The Amazing FGC
The story of the FGC is an interesting one. For those of you that don’t know the FGC stand for Fighting Game Community. It’s a community that has formed around the fighting game genre of video games. The FGC isn’t some organization it is simply a large community of talented people and it is one of the most amazing communities out there.
How it Started
The FGC started as a bunch of different groups of people playing fighting games in 90s arcades. Nobody likes to lose in a game so obviously people came together to form strategies and playstyles. This is where it went from a game to a community.
As with everything competitive people began to wonder who was the best so tournaments were organized. The biggest of these tournaments is known now as Evolution Championship Series or EVO. EVO was originally about 10 people in an arcade playing one another to see who was the best. But as more people started showing up to compete it moved to bigger venues, got bigger prizes, and got more competitive (USG).
How it’s Going
Competitors have gone from just 10 people in an arcade to 10,000 in Mandalay Bay Event Center in Las Vegas. And that’s just competitors, the number of people attending as spectators has been getting bigger and bigger each year.
EVO is no longer just a Street Fighter tournament. EVO now has about 9 to 12 games as their main event and hundreds more being played on the side. It doesn’t matter what fighting game you like EVO has you covered.
EVO draws such a crowd because it carries the prestige of being the biggest fighting game tournament in the world. If you win EVO you can proudly say that you are the best player in the world. Because of this pros from around the world make the pilgrimage to Las Vegas to test their might.
With so many pro players in one place the competition is fierce which means the matches become better and better and the fans get more hype as they see the best players in the world go head to head. The tournament has provided some of the best moments in competitive gaming history (Kotaku).
Because EVO is so massive and viewed in person or online via livestream by thousands of people the companies that make fighting games will often make announcements for new games, characters, or seasons. That means even when the fights are over there is still something to get hype about.
How to Join
The best part about EVO is that anyone can join. Even if you’ve never played a fighting game before all you have to do is sign up and pay the entry fee and you’re in the tournament. If you’ve never played a fighting game you probably won’t win but the fact that anyone can compete is one of the biggest draws of the tournament. Who knows? You might even get a chance to play against someone who will go on to win the tournament.
Now especially there is more reason than ever to join in on the fun. There is no entry fee this year as EVO is completely online. All you need is a good internet connection and the game you want to compete in. If you want to win though you’ll need to learn a few things.
Long gone are the days of asking people in the arcade how to play. Now with videos like the one above and others like it you can learn how to take part in the action.
But maybe you don’t want to compete. That’s fine too as the games are really fun to watch in person or online. There are also hundreds of people willing to play casual games with nothing on the line.
A Rough Patch
The FGC has been greatly hurt by coronavirus. Because of the virus people from other countries can’t travel around the world to play each other anymore, big tournaments can no longer be held in the same way, and many fighting games have had to be delayed.
The FGC was also hit hard when allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced against the co-founder of EVO in 2020. EVO was cancelled that year and the entire FGC condemned the actions of the co-founder and he has since been removed from everything he had to do with the FGC and EVO (EVO).
It is sad to see these kinds of things happen but we must hold people accountable for their actions. Seeing everyone come together to defend the victims was exactly the kind of thing you expect to see from such a beautiful community. Hopefully people will see the support the victims received and it will give people more courage to share their stories.
Rays of Hope
EVO is not gone however. With new people at the helm it looks like they will be cracking down on any kind of harassments to make EVO the welcoming and fun environment it should be. EVO is now partnered with Sony as well so that they can bring back the biggest and best fighting game tournament.
With two major fighting games, Tekken 7 and Street Fighter V, winding down the time couldn't be more right for some major announcements at EVO 2021. Now with vaccinations and a return to normalcy we can hopefully see a return to Mandalay Bay Event Center in 2022.
Now is a great time to get involved with the FGC and you can do that from the comfort of your own home by just playing or watching the games on YouTube and Twitch. EVO is streamed on Twitch every year and it is always fun to see the best of the best go head to head in their respective games.
The FGC is one of the most resilient communities out there. If you’re kind and respectful then you’re welcome to take part in all the action the FGC and EVO have to offer. From ten people in an arcade to over 10,000 in Las Vegas the FGC and EVO will continue to grow bigger and better so don’t miss out.
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