see.

April 27 (Day 1)

7:00 - Chokaigi 2 bird's eye view camera
9:00 - Windows 8 & Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
10:00 - Aniplex booth
10:00 - Capcom Channel
10:00 - Atlus 
10:00 - Dance show
10:30 - Good Smile Company (3D modeling)
11:00 - PlayStation Booth Channel

April 28 (Day 2)

7:00 - Chokaigi 2 bird's eye view camera
9:00 - Windows 8 & Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
10:00 - Atlus
10:00 - Aniplex booth
10:00 - Dance show
10:30 - Capcom Channel
10:30 - Good Smile Company (3D printing)
11:00 - PlayStation Booth Channel
13:00 - Dragon Quest X Special Stage
14:00 - Square Enix to announce new browser RPG called Sennen Yuusha (Millennium Hero)
14:30 - SSF4AE2012 & Vampire Resurrection exhibition

*Japan Standard Time

TOPANGA TV @Chokaigi 2 planned

Mad Catz Japan revealed a tentative schedule of the first day of Mad Catz Fighting Game Dojo at Chokaigi 2 on April 27 (which is tomorrow). It looks like a special episode of TOPANGA TV is planned, and we assume that it'll be on its Twitch TV channel.

11:00 - Fighting game coaching
11:45 - Q&A
12:00 - Photo and autograph session
13:30 - TOPANGA TV

*Japan Standard Time

Update: It's revealed that this's just a recording of the show, not a live stream.

Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm 3 is the series' bestseller

Media Create, the well-known Japanese console game market researcher, reported (via GAF) that Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm 3 has sold 87,661 copies in its first week in Japan.

The game has now become the best selling Naruto fighting game, and also beat the first week sales of the PS3 version of the original Street Fighter IV.

Known as Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 in the west, the game was just released in Japan last week – more than a month after the western releases.

The game was developed by CyberConnect2 who is developing Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle which will be released on August 29.



And as always, we put it on the list so you can compare.

