Not that long ago, MLG brought Tekken 6 into their scene. Now I was a little curious as to why Super Street Fighter 4 wasn't also included. Fortunately, the folks over at djwheat.tv managed to get an interview with MLG co-founder Sundance DiGiovanni and they briefly explain the situation.
 
 

• MLG wants Street Fighter to be a part of the circuit
• A bitter past may have left salty people trying to sabotage MLG's attempts with Capcom
• Capcom Japan believes MLG is harming the independent tournament scene
• MLG has a stigma of being an over-controlling organization

• Be aware of the scene. The more we know, the better we can voice our opinion to Capcom and MLG.

Not that long ago, MLG brought Tekken 6 into their scene. Now I was a little curious as to why Super Street Fighter 4 wasn't also included. Fortunately, the folks over at djwheat.tv managed to get an interview with MLG co-founder Sundance DiGiovanni and they briefly explain the situation.
 
 

• MLG wants Street Fighter to be a part of the circuit
• A bitter past may have left salty people trying to sabotage MLG's attempts with Capcom
• Capcom Japan believes MLG is harming the independent tournament scene
• MLG has a stigma of being an over-controlling organization

• Be aware of the scene. The more we know, the better we can voice our opinion to Capcom and MLG.

I'm kinda in the middle for this.  I would be neat to have it in the circuit so it can be a little more main stream, but I like it having it independent.

I don't see how MLG could add any value to what is already an excellent tournament scene. MLG exists for games that cannot stand on their own, which cannot be said for SF.
 
On the other hand, I don't see any harm either.

Whether its the truth or a bunch of finger pointing the only thing that matters is the core of the tournament community going for or against the idea. Yes I know there was a petition for SSF4 for MLG a while back, but a bunch of nobodies (probably stream monsters) signing it will only have the result we have today.  
 
What MLG needs to do it appeal to the current tournament community we have going now. The guys the run Iplaywinners, levelup, FADC or whatever other stream you watch. You get those guys and top players (like Justin Wong, Sanford, etc) to agree and publicly say this is a good idea. After all just about every stream it all comes down to the inevitable begging for donation money or shout outs to our sponsors (mostly madcatz and some energy drink or food product). If MLG wants to sponsor SSF4 (and not take it over, as a over-controlling organization it is seen as), then I wouldn't mind seeing the same streams we got now for the different regions, but they say shout outs to MLG besides the usual madcatz.  
 
Baby steps MLG, I listened to LO3 as well this week and it seems like MLG would push for having thier shit televised and running thier own tournaments and such (not necessarily for SSF4 but how they do things in general). MLG needs to take a baby step and pay for the streams we got now (most streams are good about giving proper exposure to their sponsors) and we will see where that takes us.   
  
 
EDIT:
Or perhaps MLG is in the wrong if rumors of exclusive contracts or whatever other finger pointing BS should be true. Afterall, none of us has seen the actual contracts that never got signed. Honestly, I would be hesitant to fight for something without knowing the fine details what it would actually imply. 

I don't know if MLG has changed the way they deal with their "pro" players(I doubt it), but as of a couple years ago, each player that placed pro (which is usually something like 10% of the people playing) are forced to sign a pro player contract. The contract has a clause that gives MLG the right to prevent their pro players from participating in competing tournaments. If I remember right, the WCG Halo 3 tournament was completely void of any MLG pro teams because of this. I'm not sure if the same thing happened for WoW, I don't know enough about that game to say anything.

I think if MLG picked up SSF4, you'd see a huge dropoff in the amount of top players showing up at other major tournaments. Just something to think about.

Also, just to give a little more context to what I said above. Being a "pro" isn't the same as being a salaried player with MLG. Most of the pro players for games that aren't Halo end up losing money over the course of a season, just because of the costs associated with playing at an event(i.e. plane, hotel, transportation, food). So if MLG made pro players choose between playing MLG events exclusively and other independent events, I'm sure you'd have a large large number of guys choosing not to sign (which basically bars you from playing in an MLG event for the season).

" @sixghost: That stuff only applies if the player lets MLG sponsor them, right now MLG wants to sponsor SSF4 as a whole not the players. And yea if you are on a "MLG sponsor team " then of course they are gonna say when and where you play. "

I'm not sure what you mean by "letting MLG sponsor them". MLG doesn't sponsor anybody, they have had a couple salaried players over the years, like DarkMan a long long time ago. But for the most part, when they "sign" a player or a team they don't just pay those players out of the companies pocket, it's just them talking to potential sponsors (like Dr. Pepper and Gilbert Arenas weirdly enough), and convincing them to sponsor a team.

