Good Friday morning amigos! I hope most, if not all of you, are getting today off and maybe Monday too! I'm here to write a little bit about what went down yesterday night in Downtown LA. Capcom hosted the launch event for Street Fighter IV at the Geffen Museum of Contemporary Art. It was a suitable venue as SF is as much a cultural phenomenon as as gaming one. I have video of the event but I won't be able to get to it until next week. I hope this pictures can give you a glimpse to the scale of this event. The place had a line down the block... that was about two hours before the doors opened! I got there about that time and found a spot in line with my pal Ted from Capcom-Unity and his friends. It took me about three minutes to film the line from beginning to end. By the time 8 o'clock came the line had gotten some 4 times longer. I don't even know if everybody got in, the turnout was massive and the show of support was incredible.

I went in my mask and brought my championship belts too. I got on camera for a couple of interviews including Fox News as to why this game was so important and why I was dressed up. A lot of people were saying that I shouldn't have given them an interview as they tend to lean to the right, or stir up controversy. I welcome the chance to enlighten reporters and explain with some rationality why people were waiting in the cold and dressing up like characters from the game. Why SF was culturally relevant and also a fun game. The reporter didn't let her kids play violent games like GTA and I had to tell her how not all games were the same and why she might get behind SF IV when it was all said and done. Now I just hope my sound bits don't get taken out of context, or worse, my face appears on camera with the subtitle "Crazed Street Fighter Fan."

I spotted 1UP / EGM superstar Shane Bettenhausen walking the line and said hello. He recoiled at my appearance and kept walking. Very much a "dude I don't know you so don't say my name" vibe. It's nice to know that after blogging for years on 1UP the editors, or former editors, still have no idea who I am. As my 1UP pal GH said, I'm their best kept secret. Well, I hope GH doesn't recoil in horror should we ever cross paths. To be fair I also ran into some nice people from Capcom-Unity that recognized me from the blog. They wanted to know where else I write. I'm at 1UP where I write a blog every weekday. You can find me at BigMex.1up.com I hit 1000 blogs last Christmas. My favorite blogs are featured on that day. If you want to read some more insane ramblings then please check it out.

Once inside the party I did a lap around the entire venue with the video camera and even caught footage of Ted winning 10 matches in a row. Had he won a couple more then he would have earned a statue. Better luck next time Ted! I checked my videocamera in so I could walk the floor and take pics. I got an interview for YouTube and spotted SF IV Producer Yoshinori Ono on the side of the stage. I scored a couple of autographs before he went up with the translator to make a speech.

The community turnout was awesome. Members of Capcom-Unity, IGN, UGO and 1UP were all in attendance. RedVirtue would be proud of the cosplayers that showed up. There was an awesome Crimson Viper there but I didn't catch her for a pic. I hope she shows up on the community pages. I even crossed paths with the EU voice actor for El Fuerte, talk about a small world!

Before I get too far into what went down at the launch party I have to say thanks to the Capcom Community Managers / Wranglers / Organizers / Wearers-of-Many-Hats Seth and Kramez. Indeed, a special thanks to all of the Capcom staffers running the floor and working behind the scenes. They kept the show running without flaws. Moving here and there all night, making sure that everything was moving along all night long. Perhaps it was experience with EVO or the previous Street Fight Club events but last night went better than anyone could have expected. Even with the massive turnout, there were still dozens of kiosks to try the game out, score some nice items, check out the animé and merchandise from current and upcoming releases. S-Kill, Kramez and the rest of the guys and gals showed Capcom a taste of the community support behind this game. Like the baseball film taught us, if you build it they will come. Last night proved it.

Some of the stars of the upcoming Chun-Li movie made an appearance. Including Michael Clarke Duncan, Chris Klein, Neal McDonough and Taboo. I asked Taboo if he got to keep some of the props and he said yes. Lucky man indeed!

There was a lot of entertainment all night long. On top of raffles and door prizes we had b-boy crew Supreme Soul doing some sets, one of which had them fighting as SF characters! As well as the Knux performing a mix of club and Hip Hop tunes.

For those of us with an interest in DJ music we had turntablists DJ Qbert and Z-Trip show up. Z was on the mic while his friend Qbert showed the world why he was still a force to be reckoned with. Here is a fellow Capcom-Unity member mugging it up with them.

In addition to the open kiosks around the venue there were tons of other things to see. Customized arcade cabinets made by artists would be auctioned off for charity. Sorry I didn't take pics of these but only have video. There was also a Street Fight Club room where only the most serious players could get in to. If you weren't a AAA tournament player then you'd just about get booed like you were at the Apollo. There was also a screening room for that animé I mentioned, "the Ties that Bind" as well as merchandise on display including covers of magazines featuring Street Fighter and collectors editions of the upcoming console release. Yoshinori Ono was signing autographs and taking pics all night. I don't think he got a minute to rest in the four-odd hours he was there.

The products were nice, especially the clothes, hats, statues and of course figures. Damn, where were these awesome toys back in the day? You know, when Hasbro was ruining the name with their ill-informed GI Joe crossover.

For those that were wondering about swag Capcom spared no expense. Given the scope of this party I don't even want to imagine how much everything cost. Fans in attendance would be talking about it for ages. Those that got there early received a Ryu headband with a different print on it than was featured at the Fight Club as well as a program for the events that night. The gift bag had a screen of the classic fireball motion. Inside was a card and flyer about the toys and art exhibition as well as a tee shirt, gold foil Udon comic and tiny Chun-Li figure. The poster was very nice, one of the best group paintings I'd seen in a while. Ikeno hasn't lost his touch!

I took a few things to get autographed. Mr. Ono signed my issues of Arcadia with Crimson Viper and Chun-Li on the covers respectively. His translator wanted to know where I got the issues. I told him the Asahiya Bookstore in Torrance. I have a subscription to that magazine, as I had to Gamest before that magazine went under. I don't get these things off of eBay! Long Vo was signing and doing custom sketches all night. He drew an El Fuerte for me. How awesome was that?

I went home impressed with the hard work that went into the event and proud to be a member of the gaming community. Does this mean I'll lighten up on future Street Fighter games? Hardly! What about lamentable Hollywood features? Never! Thanks much to Capcom for the good times. Here's to continued success! Hope you have a great weekend and let me know what you're going to be up to.