First week sales of fighting games between 2008-2013 in Japan by Media Create

1. [PSP] Dissidia Final Fantasy (Square Enix) {2009.12.18} - 489,100 | NEW
2. [PSP] Dissidia: 012 (Duodecim) Final Fantasy (Square Enix) {2011.03.03} - 286,117 / NEW
3. [PS3] Persona 4: Arena (Atlus) {2012.07.26} - 128,485 / NEW 
4. [PS3] Tekken 6 (Namco Bandai) {2009.10.29} - 103,105 / NEW
5. [PS3] Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm 3 (Bandai Namco Games) {2013.04.18} - 87,661 / NEW 
6. [PS3] Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2009.02.12} - 86,000 / NEW
7. [PS2] Fate/Unlimited Codes (Capcom) {2008.12.18} - 82,900 | NEW
8. [PS3] Super Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2010.04.28} - 80,882 / NEW 
9. [PSP] Naruto: Shippuden Narutimate Accel 3 (Namco Bandai) {2009.12.10} - 76,596 / NEW
10. [PSP] Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Battle of Aces (Namco Bandai) {2010.01.21} - 76,088 / NEW
11. [PS3] Soul Calibur IV (Namco Bandai Games) {2008.07.31} - 74,607 / NEW
12. [PS3] Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (Capcom) {2011.02.17} - 67,187 / NEW
13. [PS3] Dead or Alive 5 (Koei Tecmo) {2012.09.27} - 66,586 / NEW
14. [PS3] Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm Generation (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.23} - 65,758 / NEW
15. [PS3] Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm 2 (Bandai Namco) {2010.10.21} - 63,675 / NEW
16. [PS3] Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.09.13} - 62,630 / NEW
17. [PS3] Street Fighter X Tekken (Capcom) {2012.03.08} - 58,471 / NEW
18. [PS3] Dragon Ball: Raging Blast (Namco Bandai) {2009.11.09} - 57,972 / NEW
19. [PSP] Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Gears of Destiny (Bandai Namco) {2011.12.22} - 57,320 / NEW
20. [PS3] Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (Capcom) {2011.06.30} - 54,924 / NEW
21. [PSP] Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Impact (Bandai Namco Games) {2011.10.20} - 53,148 / NEW 
22. [PS3] BlazBlue: Continuum Shift (Arc System Works) {2010.07.01} - 49,871 / NEW
23. [PS3] Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 (Bandai Namco) {2010.11.11} - 47.610 / NEW
24. [3DS] Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition (Capcom) {2011.02.26} - 44,649 / NEW
25. [PS3] Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi (Bandai Namco Games) {2011.12.08} - 44,593 / NEW
26. [PS2] Melty Blood: Actress Again (Ecole Software) {2009.08.20} - 44,292 / NEW 
27. [PS3] Naruto: Narutimate Storm (Namco Bandai) {2009.01.15} - 44,065 / NEW
28. [360] Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2009.02.12} - 38,000 / NEW
29. [360] Soul Calibur IV (Namco Bandai Games) {2008.07.31} - 34,786 / NEW
30. [PS3] Soul Calibur V (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.02} - 34,328 / NEW 
31. [PSP] Fate/Unlimited Codes Portable (Capcom) {2009.06.18} - 34,205 / NEW
32. [PS3] BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Arc System Works) {2009.06.25} - 33,768 / NEW
33. [PS3] BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend (Arc System Works) {2011.12.17} - 32,992 / NEW
34. [360] Super Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2010.04.28} - 28,454 / NEW
35. [PSP] Tekken 6 (Namco Bandai) {2010.01.14} - 25,131 / NEW
36. [360] BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Arc System Works) {2009.06.25} - 24,812 / NEW
37. [WII] Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes (Capcom) {2008.12.11} - 24,100 / NEW
38. [PSP] BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II (Arc System Works) {2011.03.31} - 23,808 / NEW
39. [3DS] Dead or Alive: Dimensions (Koei Tecmo) {2011.05.19} - 23,078 / NEW
40. [PS3] Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 (Capcom) {2011.11.17} - 22,436 / NEW
41. [PS3] The King of Fighters XIII (SNK Playmore) {2011.12.01} - 21,525 / NEW
42. [PS3] AQUAPAZZA (Aquaplus) {2012.08.30} - 20,935 / NEW
43. [PSP] Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team (Bandai Namco) {2010.09.30} - 19,080 / NEW 
44. [PS3] Arcana Heart 3 (Arc System Works) {2011.01.13} - 17,219 / NEW
45. [360] Dead or Alive 5 (Koei Tecmo) {2012.09.27} - 14,811 / NEW
46. [360] Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (Capcom) {2011.02.17} - 13,779 / NEW
47. [PSV] Dead or Alive 5+ (Koei Tecmo) {2013.03.20} - 13,291 / NEW 
48. [360] Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (Capcom) {2011.06.30} - 12,326 / NEW
49. [PS3] Darkstalkers Resurrection (Capcom) {2013.03.14} - 11,591 / NEW
50. [360] Phantom Breaker (5pb.) {2011.06.02} - 9,960 / NEW
51. [360] Persona 4: Arena (Atlus) {2012.07.26} - 9,801 / NEW 
52. [3DS] Tekken 3D: Prime Edition (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.16} - 9,421 / NEW
53. [360] Street Fighter X Tekken (Capcom) {2012.03.08} - 8,527 / NEW
54. [360] Soul Calibur V (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.02} - 7,679 / NEW 
55. [PSP] Saint Seiya Ω: Ultimate Cosmo (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.11.29} - 6,448 / NEW
56. [PSV] Street Fighter X Tekken (Capcom) {2012.10.25} - 5,420 / NEW 

Mad Catz Fighting Game Dojo planned for Chokaigi 2 (featuring Umehara)

It is revealed that Mad Catz Japan will hold "Mad Catz Fighting Game Dojo" in Chou Amusement Area at Chokaigi 2 on April 27-28. Daigo Umehara, Tokido, and Mago will participate and there will be some kumite, coaching (no pre-registraton), and Mad Catz arcade sticks trial corner for the visitors. Souvenirs or prizes giveaway are also expected.

Note that the players will spend more time for the dojo on the first day since they have to participate the exhibition tournament on the second day in the afternoon (14:30-16:30 JST) in Chou Game Contest Area.

Umehara going to Chokaigi 2, not NCR2013

According to Mad Catz's MarkMan, Daigo Umehara will not be attending Norcal Regionals 2013 as revealed by the NCR organizer one month ago. Umehara will attend Niconico's Chokaigi 2 on April 28.