This is why I said in my post, there's a difference between being a pro player and being a pro player on a sponsored team. Pro players are just the guys that finish high enough(top 16 for Halo, and top 8 for the other games I think) to be considered "pro" by MLG. These guys are forced to sign the pro player contract if they want to play in another MLG event that season, which is what I was referring to in my other post. In Gears of War a couple years ago, half of the teams placing pro didn't even receive any prize money, they just got travel stipends. 

Go look at the WCG 2008 Halo 3 results, none of the MLG pro Halo teams competed, even the ones that weren't sponsored.

"

I don't know if MLG has changed the way they deal with their "pro" players(I doubt it), but as of a couple years ago, each player that placed pro (which is usually something like 10% of the people playing) are forced to sign a pro player contract. The contract has a clause that gives MLG the right to prevent their pro players from participating in competing tournaments. If I remember right, the WCG Halo 3 tournament was completely void of any MLG pro teams because of this. I'm not sure if the same thing happened for WoW, I don't know enough about that game to say anything.

I think if MLG picked up SSF4, you'd see a huge dropoff in the amount of top players showing up at other major tournaments. Just something to think about.

Also, just to give a little more context to what I said above. Being a "pro" isn't the same as being a salaried player with MLG. Most of the pro players for games that aren't Halo end up losing money over the course of a season, just because of the costs associated with playing at an event(i.e. plane, hotel, transportation, food). So if MLG made pro players choose between playing MLG events exclusively and other independent events, I'm sure you'd have a large large number of guys choosing not to sign (which basically bars you from playing in an MLG event for the season).

"

" http://www.facebook.com/notes/frameadvantagedotcom/mlg-gpx-and-ssf4/121681514538424       For those of you that didn't know, GPX Gaming has been behind the scenes at many a tournament with FADC, and MLG hired me personally as a commentator for Tekken 6. I know both of these organizations well.Most likely, the people that would be reading this love coverage of their favorite game. Haunts from iPlayWinner.com did an amazing job with covering Super Norcal Regionals, putting on this great show for nothing in return. The community wants more of this, right?The fact of the matter is, it's just so hard. Haunts and I talk almost every day about stream stuff, and how difficult and thankless it is for no almost tangible benefit. We put our money and time on the line just to give the community something they think they deserve, and we put our reputation on the same line as the internet at the venue.Obviously, we all have day jobs. It doesn't matter if you're FADC or Team Spooky or Level|Up or what, this stuff costs money. So we all take off work to try to give you guys something. It's so tiresome. How fun do you think it was for me to spend my vacation days at Seasons' Beatings 4, only to find that the venue wasn't going to give me an ethernet jack? Major League Gaming wanted to step up to the plate. MLG would have made the awesome streams the full-time responsibility of their employees. MLG is the only entity that sees that coverage of this game as important enough to pay the tech crew behind the scenes a yearly salary to make sure it's amazing.The whole reason behind providing live streams and coverage was not to become the end-all be-all of fighting game coverage-- it was to get corporate America to notice, and put money and manpower into it. We succeeded, but the community failed.The unwarranted hate that MLG gets from the community is laughable. So many self-righteous, prejudiced gamers think it's their duty to stay blindly in hatred of Halo and Call of Duty. It just doesn't make sense. Look at MLG T6: who's the man behind everything? Is it some Halo or Madden player? No, it's Filthie Rich, a known and upstanding member of the community. He and I have worked so hard to give to the community through MLG.Filthie hand-made enough custom PS3 controllers for everyone at the tournament so that T6 Orlando didn't have a single wireless PS3 controller issue. The only way people can devote that much time and energy into something is when the rest of the work is taken care of by professionals."Professional" is the name of the game. I've been tournaments that have been delayed for hours. I've been to tournaments where games were delayed for an entire day. But only at MLG have I worked at a tournament that ended ahead of schedule.But I guess the fighting community doesn't deserve the amount of work we put into this. They reject gifts offered to them, because they'd rather see rag-tag streams by worn-out 1-man websites trying to fly around the country on their own expense to give a free service. All the Street Fighter media guys say the same thing-- "I really hope we can make Street Fighter blow up into something huge." Maybe the community will agree someday.Sebiel RheeTrue fighting game enthusiast ]    Yo, REAL TALK LIKE SUPER FUCKING REAL TALK.  Anyone who doesn't want this is a fucking moron, MLG would be the best thing to happen to SSF4(read fighting game community) SINCE SF4. This would make every tournament run on time everytime there would be more of them AND the streams would always be top notch. Best of all people like Haunts and Level|Up would not have to pay for this crap anymore.  Seriously, MLG needs to happen. "

