With all the news going around about MLG and the possibility of Super SFIV in their 2010 line up, and with all the pros and cons thrown around on multiple forums across the net, we thought we should ask someone who would be very interested in this subject. That someone is Mr. Isaiah-TriForce M. Johnson CEO/Founder of Empire Arcadia, Inc. Home to some of the world’s greatest gamers. With many of those gamers being Street Fighters, here is what the Empire thought about SSFIV in the 2010 MLG line up.

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First off, thanks again for joining us here at Shawdowloo.

Question: Now I’m sure you’ve heard about MLG and their 2010 line up. What do you think of the games that have been chosen so far?

Answer: I’m pleased the MLG has decided to bring the fighting game genre back into their line up. I’m not surprised that both Tekken and Smash Brothers are in their league as they’ve hosted both franchises in the past. This will definitely help expand competitive gaming.

Word is they are also trying to secure Super SFIV for their 2010 line up as well. So how do you think this news will effect other fighting game tournaments around the country that hold SSFIV, T6 and Brawl events?

Super Street Fighter 4 most likely will be in their line up. Although I have confirmed sources that it will be, nothing is 100% until you see the ink dry, or in this case the text posted. I don’t think that Super Street Fighter 4 would hurt the scene to be honest with you. Both Tekken and Smash Brothers both have large communities of their own and while some of the players in each community also love Street Fighter 4, they support the game that they compete in 100%.

EVO Championship is the largest fighting game tournament in the world right now, do you think this move from MLG will be a good thing or a bad thing for EVO?

This move that MLG has made…and of recent the move that WCG has also made will have little to no affect on EVO 2K World Championships. Evo has been the place where the “WORLD FIGHTING GAME CHAMPIONSHIPS” has been held for as far back as competitive fighting games go. This goes back to the B-Series back in the 90’s and its not going to change. What makes this great is that now we have an actual “National” League that supports the game and now each year we can have a National Champion crowned. However this all depends on what MLG and WCG do in terms of allow or not allowing international competition in their league. If they do then I think it would ruin seeding for EVO, but if they don’t I think you will see a well structured competitive scene here in the US to match that found in Korea such as “Crash”.

Can you see MLG and EVO ever working together? or do you think this will go the opposite way and they become rivals? OR! Can this move be seen as some friendly competition that will force both organizations to grow into something really special?

I see no reason why either organization should turn into some type of rivalry. Although the history of both entities working with each other in the past wasn’t great, it’s really water under the bridge as far as I’m concerned. I see both entities working with each other to be honest with you. I feel that this will be one of the most significant moves, in the United States to strengthen the scene.

If the MLG does sign up some of the Empires players, would it mean they can no longer participate at other major tourneys, or that’s not how MLG works?

Wow, well that’s a question that I will have to answer behind close doors with MLG if need be. I can see a concern in terms of conflicts of interest but the gamers in Empire Arcadia are represented and managed by the company so we have to make sure that the best interest of the company and the gamers are met first and then from there we are flexible to work in the best interest of our partners. That is the best answer I can give right now.

Now, if they made you choose between MLG and EVO, could you possibly choose one over the other? If so, which would you choose? and why?

I hope that does not become a reality. I don’t have any real answer for that question should it surface but I will say this. I’m going to take everything into consideration…and unlike other gamers who do not or better yet can not make a stand for something; my decision will be made based on what is good for the gamers, their culture, community, industry and the company. Money does not sway me, what sways me is the future.

The Halo series is MLG’s bread and butter game, it is promoted like crazy. Do you think the fighting games will get this sort of attention from MLG?

Halo is the Franchise of MLG and that will not change anytime soon if ever. However Fighters will make some noise as it has in the past, more so now than then. With gamers such as Bronson, Chet, ADHD, Mango, Anti for both Tekken and Smash; these guys’ personalities and status will bring a lot of hype to MLG. Let’s not even talk about the Empire players because the hype was brought in the past with DA and will be brought again with DA. This time you have M2K, Ally, D1, Ninja Link and that’s just for Smash. In Tekken the Empire has the 4 Horsemen with NYC Fab, FightingGM, The Real Law and a returning player that I will keep his name. Then you have Blood Red…and he is a character that is going to bring a lot of hype to MLG.

If or when announces SSF4, then you have your staple players in the Empire such as Justin Wong, Sanford Kelly, FloE, Flash Metroid, Ricky Ortiz, Andre Lambert, Evil Rashaan, Arturo Sanchez and more all coming to MLG. With that said, I’m sure that the games have more than enough hype behind them along with the star power in the gamers to make fighting games the competition to watch at MLG and or WCG. Only time will tell though, so we’ll see.

Finally before we let you go, is anyone doing anything to try and get “Pringles” as a major sponsor of Super SFIV?

Heh…Pringles, the official gamer snack of MLG. That would be a freebie wouldn’t it?

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I hope you enjoyed the read. If you unsure about which MLG issue this is, then you can read this article to help you catch up a little – Major League Gaming / SFIV Issue

Written by EXC355UM

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