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]

Monday, October 22, 2012

Umehara appears on Chemistry's Douchin radio show

Daigo Umehara has just appeared as a guest on Inter FM (76.1 MHz) radio tonight. The show is called "Now what can I see?" and is hosted by Yoshikuni Douchin, a member of the band Chemistry.

Chemistry was very famous ten years ago. They had 6 singles and 3 albums in No.1 of the sales chart between 2001-2004.

One thing we learned from the show was Umehara's book Willpower to Keep Winning has now sold 32,000 copies (from 28,000 copies in May).

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Umehara on Gansuto Wave episode 3

Gunslinger Stratos net radio show "Gansuto Wave" episode 3 tonight had Daigo Umehara and Fuudo as special guests in video form. The short video was a match between Team Umehara (Umehara, Fuudo, Atsushi Abe, Kana Ueda) and the developer team. Team Umehara won all 2 rounds.

(The video itself was tiny so we have tiny screenshots.)

Darkstalkers Resurrection (finally) announced for Japan

Capom Japan has announced (via 4Gamer) during Japan's Street Fighter 25th Anniversary National Tournaments this evening that Darkstalkers Resurrection (AKA Vampire Resurrection in Japan) is also coming to Japan early 2013.

So this is the announcement that producer Ono tried to hide.

Anyway, we can't wait to see Daigo Umehara play this series in front of the world.

The first tournament Umehara won was not Street Fighter, but Darkstalkers 3 (Vampire Savior), in 1997. He was a famous Bishamon player.

There is actually an urban legend about Umehara from Darkstalkers 2 era (Vampire Hunter) where he said to the game center staff that his cabinet's HK (strong kick) button are not working, after 50+ win-streak.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Japan's Street Fighter 25th Anniversary National Tournaments Finals summary

Info
- Japan's Street Fighter 25th Anniversary National Tournament announced
- PPV stream prices
- Japan's SF 25th Anniversary tournaments finals to be held in Nicofarre
- Daigo Umehara confirmed to participate
- Umehara reaches Japan's SF 25th Anniversary tournaments finals
- Official website

Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition Ver.2012

Reported by Akahoshi and Capcom's tweets

[Winners] Uryo (Sakura) 2-? -R- (Boxer)
[Winners] Dath (C. Viper) ?-2 Fuudo (Fei Long)
[Winners] Kyoku (Yang) 2-0 Eita (Akuma)
[Losers] -R- (Boxer) 0-2 Dath (C. Viper)
[Winners] Kindo (Fei Long) 0-2 Umehara (Ryu)
[Losers] Eita (Akuma) 2-? Kindo (Fei Long)
[Winners] Uryo (Sakura) ?-2 Fuudo (Fei Long)
[Losers] Uryo (Sakura) 2-? Dath (C. Viper)
[Winners] Kyoku (Yang) 0-2 Umehara (Ryu)
[Losers] Kyoku (Yang) ?-2 Eita (Akuma)
[Losers] Uryo (Sakura) 2-? Eita (Akuma)
[Winners Final] Fuudo (Fei Long) 0-2 Umehara (Ryu)
[Losers Final] Uryo (Sakura) ?-2 Fuudo (Fei Long)
[Grand Final] Umehara (Ryu) 3-0 Fuudo (Fei Long)

Prizes
For winning the tournament, Umehara received shield (certificate), PlayStation Vita, PS Vita version of Street Fighter vs. Tekken, and an in-game title "Kami ni Chikazuitamono" (The person who is closest to God). (But that's downgrading since he is already called God of Fighting Games....)

Pictures
- Ono capturing Umehara's Metsu Hadoken [pic]
- The screens: Umehara after winning Fuudo in Winners final [pic]
- Finals brackets [pic]
- The torrent of comments: the moment when Umehara won the championship [pic]

Event report from 4Gamer.net
-  The headline is "Nicofarre rocked by dignified Ume-Shoryu: Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Kakutou Akimatsuri" (They actually used the word Ume-Shoryu!)
- Vampire Resurrection (finally) announced for Japan
- SFxTK: 1st - Tokido (Dha/Cody), 2nd - Yukimura (Ryu/Kazuya), 3rd - MOV (Dha/Jack X)
- SF3 3S OE: 1st - MOV (Chun), 2nd - Umezono (Chun), 3rd - Higa (Ibu)
- SSF4AE2012: 1st - Umehara (Ryu), 2nd - Fuudo (Fei), Uryo (Sak)
- Tokido, Yukimura, MOV, Umehara, Fuudo are qualified (invited) for SF 25th Anniversary Tournaments Finals in San Francisco, California on December 8.
- They didn't mention whether Capcom Japan actually pay for the plane ticket or not. (It's Capcom Japan! We can't be sure about anything!)

