Daigo Umehara's Event Schedule 2015

- Canada Cup's Master Series [January 9-11]
- 5th Niconico Shotenkaigi [January 18]
- Yonpahi radio show [January 23]
- 6th Niconico Shotenkaigi [January 25]
- Taipei Game Show [Jan 31]
- Tokaigi 2015 [Feb 1]

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Umehara on Toyo Keizai

Toyo Keizai website published a 7-page article of Daigo Umehara today.

Toyo Keizai is the publisher of one of the leading business magazines in Japan.



Notes (we skip some of introduction or what we already know)
- Headline is "The genius pro gamer who came back from nursing world."
- The article introduces him as world's number one pro gamer.
- Umehara doesn't think he's a genius.
- When J-League was established in 1993 and Famicom boom started to fade, Umehara who was about to become junior high school student was left playing game alone, because his friends shifted attention from games to soccer.
- At the moment of Evo 2004 comeback, Umehara concentrated so much he didn't hear the noises from the crowd when he parried. The article pointed out his power of concentration.
- One year from Evo 2004, Umehara resigned from gaming and studied Mahjong to become a pro Mahjong player.
- During this 3 years, he worked at a Mahjong parlour 12 hours a day.
- Umehara said you can't make a big progress if you're obsessed with match results.
- Umehara wanted to do something completely different so he chose nursing job. One reason is his parents' jobs were about medical care. One reason is he was tired of the strong competitive nature of fighting games and Mahjong.
- Among his patients was person who couldn't remember what he ate 5 minutes earlier or person who couldn't walk. That's when Umehara learnt that if you can't decide whether to Do It or Not, always choose Do It. (It's like YOLO.)
- For the play style, Umehara avoids pre-planned approaches like "If you do this you'll win" or "If you do this you'll control the game." Umehara thinks that formulae are necessary for sure but [if all you have are things on the paper then you'll become one-trick pony.]
- While some people think fighting gamers start losing reflexes at late 20 (age), Umehara believes his passion for gaming will maintain the strength he needs to continue.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Under Night In-Birth gets big update this Summer, called Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late

4Gamers.net reported that Under Night In-Birth will get a big update this Summer and the game will be called Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late (pronounced Ekusereito).

There will be big changes in game system and each character for balance.

One new playable character is revealed as of now. The name is Chaos (but pronounced Keiasu instead of Kaosu or Keiosu).

Square Enix announces Gunslinger Stratos kumite tour featuring Daigo Umehara

Square Enix just announced a few minutes ago that a Gunslinger Stratos kumite event will be held in 8 locations in several prefectures. The official event allows the players to play face to face against Daigo Umehara, Fuudo, Mago (aka. pro gamer team).

Schedule
  1. June 22 - Yokohama, Kanagawa
  2. June 23 - Toyota, Aichi
  3. TBA - Tokushima
  4. TBA - Yokkaichi, Mie
  5. TBA - Nagoya, Aichi
  6. TBA - Nagoya, Aichi
  7. TBA - Mizuho, Gifu
  8. TBA - Osaka


Starting from January, players will be able to obtain a special in-game title from defeating a team that has the pro gamer(s) as a team member (in specific number of times). This means if the players defeat the pro gamers team they can obtain 3 in-game titles at the same time.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

[Hands-on] Shin Koihime Musou: Otome Taisen PC trial version

This's a trial version of Shin Koihime Musou: Otome Taisen Sangokushi Engi. It comes with 1 character, 2 "strategists," and 1 stage.

The full game has 10 playable characters, 6 "strategists," and 10 stages. (See screenshots and stages here)

Info
- Trial version of Shin Koihime Musou fighting game released

System requirements
- Japanese version of Windows XP or Vista or 7 or 8
- Core 2 Duo E6600 or above
- 2GB RAM or above
- 512 MB VRAM or above
- 4.2 GB HDD space
- 800x600 resolution
- DirectX 9.0c

The installation
You don't actually need Japanese version of Windows, just change locale to Japanese so your PC can read everything. Unzip the file you download then click setup.exe. You only click N (Next) or F (Finish) during the installation. The desktop shortcut will pop up, click it to start the game.

