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, July 31, 2014

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Umehara on TOPANGA TV tonight

Daigo Umehara came to talk about various things on TOPANGA TV tonight.
  • He talked about Evo. He didn't think he would lose to John Choi but acknowledges that Choi was strong. (USF4) He thinks the match was tougher than F.Champ match. As for the results, he doesn't think about it much.
  • He said O Sagat are rare in Japan. The strength is near the level of Akuma. (SF2X) But he doesn't think about the result much since he didn't practice.
  • He talked about Hong Kong trip.
  • (Hong Kong) He didn't have the details of what he really had to do. It seems like Zhi asked him if he wanted to enter Hong Kong eSports Tournament.
  • (Hong Kong) He won a PS4 for winning all the challengers at PlayStation stage on the next day.
  • (Hong Kong) Sony asked him not to lose because Sony had to give PS4 away.
  • (Hong Kong) He joked about using overhead more because it's harder to block due to PS3 lag.
  • (Hong Kong) Due to the rule, he couldn't do Ultra finish.
  • (Hong Kong) He also had a match with a famous Youtuber. There're so many people around the stage.
  • (Hong Kong) He talked about food and how he couldn't eat the meat he doesn't normally eat like pigeon and frog. He said frogs and pigeons are (man's) friends.
  • (Hong Kong) He said fishes are definitely food ("They're food the moment I see them"). Because they came from ocean and have no legs. (which made everyone laugh)
  • He talked about his manga on Weekly Georgia.
  • He talked about the old generation when there weren't many tournaments and where serious players did everything to win it, even tricking other players. He brought Bishamon story as example. (They agreed they like a clean fight, but later abused the hell of a move)
  • There'll be a Umehara vs. Tokido talk event soon.

There were 5,461 viewers watching the show.

(Skip to 1:33:00 for Umehara)

First week sales: Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late

Media Create, the well-known Japanese console game market researcher, revealed today that the PS3 version of Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late has sold 9,171 copies in its first week.

As always, we have chart so you can compare.

First week sales of fighting games between 2008-2014 in Japan by Media Create
  1. [PSP] Dissidia Final Fantasy (Square Enix) {2009.12.18} - 489,100 | NEW
  2. [PS3] JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle (Bandai Namco Games) {2013.08.29} - 425,718 / NEW
  3. [PSP] Dissidia: 012 (Duodecim) Final Fantasy (Square Enix) {2011.03.03} - 286,117 / NEW
  4. [PS3] Persona 4: Arena (Atlus) {2012.07.26} - 128,485 / NEW  
  5. [PS3] J-Stars Victory Vs (Bandai Namco Games) {2014.03.19} - 118,240 / NEW
  6. [PS3] Tekken 6 (Namco Bandai) {2009.10.29} - 103,105 / NEW
  7. [PSV] J-Stars Victory Vs (Bandai Namco Games) {2014.03.19} - 97,821 / NEW 
  8. [PS3] Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm 3 (Bandai Namco Games) {2013.04.18} - 87,661 / NEW 
  9. [PS3] Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2009.02.12} - 86,000 / NEW
  10. [PS2] Fate/Unlimited Codes (Capcom) {2008.12.18} - 82,900 | NEW
  11. [PS3] Super Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2010.04.28} - 80,882 / NEW 
  12. [PSP] Naruto: Shippuden Narutimate Accel 3 (Namco Bandai) {2009.12.10} - 76,596 / NEW
  13. [PSP] Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Battle of Aces (Namco Bandai) {2010.01.21} - 76,088 / NEW
  14. [PS3] Soul Calibur IV (Namco Bandai Games) {2008.07.31} - 74,607 / NEW
  15. [PS3] BlazBlue: Chronophantasma (Arc System Works) {2013.10.24} - 72,464 / NEW
  16. [PS3] Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (Capcom) {2011.02.17} - 67,187 / NEW
  17. [PS3] Dead or Alive 5 (Koei Tecmo) {2012.09.27} - 66,586 / NEW
  18. [PS3] Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm Generation (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.23} - 65,758 / NEW
  19. [PS3] Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm 2 (Bandai Namco) {2010.10.21} - 63,675 / NEW
  20. [PS3] Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.09.13} - 62,630 / NEW
  21. [PS3] Street Fighter X Tekken (Capcom) {2012.03.08} - 58,471 / NEW
  22. [PS3] Dragon Ball: Raging Blast (Namco Bandai) {2009.11.09} - 57,972 / NEW
  23. [PSP] Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Gears of Destiny (Bandai Namco) {2011.12.22} - 57,320 / NEW
  24. [PS3] Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (Capcom) {2011.06.30} - 54,924 / NEW
  25. [PSP] Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Impact (Bandai Namco Games) {2011.10.20} - 53,148 / NEW 
  26. [PS3] BlazBlue: Continuum Shift (Arc System Works) {2010.07.01} - 49,871 / NEW
  27. [PS3] Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 (Bandai Namco) {2010.11.11} - 47.610 / NEW
  28. [3DS] Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition (Capcom) {2011.02.26} - 44,649 / NEW
  29. [PS3] Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi (Bandai Namco Games) {2011.12.08} - 44,593 / NEW
  30. [PS2] Melty Blood: Actress Again (Ecole Software) {2009.08.20} - 44,292 / NEW 
  31. [PS3] Naruto: Narutimate Storm (Namco Bandai) {2009.01.15} - 44,065 / NEW
  32. [360] Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2009.02.12} - 38,000 / NEW
  33. [360] Soul Calibur IV (Namco Bandai Games) {2008.07.31} - 34,786 / NEW
  34. [PS3] Soul Calibur V (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.02} - 34,328 / NEW 
  35. [PSP] Fate/Unlimited Codes Portable (Capcom) {2009.06.18} - 34,205 / NEW
  36. [PS3] BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Arc System Works) {2009.06.25} - 33,768 / NEW
  37. [PS3] BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend (Arc System Works) {2011.12.17} - 32,992 / NEW
  38. [PS3] Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z (Bandai Namco Games) {2014.01.23} - 30,192 / NEW
  39. [PS3] Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers (Bandai Namco Games) {2013.10.17} - 29,314 / NEW 
  40. [360] Super Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2010.04.28} - 28,454 / NEW
  41. [PSP] Tekken 6 (Namco Bandai) {2010.01.14} - 25,131 / NEW
  42. [360] BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Arc System Works) {2009.06.25} - 24,812 / NEW
  43. [WII] Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes (Capcom) {2008.12.11} - 24,100 / NEW
  44. [PSP] BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II (Arc System Works) {2011.03.31} - 23,808 / NEW
  45. [3DS] Dead or Alive: Dimensions (Koei Tecmo) {2011.05.19} - 23,078 / NEW
  46. [PSV] Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z (Bandai Namco Games) {2014.01.23} - 22,901 / NEW
  47. [PS3] Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 (Capcom) {2011.11.17} - 22,436 / NEW
  48. [PS3] The King of Fighters XIII (SNK Playmore) {2011.12.01} - 21,525 / NEW
  49. [PS3] AQUAPAZZA (Aquaplus) {2012.08.30} - 20,935 / NEW
  50. [PSP] Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team (Bandai Namco) {2010.09.30} - 19,080 / NEW
  51. [PS3] Dead or Alive 5: Ultimate (Koei Tecmo) {2013.09.05} - 18,608 / NEW 
  52. [PS3] Arcana Heart 3 (Arc System Works) {2011.01.13} - 17,219 / NEW
  53. [360] Dead or Alive 5 (Koei Tecmo) {2012.09.27} - 14,811 / NEW
  54. [360] Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (Capcom) {2011.02.17} - 13,779 / NEW
  55. [PSV] Dead or Alive 5+ (Koei Tecmo) {2013.03.20} - 13,291 / NEW 
  56. [360] Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (Capcom) {2011.06.30} - 12,326 / NEW
  57. [PS3] Darkstalkers Resurrection (Capcom) {2013.03.14} - 11,591 / NEW
  58. [PSV] BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma (Arc System Works) {2014.04.24} - 10,709 / NEW
  59. [360] Phantom Breaker (5pb.) {2011.06.02} - 9,960 / NEW
  60. [360] Persona 4: Arena (Atlus) {2012.07.26} - 9,801 / NEW
  61. [3DS] Tekken 3D: Prime Edition (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.16} - 9,421 / NEW
  62. [PS3] Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late (Arc System Works) {2014.07.24} - 9,171 / NEW
  63. [360] Street Fighter X Tekken (Capcom) {2012.03.08} - 8,527 / NEW
  64. [360] Soul Calibur V (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.02} - 7,679 / NEW 
  65. [PSP] Saint Seiya Ω: Ultimate Cosmo (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.11.29} - 6,448 / NEW
  66. [PS3] Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!! (Arc System Works) {2014.05.29} - 6,273 / NEW
  67. [PSV] Street Fighter X Tekken (Capcom) {2012.10.25} - 5,420 / NEW
  68. [360] Dead or Alive 5: Ultimate (Koei Tecmo) {2013.09.05} - 4,862 / NEW
  69. [PS3] Shin Koihime Musou: Otome Taisen Sangokushi Engi {2014.02.20} - 4,794 / NEW
  70. [PS3] Phantom Breaker: Extra (5pb.) {2013.09.19} - 3,102 / NEW

