Where there are Street Fighter fans crying out for a taste, Team Unity is there.  And so it was that last Friday, SuperKramez and I headed north to Seattle to spread religion. 

First stop was a quick trip to the Xbox Live offices, where I had the honor of sitting down with Major Nelson for this week’s podcast.  We talked some SF HD Remix, Age of Booty, Street Fighter history, and the joys of a great joystick. 

It was a real treat for me to talk with the man who I credit with kickstarting this whole “community” nonsense, and unsurprisingly he’s every bit as awesome as he seems on his show.  After the interview we said our quick goodbyes, hatched a scheme for Las Vegas (more on that later), and set our GPS to “Bungie.” 

Armed only with an address, we descended on a building that might—just might—be the Bungie bunker.  Or a poorly labeled community ice skating rink.  After a retinal scan and a thorough probing, the giant door swung wide.  It did turn out to be Bungie, and we were admitted into the dark heart of their cavernous HQ. 

So… what is Capcom doing at Bungie?  Fair question, but also easily answered:  you see, Bungie is rad.  They are not only chock full of great guys, they are chock full of great guys that are also Street Fighter nuts.  I’ve known a few of their team for years, but I met a lot of new people as well, and was amazed at all of their stories of Street Fighter devotion. 

Street Fighter fun-facts about Bungie:

--Their Street Fighter 3: Third Strike machine is one of very few pieces of equipment in the office wired directly to the backup diesel generators.  Air?  No.  Water?  Who needs that?  Only their game development files and Street Fighter machine will survive a massive power outage. 

--They have issued a standing challenge to any other studio on Street Fighter IV!  I love anyone who puts their money where their mouth is.

--Almost everyone in their tournament had a story about how Street Fighter had shaped their gaming careers, from artists inspired to start in games by Street Fighter’s Akiman and Bengus, to designers who learned their chops analyzing SF mechanics. 

--Bungie goes to EVO!  This is a big part of what won me over—I have infinite respect for players at any skill level that accept the challenge of getting better and facing strong competition (and having fun!)

The Street Fighter IV tournament was intense, and Lico managed to edge out my friend Shiek for the championship, thereby inscribing his name on a historic bottle of truly awful tequila and earning a spot in the Bungie history books. 

Lico then had to face me as the final boss.  I was a two-stage battle, and tried to take him out playing one-handed, but Lico is the real deal and smashed me playing as Zangief.  Then it was on, so I brought out my second hand to show the power of the new SFIV characters, choosing as Rufus and winning with a jumping Roundhouse into Ultra juggle.  I took out Lico that day, but he’ll definitely be one to watch once he’s actually had a chance to play the game for more than a few hours :)  

The Friday festivities were in honor of the annual Bungie Pentathalon, featuring competition on a wide variety of games including Halo 1, Wii Bowling, Pictionary (!), a seekrit title, and a truly inspired Rock Band 2 competition.  I joined Penny Arcade's Robert Khoo and Tycho as the impartial “celebrity judges” for the Rock Band contest, and was seriously impressed by each of the teams performances.  Words could not recapture the ferocity of the rock that day, but what does it tell you when a team that brought out an evil pope and a LIVE GOAT comes in 3rd?  Rawk! 

It was a truly epic day of food, fun, and busted heads.  Big ups to Bungie for having the kind of fun studio atmosphere that lives up to the dreams of developers everywhere while also turning out smash-hit games, and high-fives to all my new friends and future opponents.  Come February, I’ll see you online…

Click here for the full gallery of the trip!