Event report from Dengeki
- The headline is "So Umehara is closest to God!?"
- They said Umehara walked from Shinjuku to Nicofarre (Roppongi).

Event report from Famitsu
- Umehara after winning the tournament: "The Fei Long countermeasures worked well." "I'm happy."
- They pointed out that Team Mad Catz had 2 titles out of 3, and this's Umehara's first championship in a Capcom's official tournament in 12 years.

Other media coverages
- Game Watch
- Capcom's official blog 
- Another report from 4Gamer with mini interview (The headline is "A new page of legend of Umehara")

Road to Champion
Here's the list of Umehara's opponents in the competition.
  1. Bon-chan (Sagat)
  2. Shino-chan (Oni)
  3. Hyo Valchan (Cody)
  4. Kichijouji Ken (Ken)
  5. Kindo (Fei Long)
  6. Kyoku (Yang)
  7. Fuudo (Fei Long) *twice

[Ougon Musou Kyoku Cross] J's combo video #8

J, the top Ougon Musou Kyoku player, uploaded yesterday his new combo video. It also shows a glitch during his match at the end.



Combo #1
Ange & Willard vs. Chiester 410 & Ronove
Hit: 31
Damage: 2894 + dizzy
Cost: 2 SP (1 before combo, 1 during combo)

Combo #2
Ange & Willard vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 47
Damage: 3597
Cost: 2+2 SP (1 before, 1+2 during combo)

Combo #3 (Unburstable)
George & Willard vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 31
Damage: 3573 + dizzy
Cost: 4+1 SP

Combo #4 (Unburstable)
Lambdadelta & Willard vs. Ronove & Beatrice
Hit:22
Damage: 2624 + dizzy
Cost: 4+3 SP

Combo #5 (Unburstable)
Shannon & Willard vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 28
Damage: 3542+ dizzy
Cost: 2 SP

Combo #6 (Twin Tower Off-the-Ground Attack*)
Beatrice & Willard vs. Battler & Beatrice
Hit: 46
Damage: 4237
Cost: 1+2 SP (reduced from 2+6 SP)

*After summoning Twin Tower, you can destroy it (641236+A) and cause damage to opponent. Apparently it can do OTG combo when used with SP Cancel.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Umehara on Zai FX TV

Daigo Umehara appeared as a guest on Zai FX TV on October 15 (both Ustream and Niconico). The show is produced by Zai FX, the site about foreign exchange that previously had Umehara interviews (part 1, part 2).

Summary
- The MC was Hanako (a Zai FX staff, was Miss Keio 2008).
- Kouichi Nishihara (from an investment company) was also a guest.
- The other two don't know much about games, but they have read Umehara's Willpower to Keep Winning.
- A good blend between Umehara's stories and FX.
- Umehara's father told him that he can do whatever (career), just be good in what he does.
- They also reviewed the Umehara vs. GamerBee match from Evo 2012.
- 21.8% of the viewers wanted to be a pro gamer (from the online poll).
- A staff told them to do Metsu Hadoken pose at the end.


Umehara seen in Seiyuu Hyakkaten

An internet talk show called Atsushi Abe's Seiyuu Hyakkaten on October 17 had voice actress Kana Ueda as guest, and Daigo Umehara was seen twice in the pictures they showed when they were talking about Gunslinger Stratos.

Seiyuu Hyakkaten is a talk show about voice actors (but mostly about voice actresses) hosted by Atsushi Abe. Both Abe and Ueda voice a character in Gunslinger Stratos, and are often seen playing the game with Umehara and his team.


In-game character being played by Umehara is seen in the first picture.
Umehara, Fuudo, Mago are in the second picture (after 1st Stratos Party).

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Umehara to attend Yokkaichi University festival

Mad Catz Japan announced today that Daigo Umehara will attend Yokkaichi University's university festival on October 27. He will have some kumite and talk show at classroom 8201. starting from 10 a.m. JST.

Umehara already had some activities at university festival 2 times in 2010 and 2011.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Umehara interview on Zai FX part 2

The second part of Daigo Umehara interview from Zai FX was posted last week with new video clip. (First part is here.)