Under Skirt On-Blast X:Rate

Two years ago, we said Orie probably has the best (hand-drawn) sprite in any 2D fighting games, and since the console version of Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late was just released, someone made a video to proof our point, and went beyond that.

The maker of this video is Poccola. He (or she?) already made several pantsu collection from various games.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Daigo Umehara in Hong Kong

Daigo Umehara went to Hong Kong and attend Hong Kong eSports Tournament on July 28. He won the Ultra Street Fighter IV tournament by defeating RB in the grand final. The tournament also gave him Capcom Pro Tour's ranking points.
Hong Kong’s largest annual eSports event – Hong Kong Esports Tournament – with over HKD 1,500,000 (TWD 6,000,000) Cash & Prizes

Games including:
“Starcraft II”
“League of Legends”
“Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft”
“Ultra Street Fighter IV”

Recorded stream is here (the audio is bad so mute it).

And on July 28, Umehara also attended Hong Kong's The 16th Choice of Animation, Comics & Games Expo (ACGHK2014) for "challenge Daigo Umehara" exhibition matches at PlayStation stage.

Read more about trip in Hong Kong here.

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Blade Arcus' Pairon figure revealed

Famitsu reported that a prototype figure of Blade Arcus' Pairon is spotted in Alphamax (the maker of Kirika figure) booth in Wonder Festival 2014 Summer today. (Wonder Festival is Japan's largest figure expo)


Won Pairon is one of the two characters created exclusively for Beast Note's most anticipated fighting game Blade Arcus.


Friday, July 25, 2014

Report: Lag affected performances at Evo2014

We caught an interesting conversation between NeroBlanka and someone today.

Someone: Umehara's physical condition was bad at Evo? Why did he lose to John Choi?

Nero: I don't know if I should say this, but the Xbox was lagging. It was worse than online match at my home. I finally got used to it in my third match. Evil Ryu probably took a big hit as you can see the combos dropped.

She also followed by this.

Nero: I couldn't even confirm a combo when I had 2 frame advantage in the 3rd match, although it didn't affect my Blanka much. I wish they restart the console every X matches or something.

Someone: Say to them "I'm feeling the lag, reset Xbox OK?" or something.

Nero: I'll just "NO!NO! In Japan it doesn't count if you can't even confirm 2f advantage" using gestures. (laugh)

NeroBlanka is a Japanese female player who went to Evo 2014.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

[PS3 P4U2] Marie promo posted

PS3 version of P4U2 will be released on August 28.


[DBFC] Strike the Blood & Black Bullet characters intro

Four new characters from Strike the Blood and Black Bullet are added to Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax today, and Sega also posted introduction video of the characters.



DBFC is coming to PS3 and PS Vita this Fall.

New USF4 promo posted: 3 on 3 featuring Umehara part 2

A new Ultra Street Fighter IV promotional video is posted today. This's the fourth promo for Japanese launch of the console version, which is August 7.


1st promo (Umehara tries Edition Select)
2nd promo (Umehara Hugo vs. Sako Decapre)
3rd promo (3 on 3) part 1

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Limited edition of Shining Resonance up for preorder at Amiami

Amiami is now accepting preorder of the limited edition of Shining Resonance.

With 16% discount, we're pretty sure that this's the cheapest place you can import, so act quick. (You can also preorder regular edition.)

The limited edition comes with Kirika figure (1/7 scale, 26cm tall).


PS3 RPG Shining Resonance will be released on December 11. One of the characters will be playable in Beast Note's most anticipated fighting game Blade Arcus.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

New Shining Resonance info

  • Elements Garden will compose all songs including BGMs for the game. (Elements Garden is the company famous for composing songs for anime and for Japan's most paid voice actress Nana Mizuki)
  • Kirika can sing "Rune Songs" and when she does her costume changes according to her song.
  • 4 Rune Songs are confirmed: song of Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter. (There'll be more.)
  • They called Kirika "Diva Magica" or Song Maiden of Rune.
  • The red costume in picture below is during song of Fall.


Shining Resonance will be released on December 11. One of the characters will be playable in Beast Note's most anticipated fighting game Blade Arcus.

Umehara to attend 10th anniversary event of Evo 2004 famous comeback

It's announced today that Super Arcade will host 10th anniversary event of Daigo Umehara's Evo 2004 comeback on November 21-23. The arcade, in California, was the place that the comeback took place. Umehara will attend and face Justin Wong once again at the event.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Umehara: Fighting Gamers manga announced

It's announced today that a new manga based on Daigo Umehara's life will be serialized on Shuukan Georgia (Weekly Georgia), starting from July 26. The manga is drawn by Kengoro Nishide from Umehara: To Live Is To Game.


Shuukan Georgia is a weekly magazine for men on smartphones. It has manga, female models, and articles you expect from men's magazines. By installing the free app, you can read it for free. The smartphone magazine is a collaboration between Georgia coffee and Japan's publishing giant Kadokawa.

