In light of the shiny new PS3's that Sony is sending over to help at the upcoming EVO World Finals, Jeff over at the PlayStation blog asked me to write a little something up about the event. 

So I did. 

I know I'll be seeing a lot of you out there already, but there's some good basic background for anybody new to the madness and the hype.

In addition to the best of the best fighting gamers from around the world, Capcom will of course be there in force, showing off Marvel Vs Capcom 2, Fate codes/unlimited, and of course Tatsunoko Vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars!

July 17-19th, Rio Hotel and Resort, be there AND be square--gloriously square!  More details about the special events coming soon over at Evo2k, so stay tuned, and head here in the meantime.

Our buddies over at Destructoid are running a fun cosplay contest with a great prize, courtesy of Capcom Europe counterparts.   

It's a framed Street Fighter animation cel, signed by SFIV producer Yoshinoro Ono.  What do you have to do to get your grubby fingerprints all over it? 

All you have to do is dress up like Chun-Li to win the thing. Man, women, small child -- whatever.  The winner will be determined on originality, quality of the outfit and/or how funny the image turns out.

You have until August 5th to enter.  Head here for full details, but my vote goes to the  baby.

Why vote?  It matters to... something fun.  I can't tell you exactly what that is YET, but if you like these characters or this game, take the time to tell us who you like best.

We're looking to see your very favorite character from the current Tatsunoko Vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars lineup, so pick one from the Tatsunoko side, and one from the Capcom side.

Last Thursday I headed down to the Mountain Bar in Los Angeles' Chinatown, which had been temporarily transformed into the Shadaloo Lounge by an influx of Chun Lis.  

Sure, a lot of bars you'll see have a Chun Li or maybe two, but why so many in one place? They were there to celebrate the release of Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li on DVD and Blu-Ray.   

The room was chock full of Unity members and some top Street Fighter talent, there to compete in a last-minute tournament for over $2,000. We put together a field of 16 of the best players in LA, featuring top contenders from the recent Super Battle Opera qualifying tournament.  

In addition to the big-screen Street Fighter action downstairs, the party also featured a DJ upstairs and the chance to snap a polaroid with a gaggle  of dancing Chun Lis (a gaggle? a pride?  what about a "kikoken of Chun Lis"?). 

The event also featured the ever popular open bar.  Open bar + Street Fighting = the real deal, with plenty of finger-pointing, trash talking, and Ed Ma's famous random select Guile.  Despite Ed's best attempts at the Drunken Master style, it was Mike Ross's Honda who emerged victorious over Ken Inoue's Rufus in the finals.  

Big ups to 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and IAM8BIT for another great event, and to Karaface for pics that put my sad phonecam action to shame.  Special shoutout to Ken I for rocking the aged Capcom Vs SNK 2 EO shirt!  

Official Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li site is here, and the official DVD release is tomorrow, June 30th.  More from Unity's CurlehMustache is here.  

In LA tomorrow, June 25th?  Like Street Fighter?  Well even if you don't, you should still join us at the one-night-only Shadaloo Lounge in Chinatown.

We'll be partying in honor of the arrival of Street Fighter: the Legend of Chun Li on DVD and Blu-Ray.  There will be some high-stakes fighting in the streets, some exciting give-aways, and plenty of booze to dull the pain.  

Let's do this, and remember, for tomorrow, Shadaloo is pronounced "Shadowlaw." Because we said so!  Kind of!