The most interesting thing in the interview was when asked about the state of mind after winning or losing, Umehara said he will practice more if he won. Because he knows he will be marked (facing counterplans) and thus harder to win next time. It is easier when he lost, he will just come up with a counter-plan.

He also said again that his fights are not for the joy of winning, but the joy of progress.

The girl you see in the video is Hanako, a Zai FX staff and Miss Keio 2008 from Keio University (the oldest private university in Japan since 1858). She and Umehara will meet again tonight in Zai FX TV on Ustream starting from 21:00 JST.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Darkstalkers Resurrection not coming to Japan

According to Capcom's producer Yoshinori Ono (via Twitter), Darkstalkers Resurrection is not coming to Japan! So this is like Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix!?

In response to a Japanese user, from his words, Capcom Japan is yet to announce the game. (It could or could never come out in Japan at all.) He then asked the user to wait for a news.

Eita plays Rocksmith 7 hours straight

Rocksmith, a rhythm action game that lets you play with your real guitar, was released on Wednesday in Japan. The Akuma player Eita had the game yesterday and played it 7 hours straight on his stream.

Eita used to play guitar in a band, and there was actually a YouTube clip of him playing in a concert.

All songs in Rocksmith are from foreign artists. The game also allows player to add anything to the song (improvise) beside what you need to do. And with everything, it was one of the best things we have ever seen on Eita's stream.

If you are interested, Eita will stream Rocksmith again today, starting in an hour. Update: The show was moved to here.

GODSGARDEN to offer paid contents for 735 yen a month

GODSGARDEN announced on Kao TV tonight that they will soon offer monthly subscription of paid contents on their formal channel. What is the "paid contents" is still undecided, but the monthly fee is 735 yen. (Any non-paid contents including anything on casual channel is still free.)

This is a very disappointing news. Because if GODSGARDEN really wants money, they could have uploaded anything on their streams on YouTube and started earning ad revenue long time ago. (Instead the thieves did it and take all the money.)

The 735 yen monthly fee is also too high.

For reference, look at Seiyuu Grand Prix channel on Niconico.
  • Established by a big voice actors magazine
  • Four-time-a-week update of exclusive video clips of popular voice actors
  • Four-time-a-week update of exclusive columns of popular voice actors
  • Video clips are available in 1Mbps bit rate, and on all types of cellphones
  • 525 yen monthly fee

We really doubt that GODSGARDEN will top that with the regular players they have, and especially when KSK just updated his blog for the first time in 7 months...

Note that these days you also need a premium Niconico account (525 yen monthly) to watch Ura Kao TV (GODSGARDEN's casual stream) because premium accounts have higher priority than free accounts. Free users will get kicked by the system to give the spaces to premium users. Ura Kao TV can hold only 2,000 users a time. (And that means even premium users are not guaranteed their seats!)

Friday, October 12, 2012

Street Fighter X Tekken Ver.2013 announced

Capcom announced at Comic Con that a big update of Street Fighter X Tekken will come in the middle of December. The update is free and the game will be upgraded to Ver.2013.

Changes in Ver.2013 from 4Gamer.net
- Throw start-up is reduced from 7F to 5F.
- Tekken characters anti-air moves are improved.
- Life restoration speed is adjusted (to reduce time-out possibility).
- There is camera adjustment during Boost Combo start-up.
- It is easier to see the recoverable damage.
- The effect (graphics) during Gem activation is changed.
- Fight (graphics) disappears quicker.
- Add range and damage of Ken's Shippuu Jinrai.
- Add invincibility to Kazuya's EX Fuujinken
- Add projectile invincibility to Dictator's Knee Press Nightmare
- Bob and Paul have faster walk speed.
- Etc.

Update: Capcom Unity now posted more details on the changes.

Darkstalkers Resurrection announced

Capcom announced just now Darkstalkers Resurrection for PSN and Xbox Live.

Summary
- A bundle of Darkstalkers 2 (Vampire Hunter) and Darkstalkers 3 (Vampire Savior) port
- Coming early 2013
- $14.99
- High definition
- GGPO
- 8-person lobby
- Spectator mode
- YouTube replay sharing
- Unlockable stuff
- Trials


And since Daigo Umehara is also the most famous Darkstalkers player and champion, expect a promotional video featuring him later from Capcom Japan side.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Umehara gets his own mahjong manga

Daigo Umehara is turn into a manga (Japanese comic) story again! But this time it is HIS story!