It's also revealed that Umehara will come to promote the manga on KokuNuki Oukoku show (Kokujin and Nuki PPV show) on July 25, and TOPANGA TV on July 30.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

[Video] First look of Strike the Blood characters in DBFC

This's the first look of Strike the Blood characters, Yukina and Kojo, in Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax. The producer said that if nothing wrong, 4 new characters will be added to the game next week.



DBFC will also be coming to PS3 and PS Vita this Fall.

5 Capcom fighting games on 50% discount

So you're one of those closed mind people who like to live in the past and only play old Capcom's fighting games? We have a good news! Five games are now on 50% discount on Japan's PS Store. This sales will last until July 30.

PS3's Street Fighter X Tekken - 2,052 yen
Vita's Street Fighter X Tekken Standard Edition - 1,748 yen
Vita's Street Fighter X Tekken All Characters Edition - 2,262 yen

Street Fighter III 3rd Strike Online Edition - 771 yen

Vampire Resurrection - 771 yen

Capcom vs. SNK 2 Millionaire Fighting 2001 - 411 yen

Capcom Fighting Jam - 411 yen

[PS3 P4U2] Elizabeth & Kuma promo posted

 PS3 version of P4U2 will be released on August 28.




New USF4 promo posted: 3 on 3 featuring Umehara

A new Ultra Street Fighter IV promotional video is posted today. This's the third promo for Japanese launch of the console version.

This time they'll have 3 on 3 using the following rules.
1. First to five.
2. A player cannot play 2 times in a row.
3. The team that won the previous match will have to announce their player first in the next match.
4. The team that has 3 point lead will have to randomly pick one of the new characters.

Each player of the winning team wins Toshiba LCD TV Regza 42Z8. The show will continue in the fourth promo.



1st promo (Umehara tries Edition Select)
2nd promo (Umehara Hugo vs. Sako Decapre)

The console version of USF4 will be released in Japan on August 7. While the Japanese have access to the game earlier in the arcades, most of them don't have access to training mode like foreigners because of this. This's the reason we think the Japanese didn't really have advantage at Evo 2014.

New Shining Resonance info

New Shining Resonance information is revealed just now by Famitsu.

- A new party member is revealed. His name is Resti.
- He's voiced by Yuuichi Nakamura.
- He uses Armonix spear.
- He's older brother of Kirika the heroine.
- He leads the elf tribe's front line army.
- He's cool and reliable in the party, but acts silly to Kirika.
- From the screenshot, he most likely excels in ice magic.
- Kirika is seen in new costume.
- On the field, weather changes.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

[Video] Evolution 2014 viewer peak

We told you that Evolution 2014 had 149,470 viewers peak, but some may wonder is our number correct? The answer is here. We even have the moment captured.

Note that the number of the last three years could be higher if we can count viewers from Niconico. (Niconico only shows unique views aka. attendees)



In case you want more numbers:

Evolution 2013 - 145,099 viwers (Marvel)
Evolution 2012 - 98,100 viewers (Marvel)
Evolution 2011 - 82,000 + 4200 viewers (SF4)
Evolution 2010 - 48,000 viewers (SF4)

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Koihime Enbu releasing July 17

It's so sudden but  it's good. It's announced today that Koihime Enbu will be released in the Japanese arcades on July 17.

Koihime Enbu is the sequel of Shin Koihime Musou: Otome Taisen Sangokushi Engi (arcades, PC, PS3). (They make the name shorter probably to avoid confusion.) There're 3 new characters: Sui, Nagi, and Minmei.

This's a game that Beast Note recommends. It's footsie-based Samurai Shodown style. You can do long combos only after a counterhit by the move called Hougeki (It's SF4's Focus Attack minus Armor and Dash Cancel). There's no comeback mechanics.




Monday, July 14, 2014

Dacidbro commentating Hearthstone

Now that's appropriate.


Evolution 2014 Day 3 summary

Information
- Niconico to stream Evo 2014
- Evolution 2014 Day 0 summary
- Umehara's Road to Evo 2014 champ
- JFGC's new low: Going to Evo just to do PPV show
- GODSGARDEN to do PPV stream
- Kana Ueda confirmed, learns English for Evo 2014
- Nagisa to cosplay at Evo 2014
- Beast Note's Evo 2014 wishlist
- Evolution 2014 Day 1 summary
- Evolution 2014 Day 2 summary 
- Bon-chan to win Evo2014

BBCP
9:24 - [Winners] Dogura 2-1 Yoshiki *39088v
9:36 - [Winners] Garireo 2-0 N-O *42436v
9:47 - [Losers] Tiku 2-0 Tochigin *45122v
9:54 - [Losers] DoraBang 2-0 SG *49090v
10:02 - [Losers] Tiku 0-2 Yoshiki *51773v
10:10 - [Losers] DoraBang 2-1 N-O *54861v
10:23 - [Losers] DoraBang 2-0 Yoshiki *55661v
10:33 - [Winners] Garireo 0-3 Dogura *62145
10:46 - [Losers] Garireo 3-2 DoraBang *64938
11:04 - [Grand Final 1] Garireo 3-2 Dogura *70196 *Dogura lost big lead in 2R5G
11:19 - [Grand Final 2] Garireo 3-2 Dogura *80861 *Dogura lost big lead in 3R4G

Killer Instinct
12:00 - [Winners] Rico Suave 1-0 Tswagg *64315
12:04 - [Winners] CDJR 2-0 Justin Wong *65341
12:14 - [Losers] Pretty E 0-2 Guttermagic *68528
12:22 - [Losers] IC ENTH MyGod88 2-0 Mr Grimmz *69166
12:28 - [Losers] TSwagg 0-1 Guttermagic *69631
12:35 - [Losers] Justin Wong 2-1 IC ENTH MyGod88 *73076
12:45 - [Losers] Justin Wong 2-1 Guttermagic *79032
12:57 - [Winners] CDJR 3-0 Rico Suave *81455
13:05 - [Losers] Rico Suave 3-2 Justin Wong *82878
13:18 - [Grand Final ] CDJR 3-1 Rico Suave *88517

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
17:04 - [Winners] Justin Wong 3-1 Flocker *107817
17:13 - [Winners] F.Champ 3-0 Jan *113150
17:28 - [Losers] Marn 0-3 ChrisG *113821 *lovely comeback from Chris G in 3G
17:35 - [Losers] RayRay 3-1 Insaynne *117728
17:48 - [Losers] Flocker 0-3 ChrisG *115650
18:08 - [Losers] RayRay 3-2 Jan *119004
18:16 - [Losers] RayRay 0-3 ChrisG *121467
18:24 - [Winners] F.Champ 2-3 Justin Wong *129228
18:40 - [Losers] F.Champ 2-3 ChrisG *138864
18:58 - [Grand Final] Justin Wong 3-1 ChrisG *149470v

