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How to Grow Your Local Fighting Game Community, According to Alex Valle

Releases of new fighting games, like The King of Fighters XIV and the upcoming BlazBlue: Central Fiction, are good opportunities to reflect on growing the fighting game scene and inviting new players.

According to Alex Valle, a longtime FGC veteran, the next two to four weeks following the release of KOFXIV are critical to growing the scene and welcoming new players. Valle put together several tips on how to positively impact your local scene, and here’s a quick summary of his steps:

  1. Start discussions daily on social media and keep an active voice that attracts more people to join.
  2. Create content–videos, screenshots–and consistently share via mediums like YouTube.
  3. While online play is available, it’s secondary to face-to-face meetings and local tournaments.
  4. Aid tournament organizers in any way possible, whether that includes being a community leader, helping with logistics of venue space and inventory, or alerting others about events.
  5. Start up your own events, even if that means hosting in your own space–after all, that’s how the FGC began over 20 years ago.

What else do you do to motivate and grow your local community? Share your tips with us in the comments.

Source: Alex Valle (Facebook)

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Undecided? Here’s 10 Reasons to Try Out The King of Fighters XIV

Does a new fighting game release fill you with hype–or dread? There’s no shortage of games out there demanding your time and attention. If you already spend time playing Street Fighter V, or Mortal Kombat X, or Killer Instinct, or Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, or any of the myriad anime fighters, or something from the Super Smash Bros. series… well, there’s only so many hours in the day.

The King of Fighters has a long and respected pedigree in the genre, but if you’re on the fence about digging into a new game, maybe cammyplayer’s reasons (some rather subjective and personal, admittedly) to give the game a look might help you make up your mind–such as the large variety of characters, the series’ distinct feel, the challenge of the fighting system, or the improvements made since the game was first shown.

If you decide in the positive, start with our day one KOFXIV roundup.

Source: cammyplayer

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Ragna’s Voice Actor Speaks Out over Lack of English Dub in BlazBlue: Central Fiction

Aksys Games began addressing fan concerns over the possibility of no English dubbing for the upcoming Western console release of BlazBlue: Central Fiction. The publisher tweeted out earlier this week that the dub is “unlikely” at this point. The company has clarified its original statement with additional tweets that explained the tough decision, outweighed by wanting to stay as close as possible to the Japanese console release date of October 6th.

More than just inconvenience for English-speaking fans, however: the lack of dub is a hit for voice actors who have been representing the series since its beginning in 2008. The mainstay actor and voice of protagonist Ragna the Bloodedge, Patrick Seitz, put together a blog post on his official Facebook page expressing his disappointment in the company’s communication on the matter. An excerpt:

And what a cast we’ve had…! I think our BB English cast is one of the best fighting game ensembles in the genre, frankly… I’m not saying that as a self-aggrandizing actor, or as one who’s bummed over the loss of a paycheck. I’m saying that as someone who, like you, has spent the last eight years with these characters–cheering their victories, mourning their losses, and understanding the world of BlazBlue more (or sometimes less!) with each new revelation.

Seitz and other noteworthy voice actors, like Noel Vermillion’s Cristina Vee, have been kept in the dark the same as fans regarding the possibility of dubbing. Seitz has also performed directing and coordination roles for certain games in the franchise. While Aksys didn’t explicitly say that the game will not get English-voice treatment later, Seitz points out that whether the game sells well or not, either situation doesn’t make a strong case for dubbing.

If the sub-only BBCF sells well in America, it’ll be seen as proof that an English dub isn’t essential–that it’s an expensive frippery, as it were, and that they were right to release a pared-down version… At that point, why commit funds to a dub after the fact when they’ve already got your cash in hand? And if BBCF doesn’t sell well, no one’s going to want to throw good money after bad by dubbing something that under-performed in its initial U.S. release.

This week, Aksys Games also announced details on the BlazBlue: Central Fiction Limited Edition coming this November.

Sources: Aksys Games (Twitter); Patrick Seitz (Facebook)