Month: February 2016

The largest fighting game tournament in the world is getting even bigger this year thanks to their finals venue. Mandalay Bay’s massive arena is capable of holding up to 12,000 spectators, giving players who find themselves vying for an Evo 2016 championship a ridiculous amount of attention.

Should you want to be a part of history, tickets are now available! The organizers were made aware of a few unforeseen fees that have drive prices higher, so they decided to drop the prices of the regular two day pass for the first week. Players can sign up for $20 plus an additional $10 for each game they plan to compete in until next Thursday, February 25.

As was previously reported, Evo 2016’s finals at Mandalay Bay’s Event Center will be separate from the rest of the event, meaning you won’t need a two-day pass to buy an arena ticket and vice versa.

Evo 2016 is scheduled for July 15-17 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Street Fighter V, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Mortal Kombat X, Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR, and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 will close out the event at Mandalay Bay, with tournaments for Pokkén Tournament, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Killer Instinct, and Tekken 7 Fated Retribution planned for earlier in the weekend.

Registration is now open on Evo’s official website, and Mandalay Bay arena tickets can be purchased through AXS.

The Pokémon Company and Bandai Namco Entertainment are banking on 2016 being a big year for Pokkén Tournament. Apart from the previously announced championship series, this unique fighter will also be included as part of Pokémon’s world championships in San Francisco, joining the original video game and its trading card spin-off.

While simply winning a tournament on the circuit will earn players a shot at the world championships, Pokémon has also teamed up with GameSpot to host a number of regional qualifiers at locations across the United States on February 27 as part of Pokémon Day. The full list of participating venues is detailed below.

• Preston Road, Plano, TX
• Chamblee Tucker Road, Chamblee, GA
• Barranca Parkway, Irvine, CA
• S. John Young Parkway, Orlando, FL
• W. Diversey Ave., Chicago, IL
• Bellevue Square, Bellevue, WA
• E. 14th St. – Union Square, New York, NY
• Rivermark Plaza, Santa Clara, CA

Winners at these events will then move onto the Pokkén Tournament Early Access Competition finals at the Nintendo World Store in New York City on March 17, the champions of which will earn training with a professional player and a shot at nationals. Walking away with the gold at nationals will, finally, lead to the aforementioned world championships.

Phew, that’s a lot of steps! But this course of action will be the next best way of qualifying apart from placing first at a tournament like Evo 2016.

Pokkén Tournament is set to launch for Wii U worldwide on March 18.

Source: Polygon