Ultra Street Fighter IV
19:52 - [Winners] Bon-chan (Sag) 3-1 Gackt (Fei) * 119421
2-1
1-2
2-1 *Unsafe grand tiger shot cost Bon 2R
2-1
20:07 - [Winners] Snake Eyes (Zan U1) 1-3 Fuudo (Fei U1) *124340
1-2
1-2
2-1 *SE changed to U2 in this game *close 3R
1-2 *intense 2R *close 3R
20:25 - [Losers] Momochi (Juri U2) 0-3 Louffy (Ros U2) *126140
0-2
1-2
1-2  *Momochi changed to Ken U2 *close 1R (Louffy mistake for blocking chip firebal)
20:40 - [Losers] Ricky Ortiz (Ruf U1) 3-1 Sako (ERy U2) *128916
2-1
2-1 *huge comeback from Ricky in 3R
1-2 *20 hit combo by Sako in 3R
2-1
20:55 - [Losers] Gackt (Fei U1) 0-3 Louffy (Ros U2) *129027
00:00 - [Losers] Snake Eyes (Zan U1) (P3G) 3-0 Ricky Ortiz (Ruf U1) *128313
21:26 - [Losers] Snake Eyes (Zan U1) 2-3 Louffy (Ros U1) *129205
21:37 - [Winners Final] Bon-chan (Sag U1) 3-1 Fuudo (Fei U1) *128078
2-0
2-0
0-2
2-1 *very close 2R *intense 3R
21:48 - [Losers Final] Louffy (Ros U2) 3-0 Fuudo (Fei U1) *123183
2-0
2-0
2-1 *nice comeback in 2R by Luffy
22:09 - [Grand Final 1] Louffy (Ros U2) 3-1 Bon-chan (Sag U2) *1265542-0 *very close 1R
2-0 *very close 1R (Bon failed to go for timeout) *very close 2R
0-2
2-0 *very close 2R
22:14 - [Grand Final 2] Louffy (Ros U2) 3-1 Bon-chan (Sag U2) *130396
2-1
2-1 *very close 1R
0-2
2-0

Non-match result updates
X:XX - Fun Fact: Evo2013 had 145099v peak.
X:XX - Fun Fact: SFxTK sold around 58,000 first week. (TKxSF expected to sell less.)
8:12 - Venue
8:57 - Xie and Dacid Bro at commentator's desk 
9:06 - Guy with Idolmaster mantle
9:08 - 15381v
9:18 - Nagisa (cosplaying Amane) and Tsujigawa and ASW's Mori on Nico
9:22 - Crossdressing Yoshiki is on stage with Dogura. 30117v
9:25 - Watch official stream because we like Xie ('s commentary) and nothing good will ever come from Mori anyway. (And what's the point of having Nagisa when she barely plays this game)
9:35 - WOW REAL TIME ONSCREEN BRACKET THIS'S SO HIGH TECH.
9:53 - Kana Ueda is in front row.
10:22 - Mori is gone.
10:33 - Super awkward moment by DoraBang (playing with the crowd).
10:43 - Fun Fact: In Japan, BlazBlue is officially pronounced without Z sound, BlayBlue. Blame Mori.
11:28 - Dacidbro needs to calm down. Commentating, not cheering.
11:34 - Dacidbro is offically a bad commentator. "This's not human. He's not human. He's a legend. This's the birth of a GOD." (shout) Only Zhi would say that!
11:40 - Mori and Kana Ueda on stage for award ceremony
11:51 - Garireo, Mori, Kana Ueda on Nico. Mori cried. Then no one talks, R has to come out to take the mic and do interview.
11:52 - Heartbreaking: Gyas, Dogura's girlfriend cried.
11:55 - Fun Fact: Garireo won only 6 games against Dogura. Dogura won 7. Is this Injustice?
11:59 - Filthierich and Maximilian are KI commentators
12:03 - R is left alone. But we don't think anyone in Japan can commentate Killer Instinct /hyperbole
12:05 - OGTY, the Marvel player, will commentate this.
12:19 - Dogura cried, for the first time in a tournament. He said 2nd place is the worst (feeling).
12:30 - "Garireo-san" is trending in Japan.
13:10 - Umehara will have autograph session at 1:30.
13:32 - A Nintendo's party game is next. Let's take a nap.
13:40 - Nico showing people at GODSGARDEN's Evo 2014 public viewing.
16:23 - Umehara Deal with It Mode and Markman
16:30 - Markman vs. Kana Ueda
16:35 - We woke up in time. We skipped the entire tournament to the exact moment the grand final ended. Wonderful. 138554v
16:49 - Do people pay to see KSK sleeping?
17:02 - UMvC3 intro. What do you call a rapping that has no rhyming?
17:02 - Yipes and Skisonic on the mic. Quick, start counting buzzword and "ooh" from Yipes. For us, mute. Nico's commentary is useful for a time like this.
17:10 - What happened to Magus123? He was the best Marvel commentator. No buzzword, no fake gangster accent.
17:26 - GamerBee Yun Motteru (JFGC's inside joke about how GamerBee has Yun as sub)
17:46 - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes trailer: Best part of Marvel right now.
18:04 - Hatia and Abegen commentating on Nico. They're doing decent job.
18:39 - Why they have no highlight replay (after a match) this year?
19:10 - UMvC3 sets new viewer peak Evo record
19:16 - ChrisG trending in Japan. Imagine ChrisG being top P4U player, Japan would love him so much.
19:17 - Umehara and Markman on Nico. HYPE!
19:19 - Announcement from Markman: New fightstick launching in Japan same day with console USF4 in August. MadCatz will be at Tokyo Game Show, there'll be tournament.
19:21 - Harada on stage. Announcing Pokejuggler 7. More info July 25 at ComicCon.
19:25 - Award time *118923v
19:28 - Annual combo video time
19:30 - Official stream dies, Nico still ok. Nico master race confirmed.
19:34 - Official stream is back. 70,112v
19:38 - Ono on stage. Expect NOTHING. 104124v
19:41 - Annual Ono's Shoryuken group pic.
19:42 - Ono's gone. Nothing happened.
19:45 - R and Haitani to commentate on Nico
19:48 - USF4 intro. INDESTRUCTIBLE
19:49 - OMG top 8players intro video
19:50 - Seth Killian and James Chen to commentate
20:11 - One of the most patient players in Japan vs. impatient Zangief. You know what will happen.
20:28 - Momochi picked Juri.... Enjoy not winning Evo. (Ken hour used = years, Juri = 3 months)
20:48 - People need to stop spreading 5 Gods myth. It's just a list made up by fanboys who keep repeating even before SF4 and no achievements considered. (Unless "repeat until it's a fact" is your thing) Do you keep passing on stranger's tier list for years? No? Then stop.
21:04 - Mago joins R and Haitani on Nico.
22:15 - James Chen is trying to say Louffy could be the first non-Asian champ, despite the fact that Louffy is Asian.
22:26 - Bon lost 4 very close rounds in first set. C'est la vie.
XX:XX - Umehara with booth babe.
XX:XX - Umehara with Mad Catz crew
XX:XX - Umehara, Nyanshi, Tokido cheering Bon-chan

Days After
- Eita said people at Evo were mistaken him for Mago 2 times. Previous year 3 times. And 4 years ago when he was with Tokido, a guy who wanted Mago's autograph made disappointing expression when he learnt that it's not Mago. That's Eita's highlight.

Saturday, July 12, 2014

[Evo2014] Our humble opinion

"Why didn't you counterpick Dhalsim with Yun?!"