" @DystopiaX: lmao I didn't write that, just copy pasted because I agree with what he says. "

" @sixghost said:

"

I don't know if MLG has changed the way they deal with their "pro" players(I doubt it), but as of a couple years ago, each player that placed pro (which is usually something like 10% of the people playing) are forced to sign a pro player contract. The contract has a clause that gives MLG the right to prevent their pro players from participating in competing tournaments. If I remember right, the WCG Halo 3 tournament was completely void of any MLG pro teams because of this. I'm not sure if the same thing happened for WoW, I don't know enough about that game to say anything.

I think if MLG picked up SSF4, you'd see a huge dropoff in the amount of top players showing up at other major tournaments. Just something to think about.

Also, just to give a little more context to what I said above. Being a "pro" isn't the same as being a salaried player with MLG. Most of the pro players for games that aren't Halo end up losing money over the course of a season, just because of the costs associated with playing at an event(i.e. plane, hotel, transportation, food). So if MLG made pro players choose between playing MLG events exclusively and other independent events, I'm sure you'd have a large large number of guys choosing not to sign (which basically bars you from playing in an MLG event for the season).

"

That's not true at all. As of a few years ago, the only signed teams were Str8 Rippin, Final Boss, and T2, who was on a seperate contract from the rest of Str8. It still is that way. In no way are teams like Power or Believe the Hype signed to MLG. In fact, pros still go to independant locals all the time, as well as a few big ones.  Some pros went to WCG, but not with their teams. Most didn't go because they weren't interested; in the Halo scene, the WCG and competing league winners are semi pro at best in MLG; Mob Deep won a WCG tourny (I think it was WCG, not sure) about 2 years ago and became their champions, but they were only top 16 at best in MLG. "

You really didn't read my post at all. I said myself that there aren't many sponsored teams. I also said I don't know how MLG handles their teams playing at other events these days, all I did was tell you how it was when I was more in the loop.

Thank you for proving my point though concerning WCG 2008. None of the best MLG teams showed up, and the prize money was ridiculous that year. It was something like $2,000-3,000 a person. Don't give me that shit about them not being interested. That would have been more than most those teams made all season.

I think Street Fighter could create its own circuit, it doesn't need MLG. I also see this being the death of community events if MLG were to get a hold of SF. All the pieces are in place, EVO being the super bowl, regionals multiple times a year in certain locations. FADC, iplaywinner, and level|up coverage all around. Prize money is great but competition is what you really want, the increased focus on the "earning paychecks" thing causes people to not want to play for competition.  
 
The NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, etc...they're not governed by the same force, they are their own separate entities. Street Fighter is its own entity. That's just my two cents.

" I think Street Fighter could create its own circuit, it doesn't need MLG. I also see this being the death of community events if MLG were to get a hold of SF. All the pieces are in place, EVO being the super bowl, regionals multiple times a year in certain locations. FADC, iplaywinner, and level|up coverage all around. Prize money is great but competition is what you really want, the increased focus on the "earning paychecks" thing causes people to not want to play for competition. That's just my two cents. "

" @lordofultima said:

" I think Street Fighter could create its own circuit, it doesn't need MLG. I also see this being the death of community events if MLG were to get a hold of SF. All the pieces are in place, EVO being the super bowl, regionals multiple times a year in certain locations. FADC, iplaywinner, and level|up coverage all around. Prize money is great but competition is what you really want, the increased focus on the "earning paychecks" thing causes people to not want to play for competition. That's just my two cents. "

But people are paying for these things out of their own pockets. It's not fair to people like Haunts to constantly shell out a bunch of money for these things. Plus almost 90% of streams run late/start late, MLG would fix all this. "

Tekken 6 is so boring to watch...All the moves just look so basic and meh to watch!
SFIV its 100 times more fun to watch...