Game Modes
  • Arcade Mode (disable)
  • VS Mode
  • Training Mode (disable)
  • Game Option (disable)
  • System Config
  • Game Controller Setting
  • Ranking Data (disable)
What we really wanted to know is whether this game has online play or not. Under VS Mode, it doesn't say anything about online, but there's Ranking Data option so we think there's online play in some form. Offline versus is guaranteed for now.

In VS Mode, you can choose to play against CPU or watch CPU fight CPU. Either ways, you can only choose one character (Aisha) and two strategists (Shuri and Hinari). There're 8 difficulties for the CPU to choose from. You can change round count and time limit here.

In System Config, you can switch between Fullscreen/Windows. You can change resolution (max only 1280x720) or brightness. You can turn on/off bilinear filtering and stage effects. You can choose which player use which controller or keyboard.

Controller Setting
You can do button mapping here.
A = Light Attack
B = Medium Attack
C = Strong Attack
D = Special (for Throw or Tech Throw or assist)
A+B = For EX version of special moves
B+C = For Musou Hiougi move
Taunt = Taunt
Start = Pause/Resume the game

You can use D-Pad and analog stick at the same time so no problem there.

Gameplay
This game is close to Street Fighter IV. It's about footsie and "Hougeki." Hougeki works similar to SF4's Focus Attack. It doesn't absorb an attack like Focus Attack but it makes opponent "Crumble" on counter-hit (connect when opponent is in attacking animation). Each character in the game has 4 moves that have Hougeki property. These moves work just like normal moves so they're pretty safe when not overused.

3B = Overhead
6B = Launcher
3C = Sweep
6C = Long strike

When opponent is in Crumble state, you can do whatever you want until he hits the ground. The combo you do during this period is called Musou Rengeki.

Ultimate moves
Each character has 2 ultimate moves which share the same commands in all characters.

1. Musou Ougi (2363214+C) requires 3 bars.
2. Musou Hiougi (236+BC) requires all 4 bars, and can be performed only when opponent is in Crumble state or as a part of Musou Rengeki.

Strategist
You choose Strategist during character select. But some strategists are available only to certain characters (just like in the story). For example, Keifa only goes with Karin group.

A strategist can provide you an assist (236+D) at a cost of 1 bar.

Trial version of Shin Koihime Musou fighting game released

The trial version of Shin Koihime Musou fighting game PC version was released on May 24. You can download at the website or here (1.19 GB).

The game, called Shin Koihime Musou: Otome Taisen Sangokushi Engi, was first released in the arcades in 2011. The PC version will be released on May 31. Nothing indicates that it will feature adult contents so don't expect to unlock some "X factors." (For those who are interested you can preorder and import from Amiami.)

This 2D fighting game is based on one of the most famous adult game series Koihime Musou. A total of 39 episodes of the anime adaptation was released between 2008-2011. Both the original adult game and the anime have an official English localization.

Koihime Musou's setting is based on Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The big difference is all the male characters were recreated as cute girls.

Promotional movie


Shuuran vs. Renfa


Karin


Shaoren


Aisha vs. Rinrin


Shunran vs. Shuuran


Renfa vs. Shishun


Ren vs. Ren

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Buy the stick and go beyond Umehara!

Mad Catz Japan reported that a Yodobashi Camera store in Kyoto has a corner for customers to try out arcade sticks with banner "Go beyond Umehara!"

Note that some stores already have autographs of Umehara, Mago, Tokido displayed near Mad Catz products. (Not to mention that some game centers also have Umehara's autograph displayed above the cabinets.)

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Umehara to have Ver.2013 talk show at Taito Station Shinjuku

It's revealed in Daigo Umehara's Battle Tour 2013 event in Fukuoka that he will have a talk show at Taito Station Shinjuku Minami-guchi branch on June 15.

At the event, Umehara, Bon-chan, Kazunoko, Fuudo will come to talk about things such as the changes in SSF4AE Version 2013.