Chokaigi is Niconico's huge 2-day fan event that is held at Makuhari Messe convention center (same place as Tokyo Game Show). Anything you see on Niconico, including Internet phenomena, Internet celebrities, or Internet memes, you can see it for real at the event – from video contributors, streamers, vocaloid characters (in hologram concert) to Billy Herrington and alpacas.

The first Chokaigi last year wasn't a commercial success. The event posted 470.8 million yen loss. But it also attracted 92,000 attendees, not including 3.47 million on the web. This year it comes back with more and bigger sponsors.



Chokaigi 2 will be held between April 27-28. The lists of all the booths, stage shows, joint events can be found here.

Umehara confirmed for Chokaigi 2

Niconico announced today that Daigo Umehara will appear in the Fighting Games Stage in its Chokaigi 2 event on April 28 (14.30 to 16:30).

Nuki, R (Guy player), Sako, Haitani, Tokido, Mago, Fuudo, Uryo, Bon-hcan, are also confirmed. A 4 on 4 exhibition match will be held for SSF4AE2012 and Vampire Savior (via Vampire Resurrection).

Umehara was invited last year for an exhibition match at Chokaigi 1.

Note that we're not sure what will happen since Umehara was also confirmed to attend Norcal Regionals 2013 which is scheduled on April 26-28. This's clearly a schedule conflict.

[Video] Umehara @NYU Spring Fighter 2013

Mad Catz just posted the video of the talk session of Daigo Umehara and Seth Killian at NYU Spring Fighter 2013 at New York University.



The video was edited so we add something that is directly translated from Umehara's words with some notes.

- Umehara started going to game centers since 10 years old, something that parents shouldn't allow to. But his parents never stopped him from gaming, this's what Umehara thinks is the most important.
- Infiltration's playstyle is like when Umehara was in junior high school. Umehara wanted to win regardless of how he plays. The style was backing down until he sees an opportunity to attack. So at 14 years old, he thought fighting games is kinda easy. But then one day someone around 10 years older said to Umehara that "We know you're good but you don't have style." (in the sense of one-trick pony), Umehara was shocked.
- At the question "Flawless play but losing half of the time OR winning all the time," Umehara answered as if it was a trick question. He said if it's flawless play then luck must be involved, too. Because a move like Demon Flip makes you guess. On top of that, flawless doesn't necessarily mean beautiful, it could mean you try to win as easiest as possible. He chose winning all the time, but if flawless play proves to be stronger then he'll choose it.
- Umehara's toughest defeat was when he tried to win Capcom's official tournament 4 times in a row. (You can read more about this in this Famitsu interview)
- His greatest victory consists of 2 events: GameStop's national tournament (where he defeated Poongko, Iyo, Justin Wong) and (3 months later) Evo 2009. (Umehara won a free trip to Evo 2009 at the GameStop tournament)
- At the end of his career (when he's slow and can't win), Umehara prefers that people look at him as someone who kept trying stubbornly (rather than a guy who once was famous and ended it badly).

Pictures from MarkMan
- The lecture hall is packed
- During the talk session
- Umehara with the crowd after the talk session

Willpower to Keep Winning reenters Amazon's top 10 bestsellers again

Daigo Umehara's Willpower to Keep Winning has reentered Amazon Japan's top 10 bestsellers in overall Book category again (and it's currently out of stock). The Kindle version of his book is also back to the top of the bestselling products on Kindle Store. This repeated what happened in January.

His recent talk event at B&B bookstore is likely to be the cause. The event was reported on 3 websites.

Willpower to Keep Winning was ranked as the 7th bestselling nonfiction pocket book of the year 2012 on Amazon Japan.

Bon-chan wins Mahjong competition over pro Mahjong players

It was not just a good fight, it was EPIC!

Bon-chan, the famous Sagat player, participated in a 24-hour Mahjong competition (4 tables, 16 players) on March 30 which was streamed on Niconico. Bon-chan used to work at a Mahjong club so he is far from a novice. But his opponents were 3 female pro Mahjong players: Hatsune Osaki, Satomi Tomimoto, and Eri Mizuki.

