This year's Evo extravaganza brought a range of reveals along with the high-end competitive play, and included some details related to the first ever Evo Japan.
It'll take place in Tokyo from 26th to 28th January and will feature two prominent Nintendo titles in its line-up.
- Tekken 7
- Guilty Gear Xrd
- King of Fighters XIV
- BlazBlue: Central Fiction
- Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
- ARMS
A notable absentee is Super Smash Bros. Melee, which is long established as a major part of the core event in the US. As it's a fresh start for Evo in Japan, however, it's unsurprising that it's the most recent entry in the series given the nod.
As for ARMS, is missed out on a user vote to appear at Evo 2017 in Las Vegas, so the Tokyo event will give the Switch fighting game its full debut.
[source polygon.com]
Comments 21
@ThomasBW84 Did you guys miss the SFV logo in there? That will most likely be the biggest game there. I don't see it in the list in the article.
Only ARMS caught my attention.
The other games just Nah... not interesting for me.
@Anti-Matter
What about smash? Although I agree competitive gaming is kinda dull for me.
@Voldemort807
Um... not interested with Smash Bros too, unfortunately.
Looks weird to see very different characters each other battle in one place.
Hah! Take that Melee fanboys! Casual gaming will prevail and it's no good forcing your superiority into their throats.
ARMS will be fun especially! Perhaps we might see a Yabuki cameo? Who knows?
EVO in Japan should be good. I really need to try out ARMS. That will be the next Switch game I buy.
@Yasaal Eh... not everyone that loves Melee is "Forcing superiority" on everyone. Personally, I would have liked to have seen both there. If there is only one, I would prefer it to be Smash for Wii U (I'm a casual, now days) but I would have preferred Melee in a past life. I wouldn't have been upset either way. Melee is still a great game, and fun to watch. Don't let a few sour grapes taint your perception of an entire community.
On the topic of ARMS - I really don't see it lasting. It's good to see it at EVO, but I'm very interested in see the turnout/viewer numbers. My guess it we won't see it at EVO again, but I wouldn't mind being proven wrong, for Nintendo's sake.
@Yasaal
There is a legitimate reason why Melee won't be at Evo Japan: Melee is pretty much dead in Japan. Everyone has already moved on to the next Smash game with the exception of few like Amsa for example.
I'm honestly so tired of watching competitive Melee. Watching the same four characters flopping around in puffs of smoke on Final Destination has gotten pretty old. At least in Smash 4 more characters are considered competitively viable and any stage aesthetic can be made tournament legal, making matches far more varied and interesting to watch.
@Captain05crunch lol. True.
Dragon Ball FighterZ next year for sure. Imagine it'll become a fixture there.
@Yasaal Casual gaming will prevail?? I'm not sure that's something to be proud of or wanting to promote too much,that how we end up with yearly crap like COD,FIFA,Assassins Creed,Just Dance etc. Smash Bros is far from being a casual game and the competitive side of it has thrived for years.Plus its one of Nintendo's biggest IP's so why would you want to detract from it by slating those that have done the most to promote it? There's a space for both types of players by the way
@roadrunner343 I feel the same way. Back when I played Melee, during my high school days, I had a ton of time and so did my buddies. There wasn't much distracting me from learning to play competitively and energy was never an issue back then.
Nowadays, with everyone having to work, overall Smash Wii U has been a godsend since no one in this group of friends really has the time or energy to play competitively.
Forgot SFV in the list, probable headliner...
@PlayedNSlayed Being casual and competitive are not mutually exclusive. When it comes to fighters, Melee (And Smash in general) is definitely very casual friendly. It is simple to pick up and play and just about anyone can have a good time. That hasn't stopped an extremely devoted and highly skilled competitive scene from forming. Hearthstone and Overwatch are also examples of casual friendly games that have big competitive scenes.
@Ernest_The_Crab Yeah, it kind of makes me sad. I was really good at Melee back in the day... I swear it! You'd never know by the way I play Smash now though =) Luckily, my friends/family that I play with now all suck as well, so it's still competitive when we get together.
Definitely interested to see how evo japan turns out. Very odd choice to put arms but we'll see. Also the article left out sfv
Thank god Melee didn't make the cut.
Not too surprised that melee isn't there, the melee scene in Japan is almost non existence
@PlayedNSlayed The Melee community is a cancerous bunch because they shove their ideals of Melee being the 'true hardcore' game and that 'casuals shouldn't play it because they can't' and garbage like that. They hate how Sakurai put more focus on the casual market instead of the competitive market in Smash Wii U. They hate it when they see a casual not know how to do air attacks and so on. As for the "casual gaming will prevail" it's true. Most games now days are made with casual gaming in mind. Almost all mobile games are casual focused. Plus sales won't rise of you focus completely on competitive games. Look at the Wii
@roadrunner343 Now I know that Melee is a great game but I have yet to meet a person who doesn't mention Melee without saying "it's better than Smash Wii U" or "that's why I'm a true Smash player". On ARMS I agree with you, it won't last long, and I don't see Pokken lasting long either. It was featured in many tournaments but it seems like it disappeared from EVO.
I wonder if the arms tournament will be any good? As in the competitors have not had a whole long time to actually practice?
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