Sony just buried the XBOX. Sony buys EVO Evo Fighting Game Championship Series

I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft already owns something along those lines somewhere.

Agree with whatever Conan said.

Super Smash Brothers is the biggest game at EVO. I do believe Nintendo is going to pull out and who knows maybe Sony will put PlayStation All-Stars in its place. Nonetheless this is like the biggest waste of money Sony ever splurged on something. I can't believe they actually did something this stupid but hey it's not my money it's theirs. They can burn it all they want.

how is this bad news for Xbox?..

@Antwan3K: It's not just bad news, "xbox has been buried"... Apparently. :-S

Why isn't this bad news for gaming? Shouldn't Evo be about whatever the big fighting games are, regardless of platform?

I know when we think of EVO, we think of fighting games. But does anyone think it's possible that Sony may try to expand it into something bigger, covering esports across other genres?

I mean, if you're as big as Sony and you invest money in something, you expect to grow it somehow.

Capcom market cap is currently ~$9B and rising. Zenimax was worth ~$2.5B before MS acquisition. Capcom is way bigger than Zenimax.

@Miyomatic: I'm sure Sony has their reasons but hosting game tournaments doesn't seem like any kind of competitive advantage.. I'm fairly sure Microsoft has hosted tournaments for Halo and Gears.. Noone cared then so not sure why anyone would care now..

Not sure how this "buries" Xbox as the TC claims..

@Miyomatic: Yes because everything Sony invests and gets involved in goes well! Like mobiles and TVs plus many more like that have almost dragged Sony right down.

@Antwan3K: Evo is pretty big and has been for awhile, even though covid screwed over last year's event. No idea how this screws over MS though like the TC is saying.

@Antwan3K: It's more of a PR move, to gain the good will of fighting game fans, promote their brand at events, and be perceived as the premiere fighting game machine. It serves an entirely different purpose to the Zenimax move.

@daredevils2k: never heard of it

@x_hedon: To be fair, I didn't know about EVO either until the moment I saw this...

...This moment put EVO on the map. It inspired a lot of gamers to enter eSports.

never heard of!!!!!!!!!!

Amazingly ironic post. Par for the course here.

^He's right you know. The tournaments are a dying breed.

I never thought I would see the day where buying a niche tournament would be considered ownage. In 2019 279,000 people tuned into evo during the Smash tournament, which was the most popular game at the show that year. This was 20,000 more viewers than previous records which was held by Dragon Ball FighterZ. I'm happy the tournament will live, but I do not consider this ownage and I seriously doubt it will prevent fighting games from being released on other platforms unless Sony moneyhats them.

@sealionact: they don't need it to beat Microsoft again, like they have 3xs chief.

He's wrong...

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - 22.85 million

Mortal Kombat 11 - 8 million

Dragon Ball FighterZ - 6 million

...The numbers speak for themselves.

@Sagemode87: I have no idea what you’re replying to....try hitting quote, or copying my text so I know what you’re talking about.

I just think that covid-19 was the final nail in the coffin for going in-person. If the numbers are right, it could only mean that EVO online is now a thing. With the new MK movie coming soon, I can see MK11 being a good contender in EVO.

It's near ZERO for live tournaments.

Right. In addition to that:

Tekken 7 - 7 million

Street Fighter V - 5.2 million

These may not be as popular as they were in the heyday of arcades, but they are probably the highest total household sales in recent years.

Sony always wins against Xbox hope xbox make comeback this time

Fighting games are currently more popular than they've ever been in the last 20 years. Of course not quite '90s level, when fighting games were the most popular genre for much of the decade. But that's a really high bar to reach again.

EVO?

Like EVOO? Extra virgin olive oil?

Seriously though are fighting games still big sellers these days? I know we all get weak in the knees when we hear about the next Street Fighter or whatever but that doesn't seem to be too often.

@x_hedon: Hmmm I wonder why live tournaments aren't a thing right now, it's like a pandemic is going on or something? You lost the argument, time to tuck your tail between your legs and walk away.

It's "Evolution Championship Series," and I'm also worried that EVO Online, which is scheduled to start this year, may be abbreviated as EVOO like that olive oil, haha.

The fighting game market seems to be big enough in terms of sales and viewership for big events such as EVO and CEO (Community Effort Orlando), but other competitive genres such as shooter and RTS are much, much larger, so they look relatively smaller to many.

The next fighting game that Fighting Game Community (FGC) has high hopes for is Guilty Gear Strive, which will be available in June, but it's a niche game and you may not hear it unless you pay attention.