"If I win, I want to win with honor. ....I want to win with my true ability."

*SLAPS*


"Do you think Capcom thought about the meaning of life when they made this game????"

Evolution 2014 Day 1 summary

Information
- Niconico to stream Evo 2014
- Evolution 2014 Day 0 summary
- Umehara's Road to Evo 2014 champ
- JFGC's new low: Going to Evo just to do PPV show
- GODSGARDEN to do PPV stream
- Kana Ueda confirmed, learns English for Evo 2014
- Nagisa to cosplay at Evo 2014
- Beast Note's Evo 2014 wishlist

Pools
8:50 - Infiltration (Aku) 2-0 775 Yao (Cam) *28,000v
9:06 - KB (Abe) 0-2 Xian (Gen) *30,100v
9:18 - Arturo "Sabin" Sanchez (Ros) 0-2 (P2G) Cabbage (Vip) *34,400v
9:39 - Todakai507 (Gen) 0-2 Yossan (Juri) *32,000v 61,200u
9:48 - Dieminion (Gui) 2-1 Xiaohai (Cam) *37300v *DM went to hell and back
10:04 - Illija (Aku) 2-0 Gootecks (Ros) *39100v
10:20 - Haitani (Ruf) 2-0 Tuck (Ruf) *42300v
10:26 - Christian Santos (Sak) 0-2 Nuki (Chun) *42900v
10:33 - S42 Blanka (Bla) 0-2 Latif (Vip) *41200v
11:13 - Kaneka (Dec) 0-2 (P1G) Momochi (Ken) *42400v 85700u
11:19 - Ryan Hart (Sag) (P1G) 2-0 Floe (ERy/Yan) *42400
12:47 - Samson (Chun) 0-2 Koji KOG (Haw) *39,600v
12:54 - Isauro Mishima (ERy) 0-2 Laugh (ERy) *41300v
12:58 - KSK (Abe) (P3G) 2-1 Dragoomba (Ruf) *43,200v *somewhat great comeback
13:10 - Cryoh (Gui) 0-2 (P2G) GamerBee (Ado) *43,700v
13:28 - PR Rog (Box) 2-0 PieGuy (Cod) *43,300v
13:49 - G Flow (Dan) 0-2 GamerBee (Ado) *45,900v
14:14 - Semitry (Hak) 0-2 Nyanshi (Sag) *47600v
14:24 - KSK (Abe) 2-0 Fraser Ching (Cam) *48300v
14:30 - Dawgen Hower (Zan) 0-2 Air (Ryu) *48700v
15:32 - Mago (Fei) 2-0 Li (Haw)
15:53 - K Brad (Cam) 2-1 Somniac (Dic) *50400v
16:15 - Smug (Dud) 2-0 Stebs (Ryu) *53000v
16:31 - MOV (Yun) 2-0 Yomi Knishes (Vip) *52200
16:38 - Layec (Hak) 0-2 Misse (Mak) *51600v
16:46 - Bon-chan (Sag) 2-0 BrolyLegs (Chu) *53000v
16:52 - AKG Grandmaster B (Hon) 0-2 Umehara (ERy) *53800v
0-2 *P1R, almost P2R
1-2 *missed Ultra timing in 1R
17:16 - Umehara (ERy) 2-0 Emersion (Claw) *52500
2-0
2-0
17:25 - Dakou (Cam) 2-0 C-Los (Ken) *52800
17:31 - Mike Ross (Hon) 2-0 Daytrip (Fue)
17:52 - Flash Metroid (Cod/Zan) 0-2 Alex Valle (Ryu) *53800

Quarter Final
18:47 - XSK Samurai (ERy) 0-2 Koji KOG (Haw) *46100
18:51 - Eita (Aku) 2-1 Shinba (Abe) *50400
19:03 - Brentt (Ruf) 1-2 Taiga (Yun) *49800
19:13 - Cabbage (Vip) 2-1 Tampa Bison (Dic) *54200
19:16 - [Losers] Umehara (ERy) 2-0 Alex Valle (Ryu) *61300
2-0
2-0
19:24 - Sanford (Oni) 1-2 Mago (Fei) *60900
19:33 - NGL Chris (Ken) 0-2 Xian (Gen) *60400
19:51 - Marq Teddy (Guy) 1-2 Sako (Ele) *66200 *Sako almost lost

