Here is an insert from the interview:

 
How does it compare to a major fighting game tournament like EVO?
 

EVO 2011 had about the same venue space as Winter Championships did. At this point, FG players are used to a shoulder-to-shoulder environment, though I’d imagine it’s not by choice but simply by habit.
 
Other notes:
 
1) Many FG tournaments do not use a mic system, and those that do generally hit the entire venue space. A few players complained about the FG tournament area, because when a judge called a name the main stage’s spectator section would not hear it.
 
2) FG tournaments allow empty stations to be used for casuals, including mid-tournament. I could tell that some players were unsure if MLG explicitly prohibited it, though over time the players grew more comfortable playing with the unused systems.
 
3) Things like the free Dr. Pepper/NOS are very much welcomed at FG events.
 
4) No FG tournament that I’ve attended had large screens displaying all the matches in the round like MLG did. Handheld brackets are the norm. (again, by habit, probably not choice)

I know this is a bit late but better late than never.

Cross Assault

I was honored to be a part of the first group to play Capcom’s release of SFxT. In the form of a reality show, it was extremely tiring, but a good learning experience and social experiment lol.
I was representing Team Tekken, and yeah, we were definitely the underdogs.

I felt Street Fighter players DEFENITELY had the upper hand here, although the Tekken players had experience on their side, it just wasn’t enough to win once the street fighter players adapted to their niche.

My competition for $25,000 was cut short the very first day, when I was thrown under the bus by Team Street Fighter, and put into elimination against Renic. I really had 8 hours to learn Street Fighter and its mechanics, to say the least, it was upsetting to go that early, but at the same time I knew I was still on the show, and what mattered was to continue to help the team succeed.
Each and every day I learned more and more from watching the players, they all had more of an idea of how to play, so I learned a lot from just playing.

I stuck with Bob and Akuma. Bob, because he is my favorite character and Akuma because he is really solid in the game, his gameplay makes sense to me too, slow and steady, but mainly because Akuma is a bad ass hehe.

My moods on the show was very up and down, some days you felt hopeful and really felt you were getting better, other days the challenges made you feel like you weren’t really improving, and you had no time to really improve. But overall, my teammates and I got along,

Street Fighter was a different world for me, and I explored it, learned what I could, and I took home the pride of being on the show, plus the benefits of being able to dabble and apply my fighting game skills in another game, and I can only thank Capcom and all its hard working representatives for making it such a memorable experience.

Shout outs to Aris, Miranda, Steve and Bronson. The Street Fighter team was made of some awesome people too, Josh, Alex, Ty, Hornett, Sherri, Dr Sub Zero. I spent hours of my day with these people and got to know them a lot better.

~Kor

Video made by Get Salty. Here is some info on this talented group!

Members of Get Salty

Joey “Joestar” Min
Co-founder, Media Director / Public Relations
Games: Quake, UMVC3
Joey created Get Salty with Alex Dunston in hopes of creating a competitive scene that he enjoyed both in the West Coast and the arcade life in Japan. With his skills acquired from a career in the entertainment industry, he hopes to promote the hype of the budding South Jersey scene through entertaining videos and exciting tournaments. While not working on a movie set or on his own indie films, he finds just as much enjoyment in producing, filming, and editing videos for Get Salty.

Alex “Swagkick” Dunston
Co-founder, Financial Officer / Business Relations
Games: UMVC3, SFXT, GOW3, and COD
Alex Dunston is one of the Co-founders of Get Salty. Alex is a business influece in terms of innovation and direction. He enjoys a wide variety of games but excels in fighters and shooters. Alex is currently repping Rutgers- Camden and is attending for pre-business. He is one of the few members of GS that doesn’t have much arcade experience and has been on the pad his whole life. From Genesis to Dreamcast to xbox360. Alex will be rocking that PAD….unless it’s Street Fighter.

Andres “Crashtag” Mirandes
Graphic Design
Games: UMVC3, SF4AE
Uknowngly growing up in the arcades, the fighting game scene didn’t come to focus for him until Street Fighter III: Third Strike and Marvel vs Capcom. Now with UMVC3, SF4AE, and MK9 out and the fighting community at an all time hype, he is determined to make his mark in the scene while also lending his design abilities to Get Salty.

Christy “PopTart” Zammerrelli
Public Relations
Games: UMVC3, Pokemon
Grew up with a controller in her hand and a gameboy in her pocket. She’s new to the fighting game scene introduced by her Get Salty crew and already loves the community and it’s people. She’s a hardcore game so even on a nice day you’ll find her inside playing anything from fighting games to pokemon.