Picture: Osaki (left), Tomimoto  (middle), Mizuki (right)

No one had expected him to win because at the beginning Bon-chan totally had no luck and even lost 18300 points in a round by Ron to the leader Mizuki, to the hand as you see below. At one point, his score was as low as -3500. On top of that, Mizuki had a huge lead, finishing with more than 65000 points. Note that the result of each game will be accumulated. So if you have such a bad start, you will surely want to go home before it ends. Bon only won 3 times in the 1st game, but that helped him a lot.

Things changed completely in the 2nd game as Bon managed to finish near 40000 points and the leader of the last round Mizuki came in last. Bon won the game and moved up to 2nd place in overall.

Bon finished in the last place again with 9500 points in the 3rd game while the opponents either did well or decent. He was again in the last place overall. Good thing is Mizuki couldn't extend the lead. The new leader was Tomimoto.

Bon looked desperate most of the time in the 4th game. He only won one round, but it was big. It earned him 8000 points from the leader. Bon won this game but the points of all four players were close. Bon moved back to 2nd place overall and Tomimoto was still 1st.

At the beginning of the 5th game, Bon made a right decision that earned him 8000 points. The game was pretty close at this point for Bon and Tomimoto (around 30000 points) but Bon had to win big, if he wanted to win the whole competition. Then in the round before the last round, Bon evaded TWO Reach (from Osaki and Mizuki) and won with the hand below (Baiman Tsumo) which earned him 18000 points! Now he had 49000 points while Tomimoto had 26800. Then in the last round Bon got a Ron from Osaki and sealed it.

The match was 7 hours long. The prize is an appearance in a manga character form in the manga magazine Kindai Mahjong (The magazine that had Umehara's Mahjong manga).

Mahjong channels on Niconico try to attract new people by inviting fighting game players such as Kokujin, KSK, Itabashi Zangief, and Nuki. This's Bon-chan's 2nd appearance on the channel.

Event reports: Umehara's talk show at B&B

Three websites posted an event report of Daigo Umehara's talk show at B&B bookstore.

- Famitsu
- 4Gamer.net
- IT Media

Notes
- Chikirin appeared with a mask.
- There were more than 60 participants.
- When he was a kid, Umehara had a bad relationship with his teacher because he didn't "have a reason to" study. But if there's an invitation for a lecture from the school he will gladly accept.
- What Umehara learnt when he was a kid is if you want people to really accept you then you have to win impressively, not just win. (He was physically strong as a kid. Friends cheered on him when he overcame another kid. But they didn't invite him for a trip to Disneyland. So he realized that he's not actually popular.)
- Umehara will quit playing (retire as pro gamer) if he feels he can't stay competitive.
- Chikirin bought the book Willpower to Keep Winning after seeing Umehara's Evo 2004 comeback video via a tweet. She was impressed by the content of the book and introduced it to her followers.

[April Fools] Persona 4 Music Band to perform at Evo 2013

It's confirmed today that Persona 4 Music Band will perform at Evolution 2013 on July 14.

The fighting game Persona 4: Arena was chosen to be 1 of the 8 titles in Evo this year and the game publisher Atlus will show their support by sending the band to perform at the world's biggest fighting game tournament.

Persona 4: Arena (known as Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena in Japan) had sold more than 130,000 copies in its first week in Japan, making it the best selling conventional fighting game in the past 4 years in the country.

The soundtracks of Persona 4 series is one of the most famous of its genre. Despite most of the songs being English, all of the soundtrack CDs combined have sold over 100,000 copies in Japan. The arrange album in 2011 was top of the weekly sales chart, which is very rare for a game OST. The band in charge of the music performance is Persona 4 Music Band. The vocalists are Shihoko Hirata (most of Persona 4 songs) and Yumi Kawamura (Persona 3 songs). Last year, they had their own concert and were selected to perform in Animelo Summer Live 2012 (the world's biggest anime song concert).

Video: Hirata (miniskirt) and Kawamura singing Key Plus Words (Persona 4: The Animation 2nd opening)


Atlus is known for showing a lot of supports for North America. They're one of a few Japanese developers who continue to localize niche games. The games also often come with pre-order bonus soundtrack CD.

Evolution 2013 will be held between July 12-14 at Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino.