All week long, I’ve had this strange tension in my shoulders. I was hunched up, and was even having trouble sleeping. As Comic-Con came to a close, I couldn’t figured out the source of my weird aches, until I finally realized: it’s EVO time.

EVO is the World Series of Fighting Games, and it’s this weekend, July 29th through the 31st, in Las Vegas. EVO has been running for over a decade, and has grown from a small gathering of friends into the biggest fighting-game event on the planet, with thousands of competitors and fans attending from dozens of countries (46 countries are represented this year!). The best of the best come not only to win prizes, but to claim a place in fighting game history, to earn a name, and to test themselves at the highest levels.

For fighting game fans like me, it is so exciting that my body literally starts tensing this far in advance because of what I know is to come. Wonder how little kids feel when they are on their way to Disneyland? For fighting game lovers, this is that feeling.

If you’ve always wondered why people still talk about arcades, EVO is as close as you’ll come to seeing it for yourself. It’s this big space, filled with people who are — at the same time — your friends and your enemies. You can feel the thrill, excitement, and anxiety of competition all throughout the room. Champions add to their legacies, and total unknowns walk in the door and take down some of the best in the world. EVO is a place where anything goes, and everything is possible.

People scream. They jump. They get hyped. It comes straight from the heart, because this is what we do. It’s the shared sense of excitement, anticipation, and the incredible heart that the competitors have on display, and even if it’s just pixels on a screen, you can’t help but get swept up in it.

I was competing and working at EVO for years before I came to Capcom, including a few finals appearances :)… though I never won :(…. But now, approaching it from the other side, I’m proud of everything Capcom will bring to the event in 2011. First and foremost we’ll be there with early access playable prototypes of our new fighters, including Street Fighter X Tekken, Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3, and a near-final build of Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition. In addition to the games, there will be a ton of Capcom staff on hand, not only to help out at the booth, but to simply watch the action. For the producers and teams that make these games, there’s no better payoff than seeing your work turn so many into grinning, screaming lunatics.

The producers on all our new fighting games are each holding their own panel (see below for full EVO 2011 panel details). For my part, I’ll be sitting down with Street Fighter legend and 2009 and 2010 champion Daigo Umehara to go in-depth on how great players make winning decisions, and how you can learn to think like they do. In the end, anyone can master the technical side of a fighting game with some practice, but it’s the mental games that separate champions from the rest of us. Apart from that, I’ll be trying to see as many of my old friends from around the world as I can, as well as tagging in to do livestream commentary on the Street Fighter and Marvel Vs Capcom 3 matches.

Oh right, the live stream! For anyone that can’t make it (registration for EVO is closed, but it’s free to attend if you’re not competing) the EVO action will be streaming live into PlayStation Home all weekend (you can also score a ton of cool EVO items and outfits for watching), leading up to finals on Sunday. Sunday features the final eight competitors, boiled down from thousands, and the excitement in the room is always through the roof, so check it out. If you aren’t able to watch from PlayStation Home, you can check out the stream on your PC here.

If you can’t be there or watch the whole time, Sunday is finals, and the day you do NOT want to miss. The greatest players will line up for the final showdown–who will it be this year? Two-time champion Daigo “the Beast” Umehara from Japan? The U.K.’s Ryan Hart, who defeated Daigo at the British championships? Justin Wong, one of the most dominant players in US history? Or Tokido, “the Murderface,” a vicious player strong across many titles, who also defeated US Marvel-master Justin Wong in their first meeting? Many will be watching Kayane from France, one of the strongest women in the world who has her eyes set on winning the main event, but regardless of who goes the distance, you can bet the road there will be full of surprises, tears, joy, and just plain hype.

Hope to see some of you in Vegas this weekend! It needs to come already, my body can’t take it!

EVO Panels

FRIDAY, JULY 29th

2pm: Inside the Mind of The Beast: Daigo Umehara Exposed!

Seth Killian sits down with EVO 2009 and 2010 Street Fighter champion MCZ Daigo Umehara for an in-depth discussion and review of past match highlights. You will learn to think like a Street Fighter master as they will talk over and explain the tactics, player reads, moment-by-moment thought processes, and even the mistakes that Daigo made on the road to his championship victories.

4pm: Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 Past, Present, and Future!

Capcom producer Ryota Niitsuma will share behind-the-scenes insights from the MVC3 development process and discuss thoughts on Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 and the future direction of the Marvel Vs Capcom franchise. He will be joined by MVC3 and UMVC3 battle system designer and Capcom fighting legend Hidetoshi “Neo_G” Ishizawa (whose credits include Street Fighter III: Third Strike, Capcom Vs. SNK 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Darkstalkers 3, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, and many more) to discuss the thinking behind the battle systems, and what the future might hold for everything from character balance, mechanics, and more. Fighting fans will not want to miss this rare opportunity for insight and discussion.

SATURDAY, JULY 30th

12pm: Street Fighter III: Online Edition Reinventing a Classic

This panel will feature Derek Neal (SF3:OE producer and former EVO competitor), Christian Svensson (Sr. Vice President, Capcom), and Dave Lang, CEO of Iron Galaxy (SF3:OE developer). Join them to discuss the many decisions behind bringing back a classic, and for a spirited face-to-face chat about the kinds of features *you* would like to see in future fighting games!

4pm: New Directions in Street Fighter X Tekken

The one-and-only Yoshinori Ono will be on hand to discuss recent developments and new directions for his latest production, Street Fighter X Tekken. Will the always-surprising Ono-san have some special EVO-exclusive news to share with the audience? You’ll just have to come and find out!