" @Jeffsekai: Pay for what? They get sponsors and the players to add money to the pot, and entry fees pay for venue usage etc. Like I said, it's not about money, it's about the community and competition. I think community events will mean nothing if MLG picks SSFIV up. Top players won't show up anymore to these events, they'll want that money. Lesser players won't be good enough to be on circuit, they'll only fight other lesser players and not the top. I don't like it. Late starts? Who the heck cares. "

" @lordofultima said:

" @Jeffsekai: Pay for what? They get sponsors and the players to add money to the pot, and entry fees pay for venue usage etc. Like I said, it's not about money, it's about the community and competition. I think community events will mean nothing if MLG picks SSFIV up. Top players won't show up anymore to these events, they'll want that money. Lesser players won't be good enough to be on circuit, they'll only fight other lesser players and not the top. I don't like it. Late starts? Who the heck cares. "

Read the thing I posted man, the guy talks about how they have to pay for all the streaming n crap.   I don't understand this stigma that if MLG picks up SSF4 then all other events (such as the regonal stuff) would go away and be absorbed by MLG. I mean you watched NCR didn't you? Pretty sure Tekken 6 was there. "

" @Jeffsekai said:

" @lordofultima said:

" @Jeffsekai: Pay for what? They get sponsors and the players to add money to the pot, and entry fees pay for venue usage etc. Like I said, it's not about money, it's about the community and competition. I think community events will mean nothing if MLG picks SSFIV up. Top players won't show up anymore to these events, they'll want that money. Lesser players won't be good enough to be on circuit, they'll only fight other lesser players and not the top. I don't like it. Late starts? Who the heck cares. "

Read the thing I posted man, the guy talks about how they have to pay for all the streaming n crap.   I don't understand this stigma that if MLG picks up SSF4 then all other events (such as the regonal stuff) would go away and be absorbed by MLG. I mean you watched NCR didn't you? Pretty sure Tekken 6 was there. "

It doesn't just happen overnight, it will be a gradual shift of power. Rest assured that without street fighter no one would care about NCR at all, the other games there are just by association of a fighting game tournament. "oh, we need these other games." I can definitely see people like justin wong choosing not to play in non-MLG events because of the prize money being too low. He's already not playing SF at all because he wants to be the WCG ULTIMATE GAMER. "

" I think Street Fighter could create its own circuit, it doesn't need MLG. I also see this being the death of community events if MLG were to get a hold of SF. All the pieces are in place, EVO being the super bowl, regionals multiple times a year in certain locations. FADC, iplaywinner, and level|up coverage all around. Prize money is great but competition is what you really want, the increased focus on the "earning paychecks" thing causes people to not want to play for competition.   The NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, etc...they're not governed by the same force, they are their own separate entities. Street Fighter is its own entity. That's just my two cents. "

" @lordofultima said:

" @Jeffsekai: Pay for what? They get sponsors and the players to add money to the pot, and entry fees pay for venue usage etc. Like I said, it's not about money, it's about the community and competition. I think community events will mean nothing if MLG picks SSFIV up. Top players won't show up anymore to these events, they'll want that money. Lesser players won't be good enough to be on circuit, they'll only fight other lesser players and not the top. I don't like it. Late starts? Who the heck cares. "

Read the thing I posted man, the guy talks about how they have to pay for all the streaming n crap.   I don't understand this stigma that if MLG picks up SSF4 then all other events (such as the regonal stuff) would go away and be absorbed by MLG. I mean you watched NCR didn't you? Pretty sure Tekken 6 was there. "

The thing you don't seem to realize is that MLG will only invoke that clause in the contract if they have something worth keeping to themselves. I don't know anything about Tekken, but I'm pretty sure it's not even close to the size of SSF4, and there are no star players from Tekken that have the same level of recognition as someone like Justin.

Like Ultima said, it won't be a binary thing where all players will immediately be barred from going to other competitions the second SSF4 got picked up, but after a year or so if the game was picking up popularity in MLG and they started investing more into the best players, you better be damn sure they would start doing this. It's already happened in Halo.

" @Jeffsekai said:

" @lordofultima said:

" @Jeffsekai: Pay for what? They get sponsors and the players to add money to the pot, and entry fees pay for venue usage etc. Like I said, it's not about money, it's about the community and competition. I think community events will mean nothing if MLG picks SSFIV up. Top players won't show up anymore to these events, they'll want that money. Lesser players won't be good enough to be on circuit, they'll only fight other lesser players and not the top. I don't like it. Late starts? Who the heck cares. "

Read the thing I posted man, the guy talks about how they have to pay for all the streaming n crap.   I don't understand this stigma that if MLG picks up SSF4 then all other events (such as the regonal stuff) would go away and be absorbed by MLG. I mean you watched NCR didn't you? Pretty sure Tekken 6 was there. "

The thing you don't seem to realize is that MLG will only invoke that clause in the contract if they have something worth keeping to themselves. I don't know anything about Tekken, but I'm pretty sure it's not even close to the size of SSF4, and there are no star players from Tekken that have the same level of recognition as someone like Justin.

