A new Street Fighter IV national tournament appears!
by Ben Gilbert 
{ Feb 5th 2009 at 5:25AM }
Are you 'that guy' at the arcade? The guy calmly defeating challenger after challenger on the gray market Street Fighter IV cabinet, milking your dollar bill for all it's worth? You know, the guy stealing all our money? Well how would you feel if we told you that Capcom is partnering up with GameStop and the EVO Championship Series to bring you the very first Street Fighter IV National Tournament? Your head would explode?! Uh oh, maybe we should have kept this to ourselves...
Anyway, starting on February 21st at "locations EVERYWHERE" (warning: PDF link), GameStop will hold the first of three rounds determining the best of the best SFIV players in the country. Following that, the second round will take place on February 28th at "regional stores" and second-round victors will move on to the semi-finals on March 14th. Finally, the 16 winners of the semi-finals will be flown to San Francisco for the final competition, where they'll all receive the upcoming SFIV Mad Catz arcade sticks and fighting pads, limited edition tournament belts and a place in the semi-final bracket at the EVO World Finals in Las Vegas. But what, pray tell, does the winner of the final round get? How about an official Street Fighter IV arcade cabinet? If you haven't already burst out the door and run to a GameStop to sign up, you may want to do so posthaste.
Anyway, starting on February 21st at "locations EVERYWHERE" (warning: PDF link), GameStop will hold the first of three rounds determining the best of the best SFIV players in the country. Following that, the second round will take place on February 28th at "regional stores" and second-round victors will move on to the semi-finals on March 14th. Finally, the 16 winners of the semi-finals will be flown to San Francisco for the final competition, where they'll all receive the upcoming SFIV Mad Catz arcade sticks and fighting pads, limited edition tournament belts and a place in the semi-final bracket at the EVO World Finals in Las Vegas. But what, pray tell, does the winner of the final round get? How about an official Street Fighter IV arcade cabinet? If you haven't already burst out the door and run to a GameStop to sign up, you may want to do so posthaste.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
PollockRoc @ Feb 5th 2009 6:16AM
FUCK!
alright123k @ Feb 22nd 2009 10:01PM
I got to the second round so I'm happy. I just know the comp will get harder this round. I hope i make it to the 3rd round.
Chase @ Feb 5th 2009 6:27AM
Great post, Ben. ^_^
I signed up, but expect to lose if I have to use a normal 360 controller. =/
Chris "Sagat" G @ Feb 5th 2009 6:50AM
I called Gamespot about this tourney. .1st the stores than customer service.
The truth - Gamespot decided that the cost for using real Mad Catz 6 button controllers would be too high. So the tourney will be conducted on a standard Xbox controller.
So all Street Fighter fans you should just boycott this tourney and pickup your SFIV at Meijer or Wal-Mart. I sure as hell am going to thumb my nose at this company for this travesty.
KarlW @ Feb 5th 2009 8:10AM
Fat chance this will ever come to Europe.
We can't even get SSF2THDR on the PSN.
Murray @ Feb 5th 2009 8:18AM
They are using the regular Xbox controller? Sounds like it will be a battle of luck not skill. I'll pass...
acefondu @ Feb 5th 2009 8:21AM
Ewww Xbox controller? How will that determine the best Street Fighter? Ugh... I'll bet the Japanese are laughing at us right now. No serious SF combatant would argue for using that horrendous d-pad.
Still, mad props to Gamestop for finally doing something cool.
green11420 @ Feb 5th 2009 9:10AM
I don't play Street Fighter much, but this type of stuff should happen more often, and with more games. I'd love to see a Tekken Tournament. I'm not all that great, but it's something I would love to try out!
Gonzo @ Feb 5th 2009 10:41AM
I hear the gamestop employees are dressing up like EHonda to not only promote the event but also so they can offend both Asians and fatties at the same time.
http://www.kotaku.com.au/games/2009/01/gamestop_employees_in_fat_suits_and_the_ballad_of_ralph.html
Ghaleon @ Feb 5th 2009 12:19PM
Yeah, good luck with those pads.
On SRK the organizer of Evo was saying this is really the best way to open SF up to the average gamer, which is what made SFII popular in the first place. So despite the really gay prospects of A: A tournament at Gameslop, and B: Playing on ASS controllers, it's a good thing for the scene and for Capcom.
PRETTY E @ Feb 5th 2009 12:51PM
I wish they would push the tournament back a little. I haven't even had the opportunity to play the game let alone be extremely competitive in a tournament. Hopefully my old school SF2 skills can be applied to this game and perhaps I'll get lucky.
Deone @ Feb 5th 2009 1:38PM
Boycott the tourney and thumb my nose at a chance to win a SFIV cabinet? Fuck you. I'll play with a NES controller if they want.
MOT @ Feb 10th 2009 4:07PM
Do you have to pay to register? Or can you walk in?
syntacsugar @ Feb 22nd 2009 9:05PM
lol
i was playing SFIV in the gamestop and saw the huge poster i did good against the people i played so i decided to enter..it was free anyways. so i came back the next day and i played in this tourney today. and yes it was crappy u had to use regular xbox controllers....nobody was doing supers or ultras simply because nobody could pull them off. we even had to switch from 360 to ps3 cause the 360 would freeze lol. but it was still fun though. I really wish microsoft fixed the dang controllers, or at least madcatz continues to make a non limited edition version of the controllers, like without the fancy SFIV graphics, i think they would continue to sell regardless.oh lol and yeah it was either some people won from luck or by using one move the whole time lol.....crappy controllers
akuma88 @ Feb 22nd 2009 1:37AM
I'm sorry, but you guys just aren't confident in your SF skillz. That's like a bball player saying he plays crappy with a certain type of basketball. If you've got what it takes, you've got what it takes. Preiod. A regular Xbox controller has a joystick by the way and that's what I'm using now, but I used a D-pad my whole life before that. Excuses excuses.
By the way, I just advanced to Round 2 today. I'm hoping for a gnarly trip to Vegas, baby.
syntacsugar @ Feb 22nd 2009 9:18PM
i agree with green11420 this stuff should happen more often. i know the arcade scene is dying here, but especially where i'm from in CT , the closest arcade is down the road from the gamestop but gosh the machines are in horrible shape and theres never anyone there. it would be cool if this was a more common thing , whether evo is involved or not. it's one thing to play online but a totally diff experience when your opponent is right there and theres people watching. even though i've only played this game 3 separate times i think i'm better at street fighter period because playing against people is way harder then playing against the cpu.
Mike Skeez @ Feb 23rd 2009 3:31AM
I went to the first rnd and didn't make it.....and yes mutherf#%$ers I rest the blame entirely on the 360s steaming pile of a D-pad. Sorry but when it comes to SF, I shouldn't have to even worry about whether or not I'll sink an Ultra or accidentally jump. I have been a hardcore SF fan since Turbo hit the SNES. There's plenty of skill residing in my now calloused thumbs (GOD SFIV KICKS ASS!) but not when it comes to the 360 D-pad. Sorry no matter how you slice it, crappy is crappy.
Ryan @ Mar 3rd 2009 3:24AM
Would you really want to get flown to LA, probably the crappiest city in the united states, where mortality is really high, and you cant bring a gun on the plane, only to compete with the biggest piece of fighting game trash to ever hit known as the xbox 360 controller? Its a crapshoot, not a competition...and after you loose, you're in downtown LA hoping that dude eyeing you doesnt steal your shoes. if you want a real competition, save up money and enter yourself into EVO yourself and skip the middle man BS