Despite the fact that Kazunoko always played and observed him during AE era at the game centers, Umehara revealed that they have never made an eye contact...

Willpower to Keep Winning sales reach 50k copies

It's revealed by Daigo Umehara himself yesterday at Battle Tour 2013 event in Fukuoka  that his book Willpower to Keep Winning has sold 50,000 copies already.

Willpower to Keep Winning was one of the best selling pocket books in 2012 on Amazon Japan and is also available in Kindle version.

Kayo Police has imposter on Facebook

Kayo Police revealed on Twitter that there's someone else on Facebook who is using her name and photos. Kayo Police herself is not using Facebook, but she has a blog here.

We don't hear about Kayo Police much these days since Game no Jikan show (every Thursday) on Niconico that she used to work as a co-host ended in September last year.

Happy Birthday Umehara!

The world's most famous Street Fighter player.

The only player who reached top 8 Street Fighter IV at Evolution FOUR consecutive years.

The player who keeps on playing and winning the most competitive fighting games at the highest level since 1997.

The player who shows the world that winning is not just the only way to gain fans and respect, it's also how you play and behave.


Happy Birthday to Daigo Umehara who turn 32 today!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

[Video] Umehara @Mad Catz booth in Chokaigi 2

"TOPANGA TV in Niconico Chokaigi 2 @Mad Catz booth" were showed on TOPANGA TV on May 8 and 15.

Notes
- It was actually to promote Mad Catz so they mainly talked about products.
- The Mad Catz guy wanted everyone to yell "TEAM MAD CATZ" but it's too embarrassing for Umehara to do it.
- When he started SF4 on console and wanted a stick, Mago bought Tournament Edition stick after reading about Mad Catz from Wiki.
- They talked about the importance of hearing the sounds of opponent's stick to promote MCZ silent stick. Mago said PR_Rog was surprised by the stick and had to asked MarkMan for one after the match.
- Umehara prefers the form of the new Arcade Fightstick Pro because there's a place to rest his hands at the edge.
- Mago said Umehara doesn't use PC but Umehara said he used it a bit to watch some soothing music on YouTube. But when asked about Niconico, Umehara said it's too complicated for him.
- Umehara said the Mad Catz headphones help him in FADCing because it gives a sound not found in others.
- They gave away a very limited Evo stick to the audience by playing RPS. The winner was R (TOPANGA commentator and Guy player). R later gave it to one of the audience in the last day of TOPANGA Asia League because he felt that he didn't deserve it.


May 8 (skip to 13:40)



May 15 (skip to 08:10)

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

[TOPANGA Asia League] Infiltration turn down invitation

There're many speculations when the players were announced for TOPANGA Asia League and there's no Infiltration. A lot of people said the man didn't get invited. Some said Poongko took the South Korea quota because he has a good relationship with the Japanese as he came to Japan for a tournament several times (GODSGARDEN 4, TOPANGA Concept Match, , Official AE2012 Nationals, etc). But the latest tweet from Xian revealed that TOPANGA actually invited Infiltration but the Akuma player declined.


TOPANGA Asia League Day 4 summary

Info
- TOPANGA Asia League announced (rules, prizes, stream links, ticket links)
- Bon-chan qualifies for TOPANGA Asia League
- Player characters revealed
- Ringside seats offered
- Niconico Pro Tip: Time Shift

Previous posts
- TOPANGA Asia League Day 1 summary
- TOPANGA Asia League Day 2 summary 
- TOPANGA Asia League Day 3 summary 

 Commentators
- R
- Mago

Notes
- The studio is full (audience).
-  In the studio: Kazunoko, Tokido, Itabashi Zangief, Karipaku, Acqua, Mad Catz Guy, The Hori Guy
- Some people in the audience missed the last train because the length of the show.