The preview of the next issue of Kindai Mahjong Original that will be released next month on November 8 shows that it will feature "Umehara's Mahjong" story.

Umehara has turn to mahjong when he quitted fighting gamed half a decade ago. He then return with the release of Street Fighter IV in 2008 and recently said he will not return to the mahjong world. However, this manga seems to be an adaptation rather than biography.

From the preview, it acknowledges Umehara as the world's number one pro gamer and teases "What it takes for the man who keeps winning at fighting games to be able to keep winning at mahjong?" ("Keep Winning" has become a catchphrase after his book "Willpower to Keep Winning.") It also shows him drawing a mahjong tile in Mad Catz T-shirt.

The manga is drawn by Michiaki Kiyama.

Kindai Mahjong Original is a monthly manga magazine exclusively for mahjong stories. It is a spinoff of Kindai Mahjong (semimonthly) that has famous manga Akagi (that was later turn into anime).


Although this is the first time Umehara has his own manga about himself, he was already in manga in some form or another. His legendary Evo 2004 moment was in an anime. He also linked Mad Catz product to anime as well.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Umehara reaches Japan's SF 25th Anniversary tournaments finals

Since the qualifiers of Japan's Street Fighter 25th Anniversary National Tournaments have been finished on October 7, the draws for the finals matching was streamed yesterday.

Results

1st match
Uryo (Sakura) vs. -R- (Boxer)

2nd match
dath (C. Viper) vs. Fuudo (Fei Long)

3rd match
Kyoku (Yang) vs. Eita (Akuma)

4th match
Kindo (Fei Long) vs. Umehara (Ryu)

Daigo Umehara who is now qualified for SSF4AE2012 finals was once again the last draw of the show, and Kindo will be his first opponent in the finals on October 20.

Note that they will use western format, sans counterpicking, in the final. The matches will be first-to-two (games) double-elimination. The grand final will be first-to-three.

1st Stratos Party summary

Info
- 1st Stratos Party announced
- Stream

Summary
  1. Bunbunmaru asked voice actor Atsushi Abe and voice actress Kana Ueda their game experiences.
  2. Bunbunmaru and Fuudo coached voice actor Masakazu Nishida who is new to the game. Ueda came out to help.
  3. Battle session: They began with Mago, Fuudo, Abe, Ueda.
  4. Battle session: Umehara came out, then they started shuffling members.
  5. They gave away posters with autographs (voice actors + pro gamers) to lucky viewers.
  6. Developer's talk session (read announcements here)
  7. The show ended with 41057 attendees and 38908 comments

Experiences
  • Umehara - 2800 matches played, rank AA
  • Fuudo - 2600 matches played, rank SS
  • Ueda - around 2000 matches played, rank A
  • Abe - 1850 matches played, rank AA
  • Mago - 1700 matches played, rank AA
  • Nishida - 180 matches played, rank D3



Gunslinger Stratos now 200 yen per 3 plays

The developers of Gunslinger Stratos announced last night on The 1st Stratos Party that the game will lower its play fee from 200 yen per 2 plays to 200 yen per 3 plays during Liberation War between October 9-22. (Although they still has 100 yen/1 play option.)

There were actually several announcements from the event. The rest is below.

- The game will be updated to version 1.20 on October 9, with a new stage, a new campaign, 2 new characters, new weapon packs.
- The new stage is Umeda, Osaka.
- A new theme song was showed.
- The new campaign "Liberation War" will be available between October 9-22. Players will get to choose from 2 sides (Frontier S and 17th Far East Imperial Control Ward) and stage atmospheres will be changed according to players' influences. The winning side gets new character unlocked (below).
- 2 new playable characters (Mondo Makabe, Xi 988) will be added.
- Mondo Makabe looks like Master Asia from G Gundam. He is even voiced by Yousuke Akimoto, the voice of Master Asia himself. He is unlocked if 17th Far East Imperial Control Ward side wins.
- Xi 988 (who looks like Persona's Aigis) is voiced by Saki Fujita (Miku Hatsune's voice). She is unlocked if Frontier S side wins.
- The first official tournament in Tokyo is now scheduled for January 13, 2013.
- The 2nd Stratos Party: Official Offline Meeting is planned for January 12, 2013. Users can come to play the game free of charge and find team members at the same time.


Saturday, October 6, 2012

Umehara has something to say about Arcana Heart?

The latest blog post from Examu, the developer of Arcana Heart and Aquapazza, revealed that the booklet "Examu Heart: Moonsault Press" that will be sold during Examu Cup next month will have an interview with Daigo Umehara. The topic has not been mentioned.