Non-match result updates (Las Vegas local time)
7:56 - Crowd before open
8:02 - Niconico stream starts
8:02 - Venue
8:16 - Arturo "Sabin" Sanchez is both player and judge in the pool. Controversy awaits.
8:21 - Nagisa cosplaying Lilith (she prepared just for this event)
8:30 - 22,300 viewers on Twitch. 33,000 unique views on Nico.
8:31 - R eating something on Nico stream again (same as last year). Bad MC.
8:32 - Fuudo on Nico.
8:54 - James Chen in red shirt. Ultra David looks normal.
8:59 - Yossan is in Losers already.
9:00 - 29,300v
9:00 - R is eating while commentating. What a pig.... (And how does Nico allow this?)
9:02 - Company booths
9:08 - MomoChoco
9:09 - Someone in chat said Xian has world's strongest eyebrows. Agreed.
9:10 - Tokido
9:15 - Uu (pronounced Ooh, KoF player) and Umezono (3rd Strike player) on Nico.
9:21 - Tokido, Eita, Haitani went through their 2nd fight.
9:23 - R realized half way that he's supposed to commentate Cabbage match, not talking to guests.
9:50 - ASW's Mori is in LA. (presumably with Kana Ueda)
9:51 - Cabbage survived first pool.
9:57 - Eita and Xian survived first pool.
10:01 - KSK on the mic. He said GODSGARDEN channel is "currently" free. It's too late, man. Damage is done. You locked people out from the beginning, some people already paid you, and now you say it's free for now? And we know you'll charge people for a crappy "show" again soon. (Like charging people to listen to your karaoke session you did.)
10:11 - Note that KSK doesn't actively play SF4 so don't expect any real commentating.
10:14 - 70,900u
10:14 - Nagisa playing something
10:29 - ChocoBlanka survived first pool
10:33 - Hameko (writer) on the mic. He's interviewing Gen, 13 year old Japanese Tekken player sent by Twitch (coming with his father).
10:54 - Kazunoko won first fight
11:17 - No commentator on Nico at the moment because R goes to play. No complaint from us.
11:34 - Harada x Nagisa
11:42 - Nuki survived first pool. Kokujin & Nuki on Nico.
11:58 - Sentosu survived first pool.
12:04 - R is back on the mic, was eliminated in first pool.
12:09 - Kazunoko survived first pool. He said Alex Myer (Sakura player) almost got him in the Winners final.
12:21 - 99300u
12:24 - Cabbage on Nico.
12:33 - Momo Choco on Nico.
12:44 - Sentosu (MC, Poison player) and AO (Tekken player) on Nico.
12:52 - 111,800c
13:07 - Sako survived first pool.
13:17 - Mizoteru lost his passport and iPhone last night....
13:21 - First pic of Nyanshi
13:21 - Nagisa & Itabashi Zangief
13:25 - Momochi survived first pool.
13:33 - Koji KOG survived first pool.
13:43 - Fuudo survived first pool.
13:51 - R wants GamerBee match to end quick so he can eat burger. Yes, the pig is eating again. They even show him eating at the desk beside the chewing sound. Shame.
13:56 - Japanese Smash Bros. players on Nico.
14:01 - Note that Niconico does not focus on streaming every matches. They sometimes cut it to show the guests.
14:04 - KSK in Losers now.
14:08 - Up until now, R didn't really provide a professional commentary.
14:15 - Nyanshi is playing and R is still talking to Smash players. This's a nightmare.
14:20 - We reached our limit. Closing Niconico and watch official stream instead (just like what we did last year). 実況・解説 しっかりしろ.
14:28 - James Chen doesn't realize that KSK looks so happy after a win because KSK thinks he's an underdog.
14:28 - KSK survived first pool in Losers
15:18 - Itabashi Zangief survived first pool.
15:25 - ASW's Mori arrived at venue.
16:26 - Mizoteru survived first pool.
17:07 - It's a break, watch Nico in case there's Umehara interview. Square Enix producer Takamasa Shiba on Nico... for no reason. He's a fan and friend of Umehara though. He even calls Umehara "Ume-chan." Hey, how about Dissidia sequel with Umehara as battle planner?
17:09 - Mago survived first pool.
17:21 - Bon-chan survived first pool.
17:28 - Clearly Nico stream is smoother. Only we have to deal with the idiots on the mic.
17:36 - Kana Ueda arrived at the venue!
17:45 - Why are R and Shiba talking about BUKKAKE? WTF.
17:59 - Kokujin survived first pool.
18:02 - Now R is inviting Shiba to his PPV show. Great. 格げー関係ないなら消えろ....
18:05 - Nico basically put random people on stream and expect things to happen. No script, no time limit. 台本ないのはまずい
18:13 - Shiba just called Square Enix "Kuso-Enix." That's brave.
18:19 - Infiltration put in Losers by Velociraptor
18:22 - It's supposed to be a closing statement, why is Shiba is still talking?
18:28 - Shiba finally gone. Now only R is gone too.
18:30 - Umehara vs. F Champ, where's the stream!
18:34 - Umehara put in Losers by F.Champ. So it's E Ryu vs. Dhalsim, and Umehara didn't counterpick with Yun? Our worst nightmare.
18:41 - Official stream is showing trailer of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
18:44 - Skisonic & Ultra Davis on the mic.
18:50 - While KOG is playing, Nico has Harada and Tekken players talking without the match showed. gg
18:58 - Skisonic will do 15% better if he doesn't randomly raise his voice.
19:06 - Skisonic needs to realize that the hype comes from the match, not the tone of his voice or the way he talks.
19:08 - Ski and Ultra David got trolled by fake result, saying Umehara is out of tournament.
19:25 - Sentosu put in Losers by Taiga.
19:32 - Sako beat Laugh.
19:34 - Nagisa vs. Ono
19:35 - R begins actual commentating. Thank God.
19:38 - Haitani put Eita in Losers.
19:39 - Cabbage and Tokido put in Losers by Snake Eyes.
19:51 - Despite saying he's a fan, Ski still doesn't realize that Sakonoko is just online ID, not his alias. Sakonoko now means Sako's daughter.....
19:55 - Yossan eliminated Xiaohai
19:58 - Fuudo the mic. Good.
20:01 - Umehara elimitaed by John Choi.
23:28 - Umehara vs. Nagisa vs. Ono

Since Umehara is out of the tournament, we end our record here as usual.

Friday, July 11, 2014

Pre-Evo2014 Umehara interview from Gadget Tsuushin

Quick translation from interview with Daigo Umehara + 50 questions done by Gadget Tsuushin. Since we have Evo this week, we won't be able to complete it until several days later. (It'd be nice if other sites pick this up.)

  • The tournament is big so no one has a lot of chance, but Umehara is more confident than last year.
  • Outside Japanese players, the foreign players who were at TOPANGA Asia League are players to watch out.
  • Do you like your name? Surname is average, I like my first name.
  • Tell us your setback in a day. English journal.
  • Anything you're into recently? Game of Thrones. People recommended. I even subscribed to PPV.
  • Your favorite vehicle? Bullet train.
  • Antonio Inoki or Giant Baba (Japanese pro wrestler)? Inoki.
  • Zoo or aquarium? Zoo.
  • Dog or cat? Dog
  • Do you walk fast? I don't know now. Fast in the past.
  • Take one thing for isolated island. If talking about usefulness, portable cooking stove.
  • Do you have luck in lottery? It's not bad in game tournament, but I can't remember winning bingo meeting.
  • What's the thing that you use for the longest time? Probably bicycle (2-3 years)
  • Which part of body do you wash first in bath? Head then left shoulder.
  • How often do you go to parent's house? One time per 2 months.
  • Where do you feel comfortable the most in your house? Kitchen, I like personal space like that.
  • Do you use kitchen knife? Yes.
  • What's your special menu? Pasta.
  • What's your favorite food? Noodle.
  • What's your favorite drink? Ice coffee, beer.
  • Rice or bread? Rice. I don't really need bread.
  • What's your favorite manga? Too many, but I say Gambare Genki
  • Which saga do you like in JoJo. 4th Saga.
  • Your favorite JoJo character? Anasui (Narciso Anasui)
  • Your favorite Stand? If you don't count the ones that stop time, Tonio's cooking Stand. (Tonio Trussardi)
  • Your favorite color? Light brown. If I have to paint everything in one color.
  • What do you know about Gundam? Amuro is amazing, Char is his rival.
  • Your favorite dialect? Kyoto dialect.
  • Your favorite actress? I like women with big mouth. If you mean enjoying her work, I say Mikako Tabe.
  • Good looking bad woman or bad looking good woman? If they're extremely bad I don't want both.
  • What game did you beat in game center? Beside fighting games, Tetris Grand Master.
  • You favorite Tetris block? Reverse L.
  • What Dragon Quest job did you like? If talking about DQ3, Sage and then Jester.
  • What about Final Fantasy job? Samurai, Mimic.
  • Except fighting game, what game did you touch recently? Dark Soul 2 and Grand Theft Auto 5.
  • What's your play style in GTA? I drag and shoot around everything except old persons and kids.
  • Pick one character from SNK to play. Billy or Geese.
  • Between Daigo and Beast and Umehara which one makes you feel happy when people call you? Ume-chan.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

PS3 P4U2 promo #3 posted

PS3 version of P4U2 will be released on September 28.


Shining Fan Festa 2014 announced

It's announced that Shining Fan Festa 2014 will be held at Makuhari Event Hall on November 2.


Details
- Shining theme songs concert (Nana Mizkuki confirmed to sing)
- Live original drama
- Shining Resonance introduction
- Participants: Souichiro Hoshi, Nana Mizuki, Hiroshi Kamiya, Asami Shimoda, Satomi Akesaka, Nobunaga Shimazaki, Saori Hayami, Asami Seto, Tetsu Inada, Mai Aizawa, etc.


Shining Fan Festa is the event for Shining series fans that was first held in May 2012.

