Daigo’s First Impressions on SSFIV AE (2/2)

This is my translation of the Famitsu interview
Click here to read it in the original Japanese
I decided to go ahead and do the second day for practice.  But because it doesn’t really touch upon AE too much, I didn’t go to the lengths of triple checking it.

Super Street Fighter IV Capture Blog
Famitsu

Hi! I’m the second son of the Toyoizumi Brothers, and the one in charge of our blog. Pro gamer Daigo Umehara’s first impressions…  For the second part of the interview we’ll cover a broad range of topics including his recent trip to Kuwait to his plans on playing MvC3.

Kuwait? No place is too far for Umehara’s battles.

Toyoizumi: You visited Kuwait recently. Was it for a SFIV tournament?

Umehara: It was for exhibition matches with their tournament winners as well as other players from nearby.

Toyoizumi: So you were like a special guest at their tournament?

Umehara: Right. It was like I was part of the main event, so my face was printed on the ticket and everything (laughs). I was playing the entire time. Oh yeah, and there was an entry fee for about 15 Kuwait Dinars, I think?

Toyoizumi: How much is that in yen?

Umehara: Maybe about 4,500 yen?

Toyoizumi: That’s expensive (laughs).

Umehara: Yeah it is. And they were also selling tickets to play me once for 5 Kuwait Dinars. And most people played me three times [?]. I think there was maybe a total of 100 people there. And considering that it’s a country of only 3 million people, that seems like a pretty big turnout. Ah, and there were also people from Dubai, too.

Toyoizumi: How were the challengers?

Umehara: There was a fair share of beginners, but people were a lot better than I expected. There were some really good Guy, Gouken, and E. Honda players. I shouldn’t be careless in what I say [?], but I think they were the best Guy and Gouken players I’ve played so far.

Toyoizumi: Better than players online with really high PP?

Umehara: I thought so. The Guy player was especially outstanding, though I didn’t get to see a whole lot of his matches.

Toyoizumi: Better than known Japanese Guy players?

Umehara: Yeah, he was definitely that good. He might have been the best player in Kuwait. The person who won the tournament was actually a Chun Li and Abel player, but because I had a lot of experience against those characters here, I didn’t have much trouble against him. It could be that the Guy and Gouken players stood out because I had just never seen really good Guys and Goukens before. They said they were going to have an even bigger event next year, so I’m looking forward to that.

Toyoizumi: This isn’t related to Street Fighter, but what kind of place is Kuwait? With all the oil there, did it seem like there were a lot of wealthy people?

Umehara: Hmm, there were definitely a lot of luxury cars on the road.

Toyoizumi: (Laughs). You showed me pictures of the hotel you stayed at and it seemed very high class.

Umehara: Did it? The actual room I stayed in wasn’t as posh. But the lounge area was huge. The event organizer seemed to be pretty wealthy so…

Toyoizumi: An oil tycoon!?

Umehara: Hm, not sure about that. But he was definitely wealthy. I saw his house, and it was huge… Really huge.

Toyoizumi: Like you have to walk forever to get from the front gate to the actual house huge?

Umehara: Not that big. But it was the biggest house I’d seen personally.

Toyoizumi: I was wondering, does everyone there wear turbans?

Umehara: No, it differs from person to person. And it doesn’t seem like it’s a law or anything. The Gouken player I mentioned wore a turban and a traditional white outfit to the tournament. But then on the second day he was wearing western clothes. I realized then that it wasn’t required. It seems more like formal wear.

Toyoizumi: I see. Just plain jeans and T-shirt.

Umehara: Yeah. The casual western clothes we all know. And the embassador who came to watch said that because videogames were very popular in the Middle East, he’d like to have this kind of event again.

Toyoizumi: Oh really? Videogames are popular there, huh?

Umehara: Yeah it appears so. Like in very cold countries, you can’t really go out in the winter, so videogames get popular there. It’s the same in very hot countries. It’s hard to go out during the summer so I think people end up playing a lot of games. So videogames are popular in very hot and cold countries.

Toyoizumi: Are fighting games their main game?

Umehara: No, actually I think FPS’s are the most popular. But it seems there are also a lot of fighting game fans as well in the Middle East.

Toyoizumi: I’ve heard that you enjoy trying foods. How did you like the food in Kuwait?

Umehara: Well… When I first got there we had amazing Italian food at this huge touristy shopping mall. It was the kind of Italian that you can’t get in Japan. So I asked them if they eat this well all the time, and the organizer said, “Don’t tell me you’re satisfied already!” So he really got my hopes up. But we had Kuwaiti food later that night and it was really bad (laughs).