Like Ultima said, it won't be a binary thing where all players will immediately be barred from going to other competitions the second SSF4 got picked up, but after a year or so if the game was picking up popularity in MLG and they started investing more into the best players, you better be damn sure they would start doing this. It's already happened in Halo.

"

I'd rather be skeptical by default than super optimistic on this, I don't see ANY CoD or Halo tournaments, unless they're online. And I'm also pretty sure the top MLG players of those games don't go to those tournaments either. MLG is not BARRING them from showing up there, they are choosing not to because that isn't where the money is. Do you understand?

" @sixghost said:

" @Jeffsekai said:

" @lordofultima said:

" @Jeffsekai: Pay for what? They get sponsors and the players to add money to the pot, and entry fees pay for venue usage etc. Like I said, it's not about money, it's about the community and competition. I think community events will mean nothing if MLG picks SSFIV up. Top players won't show up anymore to these events, they'll want that money. Lesser players won't be good enough to be on circuit, they'll only fight other lesser players and not the top. I don't like it. Late starts? Who the heck cares. "

Read the thing I posted man, the guy talks about how they have to pay for all the streaming n crap.   I don't understand this stigma that if MLG picks up SSF4 then all other events (such as the regonal stuff) would go away and be absorbed by MLG. I mean you watched NCR didn't you? Pretty sure Tekken 6 was there. "

The thing you don't seem to realize is that MLG will only invoke that clause in the contract if they have something worth keeping to themselves. I don't know anything about Tekken, but I'm pretty sure it's not even close to the size of SSF4, and there are no star players from Tekken that have the same level of recognition as someone like Justin.

Like Ultima said, it won't be a binary thing where all players will immediately be barred from going to other competitions the second SSF4 got picked up, but after a year or so if the game was picking up popularity in MLG and they started investing more into the best players, you better be damn sure they would start doing this. It's already happened in Halo.

"

Again, show me proof of this. Show me a team that is "Justin Wong" level in Halo 3 or something and prove to me what you are saying is true.  I'll wait here while you look.   Another thing, wouldn't it be cool that every time there is a tournament in SoCal that instead of the same 20-30 top players we see every time we see some people from Japan, Australia, and Europe? no way in hell is this going to happen by it's self you need an outside money source to fund stuff like that MLG would do that and I think it would make SSF4 even more hype.   "

If you had been reading my previous posts you wouldn't have needed to ask me for proof. 2008 World Cyber Games, Halo 3 was one of the games there. I don't remember the exact prizes since it was a while ago, but it was at the very least $2,000 per person for 1st place. Feel free to go check the results for that year. Not a single MLG pro team competed despite the entire trip being paid for and another $500 per person for winning the US qualifiers. There were easily 16 MLG teams that could have won first place easily.

Also, whether you know them or not, the Ogres and T2 are "Justin Wong level" in Halo 3. Proven by the fact that they were on contracts that paid $250,000 over 3 years.

" I'd rather be skeptical by default than super optimistic on this, I don't see ANY CoD or Halo tournaments, unless they're online. And I'm also pretty sure the top MLG players of those games don't go to those tournaments either. MLG is not BARRING them from showing up there, they are choosing not to because that isn't where the money is. Do you understand? "

" I'd rather be skeptical by default than super optimistic on this, I don't see ANY CoD or Halo tournaments, unless they're online. And I'm also pretty sure the top MLG players of those games don't go to those tournaments either. MLG is not BARRING them from showing up there, they are choosing not to because that isn't where the money is. Do you understand? "

I don't know how it currently is in Halo 3, but from my experience, 99% of online tourneys weren't worth the time and entrance fee usually required. Most of them either have incompetent or straight-up corrupt admins, teams trying just about everything they can to disqualify you, cheating via abusing internet connections, or organizers that straight up just don't pay.

