Street Fighter IV - Playstation 3 Challenge @ The Mines Shopping Fair (25th July 2009)


Have you got what it takes to be the Champion of Street Fighter IV?

Participate in this challenge now and win these great prizes:




Grand Prize - Sony PSP (worth RM899)

1st Runner-up - Sony Digital Photo Frame (worth RM699)

2nd Runner-up - Sony DVD Player (worth RM299)

Consolations - 5 x Sony Walkman (worth RM159)


No Registration Fee! Exclusive door gifts for early registrations. Everyone is welcome to participate in the challenge, or simply come to cheer and supports to boost up our participants' spirits!


Just fill in the attached form below and send via fax at +60 3 2144 5008 or via email at sales@fotoshangri-la.com



There will be Street Fighter characters appearance during the event. Don't miss the chance to take cool pictures with them!


This post has been edited by Lyzeravern: Jul 22 2009, 11:54 AM

Hi sir, could you advise more on the rules set please?

Say for example, what's the format like - best out of how many rounds, how many machines, any joysticks provided, can people use pads, any tables provided if we're able to bring sticks, will it be a knock-off format (or does the loser get another chance at a 'loser's bracket') and so forth.

Perhaps the most important question is, can we bring our own sticks?

This is a really great effort from the organizer's part to give exposure to the local fighting game scene.

I have ask,
he say they will not allow joystick or any joypad from the player,
the organizer will provide all the joypad ( no joystick?)

n the rules will announce b4 the tournament start?!

tis is wat i have ask Lyzeravern.

Hi rawfish and terryforever,

To rawfish, my apology for being late reply.

Since this challenge is open to public and no admission fee charged, there will be participants from those who's never play before, beginner till professional level. And so, to be fair and square, we have set a rule that all participants shall use the controllers provided by us. (To terryforever: Don't worry, I'm sure you still be great even though you're using a normal controller, isn't it? )

As for the mechanism of the challenge, we have to confirm the number of participation first before we could set it up. Otherwise, the challenge may be time consuming or inappropriate if certain number of participation did not meet.

Other rules and regulations will posted up at the venue during the day itself.

To rawfish questions, the game will be 3 rounds match and there will be three PS3 consoles with Bravia TVs will be provided during the day.

Lastly, thanks for the compliment on rawfish's last note in regards to our efforts put into this event. We hope that both of you could attend and participate for the support of this event.

Hi Terry and Lyzeravern,
Thanks a lot.

Lyzeravern,
I see your point in bringing the exposure to the general audience, and to make the game more accessible.

In this case, I would like to point out that having the tournament start at 1pm onwards would be better, as some people still do work on half day Saturdays (some of my friends who wanted to come mentioned this). I understand communication has already been sent out, but I think the crowd turnout would be even better.

For those that arrive 11am onwards, perhaps you can still run casual games and I'm sure they won't mind the wait as nobody comes to play Street Fighter and then wants to go home quickly. Just a suggestion

I understand your company's position and affiliation with Sony and I'm not sure if your/our voice can be heard - I do foresee more SF tournaments and gatherings happening soon. Street Fighter is the new Winning Eleven, to the general Malaysian populace. It has fans as long as over 20 years and to them it is not only a game, but a lifestyle. I believe I speak for others as well - generations of youths have one time or the other frequent the local arcades. Friendship and even careers had been forged (I used to work for the local Capcom arcade distributor in my earlier days). Even with its demise, these gamers have moved on to other platforms. This fact is supported with the remarkable re-emergence of the Street Fighter scene, locally evident in the PS3/XBOX/PC threads in this very forum when SF4 launched. Sales alone do tell numbers and I believe Sony knows the figures very well. They should also check with The Software Boutique for the PC sales figures alone this month.

I am not certain if Sony has every right regarding licensing issues over the use of Capcom games here - they seem to be clearly riding on its success, appeal and publicity. I have nothing against them doing so, but I wish - I simply wish, that more can be done.


THE MONEY FACTOR (or, "How can Sony organize a successful/profitable tournament/event?")

1) Simply continue what they are doing. SF4 is a winning formula itself. The brawl-factor to attract the crowd. Flashy Ultras. It's thumpin' loud. Gorgeous graphics on Bravias. Exciting match-ups. Beautiful finishes. Nail-biting tight fights. This is just the appeal factor.