Toyoizumi: (Laughs).

Umehara: They asked, “How is it, isn’t it great?” and I thought to myself, “I think we just have different tastes…” (laughs). I ate it, saying “It’s delicious, delicious,” but I don’t think it fits the Japanese palette.

Toyoizumi: That’s too bad.

Umehara: I was thinking, “Hm… I’m going to have to stick to that Italian place at the mall from now on.” (laughs).

Toyoizumi: (Laughs). Moving on, what are your plans from here on?

Umehara: I don’t think I’ll be going overseas much once Arcade Edition comes out. The main tournament season overseas is between spring and fall, so it’s mostly smaller events from now until then. Plus they play mostly console over there, and very few of the tournaments before the major season are worth sacrificing Arcade Edition time for. So I’m going to stay here mostly and dig my hands into AE. Then in February, I want to really get into MvC3. Marvel gets at least 3, 4 years of play overseas, so I have to play it.

Toyoizumi: So you’re thinking internationally as well as several years into the future.

Umehara: Yeah. It might not catch on in Japan, but my battlefield is in the US, so it wouldn’t make sense not to play what might become the most popular game there. Although I’m sure I won’t be able to win at first.

Toyoizumi: Things will get really hype if there’s a Justin vs Daigo MvC3 match.

Umehara: Hmm… I wonder though, how long it’ll take to get to his level.

Toyoizumi: You might be one step ahead of him in SF4, but is there really that big of a gap when it comes to Marvel?

Umehara: Yeah. But now we have XBL/PSN. So even if there aren’t a lot of people playing it here, I think we can create the necessary environment to take on the US. I tried playing online in America before, and the lag is really horrible there. So the top players in the US don’t have a choice but to get together and play in person. So in that respect, I think Japan has an advantage. There may be a large gap now, but I have confidence that we can catch up eventually.

Toyoizumi: I had the idea that the internet connection in America was really advanced, but I guess that’s not the case.

Umehara: It’s bad at the moment. But even if Japan has good internet connection, it won’t mean much if a proper competetive community isn’t established.

Toyoizumi: There aren’t plans for an arcade release of MvC3 in Japan at the moment. There’s no way to know just how well the game will do.

Umehara: Maybe there’ll still be people who really get into it. I’m sure there are people who feel that they just can’t win in SF4 if they start now. I want to play against those people, people who drifted from SF4. Their play level might be a little lower at first, but I think they’ll be more than able to create strategies.

Toyoizumi: It’s like how Darkstalkers was when it came out.

Umehara: Right, right. “I can’t beat people in SFII, so I’ll get good at a different game.” I hope MvC3 will attract those kinds of people. SF4 is definitely my main game, but I’d like to get into MvC3 with the hope that I’ll be able to win in one or two years. Street Fighter X Tekken is still a ways off, and we don’t know if it’ll catch on. So it’s better to learn a game that is sure to be popular. In fact, I’m actually hoping to hold a MvC3 tournament myself.

Toyoizumi: There might be other players who decide to devote themselves to it if you show you’re serious.

Umehara: Maybe just a very tiny few (laughs). Maybe 30 players?

Toyoizumi: No, no. I’m sure there’ll be more. By the way, have you played much of the Versus games in the past?

Umehara: No, and that’s why I think I really have to go hard with MvC3. I don’t even know the basic theory. So I’m going to give a lot of thought to it beginning with character selection.

Toyoizumi: It seems it’ll be played for a long time in the US, so you probably have a lot of time.

Umehara: Yeah, I’m sure it’ll be around for at least 3 years. There are people there who played only MvC2 all this time. They still get like 100 people in MvC2 tournaments.

Toyoizumi: Speaking of tournaments, I heard there’s going to be an tournament on December 25th for a new SSFIV AE title.

Umehara: Huh? Where? Singles?

Toyoizumi: Shinjuku Club Sega Nishiguchi. 3on3.

Umehara: Oh really? I want to enter. But aren’t they giving out too many titles? It would have had more value if they only gave it to, like, national champions. But I guess there are a lot of people who want it, so maybe it’s best to give out a lot. But December 25th…? I don’t think there’s going to be many participants (laughs).

Tournament for the title of “SSFIV AE”!

The tournament mentioned at the end of interview, “SSFIV AE CLUB SEGA NISHIGUCHI 3ON3 Tournament – STARTING OVER,” will be held at Noon, December 25th (Saturday).  The team of 3 that wins the tournament will receive exclusive titles for use in SFIV AE.  Plus, everyone who enters will also receive special titles for their own use.  The deadline for online signups is December 23 at 1PM, so hurry!