Les americains n'iront pas faire du tourisme à vegas

As if the U.S. recession wasn’t bad enough, Japanese champions Daigo, Mago, and Tokido came and took a mammoth-sized bite out of hefty prize money that was up for grabs at the CEO and ReveLAtions, winning three out of the four big tournament games that weekend. Thanks to the magic of internet streaming, I had the pleasure of watching the US get owned simultaneously on both coasts. See that money in Daigo’s hands? That’s your money! Daigo took your money.

And the cherry on top had to be seeing old-man Viscant win the ReveLAtions Marvel vs. Capcom 3 tournament. I love you Viscant, but come on people, this guy is a fossil. Players under the age of 30, I’m calling you out. Get hungry and step up your game. It’s a tournament. Your job is to out-practice and out-perform the current generation of players. Let the stream monsters make kissy-faces at Daigo, Mike Ross, and Justin. For you, these guys are the enemy. Beat them. Win the tournament. Take their money.

We need a little more Wolfkrone in this new generation. Dude had already made top 8 at ReveLAtions, but lost a nail-biter to Mago and was eliminated. Good shit, right? Not to Krone. Dude stood up and walked right of the hallway. Looked like he was going to go jump off a bridge. Wolfkrone is used to winning, and anything less than winning is unacceptable.

So yeah, I’m pretty dissatisfied after this weekend. Part of what has made fighting games so special over the last 24 years has been the intense no-holds-barred competition and rivalries it’s bred. I know this makes me sound like a crotchety old man, but in my days you literally had to pay to play the game. When you beat someone, you made him pay to play you again. And again, and again. Pretty soon the guy had to go for more change, and that’s when you knew he was your bitch. These days top players are getting bigger and bigger payouts, but our overall competitive drive has waned. Today it’s too easy to beg for a patch, or just say the game is ass. If you don’t like the game, don’t play it. But if you are going to play it, play to win.

I’m waiting to see who out there is going to step it up and challenge the status quo. Is it you?