2) Do more. If you want to do something, do it right or look bad otherwise. Draw in the fans - aren't they not part of the crowd as well? Do them a favour for their support. As an SF-fan, I supported Sony because I wanted to play the game on a PS3. I bought a Bravia because I wanted to experience gameplay in HD. I became a MySony member because I wanted to tune in to more news and even be in the loop for any warehouse sales where I can purchase good deals on more of your items. I bought games from Sony Style because I thought they were cheaper than the grey-importers (before the price hike happened). My main intention is to highlight on brand loyalty. Coming back to the choice of controller in tournaments/events, I have no issues with having to play on pads. I do have issues though, with having NO OTHER CHOICE.

3) Arcade sticks - This is how Street Fighter is meant to be played. At an advanced level (read: not mashing) plenty of techniques are only achievable via input over the arcade layout. To a random passer-by, this is not applicable. To a player with a pre-determined mindset to participate in the event and provide his/her full support, this means a lot. It is a known fact that Sony has no arcade stick line in their catalogues - nor any profit/demand-driven business need to do so. Hence, I do not expect for sticks to be provisioned, as this may be result in a marketing incongruence (non-Sony accessories). I do expect to be able to bring my own sticks in future Sony-sponsored or Sony-organized events and be given permission to plug them into the consoles to play. After all, the companies manufacturing these accessories have already procured licenses with Sony so I do not see any reason other than endorsement issues which Sony thinks are getting in the way (this brings to question, on why Logitech Wingman steering wheels were used, for previous Gran Turismo events, since the game is playable no pads as well).

To develop the level of interest to a higher plane (to Sony, it's to drive more people to their booths and products lineup, strengthening of their brand), respect the fans and respect their choice. Respect their preferences. Organize it well, or others will one day step up an do it instead and make you look bad in the process.

I will treat this as an open letter to Sony Malaysia and will look at carrying this message across as and when needed.

---

Added on July 26, 2009, 5:51 am

Ok, the GOOD feedback on The Mines' tournament:
• Very well-organized event
• Rope cordon were used to separate the crowd from the contestants' area
• Played on 40" Bravia Vs. No eye-strain nor lag noticed
• Scoring system clear, and the notebook was even routed to a Bravia for all to see
• Attentive staff
• Interesting MC
• The customary cosplay Ryu and Chun Li. I like their presence and shouts out loudly this is an SF-event
• It's free
• Door gift (t-shirts and towels) given to participants
• Proper SF4 tags were printed and distributed (hung around the neck)
• Decent prizes to go around for the top 8 winners

Now for what I feel needs to be highlighted:

• Very badly-organized Street Fighter event. Many opportunities to make this better.

• Event held in a (IMHO) tight and confined space. Aside from participants, they should know that fighting games make good crowd attraction, especially on a busy weekend. They should capitalize on this and use the mall's concourse area to stage the event to draw a better crowd and sell their brand better (though there may be budgeting or setup challenges for this).

• No choice to bring your own stick. This severely brings great handicap to players (example, a likely-to-be EX-Sony supporter like myself). Bringing a stick does not guarantee the user the championship. It's skill. This is what a tournament is about, an open challenge of skill. Best man (or woman) wins. Since this is an open invitation (public), you leave the options open as well. Do not limit or restrict the capacity for a player to play his/her best. If bringing sticks shy the public away, may I then ask you to look at today's results. People will definitely sign-up no matter what they see being used to play, to at least gauge how well they fare and try their luck at the prize. People will also leave, due to the need to be somewhere else, or getting beaten by the better pad player. Or as some people I met quoted, "good game, bro. takde joystick tak best la *balik*".

• No choice to bring your own pad. This is acceptable, if only the pads were in good condition. Sadly they were not. Mike, a good Abel player is someone who seldom complains on hardware fault. He lost unconvincingly and shared that the pad had a worn-out d-pad. By that time it was too late to inform the organizers as it was already at the knock-out stage and we had little evidence to prove.

• No choice to customize the settings on the pad. So I decided to join the pad tournament, which makes myself seem like joining the Special Olympics (no disrespect to pad players, you know your game and are better with it, it's just like I am useless on it). I tried hard to make the temp transition, and it seemed ok as long the PPP/KKK buttons are mapped from the right shoulder buttons to the right ones). To my horror (the rules were not posted online, and only announced/published at the venue), even button customization is strictly banned too. I can understand the banning of mapping Focus Attacks or Throws together, but this....???

• No choice to use certain characters. No, we're not talking about Seth (in fact, Seth has weak attacks and defence - no more reason to ban him). There's 3 PS3 setups.

Setup #1: Fei Long, Akuma, Gouken, Seth, Rose, Dan and Gen are not unlocked
Setup #2: Everyone unlocked
Setup #3: No one unlocked. Default arcade characters.

