Collaborative FGC merchandise offering announced for Evo 2018

Several different groups and streamers within the fighting game community are teaming together to bring special apparel to Evolution 2018.

Team Spooky, ten/o, Sajam, Combo Queens, Brokentier, Jiyuna, Avoiding the Puddle and MarkMan will be selling exclusive hats and shirts at the event, some with brand-new designs and others with a fresh take on a classic image. There will even be an official "Don't ask me for sh!t" shirt featuring the face of Tekken Team's Katsuhiro Harada.

All the merchandise will be available at the ten/o booth during Friday and Saturday at Evo, with a special meet and greet with Aris of Avoiding the Puddle and MarkMan at 10 a.m. on Aug. 4.

Evolution 2018 takes place Aug. 3-5 at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

(IPLAYWINNER is a partner company of ten/o LLC)

Hori offering bonus prize pool at Evo 2018 for representing Street Fighter V players

One of the major arcade stick manufacturers is looking for players to represent it at this coming Evolution tournament, with an added benefit.

Hori is doing a casting call for players who use a Hori-branded controller or arcade stick and have signed up for Street Fighter V at Evo 2018 to represent the company. Those who can place at least top 100 in the tournament will qualify for Hori's own prize pool. The amount ranges from $100 if placed at around 65 to 96 and up to $3000 at top 8.

Qualified players will be notified on Aug. 1 and they will have to provide a copy of their email and a photo ID at the Hori booth at Evo to receive their branded shirt. This offer is only exclusive to Evo 2018 and will not carry over to future events.

Players can sign up on this form for their chance to qualify until July 20. More information such as terms and conditions can be found on the form.

Evo Japan coming to Fukuoka in 2019

Evo Japan will be returning in 2019, but to a new part of the country.

After spending its first year in Tokyo and posting a heavy loss, Evo Japan will be moving to Fukuoka for its second iteration on Feb. 15-17, 2019.

Fukuoka is the most populated city on Japan's most southwestern island of Kyushu.

According to the official Evo Twitter account, more information for Evo Japan 2019 will be available during Evolution 2018. Evo 2018 takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada, from Aug. 3-5, 2018.

Dead or Alive 6 first playable at Evo 2018

Players will get the first chance to check out the new Dead or Alive game at one of the biggest fighting game events of the year.

Dead or Alive Evo Showdown 2018 will be a fan event taking place during Evo 2018 on Aug. 3-4. The festivities will include both a playable version of the upcoming title as well as a a DOA5 Last Round tournament taking place on Aug. 4.

No other details are available at this time but Team Ninja says to "stay tuned" in the coming weeks for more information. Evolution 2018 takes place at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Aug. 3-5, 2018. Players can head to the event's official website for more information.

Evolution 2018 lineup announced

In a sit-down interview with Mark Julio on Red Bull eSports, Joey "Mr. Wizard" Cuellar revealed the games that will be part of Evo 2018.

The Evolution staff has chosen eight games for competition at this year's Evo: Tekken 7, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle, Guilty Gear Xrd Rev. 2, Injustice 2, Super Smash Bros. Melee and Dragoin Ball FighterZ.

Cuellar also revealed that Rev 2, Melee, T7, SBFZ and SFV will be the five games that are featured in the stadium during Evo Sunday finals.

In addition, Arc System Works made two announcements in videos. The first showed BBTag's Toshimichi Mori revealing that RWBY's Yang Xiao Long will be coming to the game and that both her and Blake Belladonna will be free DLC coming out soon after the game's release. The second featured Guilty Gear's Daisuke Ishiwatari saying that the game's new balance patch will be coming to the PC and console platforms in March 2018. 

Registration for Evo 2018 starts on Feb. 15 at 12 p.m. PST on the official Evo wbesite. Evolution 2018 is coming Aug. 3-5 at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevadad.

Evo 2018 game list coming Feb. 6, Evo Japan 2019 confirmed?

After the end of Street Fighter V at Evo Japan 2018, Evolution's Director of Global Business Development Mark "MarkMan" Julio had some brief news to share regarding the tournament series' future events.

Julio stated that the game list for Evo 2018, taking place on Aug. 3-5 at the Mandaly Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, will be announced on Feb. 6.

He also seemingly confirmed a 2019 iteration of Evo Japan, telling the audience in attendance at Evo Japan 2018 "see you next year." No other details or official announcement was made at this time. 

Soul Calibur VI to be playable at Evo Japan

During a Japanese Tekken 7 event streamed on Bandai Namco's official Twitch channel, Soul Calibur VI Producer Motohiro Okubo appeared to announce that the game will be playable during Evo Japan 2018.

This will be the first time the general public in Japan will have a chance to try out the upcoming title. In addition, there will also be a Soul Calibur V side tournament held on Jan. 27.