The contents of the book
- Arcana Heart special short story (comic)
- Arcana Heart 4 koma manga
- Arcana Heart staff interview
- Arcana Heart original short story
- Special interview: Daigo Umehara
- Ura Kao TV interview: Kamizono, Danchou, GODSGARDEN's Inaba
- Daemon Bride novel
- Illustrations from guests
- Illustrations from readers

Examu Cup: Ai no Saiten 2012 is Arcana Heart 3 online tournament that will be held between November 2-4 by GODSGARDEN.

Umehara confirmed for Dengeki 20th Anniversary

Dengeki revealed yesterday that Daigo Umehara, Fuudo, Mago will participate Dengeki 20th Anniversary event on October 21 at Makuhari Messe. He and his teammates will be there to play Gunslinger Stratos with the attendees.

Dengeki has almost 20 magazines under its name, basically almost about anything an otaku would want.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Dead or Alive 5 outsells Tekken Tag Tournament 2

The latest report from Media Create, the well-known Japanese console games market researcher, revealed (via GAF) that Dead or Alive 5 has outsold Tekken Tag Tournament 2 in the first week.

DOA5 has sold over 80,000 copies both PS3 and Xbox 360 combined in its first week while TTT2 did less than 70,000 both versions in its first week.

As always, we put the numbers in the chart so you can compare.

First week sales of fighting games between 2008-2012 in Japan by Media Create
  1. [PSP] Dissidia Final Fantasy (Square Enix) {2009.12.18} - 489,100 | NEW
  2. [PSP] Dissidia: 012 (Duodecim) Final Fantasy (Square Enix) {2011.03.03} - 286,117 / NEW
  3. [PS3] Persona 4: Arena (Atlus) {2012.07.26} - 128,485 / NEW 
  4. [PS3] Tekken 6 (Namco Bandai) {2009.10.29} - 103,105 / NEW
  5. [PS3] Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2009.02.12} - 86,000 / NEW
  6. [PS2] Fate/Unlimited Codes (Capcom) {2008.12.18} - 82,900 | NEW
  7. [PS3] Super Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2010.04.28} - 80,882 / NEW
  8. [PSP] Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Battle of Aces (Namco Bandai) {2010.01.21} - 76,088 / NEW
  9. [PS3] Soul Calibur IV (Namco Bandai Games) {2008.07.31} - 74,607 / NEW
  10. [PS3] Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (Capcom) {2011.02.17} - 67,187 / NEW
  11. [PS3] Dead or Alive 5 (Koei Tecmo) {2012.09.27} - 66,586 / NEW
  12. [PS3] Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm Generation (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.23} - 65,758 / NEW
  13. [PS3] Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.09.13} - 62,630 / NEW
  14. [PS3] Street Fighter X Tekken (Capcom) {2012.03.08} - 58,471 / NEW
  15. [PS3] Dragon Ball: Raging Blast (Namco Bandai) {2009.11.09} - 57,972 / NEW
  16. [PSP] Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Gears of Destiny (Bandai Namco) {2011.12.22} - 57,320 / NEW
  17. [PS3] Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (Capcom) {2011.06.30} - 54,924 / NEW
  18. [PS3] BlazBlue: Continuum Shift (Arc System Works) {2010.07.01} - 49,871 / NEW
  19. [PS3] Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 (Bandai Namco) {2010.11.11} - 47.610 / NEW
  20. [3DS] Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition (Capcom) {2011.02.26} - 44,649 / NEW
  21. [PS3] Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi (Bandai Namco Games) {2011.12.08} - 44,593 / NEW
  22. [PS2] Melty Blood: Actress Again (Ecole Software) {2009.08.20} - 44,292 / NEW
  23. [360] Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2009.02.12} - 38,000 / NEW
  24. [360] Soul Calibur IV (Namco Bandai Games) {2008.07.31} - 34,786 / NEW
  25. [PS3] Soul Calibur V (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.02} - 34,328 / NEW 
  26. [PSP] Fate/Unlimited Codes Portable (Capcom) {2009.06.18} - 34,205 / NEW
  27. [PS3] BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Arc System Works) {2009.06.25} - 33,768 / NEW
  28. [PS3] BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend (Arc System Works) {2011.12.17} - 32,992 / NEW
  29. [360] Super Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2010.04.28} - 28,454 / NEW
  30. [PSP] Tekken 6 (Namco Bandai) {2010.01.14} - 25,131 / NEW
  31. [360] BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Arc System Works) {2009.06.25} - 24,812 / NEW
  32. [WII] Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes (Capcom) {2008.12.11} - 24,100 / NEW
  33. [PSP] BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II (Arc System Works) {2011.03.31} - 23,808 / NEW
  34. [3DS] Dead or Alive: Dimensions (Koei Tecmo) {2011.05.19} - 23,078 / NEW
  35. [PS3] Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 (Capcom) {2011.11.17} - 22,436 / NEW
  36. [PS3] The King of Fighters XIII (SNK Playmore) {2011.12.01} - 21,525 / NEW
  37. [PS3] AQUAPAZZA (Aquaplus) {2012.08.30} - 20,935 / NEW
  38. [PS3] Arcana Heart 3 (Arc System Works) {2011.01.13} - 17,219 / NEW
  39. [360] Dead or Alive 5 (Koei Tecmo) {2012.09.27} - 14,811 / NEW
  40. [360] Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (Capcom) {2011.02.17} - 13,779 / NEW
  41. [360] Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (Capcom) {2011.06.30} - 12,326 / NEW
  42. [360] Phantom Breaker (5pb.) {2011.06.02} - 9,960 / NEW
  43. [360] Persona 4: Arena (Atlus) {2012.07.26} - 9,801 / NEW 
  44. [3DS] Tekken 3D: Prime Edition (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.16} - 9,421 / NEW
  45. [360] Street Fighter X Tekken (Capcom) {2012.03.08} - 8,527 / NEW
  46. [360] Soul Calibur V (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.02} - 7,679 / NEW