Day 4 / May 6 / Monday

  1. Bon-chan vs. GamerBee
  2. Umehara vs. Xian
  3. Fuudo vs. Xiao Hai
  4. Bon-chan vs. Poongko
  5. Umehara vs. Sako *
  6. Xiao Hai vs. Xian
  7. Sako vs. Fuudo *


Results are below (spoilers)

Monday, May 6, 2013

Umehara vs. Sako statistics

GODSGARDEN Online 2 qualifier (online)
Umehara (Ryu) 3-0 Sako (Cam)

GODSGARDEN Online 2 (online)
Umehara (Ryu) 8-10 Sako (Cam)

TOPANGA League 1: Day 6 (online)
Umehara (Ryu) 0-3 Sako (Ibu)

TOPANGA League 2: Day 6 (online)
Umehara (Ryu) 3-2 Sako (Ibu)

TOPANGA League 2: Day 12 (offline)
Umehara (Ryu) 9-11 Sako (Ibu)


Fun Facts
- They rarely met in an offline tournament.
- In a tournament, Umehara had never played Sako Yang, and Sako had never played Umehara Yun.
- Last year in April, Umehara went to Osaka (where Sako lives) to participate Gunslinger Stratos event and since he had too much free time he called Sako out for some casual matches at a game center. (They're friends and they have each other's number) It's reported that they played total 77 games. They quitted when Umehara reached 50th win. (A player's arcade record can be checked via cellphone.)

Sunday, May 5, 2013

TOPANGA Asia League Day 3 summary

Info
- TOPANGA Asia League announced (rules, prizes, stream links, ticket links)
- Bon-chan qualifies for TOPANGA Asia League
- Player characters revealed
- Ringside seats offered
- Niconico Pro Tip: Time Shift

Previous posts
- TOPANGA Asia League Day 1 summary
- TOPANGA Asia League Day 2 summary

 Commentators
- R
- Shiro

Opening skit
-R screamed TOPANGA League to his cellphone.

Notes
-

Day 3 / May 5 / Sunday
  1. Fuudo vs. GamerBee
  2. Poongko vs. Xian
  3. Umehara vs. Xiao Hai
  4. Bon-chan vs. Sako
  5. Poongko vs. GamerBee
  6. Umehara vs. Fuudo 
  7. Sako vs. Xiao Hai

Results are below (spoilers)

Umehara vs. Fuudo statistics

World Game Cup 2010 (offline)
[Grand Final 1] Umehara (Ryu) 3-0 Fuudo (Ryu)
[Grand Final 2] Umehara (Ryu) 2-3 Fuudo (Ryu)
 
TOPANGA League 1: Day 1 (online)
Umehara (Ryu) 0-3 Fuudo (Fei)

TOPANGA League 2: Day 4 (online)
Umehara (Ryu) 3-1 Fuudo (Fei)

TOPANGA League 2: Day 12 (offline)
Umehara (Ryu) 5-10 Fuudo (Fei)

Japan's SF 25th Anniversary tournament (offline)
[Winners Final] Umehara (Ryu) 2-0 Fuudo (Fei)
[Grand Final] Umehara (Ryu) 3-0 Fuudo (Fei)

Niconico Chokaigi 2 exhibition (offline)
Umehara (Ryu) 1-0 Fuudo (Fei)

Fun Facts:
- Fuudo admitted that he won World Game Cup 2010 over Umehara because he was in Winners bracket while Umehara was already in Losers bracket.
- Fuudo has never played Umehara Yun in a tournament.
- They almost played each other in GODSGARDEN 4. (GG4 used special rules. You can challenge and accept/refuse opponent once. Umehara (Yun) challenged Fuudo (Fei) but Fuudo refused.)

[TOPANGA Asia League] Match-ups Day 3-4 revealed

The official webpage has revealed the last piece of information.

Day 3 / May 5 / Sunday

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

Day 4 / May 6 / Monday

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

*Order will be announced before the show.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

TOPANGA Asia League Day2 summary

Info
- TOPANGA Asia League announced (rules, prizes, stream links, ticket links)
- Bon-chan qualifies for TOPANGA Asia League
- Player characters revealed
- Ringside seats offered
- Niconico Pro Tip: Time Shift

Previous posts
- TOPANGA Asia League Day 1 summary

 Commentators
- R
- Kazunoko

Opening skit
- Kazunoko shouted TOPANGA LEAGUE instead of R.