Chan Thach
Competitive player
Games: MvC2, UMVC3
As one of the top 3 in Get Salty’s first tournament, his skill steadily climbed to even beating major players like Dieminion. Focusing on UMVC3, Chan is ever evolving in his gameplay and technique.

Andy Garron
Competitive player
Games: SF4AE, UMVC3, SFxT
A relative new comer to Get Salty tournaments, but found a place in the ranks. His determination to win fuels his passion to further push him to higher limits and to make a name for himself.

Emi “Emiratsu” Ilano
Competitive player
Games: UMVC3
If there was a player among the Get Salty ranks that shows progress, it would be Emi. From the first Get Salty tournament to now, his play style and mindset has let him prove his worth among local players and during the Monday Night Fights at Nerd Palace.

Get Salty Facebook Page
Get Salty Twitter
Get Salty Youtube
Joey Min YouTube

Speaking of EVO Qualifiers, check out this epic trailer for the recently-announced East Coast Throwdown 4, which will feature a grand total of TWELVE games as main events!

1. Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition
2. Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3
3. Tekken 6
4. Guilty Gear XX: Accent Core
5. Soulcalibur V
6. Mortal Kombat (NRS)
7. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
8. BlazBlue: Continuum Shift EXTEND
9. Street Fighter X Tekken
10. King of Fighters XIII
11. Street Fighter III: Third Strike

And a very special Super Street Fighter II: Turbo event that pits legendary ST players against each other in high-stakes combat!

Pre-registration is now up for this Morristown, NJ event. One of the largest tournaments in the East Coast, this major is sure to not disappoint even the most avid of competitive gamers! For more information, follow these links:

http://www.ecthrowdown.com
http://www.facebook.com/ecthrowdown
http://www.twitter.com/ecthrowdown

Why is it that you think there aren’t many corporate sponsors? Corporate sponsors already knew about all our dirt. I see both sides of the FGC as I conduct a lot of the business for DMG. When it comes to contacting companies seeking sponsorship or donations, only my fellow team members are made aware as to why we were “turned down” for sponsorship. When we were the first USA team to be sponsored by Mad Catz last year, I figured many corporate doors would open. I was wrong.

I will now make public a few of the reasons why corporate sponsors have turned us down, mind you this is when we were gathering a lot of momentum last year with Inthul’s success at ECT 2, WB5, PR Balrog’s all around play and our great showing at EVO.

1. Our behavior during live streams:

Yes we enjoy it and understand it but corporate America doesn’t. Remember how bad EVO was when corporate Amaerica added Adam Sessler to go along with Seth Killian on the mic? Seth Killian did his best to carry Adam Sessler but it was the worst EVO ever.

2. Players’ lack of professionalism:

While it’s not every player, all it takes for a few bad seeds in the community to bring it all down. I hate when I was asked “the player that cursed during the live stream after he beat Daigo and said F#* the rest of the event and F#*k Daigo.” Is he on your team? Are you serious? You’re going to take one person actions and label it for the entire community let alone my team?

3. Players lack of respect for your sponsors:

Again another question asked to me “will your players out of anger or frustration curse out any their sponsors? Again because of a few players airing out their issues with their sponsors while on stream or during an interview was noticed. It affects us all. If you’re sponsored and that company pays your travel and room you should show them more respect. They are investing in you to market their company to gain new customers from your fan base.

4. Lack of respect for other players:

I had an interview with Burnyourbra and the racist comments she received while attending events. I felt I had to do and say something because as a minority growing up in the “hood” I didn’t see color. My black friends in my neighborhood were my brothers and sisters. Same goes for Mexicans, Asians and any other ethnicity. So I took offense to hear that my teammate was disrespected and I wanted to address it as I wanted it to end. If I was near her and heard someone call her a “black bitch” I would lose it and start fighting. Would that help?…NO but again she is my teammate and my sister. I will go to war for her.

5. Stealing from sponsors:

If a sponsor gives you/your team money to attend an event and such, then do so! Many players and Team Leaders have burned their sponsors by spending the money on something else.

6. Extra:

Many companies also do not believe in supporting the FGC because our “appearance isn’t marketable”. I laugh at that because offensive lineman in football aren’t GQ models or tattoed up basketball players who drive drunk and are arrested for other crimes aren’t really the most credible as well. But again they market the team most of the time.

There is only so much that Mad Catz and the few other companies can continue to do to keep the FGC alive. They see the all the good in the FGC as they are present at all these events. They don’t let the few mistakes stop them from supporting the FGC. I have only been involved in the FGC for a little over a year and I’ve seen all the glory in participating in such a team.