For those who don’t know, we call these things “Fight Clubs” and the concept is pretty simple. We find an underground location (sometimes literally underground, sometimes just an abandoned warehouse, sometimes a sneaker shop, but you get the idea), and drop a bunch of Street Fighter games in there, then let people throw down in arcade-style, face-to-face combat. We spice it up with some totally exclusive shirt giveaways, exclusive artwork and giftbags, and maybe… just maybe, some extra epic events.

The party is going down this Friday, April 23rd, from 8pm to midnight, in Los Angeles, CA (in the Silver Lake neighborhood). We’ll post the exact address on Thursday, so stay tuned, but here’s a little taste of what’s in store, and why people are already making plans to fly into town just for this party:

• Hands on with Super Street Fighter IV, including chances to win an early copy of the final game on PlayStation 3.
• Great Street Fighter art on the exclusive shirts + posters, live art on the walls, and even… on you?
• Gift bags for the first few hundred fans through the door
• Live DJ, light food and drinks
• Big-screen game exhibitions, plus appearances from some very special guests all the way from Japan
• One final note—we have an, um… special opportunity for some brave fans to win some great prizes, but to participate, you’ll want to bring a change of clothes—clothes you don’t mind having potentially destroyed :-)

This event is open to the public, and based on some of our past parties, there’s a very good chance this is going to be totally nuts. Translation: if you want to go, try and arrive early! We’ll be posting the exact address and one more surprise on Wednesday, so stay tuned. But make your plans now, and set expectations to “awesome.”

For anyone that isn’t in LA, or just can’t make it, you can watch the action on the Capcom ustream page. Event starts at 8, but we may begin streaming anytime that day!

Super Street Fighter IV arrives on April 27th, and it’s only $39.99. For fighting fans, this is a no-brainer, but for anybody that missed out on the original Street Fighter IV, or just wants to see what it is about these games that drives their fans so crazy, do yourself a favor pick this up (and come down to the party!)

What is EVO? It’s the world’s largest and longest-running fighting game tournament. Every year, thousands of competitors from every corner of the planet descend on Las Vegas to determine the best of the best on the most competitive fighting games. It’s been running for over a decade, and with all the hoopla over SFIV, this year is going to be bigger than ever—at a conservative estimate, we’ll be playing over 50 thousand matches over the course of the weekend as we work our way towards a champion.

Why are we talking about this on the PlayStation Blog? Because EVO is especially PlayStation 3-flavored this year. PlayStation has been an important part of EVO history, but this year, we’ve selected the PS3 as the platform of choice for our very biggest competitions, including Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and Street Fighter IV.

Why else would you care? Because EVO is rad. It’s fighting game heaven with some of the most exciting gaming you’ll see anywhere, it’s run by players, for players, and best of all, it’s free to watch.

(I’m actually the one holding that handicam and yes, that’s my stupid voice cracking with excitement. For reference, this wasn’t even the finals—EVO is full of insane moments)

What is there to do? Well, there are all the tournaments to play in, but beyond the official tournaments (on games including my Capcom favorites, Marvel Vs Capcom 2, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Street Fighter III: Third Strike, and of course Street Fighter IV), there are a ton of DIY side events and free-play on every fighter imaginable in the free “BYOC” area. BYOC = “Bring Your Own Console.” Nearly half of our gigantic tournament floor is devoted to a free-play area, where we set up TVs, and you can plug in any games you want, on everything from next-gen PS3s to old arcade hardware. You’ll find competition on nearly any fighter you can imagine, from classic Street Fighter games to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament Fighters. There are also plenty of exciting grudge matches, and when you’re tired of playing and watching the madness, you’re still in Las Vegas.

One of my other favorite things about EVO is that unlike most “pro gaming” events, EVO is an open tournament. By “open,” I mean that anybody can just walk in off the street and take their shot against the best players in the world. You don’t have to jump through any hoops or join a silly league—if you’ve got the skills, you can step up to the plate take your shot. All of the EVO directors grew up playing in the arcades, where skills talked, and BS walked. EVO grew straight out of our desire to preserve that electric spirit of live arcade competitions, and—just like our old arcades—anyone can walk in, put their quarter up, and prove that they’ve got the skills to be the best.

All of that is hotness, but what I love most about EVO is the people. They come from around the world, from Korea to Kuwait, the UK to the US, and Portugal to Peru. And yes, while it’s mostly dudes, beyond that, you’ll find every race, every background—rich, poor, old and young, tough guys and pencilnecks. Of course you’ll find the world’s top fighting game players, including US champions like Alex Valle, John Choi, Justin Wong, and the legendary Japanese champ Daigo Umehara, and everyone comes together with a shared sense of history, and a shared passion for these games. They are the best, the hungriest, and the loudest players in the world. They are shouting, they are cheering, and they mean it.

So with all of those experts from around the world, do you have to be a great player to go? Nope. 99% of the people there realize they’re probably not going to win, but they love to go anyway because it’s a ton of fun, a great way to see old friends and meet new ones, a great place to step up your game, and because it’s an amazing show. There’s a ton of history and heart in the competitive fighting world, and this is the The Big Show, with everyone is welcome to come and watch (or compete!). Fighting games are FUN, and even if you don’t understand every intricacy, everyone can understand a punch in the face, cheering for their hometown favorites, and trying to KO the opponent.

The EVO World Finals run from July 17-19th (finals on the 19th) at the Rio Hotel and Resort, in sunny Las Vegas, NV.

Check out EVO2K for the full details, then pack up your PS3 joysticks and fightpads, and I’ll see you at EVO. If you totally can’t make it to Vegas, we’ll also be streaming some of the event’s best matches, as well as putting up a whole mess of footage afterwards, complete with commentary, player interviews, and the like, so stay tuned.