Also, I think you vastly overestimate the number of high-prize Halo or CoD tournaments that are not MLG affiliated. They are usually run by moron Lan Center owners who promise something like "$1k first prize", then end up changing it to "70% of entrance fees" when 10,000 people don't show up. Luckily for you SSF4 guys, it seems like you don't have to deal with most of that.

" @lordofultima said:

" I'd rather be skeptical by default than super optimistic on this, I don't see ANY CoD or Halo tournaments, unless they're online. And I'm also pretty sure the top MLG players of those games don't go to those tournaments either. MLG is not BARRING them from showing up there, they are choosing not to because that isn't where the money is. Do you understand? "

oh, you made it sound like it was MLG that wasn't paying enough so people were not going.  But isn't that already happening? I mean there were I think 3 tournaments between NCR that I watched and Justin wasn't at any of them because the comp was weak and the lack of money. So we are already there man. "

I have nothing intellectual to add to this particular thread seeing as I'm a new, albeit scrubby, player. I almost feel like I'm interrupting this thread by posting in it  at all but thats almost the point of my posting. I can give you the, perhaps insignificant, perspective of a new player who just started liking fighting games again with SFIV/  I've always looked at the fighting game community with something akin to awe and amazement. Knowing that I'll never be able to attain the level of perfection and cat-like reflexes demonstrated by players I watch on streams and read about in forums, watching is enough.  Me watching the Norcal Regional Qualifiers last night was welcomed with the same level of excitement one would expect from a football or basketball fan who just called over the boys for a BBQ and no-interruptions day of T.V. (I hate traditional sports, FYI.) 
  
Perhaps I've watched "The Wizard" one too many times but watching that stream (actual gameplay aside) was somewhat painful. Again, I'm new to the scene and will probably never have the skill to participate in an event that warrants J. Wong's attention but seeing people sit around in a daze picking their noses while waiting their turn can be a real downer. In essence, what SSFIV is missing, IMO, is organization. Another disclaimer: I'm OCD and if those guys aren't lined up in a row waiting for their match I'm going crazy, lol.  
 
When vanilla SFIV came out I was so excited I could have been likened to a nervous Chihuahua that just pissed all over your brand new carpet..  I can actually recall the day in which the SFIV CG trailer hit gametrailers.com and how the game was being heralded as the rebirth of a nation of gamers (even before Gerstman said it for his SSFIV review).  Being on the outside looking in it seems like the fighting game community has become somewhat elitist; if not cultish. Being in the minority for so long had obviously caused for the development of a community of diehard fans who then developed a unique atmosphere to define themselves. The iplaywinner.com commentary for the Norcal Regionals was good up to a point but as soon as someone stepped up to bat who was obviously not on par with the likes of Keno, etc. the poor guy was verbally reamed to the point of me being sure he will never show up to s tourny again. (I'm not sure if the players are able to hear the commentary as its happening but this guy would certainly have been unnerved by his critics.)  Call it being salty or not being able to perform at a higher level of play but that came off as very unprofessional to me.   
 
I doubt anyone would argue that SFIV didn't reinvigorate the fighting game community or at least draw in some new blood, even if it is scubby blood. If the community wants to continue this trend of drawing in new recruits then the MLG may not be such a bad idea.  I or anyone else obviously can't accurately predict what would happen to the independent tournament scene if this were to happen but SFIV can't carry to weight of an entire genre forever without some help it seems.   I watched a small amount of a Tekken 6 stream and I was drooling on myself within 30 secs.  Tekken is a technical game that only those in the know can visual comprehend.  SFIV puts on a hell of a show with its Ultras, Supers, and BnB combos that can really wow a crowd.  SSFIV is a great match for something like MLG.   
 
I guess it comes down to this: would the fighting game vernacular (salty, curly mustache, beasting, etc.) and community not have existed if it it had been part of a larger organization like MLG?  I think it would have.  I'll stop now before I start making comparisons to the Jewish plight but those early Capcom sponsored "Fight Clubs" were amazing and wouldn't it be nice if we could see more of that? I probably need to go back and edit the hell out of this since I typed it at work, heh. Then again, I'mma scrub. I have nothing to back up any of this, just my 2 cents.

MLG will kill the soul of the community, I am wholeheartedly against it.