Evo Japan 2018 takes place on Jan. 26-28 in Tokyo, Japan. 

Evolution 2018 returns to Mandalay Bay, the month of August

The first trailer for Evo 2018 has unveiled both the dates and location of next year's event: Mandaly Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Aug. 3-5.

The fighting game tournament returns to the month of August after 10 years as a July event. No games or other details were revealed at this time.

Readers can check out the trailer after the jump.

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Paradise Arcade Shop's analog joystick lever Project Magenta coming this fall, introduced at Evo 2017

During my time at this year's Evolution, I checked out the Shoryuken Team Tech Talk booth which showed off Paradise Arcade Shop's upcoming product that has been in the works for a couple of years.

Project Magenta is a PCB for the Sanwa Denshi JLF joystick lever that effectively replaces the stock switches. This in turn makes the JLF change from having digital outputs to being an analog lever. Even the exposed side of the PCB shows which directions you triggered. For players who want to hear switch clicks, it's possible with the Magenta.

One of the big reasons that Magenta is aiming for an analog solution is so players can adjust both directional and cardinal zones thanks to its dedicated calibration software. Not only can you adjust the overall zones but you can even customize individual areas. If you want to have no neutral dead zone or maybe only want down left to have more coverage, it's definitely possible with Magenta. The PCB does require a five-volt power source so you will need a JLF harness with six pins and wires with some modding required

If you are worried about legality in tournaments, Magenta is tournament legal. Evo's Mr. Wizard is the product's first customer! The plan is that the Magenta will launch some time this fall so follow the Shoryuken thread for updates.

Seven games announced for Evo Japan

Seven titles have been announced for the inaugural Evo Japan.

Tekken 7, Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2, King of Fighters XIV, Smash Bros. for Wii U, ARMS, BlazBlue Central Fiction and Street Fighter V round out the current roster of titles for the 2018 event. 

Evo Japan will be held on Jan. 26-28, 2018, at Akihabara UDX, which is close by Akihabara Station in Tokyo.

Readers can check out the new trailer after the jump.

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Evolution 2017 stream schedule reveals "The Jumpoff"

The Evo stream schedule is now available for viewing, and it has included a new wrinkle in this year's broadcast: The Jumpoff.

A collaboration between ten/o, Twitch, Evo and more, The Jumpoff will be a rountable discussion on a separate stream channel where the rotating panel will have access to all the different happenings of Evolution simulataneously. According to executive producer Chris Ceglia, The Jumpoff "is us 'Jumping' around to all the streams within the venue and able to have full length conversations about games that are going on with different members of the entire FGC." (full disclosure: IPLAYWINNER is an affiliate of ten/o LLC)

Ceglia promises that the experimental show will have special guests, amazing commentators and "heartbreaking matches."

While the full list of talent involved with The Jumpoff will not be unveiled until Evolution, Sajam, Rynge and Progducto have tweeted that they will be spending a lot of time with the show. For the complete Evo schedule, readers can head over to the official website.

Evo, Street Fighter V return to ESPN2 in 2017

ESPN will again broadcast from Evolution as ESPN2 carries coverage of the Street Fighter V finals on July 16, 2017.

The game will be the closing title of Evolution 2017's finals day. ESPN's coverage will begin at 10 p.m. EDT (7 p.m. PDT) on ESPN2 along with streaming on the ESPN app.

"It's great to be back at the Evo Championship Series Final with Street Fighter V this year," said Kevin Lopes, a director of ESPN's programming and acquisitions, in a statement. "This final will provide no shortage of compelling competition, and we look forward to delivering this event to fans."

Evolution 2017 will take place from July 14-16 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Evo Japan coming to Tokyo on Jan. 26-28, 2018

Evolution will finally be making its journey to Japan early in 2018.

Evo Japan will be held on Jan. 26-28, 2018, at Akihabara UDX, which is close by Akihabara Station in Tokyo. Also announced was a tournament that will serve as 2017's precursor to Evo Japan, [sài]. 

According to Shoryuken, [sài] will be operated with collaboration from TOPANGA and GODSGARDEN with the intent to “unite gaming communities and celebrate the fighting spirit in Japan.” [sài] will take place May 20-21, 2017, and feature Evo's standard double-elimination play. [sài] will be free to enter and feature Tekken 7: Fated Retribution, Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 and one game to be announced in the future.

For more information on Evo Japan, including a statement from Noriyuki Kaneko, chairman of Evo Japan Secretariat, head over to Shoryuken.

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 unofficially joins Evolution 2017

After a heated donation drive that lead to more than $150,000 given to charity, UMvC3 emerged the victor and will be added to the Evolution 2017 lineup barring donation fraud.

This will be the game's seventh year at Evo, and the game has already been won by many of the giants who have dominated it at various times over the years.

