Phew! So, after two weeks and two full-blown conventions, we're back at the Capcom offices. It was pretty crazy, and a lot of hard work, but we pulled it off and both E3 and Comic-Con were smashing successes. Now that I've had a day or two to collect myself after the insanity that is Comic-Con, I thought I'd give you a little look at my time down in San Diego.

I arrived a few days after the convention had started, so I was greeted by throngs of attendees who swarmed the exhibit hall. Views like this were common and stretched all the way to the other side of the convention hall. Thankfully, the elevated Street Fighter IV boxing ring was a welcome sancutary amongst the crowds.

Of course, the SFIV ring was plenty busy, with a constrant stream of players filling the 12 arcade machines we had available. Lines to play easily wrapped around the ring, and we even had repeat visitors who would line right back up after finishing a round.

The twice daily tournaments drew big crowds too. Each day at 11AM and 3PM, fans competed against each other in a multi-round tournament to decide the best player. Things got pretty heated in some of the later rounds, as the final players were pretty evenly matched. With Seth's commentary and huge flat-panel screens to watch the action, the tournaments made for some great dama.

In all, the Capcom booth was consistetly packed with people either shopping at the Capcom store, playing SF4, getting an autograph from Ono-san, or demoing our roster of upcoming games. To say it was crowded is an understatement.

For those of you who visited Comic-Con, sights like these are pretty familiar. So, I thought I'd give you a little peek of the less public side of the convention - teardown. Going from a fully-packed convention floor with equipment and people to essentially an empty room in a little over 6 hours may sound impossible, but those are the rules. So the minute the door sclose and the stragglers are kicked out, we're off to work tearing stuff down.

 

Taking apart a pretty complicated booth like ours is hard enough, but with a strict deadline, everything has to be done efficiently. Boxes had to be packed, stacked and ordered properly on pallets to be shrink-wrapped and sent back to Capcom HQ, kiosks had to be disassembled, and more fragile items like TVs and consoles were packed in specially padded containers. It all made for a lot of heavy lifting.

Still, with our crack team of Capcom employees, a basket of snacks to keep our energy going,  and some help from our movers, we cleaned up and were ready to go hours before our 11PM deadline. So, we celebrated like anyone would after a long day, by stuffing our face with Mexican food and margaritas! Olé!

A lot will be happening at Comic-Con this week, and Capcom will be there with a veritable boatload of things to see and do! With the convention set to start in only two days, we thought we'd break down a few of the things to look out for while on the show floor.

Street Fighter IV Tournament

Be one of the first to play the final arcade version of Street Fighter IV straight from Japan! Think you're good enough to take on all challengers? Throw you name in Capcom's literal boxing ring and join in on our twice-daily SF4 Tournaments to win fame, cred and prizes such as the limited-edition Chun-Li statue signed by producer Yoshinoro Ono himself, or a fully-loaded AT&T smartphone with Street Fighter Eternal Challenge already loaded! Tournaments run daily at 11am and 3pm, but you must sign up first thing every morning to get a chance to play.

Calling ALL SF COSPLAYERS!

Friday is Street Fighter Cosplay day as we send the call out for ANY and ALL SF cosplayers to congregate at the Capcom booth on Friday at 2pm to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Street Fighter as well as the premiere of Street Fighter IV. SF4 producer, Yoshinoro Ono, will be presenting a special "Making of SF4" multimedia presentation at the Capcom booth and afterwards will personally judge the attending SF cosplayers in a variety of categories. Winners will receive an exclusive, limited-edition Chun-Li statue personally autographed by Ono-san himself. The ultimate Street Fighter collector's item for any SF fan!

Our only rule for entry: you must dress better than this guy...

Celebrity Appearances and Free Stuff!

It wouldn't be a convention without some famous people and a ton of free schwag, and the Capcom booth will be delivering on both fronts! Kristin Kreuk, star of Smallville and the upcoming Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, will be gracing the Capcom booth with her presence, along with Udon artists Adam Hughes and J. Scott Campbell. Producers of Street Fighter IV, Yoshinoro Ono and David Clislip, and Bionic Commando Producer Ben Judd will also be on hand to chat,  and we can't forget Mega Man and Bionic Commando himself! Both heroes will be roaming the convention floor ready to mingle with fans; you might even be lucky enough to wear the actual Bionic Commando arm prop!

If that isn't enough to bring you on over to our booth, we'll be handing out some great free goodies, including an exclusive SF4 Ryu headband, Dark Void frisbee flyer, and SF4 and Bionic Commando posters, along with Capcom mints, lanyards, and character tattoos.

So, if you'll be at San Diego Comic-Con this week, be sure to stop by the Capcom booth and check out all the great stuff we'll be showing off. See you there!

P.S. For a complete breakdown of all the Capcom events going on at Comic Con, check out the official schedule below.