" @lordofultima said:

" I think Street Fighter could create its own circuit, it doesn't need MLG. I also see this being the death of community events if MLG were to get a hold of SF. All the pieces are in place, EVO being the super bowl, regionals multiple times a year in certain locations. FADC, iplaywinner, and level|up coverage all around. Prize money is great but competition is what you really want, the increased focus on the "earning paychecks" thing causes people to not want to play for competition. That's just my two cents. "

But people are paying for these things out of their own pockets. It's not fair to people like Haunts to constantly shell out a bunch of money for these things. Plus almost 90% of streams run late/start late, MLG would fix all this. "

" MLG will kill the soul of the community, I am wholeheartedly against it. "

" @Stang said:

" MLG will kill the soul of the community, I am wholeheartedly against it. "

Why? How? "

So... Anyone going to GAMME?

"because apparently as soon as MLG joins up everything is dictated by them "

" MLG will kill the soul of the community, I am wholeheartedly against it. "

It will not be WORLD WARRIOR style if it's an MLG circuit, and yes there's money and fame, increased exposure to the game. But I'm just selfish. I don't like the idea of top players just playing top players in exhibitions, they should be in the pot with all the scrubs. I already hate the idea of EVO seeding, putting top players out of pools and into semi finals and crap. They should have to work out of pools just like everyone else. 
 
If we want to make it a business we already can, like I said every piece is already in place. The fact is the community just wants to give to the community.

I have no understanding of how tournaments are run or organized and I haven't been interested enough in a competitive game until now to really care about how its players are represented and paired.  How will the "grassroots" tournaments be crushed under heel if MLG comes in?  Running a smaller tourney on the same weekend as a larger tourny would already be a bad idea wouldn't it?  Would Pro players not go to ANY tournament as long as their was incentive to do so?  Is there some clause in a MLG Pro contract that prohibits their participating in a non-MLG tourney?  Harming the SF community in any way would obviously contrary to what most  people want so I would surely against anything that would cause it but I'm still not understanding how the MLG could harm that.  If a guy in it for only money anyway, is he REALLY part of the community?  Having him sit in on a tourney and dominate it just for the payout is harmful anyway isn't it? Couldn't having letting the Pro chase the money be a good thing?  All of these are just random ass thoughts so...eh.

Found this posted on MLG and EventHubs: 
 
 "Although inkblot makes some good points, I wholeheartedly disagree with most of it.

The top players want the game in major events like MLG and WCG. The fighting game scene is probably the oldest competitive game scene in the world, has some of the most unique people and players, and historic events. And people LOVE to play Street Fighter. Not for money, but for the game. I understand this. But, this is NO DIFFERENT than the other long-standing, respected competitive gaming communities out there, most notably the Starcraft, Quake, and Counter-Strike scenes. Each have been around for well over a decade, and they have LOVED their games. It wasn't the money to them either, and still isn't. Just like the fighting game community.

The difference is that those communities have been much more pro-active in organizing their games on a larger scale across several different avenues. Each of these games has had several different leagues, with several different events, in many different countries - almost all with large prize pots. The FGC has had pretty much one large event - EVO - and then many many small to middle sized events. There is no problem in having five, six, eight, 10 large events, it is not going to hurt the smaller events, and it fuels those top players which are NECESSARY for ALL games. The streaming numbers and large event crowds are there for the TOP players, not 90% of the community. 90% of the community is there to play casually and will not win money (which, I also dispute, but alas), but those guys and everyone else are the fans, the 'stream monsters' - the guys that made (and blew up on youtube) the legendary Justin Wong/Daigo 3S video so chilling.

I have spoken to the top players on both coasts throughout the past year and the general consensus that I got is that they would pretty much ALL extremely enjoy and go to MLG, WCG, and larger events if they picked up the game. This especially includes the top US player Justin Wong, who could go on record with me about this, and Daigo, who if you didn't notice, just became the first signed Japanese player to Mad Catz, where he receives salary and is being flown around the world to compete. You know, like everyone else has been doing for years. List would also include Arturo, Sanford, Gootecks, floe, etc. I'm sure Valle and Choi are supportive as well, though Valle has his own venture going on. Not to mention, talking to Issei, he says the Japanese players would love to play in all the events, they just need flights, and visas, etc. Need sponsors or large money events to fly them out, you know. Only Daigo was at last year's EVO, hopefully that changes this year.

My point is, there's no reason the SF community shouldn't be as integrated into the larger competitive gaming community as every other game is. The players DO want it. Lets see LARGE SCALE, EPIC matches 10 weekends a year, instead of just one or two." 