So anyone who uses these characters need to pray hard that they are assigned to the correct machines.

• 2-round games, even in the semi-finals. Only finals and 3rd-placing decider went to best-of-5-rounds

• 60 second games. This was too fast and encouraged plenty of people just hitting hard then jumping back to wait for time-out. But anything you say, dear organizers.

• I have no qualms about the score keeper. He initially interrupted people in the midst of battle to ask for their tag number and current score, but after feedback he was more thoughtful and sensitive. Thank you for this.

True, it is your event and you have ultimatum over the rules. The keyword here is "choice". I have a choice to enter this tournament or simply stay at home and stay contended. You need to do your homework before organizing an event like this, or you will definitely make yourselves look bad. This message may not mean anything to you as it's just from some guy in cyber-space. But I hope this is reflected upon and well-taken as a very honest, no-frills one - as I know, you're looking towards setting up an online community as evident with PlayStation Friends @ Facebook. So you need to start to listen to people within this channel.

Thank you for the event, overall I enjoyed myself as I had a good company of friends but am questioning the effectiveness of your corporate office's leadership team, over yesterday's event.

This post has been edited by rawfish: Jul 26 2009, 05:53 AM

Hi rawfish,

First of all, I would like to express my gratitude for your constructive criticism on our recent Street Fighter IV - Playstation 3 Challenge 2009 event. We are always open and welcome to such comments as these could further improve our organizing plan should there any similar event arise in the future.

At the same time, we will also forward your point of views to Sony Malaysia directly in regards to issues like "The Money Factor" for their feedback.

By the way, would you mind be joining in our Photostylers' Facebook page? We would appreciate if you could give us the same support too by joining in as a fan of this page.

I'd like to thank you as well for viewing this in a positive manner. My friends and I agreed that this was a well-organized event, but as an SF-event perhaps more can be done. You have all the elements except full knowledge on the subject matter i.e. how the game really is, or should be played.

To be fair, I think its objectives (The Mines tournament) were met, where the results matched its scale. People did turn up, and for a tournament this size (50 people odd) it did generated a decent-sized crowd.

Bola-11's been the media workhorse for the PS2 era. But no kid's gonna drag Mr and Mrs Rich Parent to any screen with regular humans on a padang. So is there a redirection to get more people interested in Rock Band and fighting games, due to a broader appeal (to kids, teens, and those still young at heart)? If Sony really wish to make SF, and the upcoming KOF12 and Tekken 6 games a unique marketing and publicity tool, they really need to get accustomed with the fighting game scene and local gaming culture. Nothing else shows off the Bravia like a 55" X-series smack in the middle of the stage, in a mall's atrium area - with lower-ranged models for people to habitually make direct comparisons. In the current economic climate, money no pohbrem wan! As long got nice LCD TV is ok. Sony terkenal 'ngan quality. And nothing draws the crowd in like people bringing in their own weapons of choice (read: arcade sticks). You want proof, just ask your staff during the Mid Valley Marathon (I feel like a broken record repeating this) on how the crowds gathered.

I hope Sony is able to continue with their commitment to organize more of these fighting game tournaments. But you already know the sales figures for SF4 here in Malaysia - hence having tournaments to also gauge the response too, right? If you want additional numbers, dip your toes into the local forum pools to get a better view of the business. Sony can never penetrate into the WCG gaming domain, dominated by Intel, ATi, nVIDIA and other big names in the PC business. And people love anything competitive. SF is a perfect competitive tool and all you need to do is reduce the opponent's life bar. Respect the fans, and in return the fans will give appreciation and a good show - something money cannot buy. This is how brand loyalty is built. Do a good job, and leave the rest to media coverage to really get the ball rolling.

P.S. On the Facebook page, I got the message "The page you requested was not found".

Seriously , it will be great if any one who wish to organise a SF tournament come talk to us before proceed. Although we are the one did the FIRST SF 4 TOURNAMENT here in KL, we are very well versed on the gameplay and understand international standard format and what contestant is looking for. Winning and losing is part of the tournament but thats not important as running a good tournament. However, putting up a good show for the crowd, satisfying challenges for contestant and increase awareness of brands and sales at the end of the day that counts. Since we are putting money on any tournament, my as well make it work and make it to be remembered.

Although there are still little flaws on the first SF4 tournament at Cineleisure...but can ask anyone...it is still the BEST and people remembers it. NOW HOW CAN WE MAKE IT EVEN BETTER?

Thanks

Alan