I was a jock prior to joining the FGC. I played semipro baseball and football and I was scouted by 2 MLB teams. During that time I looked down on gamers as lazy and all other kinds of hurtful things. I don’t see it that way anymore. I see the FGC as a wonderful community where you can be yourself and not have to worry about how you look and such. Playing a fighting game is as mentally challenging as any sport I’ve ever played at any level.

In the end we need to clean up our acts and mature somewhat. If we want to see the FGC grow and become what we would all hope, it can become and allow for larger payouts to players for example:

“Every tournament pays out to the top 8” instead of the “top 3,” then we need to start looking at ways to help this community grow.

Soon this drama will die down and things will be at a constant but do we really want it to go back to normal? The reason I say that is because, going back to what it always was or normal, means just a handful of sponsors and very little payouts. We all play a part in this community and we all are driving force behind its success so let’s all take responsibility for our actions and stop blaming it on again some “old guard” or “boys will be boys”.

I can honestly say and I speak for myself on this matter, we (DMG) do not share Aris’s ideas, beliefs, views, perspectives and opinions on what makes up the FGC. Call me crazy but sexual harassment is not, I repeat, IT IS NOT part of the FGC. It is not part of the FGC that I grew up in, it is not part of the FGC that I have seen grown and it is not part of the FGC that I love. I am small part of the community but I refuse to have one person’s opinion about the FGC and his outlook on life to be the representation of this community.

Sexual harassment; it does not belong nor it has room in competitive gaming. It has no room in a community, let alone, it doesn’t help the community to grow. Overall it has no room in any form of everyday life. Yeah, I admit that last sentence is a bit too optimistic and a bit naive but at the same time, it’s the truth. Someone who has the common sense or the intelligence to fully comprehend the behavior demonstrated on Cross Assault, in a professional setting, should know that it is not accepted. Sexual harassment should not be labeled as a trait, feature or something that would bring allure to people, allowing them peer into our community and expect the worst. Especially, when the same people who are trying to be part of this community and why would they. If I was someone new, looking in, I wouldn’t want to be part of it if all. All it would take is reading one person’s statement or hearing someone ignorance comments of how a community encourages sex harassment.

When BurnYourBra, a fellow player in the community, approached me about how she was treated back in Evo2009, I was highly upset. Not because of her sex, in which should never matter in any restrospect, because she was not treated like a human being or she was treated as a member of the community. She is a player in the FGC, bottom line. I treat everyone with respect until they give me a reason. That’s how I was raised, how I live my life and how I run DMG.

I expect the same mutual respect from everyone I encounter; it’s called the golden rule.Treat others the way that you would like to be treated. People seem to forget that and of all places, this rule shouldn’t be forgotten in the FGC because of how close and tight knit of a family we have grown to be.

I truly believe that some things are taken out of context and they exploit it and capitalize on it. I am referring to these websites and so-called journalism that they practice (glorify propaganda), only concentrating on the bad and never the good. These are the same website that can care less about what positive strides, efforts and impact that goes in the FGC but when something negative happens, “LOOK OUT!” they are in there.

I don’t know Aris personally, I never met nor spoke to him or had the opportunity to find out what sort of person he is. His actions on Cross Assault, his remarks and how he carries himself; gives me a measuring stick of who he is. That itself is good enough for me.

What makes up the FGC are the positive things that I had the pleasure to experience over the years.
I know I will get some heat because of this or get comments on why I am bashing on him or attacking someone who is part of the FGC. In all honesty, I am not bashing him nor attacking him, I am stating a fact that people should not (even though they do) act the way he does. Acting the way he did (or still does) and using the FGC as a reason to validate his behavior isn’t expectable.

Bottom line, even though this will set us back, we will bounce back from it but we shouldn’t forget this and grow from it. Only then we can truly continue to be the unique is to keep what we doing and keep the nonsense out of our community.

Time to Grow up FGC!

He also attends many major tournament events as a Dominion Method Gaming representative, and usually conducts interviews with key players of interest at the time. Those interviews are then publicized by websites centered on the competitive fighting game community, such as Shoryuken and EventHubs. Needless to say, Jason has gone far beyond expectations when it comes to his job here at Dominion Method Gaming. He aims to better not only the fighting game brand, but the competitive fighting game community as a whole.

Whether it’s putting a player out in the spotlight or managing to establish favored connections with other big brands known in the aforementioned community, he’s put forth 110% and for selfless intentions.

So we here at DMG would like to extend our biggest gratitude to Mr. Jason Laboy by promoting him to Vice President/Chief Operations Officer of the premier fighting game brand across the country! This title bears a heavy responsibility, but we definitely know that this guy can handle anything thrown at him!

So when you speak or see him next time, be sure to congratulate him on a job well done!

BT Dieminion

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Gummowned Master modder

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