Team Umehara wins local Gunslinger Stratos tournament

Both Fuudo and Mago announced tonight that their team "Team Umehara" has won a local Gunslinger Stratos tournament at Taito Station Akihabara branch on Saturday. There were 16 teams on that day.

The members of Team Umehara were Daigo Umehara, Fuudo, Mago, Nyanshi.

Fuudo started introducing Gunslinger Stratos on Kachitagari TV (TOPANGA TV spin-off) in September, but it seems to be a hard work. The game is not spectator-friendly and it favors a static team over a group of 4 strangers. Fuudo also revealed on the show their strategy is letting Umehara stay in the frontline while other teammates snipe enemies from behind.

New schedule posted for Japan's SF 25th Anniversary tournaments

The qualifiers of Japan's Street Fighter 25th Anniversary National Tournament on September 30 were left unfinished. Only SFxTK was played on that day. The 3rd Strike and SF4 qualifiers were postponed due to the powerful typhoon.

A new scheduled was posted today as below. People who bought the one-day ticket of September 30 can also ask for a refund here. The change will not affect the people who bought the all-in-one ticket (they can still see all the streams).

October 6 (Day 3)
SFxTK (until top 16)
3rd Strike (until top 32)
SF4 (until top 28)
- main stream, sub stream

October 7 (Day 4)
SFxTK (until top 8)
3rd Strike (until top 8)
SF4 (until top 7)
- main stream, sub stream

October 8
- Reserved in case of delay
- main stream

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Umehara on Zai FX

ZAI FX, a portal site about foreign exchange, has posted an interview with Daigo Umehara with video. They also had a female staff invade his training room (not actually his room/house).

Quick summary
- The interview focuses on his mentality.
- The winners are not always the stronger.
- Losing is not important, it is how you lost that counts.
- Pro gamers are merely the people who know easier ways to win a game more than other people. They are not unbeatable.
- He does not pay attention to losing streak.
- He does not give up on gaming, but rather was made to, due to the lack of challenges and gamer is not an occupation at that time when he was 23 years old.
- He learns from failures and by observation.
- The article will continue next week.



They picked Umehara because fighting games and FX are the same in a sense. It uses knowledges and experiences to reduce the risk of betting, the rest is mentality. This is the reason Umehara's book "Willpower to Keep Winning" was recommended by some in FX industry.

Senran Kagura VERSUS not a fighting game

So despite having "VERSUS" in its name, the new Senran Kagura game is not a fighting game as we suspected. 4Gamer has posted first details and first batch of screenshots today.

The genre is still action game, but the versus part is from the 2 on 2 feature. Unlike the ones on 3DS (single player), the PS Vita game supports up to 4 players via Wi-Fi.

Other details
- 20 playable characters
- 3D action
- Fully destructible costumes
- Limited edition comes with 5 mini figures, visual book, soundtracks and drama CD