FrankCastleAZ

Sorry for the book people - :-P I can guarantee it will happen whether you guys show up or not and whether we have 8 people or 30 people entering. If you guys would like to create a list of who's coming here in this topic to keep track of things I'm all for it, as I think if there's a number of decent players who vocalize that they want to go and are on a listing of a sort then it would encourage other players to attend as well for the competition. Asking about prizes isn't a silly question so no worry. At this particular convention I didn't have any prizes planned besides the certificate for 1st place and the tournament results posted on AZHP's website on the TOURNAMENT RESULTS page. I'm working on them for future events, as I'd like to give the guys from SRK, Dustloop, Smash Boards, Willvolution, Melty Bread etc more reasons to come out rather than competition and recruitment. We would offer buyins and payouts but we can't charge attendees money to enter tournaments at events as attendees already pay a fee to get into the convention in the first place. Although hardcore gamers are used to dealing with venue fees and tournament fees when going to a tourney, the casual gamer or convention attendee isn't and it doesn't fly with the convention directors. It's good to see you'll be coming and bringing someone along. I know you LOL, but I think if you guys really understand what I'm trying to do with these things you might care a bit more. Besides giving you a location, equipment, double elim bracket and competition (if everyone were to show up), I'm attempting to give you - Recruitment chances. As I mentioned in the initial post, there are a ton of people at conventions (especially anime conventions) who enjoy Guilty Gear and BlazBlue. It might be because they like anime and those games have such an anime influence and feel both in cutscenes and in game, but these people enjoy the games and a lot of them own at least one version of the games at home. You guys have an opportunity to network with gamers who may be decent/good who don't know about Dustloop and tell them about the thread, local scene, house gatherings, small tournaments, ranbats, exchange numbers etc and THAT is what I want. Bottom Line - AZHP is contracted and paid to do these gaming rooms. Whether you guys come and compete/recruit or not, we still get paid. I'm not coming in here and attempting to get you guys involved because it helps me, in fact it takes more of my time and effort to post here and convince you guys to come. I do it because I love fighting games, the competition, the and the people and communities who play them. If enough of you have the passion for GG and BB to get new members involved and attempt to grow the community instead of letting it die and bitching about how people don't play anymore (not to say you guys do that here) then do so. I hope to see you there. One more thing- Once we get some sponsorships worked out, we'll have prizes and such at conventions and we (AZHP) also plan on doing some buy-in/pay-out tournaments starting in the near future. If it helps you guys attend. I'll throw some stuff in for the top 2 of GG- 1st Place- Winner Certificate Kamiyadori Manga Vols 1-5 (Complete) Bookmans $5 credit slip 2nd Place- Testarotho Manga Vol 1 Bookmans $5 credit slip I'll do what I can to help provide for you guys, let me know if you have suggestions or would like to provide some input. My PM box is open and all of my contact info including my phone number is HERE. -FrankCastleAZ

I did for other conventions, but not this one. If you're coming just for gaming and you'd like to see a gaming only pass, the only thing I can suggest is to post that you'd like to see it in the future on their forum. Currently the directors for this convention (as well as Phoenix Comicon and Sabotencon) feel as if they don't NEED to offer a gaming only pass because they want attendees to be there for all of the events. The pricing isn't bad for a convention (especially when you get a free shoulder bag that retails at $20), but if you don't want the shoulder bag and only come for gaming I can see how the pricing isn't appealing. Full weekend pass with free "Mythwear" bag is $40 before March 25th ($45 after) http://con-nichiwa.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=135 Otherwise, single day passes can be purchased for Fri = 20, Sat = 25, Sun = 15 https://v2.interactiveticketing.com/tickets/t331_2011_connichiwa_100902c6e9/form_purchase.php?step=tickets The thing that you guys don't realize, is that at ANIME conventions, people want to play GG and enjoy playing GG. I don't know how long that will last after a few of you crush their spirit, but it is an opportunity to get new people into the game and possibly train them and grow the community, which is what I'd like to see you guys to do. I can have a dedicated GG:AC+ setup with TE fightsticks modded with PSX digital pads at the convention from start to finish and it will get quite a bit of play. -FrankCastleAZ

There are a LOT of newbies with potential at these conventions as well as the occasional player already involved in the community. Even if you're not a big fan of anime, I urge you to attend and help some of these newbies get more involved in the more hardcore fighting game community. Marvin/Dr Koku will likely be in attendance. I'm pretty sure Ray mentioned he would be there. JimmyOh mentioned something to me when I saw him over at Showtime Sports Cards as well. Hopefully I'll see a few of you there. -FrankCastleAZ

Tournament Results from AZHP's Gaming Room at TaiyouCon Anime Convention 2011 are posted HERE Although AZHP mostly does Comic, Anime and Tabletop Game Conventions, there's a large amount of people who enjoy BB and GG (mostly anime community) and many of them are taking steps to up their game and become better players due to our constant tournaments. -FrankCastleAZ AZHP Founder/Owner