Good timing on this: 
 
http://www.eventhubs.com/news/2010/jun/04/huge-fighting-game-tournaments-summer/  
 
  Update: Because of recent events, Marn has stepped down from accepting donations and all funds will go to Justin Wong to help him attend EWSC. He also explained some other things in the comments of this story.

Marn also added that everyone donates will be refunded their money if:
• 1. Justin gets 1st place.
• 2. If we can't raise enough money, everyone will get their refunds June 12th. If Justin wins, everyone will get their money back on July 10th, five days after he comes back from France.

Justin Wong and Martin "Marn" Phan are asking for help from the community so they can both get to the Electronic Sports World Cup. Justin and Marn Tweeted about a PayPal account they set up under the email address, ttp1999@hotmail.com, where you can donate to their travel expenses for this tournament. This PayPal address is a joint account for both players.

Traveling around to play at tournaments can add up, so if you can spare anything to help these guys get out there, I know it would be very much appreciated. 

Marn also said he would let me know as soon as they were able to get enough money to go, so this story will be updated when/if that happens so everyone can stop donating.

The deadline for them to let the ESWC know if they can attend is June 11th. 
 
 (read through the comments and read what Marn has to says its good stuff...his username is Marn.) 
 
   MarnORZ 

 This whole "Keep It Grass Roots" mentality really has to go. The whole idea of giving things "Grass Roots" is to setup a foundation for a scene and/or industry to build from. Not sure if there are any rollers on here but I was in the "Aggressive Rollerblading" industry for 10+ years and this was the kind of mentality that held that particular industry back and has it now struggling. It didn't want to see themselves as sells outs like BMXers and Skateboarders but at the time we didn't have enough to sustain the industry within ourselves. Just imagine if for a moment Capcom really, truly want to their game(s) grass roots. None of their games, including SF would have left Japan. Capcom loves the fact that there is such a passionate specific communities (SF, MVC) and this is why they keep cranking out games with us in mind. They understand we love the game and that love will result in us passing it on to others to enjoy thus increasing the base, which in turn makes more money for them. Capcom is a business, people act as if the MLG will destroy the whole idea of SF or it's identity, when ultimately the only company that decide that fate is capcom. It's thanks to SF IV that the whole idea of a fighting games are back on the map. Yeah one can say Tekken, VF and any other assorted fighting game kept the genre alive during the Dark ages but none can, does or hope to carry the importance of the name "Street Fighter". You think the casual viewer who may run across an MLG event would really be as captivated about the game if it WASN'T Street Fighter? 
 
I think a lot of people who are against it are just fearful. Fearful of competition, perhaps of exposing to the possibility that maybe they play too much of the game, being ridiculed. Who knows!? Point being anyone who has ever said "Keep it grass roots" has yet to explain the benefits of keep it that way and what is the plan to keep it so it's self sustaining. Touting the mantra "KEEP IT GRASS ROOTS!" Means nothing if you can't back it up with a well informed and thought out plan. If it was a situation where the FGC had it's own thing going and MLG is trying to move in and take it over I'd understand but this is a company that is saying "Hey we like what your doing, we can help make it better". the CEO of the MLG has openly stated that any player that says they haven't been paid because of a tourney to come forward, talk to him and a check will be cut if that's the case. He's on record on djwheat.tv where everyone can hold him do it. So as far as I'm concerned the MLG is square with me and the guy running isn't the same dude who was running it when all these supposed lapses in payment went down. We can all agree that there no better form of games to settle any dispute of skill than a fighting game. Only you and you alone can win, with your thought process, reflexes and experience. More than RTSs, FPSs and or MMORPG type of PVPING, I'd like to see an argument otherwise. Remember this is a video game not a relationship where you somehow thing your game is cheating on you..    

I think that people need to calm down. If MLG picks up SSF4, it will not shut down community-ran tournaments. If you want an example, look at Super Smash. MLG did Super Smash Melee for, what, 3 years? Did that TAKE OVER all the other tournaments for the game? Heck no, the smash community had plenty of other tournaments around MLG's schedule that had as high or even higher attendance than MLG itself. Now with Smash we STILL have Brawl tournaments even though MLG came up (shocking though right? *sarcasm).

i think i will be kinda bad if mlg took on sf because like eveyone keeps saying, thats where all the money would be so thats were all the top players are going to compete, stopping new blood comming through and if my sf history is right isnt that what killed it of last time? 

crazy.

I'm in between with this.  I understand both sides but i dont know.