Stay Tuned, Fight Nights are Coming.

And now for a bit of local flavor. And by local I mean Memphis, TN.

So I’m driving to work around the Thanksgiving holiday and I notice this new videogame store called PowerPlay had just opened up right next to Outdoor’s Inc on Germantown Pkwy. I go, “Cool”, and make a mental note to check them out, just to see if they have anything that makes them tick. I call up, inquire about a game, and the lady I spoke to was very nice, super helpful. She also mentioned that they had an “arcade” in the back, which really piques my interest. I make it a point to stop by the next day and see the place. An idea had begun to form in my mind. 

I stop by the next day and speak to Ms. Jennifer, who was the person I had spoken to earlier. Again, she was super nice and told me all about the place; it’s a mom and pop operation, they have consoles hooked up to flatscreens in the back, a separate area called their “arcade”, they plan to have Halo/Madden tourneys, they host parties, and all sorts of cool sounding stuff. So I’m like, wow, this is a cool place, let’s see what they think of my idea.

So I pitch it: One night a week, structured open freeplay sessions with Street Fighter 4. She likes the idea, but she tells me it’s best to speak to Chris, who is in charge of the tournaments. I thank her, and tell her I’ll be back later. That night, I stop by again and speak to Chris. I lay out the idea again. I explain that I basically want to do this in order to grow a scene around SF4. I’ve run Halo leagues and tournaments before, and I clarify that initially, these “Fight Nights” are just casual matches, not a tournament, with an eye towards just getting more people playing and interested in the game and its sequel, Super Street Fighter 4. Chris and I go back and forth over several salient points, but in summary: He likes the idea, and gives me the go-ahead to get it started. Needless to say, I’m very excited, I’ve wanted to do something like this for a long time.

Now, I just need to muster up some support for this, and start getting the word out. I’m hoping that we can get a good group of regulars coming to these matches, and hey, I think we’re looking at a possible tournament for SSF4 after its release! I’m getting pretty hyped, but I’m trying to keep my expectations modest. I’ll have more info as details finalize. Stay tuned.