Notes
- Nemo and Eita were in the audience

 Day 2 / May 4 / Saturday
    1. Sako vs. Poongko
    2. Xiao Hai vs. GamerBee
    3. Xian vs. Bon-chan
    4. Poongko vs. Xiao Hai
    5. Sako vs. Xian
    6. Fuudo vs. Bon-chan
    7. Umehara vs. GamerBee
      Results are below (spoilers)

      Friday, May 3, 2013

      TOPANGA Asia League Day1 summary

      Info
      - TOPANGA Asia League announced (rules, prizes, stream links, ticket links)
      - Bon-chan qualifies for TOPANGA Asia League
      - Player characters revealed
      - Ringside seats offered
      - Niconico Pro Tip: Time Shift

      Commentators
      - R
      - Shiro

      Notes
      - Fuudo and Bon-chan called Amiyu (well-known Japanese Gen player) to practice Gen matchup days before today.

      Day 1 / May 3 / Friday
        1. Umehara vs. Poongko
        2. Bon-chan vs. Xiao Hai
        3. GamerBee vs. Xian
        4. Fuudo vs. Poongko
        5. Umehara vs. Bon-chan
        6. Sako vs. GamerBee
        7. Fuudo vs. Xian

          Results are below (spoilers)

          Thursday, May 2, 2013

          Niconico Pro Tip: Time Shift

          Do you have your ticket ready for TOPANGA Asia League this weekend? For those who have but are not familiar with Niconico we think this will be extremely useful. We're introducing you a function called Time Shift.

          Time Shift
          - The virtual ticket lets you watch the show twice – Live and Time Shift.
          - Time Shift lets you watch the recorded stream as many time as you like in 24-hour period after you click the Time Shift button.
          - A yellow Time Shift button will appear on the stream page 30 minutes after the show ended.
          - The Time Shift of TOPANGA Asia League will expire on June 7, 2013.


          In theory, with Time Shift, you can let your trusted friend access your account and watch the Time Shift in case you already watch it live. You can even split the ticket cost this way.

          Wednesday, May 1, 2013

          Chokaigi 2 attracts more than 100k visitors, Chokaigi 3 announced

          It's revealed that Niconico's Chokaigi 2 event has attracted 103,561 visitors in 2 days. The streams of the event also had 5,094,944 viewers. (Chokaigi 1: 92,000 visitors, 3.47 million net viewers)

          In other news, it's also revealed that Chokaigi 3 was already announced for April 26-27, 2014. It'll still be held at Makuhari Messe.

          R, Karipaku, Sentosu play Injustice together

          R (Guy player and fighting game commentator), Karipaku (female Cody player), Sentosu (net show host and Dictator player) appeared on an Internet show called Game no Gakkou (Game School) yesterday to introduce and play Injustice.

          Since they're close friends so they actually had fun and it was pretty hyped. (And they went to Karaoke later after the show.)


          Nemo confirmed for Evo 2013

          It's announced tonight on Kachitagari TV that Nemo will participate Evolution 2013. One reason is because he got Evo seed point from KGA 2013 (being 2nd place).

          Nemo (former Guilty Gear player, Chun-Li/Yang player in SF4) abandoned Street Fighter IV series for Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and has become Japan's No.1 "Marvel" player, at least in our eyes. He's not just good at the game, he's obsessed. In fact, we've never seen any Japanese so obsessed about Marvel like him. He always talks about Marvel and follow the foreign tournaments. When he first appeared on TOPANGA's Kachitagari TV to give some coaching, he actually brought a note and did it like a school teacher.

          You don't often see Nemo in a tournament as Marvel tournaments in Japan are limited and he himself is a salaryman and married, so seeing Nemo in Evo is huge. (GET HIS AUTOGRAPH!)

          Nemo also said tonight that he's aiming to win Evo, and he has some trick that he purposely didn't use at KGA 2013.