Evo 2k9 was an amazing experience. I was able to meet up with a few Dtoiders as well as some cool people who live near me and a few fighting game scene "celebrities." If you're interested in fighters, you owe it to yourself to go to Evo.

Booths and exhibits
There were three exhibitors at Evo: Aksys Games, Capcom and BandaiNamco. Aksys had a small booth that was all BlazBlue. It was a nice set up for such a young company. BandaiNamco had several Tekken stations and that was it. I'm not into Tekken, but this new one is a very pretty game. Capcom's booth had multiple stations for Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom, MvC2 and the Fate fighter for PSP. It was a nice sized booth and I was able to check out both TvC and Fate.

There were a few guys who brought arcade cabinets, mostly SNK stuff. Matrimelee, Mark of the Wolves, Rumble Fish, Waku Waku 7, Battle Tryst and a few others. Unfortunately, that was the extent of SNK's presence - it's fans.George and Chris were very cool and knowledgeable about the history of SNK and arcades in general. I really enjoyed my conversations with them. They also brought a 4 player X-Men machine set to free play. My wife, myself and Kirbilot spent some time on that game. It's too good.

The crowd
I was greatly impressed by the overall attitude of the crowd. I've been to many conventions - anime, video game and comic book related - and this crowd was the most polite. I wasn't sure what sort of attitude to expect, but this level of courtesy was not expected. People were happy to move out of your way and to help my wife get through the crowd in her scooter. When matches were on the big screen, the excitement was palpable. The crowd didn't have a favorite instead cheering for any display of skill by the players. Good stuff.

The games
Even though I'm burned out on SFIV and feel that HD Remix is a better game, SFIV is damned exciting to watch. Seeing Sanford's Cammy in action was inspirational. BlazBlue at high level play is amazing. I love that it's a bit slower than Guilty Gear and also a bit more strategic. Arc Systems created a damn fine system with this one.

Disappointments
There are very few disappointments with Evo. I'm not a fan of Las Vegas, especially when it's 106 degrees at night. We stayed in the hotel pretty much the whole time. The biggest disappointment was SNK's absence. I've been an SNK fan since Samurai Shodown initially came out. King of Fighters XII will be in stores tomorrow and Ignition couldn't even be bothered to show up to an event which is the largest gathering of fighting game fans in the U.S. When a newcomer to the genre easily upstages a veteran like SNK, you know there's a problem. As much as SNKP USA sucked, I think Ignition is worse. They seem to think that KoF needs no marketing and nothing is further from the truth. SNKP needs new representation.

Overall
I'm glad that Evo was streamed live but being there was much more intense than any video can capture. The energy in the air was palpable and the level of excitement was something that had to be experienced first-hand. RAB, Kapkomi and Kirbilot were all great fun to talk with. I hope to hang with you guys again.