As Joey "Mr. Wizard" Cuellar noted during the Evo lineup reveal, UMvC3 will be given a guaranteed $10,000 prize pot and will be the first game played on the main stage for Sunday finals.

As a final nod to the efforts of the Pokkén Tournament community, Evo has pledged to give $10,000 in support to the game's competitions during the course of 2017.

Evolution 2017 lineup announced

In a sit-down interview with Mike Ross on Red Bull eSports, Joey "Mr. Wizard" Cuellar revealed the games that will be part of Evo 2017.

The Evolution staff has chosen eight games for competition at this year's Evo: Street Fighter V, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Injustice 2, Tekken 7, Guilty Gear Xrd Rev. 2, BlazBlue Central Fiction and King of Fighters XIV.

A ninth game will also be added to the roster as a result of Evo's first player vote since 2013. Mortal Kombat XL, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Skullgirls, Pokkén Tournament, Killer Instinct, Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Arms, Windjammers and Nidhogg will compete for the spot via money donated on Generosity.com.  The game that wins will have a guaranteed $10,000 prize pot and will open Evo finals on the main stage on Sunday, July 16, 2017.

For its part, Arc System Works is working to prepare a playable demo version of Guilty Gear Xrd Rev. 2 for competitors in the same way that -Revelator- had in the spring of 2016. Mark "Markman" Julio also made his yearly appearance, bringing with him the first gameplay trailer of Tekken 7's preorder DLC character, Eliza.

Registration for Evolution 2017 opens Jan. 24, 2017, at 7:30 p.m. PST on the Evo website. Competitors can also register for their hotel rooms at Mandalay Bay.

Evolution 2017 is coming July 14-16! Make sure to check the Evo website for updates!

The Evolution staff has chosen eight games for competition at this year's Evo: Street Fighter V, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Injustice 2, Tekken 7, Guilty Gear Xrd Rev. 2, BlazBlue Central Fiction and King of Fighters XIV. A ninth game will also be added to the roster as a result of Evo's first player vote since 2010. X, X and X will compete for votes cast IN THIS WAY

Other information revealed includes the return of the Indie Games area. Brook's Super Converters will be allowed but can be banned if any future issues affect them.

Super Desperation Radio episode 603 archive online

The latest episode of Super Desperation Radio is now available for watching on Team Spooky's YouTube channel.

Joey "Mr. Wizard" Cuellar joined SDR to talk about the impending Evolution 2017 games announcement as well as the different preparation that goes into creating Evo every year.

During the rest of the show, the cast talked about taunting in and out of the game, the newly announced Tekken 7 console release date, updates to KOF XIV and Skullgirls and each cast member chose the games they think will be a part of Evo 2017.

Super Desperation Radio is live every Monday at 6:30 p.m. PDT on Team Spooky, and will be archived at the TS YouTube channel. Classic episodes can still be found on the IPLAYWINNER YouTube.

Evolution 2017 game list to be announced on Jan. 24

Joey "Mr. Wizard" Cuellar has tweeted that the lineup for Evo 2017 will be revealed on Jan. 24 of the new year.

In his statement, Cuellar asked players what seven games they think should be played at the event, indicating that as the magic number of titles for the tournament. This, however, is not necessarily the final number of titles as Evo has expanded its roster beyond the stated limit in the past.

MarkMan has also noted that more information about Evo will be coming soon. Evo 2017 will be taking place on July 14-16, 2017, at the Mandalay Bay hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Evolution 2017 coming July 14-16 at Mandalay Bay

The first trailer for Evo 2017 has unveiled both the dates and location of next year's event: Mandaly Bay hotel on July 14-16.

In revealing these details, the trailer puts to rest rumors the event would extend beyond its normal three-day span, and also gives players the comfort of knowing they will not need to worry about travelling between multiple venues next year.

Check out the trailer after the jump.

Click to read more ...

Evolution 2017 information to be announced on Nov. 16

Evolution has revealed that the first details of its 2017 event will be made available on Nov. 16, 2016.

If history is any indication, it is likely that Evo will announce the dates for 2017, giving attendees plenty of time to start planning and saving.

The game list and venue, however, will likely be kept under wraps, as they are normally not revealed until sometime during the January before the event.

Evo Japan coming January 2018, more info to be announced

The first-ever Evolution event to take place in Japan will happen early in 2018.

At Tokyo Game Show, a presentation revealed that the show has been scheduled for January of that year, but no other details were made available at the time.

More information will likely be made available when Mark "MarkMan" Julio and Joey "Mr. Wizard" Cuellar make a live TGS appearance with Evo Japan's steering committee chairman Noriyuki "Hameko" Kaneko on Friday, Sept. 16 at 12:15 p.m. JST (8:15 p.m. PDT, 11:15 p.m. EDT on Sept. 15 in the United States).

The event will be streamed by 4Gamer on the site's YouTube channel.