JFGC's new low: Going to Evo just to do PPV show

As expected, Kokujin and Nuki today started streaming pay-per-view show from Las Vegas, just like what GODSGARDEN is doing.

Beast Note has been following the JFGC for years now but we can say that today is its lowest point. Some people go to Evo just to do PPV show. They're now asking for money for what once was free, not to mention that they should offer it for free because the fans are what made them who they are today.

In September 2013, Kokujin and Nuki launched his own PPV show called KokuNuki. The show struggles for a relevant content because they're not a top SF4 player and the guests are mostly their friends that you'll ask who? The show then featured various cross-promotion of online games or mobile games. What they're doing now is purely business.

For what GODSGARDEN has done, better read The Fall of GODSGARDEN and article above.

The JFGC fans gave them social position, these people turn it into business opportunity, and then use the fans to fund their trip.



Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Sample voices added to Shining Resonance site

Sample voices of 6 characters are added to Shining Resonance's official site today. For the first time, we get to hear the voice of Sonia.

Sonia
"Don't worry. You're safe now. I'm Sonia, knight of Astria."
"Stop worrying already! Just follow me. Alright?!"

(More at the site)

Sonia will be playable in Beast Note's most anticipated fighting game Blade Arcus.

Shining Resonance's Kirika figure PV posted

Sega is so sure that you'll buy this game so instead of showing gameplay video first they posted a promotional video of Kirika figure from the limited edition of the game first!


PS3 RPG Shining Resonance will be released on December 11.

[Video] Introduction to USF4 by UltraChen

This's recorded videos from UltraChen's First Attack stream, from the episodes that introduce you Ultra Street Fighter IV.



An "introduction to" video like this is very useful but people of the FGC rarely do it.

Evolution 2014 Day 0 Summary

July 9

- Tsujigawa (BlazeBlue player, crossdresser cosplayer) forgot his passport, he'll be one day late.
- KSK, R, Sentosu at airport. [pic][pic]
- [15:30 JST] Many Japanese players from all regions (Fuudo, Kazunoko, Itazan, KSK team, Nuki Kokujin team, Sako, Kansai team) are already on the planes. [pic]
- Sako travels alone (due to this)

July 10
- [6:00 J] Evo's main screen [p1][p2]
- [6:30 J] GODSGARDEN begins its pay-per-view stream. (So if they film you, you have right to ask them for money)
- [8:10 J] The first wave of players arrived Las Vegas.
- [8:00 J] Evo's main screen [pic]
- [18:25 PDT] Sako's still in LA.
- [18:30 PDT] Fuudo/ItaZan group arrived Las Vegas.
- [20:25 PDT] Sako arrived hotel.
- [22:00 PDT] Eita arrived Las Vegas
- [Midnight PDT] R met GamerBee, Justin Wong, Floe at casino [pic]
- [16:00 J/Midnight PDT] Umehara, Tokido, Mago, Bon-chan departed
- [9:45 PDT] Mago group arrived San Francisco.
- [13:50 PDT] Mago group arrived Las Vegas.
- [18:26 PDT] Venue [p1][p2]
- [19:10 PDT] Tokido, Bon-chan, Mago, Umehara at dinner [pic]

Japan's theater to show SF: Assassin's Fist

It's announced that a theater in Shibuya will show Street Fighter: Assasin's Fist on August 2. Capcom's producer Sugiyama and AP Ayano will also have a talk show on that day. The ticket price is 1,300 yen.

Monday, July 7, 2014

Umehara's Road to Evo 2014 Champion

Evolution 2014's finalized brackets is out.
  • Daigo Umehara is in Pool E59 (USF4)
  • Winning 9 times straight will take him to top 8 (last day) in Winner bracket.
  • Possible opponent after the first pool: F.Champ, Alex Vale, Flash Metroid, RF
  • Possible opponent in the next stage: Ricky Ortiz, John Choi, Buktooth, Dogura, Banana Ken, Skisonic
  • Possible opponent in the next stage (just before top 8): Justin Wong, Smug, Chris G, Dakou, Bon-chan, MOV, Kokujin, Acqua, Mike Ross

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Pre-EVO 2014 Roundtable Discussion feat. Umehara

Tonight, 4Gamer.net posted Pre-EVO 2014 Roundtable Discussion featuring 6 top players: Daigo Umehara, Tokido, Momochi, Bon-chan, Itabashi Zangief, and Kazunoko. The article is in both Japanese and English. We don't have time to compare the translation yet but you might want to read it first.

The 4th TOPANGA Charity Cup summary

- The 4th TOPANGA Charity Cup announced
- Umehara confirmed for the 4th TOPANGA Charity Cup
- 635 players registered (final number)
- Main stream
- Sub stream 
- By subscribing in those stream links above, you donoate $9.99 to charity via TOPANGA.
- A Block
- B Block
- C Block
- D Block
- E Block
- F Block
- G Block
- H Block
- Brackets
- After grand final Capcom's Ayano came to talk about something not important at all (he always does this....)
- Viewers peak 20,000+ at main stream, 9,000 at sub stream.
- They raised 670,000 yen to charity at the venue alone. (not counting online donation)
- GetNews has event report.
- Dengeki has event report.
- Famitsu has event report.

Pictures
- Venue in the morning
- Team Hori Japan participated (The Employee)
- Kindevu + KSK
- Fuudo + Sako + Kazunoko
- Negi + Sako
- Crowd at venue
- KSK playing
- Tokido playing 2nd fight
- Team Kachitagari after winning 2nd fight: Fuudo, Bon, Sako, Kazunoko, Tokido
- Bon-chan after saving his team from elimination (by defeating Hanamaruki)
- Team Mada Hashiritai eliminated: Nekojita, KSK, Sentosu, Oshino Pepe, R
- Capcom's Ono + Sako
- Sako playing something on his phone (Love Live?)
- Mago's annoying alter ego
- Crowd wathing grand final
- Ono after grand final
- Team Kachitagari after grand final
- Umehara + R (commentator)
- Sako + Umehara


Team TOPANGA eliminated in the third fight

Honjitsu no Bonus Game 5-4 TOPANGA
Gen@CT (Ado) 0-2 Nyanshi (Sag)
Yano (Rol) 0-2 Nyanshi (Sag)
PE (Gen) 2-1 Nyanshi (Sag)
PE (Gen) 1-2 Umehara (ERy) *huge comeback in 1R from Umehara
Root (Ado) 2-0 Umehara (ERy)
Root (Ado) 0-2 Mago (Fei)
Shinchan (Ele) 2-1 Mago (Fei)
Shinchan (Ele) 2-0 Misse (Mak)
Shinchan (Ele) 2-1 Nemo (Rol)


Complaints
TOPANGA didn't reveal the stream links until the moment the tournament started. A lot of people were at the TOPANGA TV channel and knew it from some guys who were kind enough to wait and redirect people.

We don't know why make a good tournament just to fail at PR. They should announce days before and also keep tweeting about it during the tournament. This's why we miss Niconico. They have better management and will put the stream on the first page.

A lot of people also didn't know about the online donation via subscription. They should mention about it on the official Twitter or at the stream page. In fact, we think they should make the chat sub only. There's nothing wrong with it, since the money will go to charity and also make chat peaceful. (A cute chat icon for the sub would be nice too)

Saturday, July 5, 2014

First look of TOPANGA Charity Cup veneu this morning

First look of The 4th TOPANGA Charity Cup venue this morning from Mago-san. The venue, Plaza Capcom Iruma, is actually a game center but apparently is prepared for the 600-man tournament.

Note that this place will be closed down tomorrow (this branch will be gone for good), this tournament will be the best way to say goodbye.


600 players register for 4th TOPANGA Charity Cup

TOPANGA has made the final update tonight for the online registration. It's revealed that 600 players 103 teams have registered for The 4th TOPANGA Charity Cup. (And players can still register until 1 hour before the tournament starts on Saturday.)

For reference

1st TOPANGA Charity Cup - 24 teams
2nd TOPANGA Charity Cup - 47 teams
3rd TOPANGA Charity Cup - more than 400 players, 90 teams

TOPANGA Charity Cup is Japan's biggest community-organized fighting game tournament in term of number of well-known players.

Niconico to stream Evo 2014

It's announced today that Niconico will be streaming Evolution 2014. This's the same collaboration (Evo, Niconico, MadCatz ) as the last year.

Last year, it was a big surprise when they announced this (even though we had hoped for it) because the announcement came just 2 days before the tournament.

Stream links

Friday, July 4, 2014

Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax coming to PS3 & Vita

It's announced just now that Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax will be released on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita this Fall.

There's no other information but we expect it to have at least 12 playable characters and 18 supporters like in the arcade version.

The fighting game is a project to celebrate 20th anniversary of the light novel magazine Dengeki Bunko. It was released to the arcades on March 18. (And we have How to Play since mid-February)

Shining Resonance Twitter icons released

A set of Shining Resonance official Twitter icons is released today. Please use it! Really. We beg you.


PS3 RPG Shining Resonance will be released on December 11. Sonia (2nd from left) will be playable in Beast Note's most anticipated fighting game Blade Arcus.

550 players register for 4th TOPANGA Charity Cup

TOPANGA revealed today that 550 players, 98 teams have registered to compete in The 4th TOPANGA Charity Cup. (And players can still register until 1 hour before the tournament starts on Saturday.)

For reference

1st TOPANGA Charity Cup - 24 teams
2nd TOPANGA Charity Cup - 47 teams
3rd TOPANGA Charity Cup - more than 400 players, 90 teams

TOPANGA Charity Cup is Japan's biggest community-organized fighting game tournament in term of number of well-known players.

GODSGARDEN plans offstage PPV stream at Evo2014?

A six part (1,2,3,4,5,6) stream was planned yesterday by GODSGARDEN. The show, titled "EVO offstage stream in Las Vegas," will be streamed via GODSGARDEN's premium channel on Niconico. All of the stream pages have "Buy Ticket" button. While the button doesn't necessarily mean the shows are pay-per-view, they can kick non-ticket buyers out whenever they want to. (And we think they will.) (Update July 10: Yes, it's PPV)

We aren't sure if Evo organizer knows about this. Is this a collaboration and money will be split between GG and Evo? Or is this just a new scheme of GG's aggressive monetizing, and money is made behind Evo's back?

We wrote about GODSGARDEN's aggressive monetizing before, and this could be their new low. If it's as what we suspect, someone need to tap their shoulder and speak up.

GODSGARDEN founders are Hiroaki Inaba and KSK. Who's responsible to this downfall? We really hope it's not KSK.

KSK was once a homeless man in early 2011, due to the closing of Gamer's Vision–the game center (no longer sustainable then hit by earthquake) that is said to have caused him 90 million yen debt. He slept in his car that was given by someone at the hard time. He briefly worked as a bartender at a small bar where he met a rich businessman who then picked him up because of his fame. This's because he got a lot of supports from JFGC.

KSK is now living an upper middle class life. Beside GG's streams, he cohosts PPV Internet talk show "Mada Hashiritai" ("I Want to Keep Running") and sometimes game promotions. He also recently appeared on ads promoting highend PC brand as "the man who pioneered game streaming" "from the popular gaming stream on Niconico that has more than 25 million unique views."


Again, we don't want to write about this, but GG is biting the hands that feed them. They use the fame for various collaborations (which make them more famous itself), they get money from the companies, and still want fans to pay for something that should be free.

Thursday, July 3, 2014

433 players register for 4th TOPANGA Charity Cup

TOPANGA revealed today that 433 players, 81 teams have registered to compete in The 4th TOPANGA Charity Cup. (And players can still register until 1 hour before the tournament starts on Saturday.)

For reference

1st TOPANGA Charity Cup - 24 teams
2nd TOPANGA Charity Cup - 47 teams
3rd TOPANGA Charity Cup - more than 400 players, 90 teams

TOPANGA Charity Cup is Japan's biggest community-organized fighting game tournament in term of number of well-known players.

[PS3 P4U2] Kanji & Naoto PV posted

PS3 version of P4U2 will be released on August 28.





Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Tokido's autobiography coming July 16

Tokido's autobiography is coming out on July 16. The book title is "Todaisotsu Pro Gamer (Tokyo University graduated pro gamer)." It's priced at 821 yen.

[Evo2014] Let's look at the USF4 Pools

Notable Japanese players and their opponents in the pool (if nothing changes).

Pool A42
Yossan (Juri)

A43
Koji KOG (T-Hawk)

A45
Acqua

A49
Kazunoko
R (Guy player, commentator)

A53
Shinba

A55
Eita

A57
Tokido

A59
MOV

A61
Cabbage

B48
Soushihan KSK
Ryan Hart

B54
Sentosu

B56
Haitani

B63
Momochi

C46
Fuudo

C53
NeroBlanka (female Blanka player who's now using Yun)

C55
Nyanshi (Sagat player, TOPANGA founder)

C58
Oep

C62
Sako

D42
Kok

D53
Mago

D56
Misse

D60
Dogura
Justin Wong

E43
Bon-chan
Nuki

E45
Kokujin
Alex Valle

E47
ChocoBlanka

E59
Daigo Umehara

E63
RF
Smug

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

New Shining Resonance information

New Shining Resonance information from Famitsu.

Yuma Ilban (human form)
- His class is swordman.
- He doesn't excel in any type of magic.

Half-awaken Shining Dragon Ilban
- This form (called "Progressing Form") isn't the final form as it's described as "inexperienced legendary dragon" and "half awaken." This form is stronger than human form but has limit. When crossing the limit, he won't be able to control the power and will go "Rampage."
- His weapon is horns and claws.
- His class is dragon.
- (Dragon's) Breath attacks is counted as his main magic.
- His horns can sense the music from the Armonix.

Fromage
- She's voiced by Ryo Hirohashi.

Battle System
- You're given a total control to one character in the party. The rest will be controlled by AI.
- Similar to Final Fantasy XII's Gambit, you can give direction such as "Priority to Attack" or "Priority to Healing" or "No Attacking" or "Do as You Want" to the characters you don't directly control. (The battle is in realtime and happens on the field.)
- Giving directions is done by playing the music using Armonix.