It's been a few weeks since the line-up for EVO 2017 was revealed and voting has finally come to an end for the last spot. If you may recall, the largest fighting game tournament in the world decided to pick their ninth game based on how much fans raised for charity under the name of their favorite fighter.Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 won with $71,460 USD raised by 1468 devotees. This was followed closely by Pokken Tournament at $62,431 USD. Altogether, the competition raised over $150,000 USD for Make-a-Wish International.The rest of the nine games unfortunately were not as active as the Pokemon and Comic/Video Game crossover audiences. Here's the list of the other seven entries and their totals:
- 3. Killer Instinct - $6116 USD
- 4. Windjammers - $4000 USD
- 5. ARMS - $1337 USD
- 6. Skullgirls - $920 USD
- 7. Super Street Fighter II Turbo - $831 USD
- 8. Nidhogg - $158 USD
- 9. Mortal Kombat XL - $137 USD
These donations show some interesting trends that seem to prefer established EVO titles (Ultimate Marvel 3, Killer Instinct) or the plucky Japanese underdogs (Pokken Tournament, Windjammers, ARMS). Either way it is surprising to see strong franchises such as MKXL, Skullgirls, and Super Street Fighter II Turbo receive so little interest.
However, this was an unusual (and inspiring) way to select their ninth game; EVO took a risk and raised a fair deal of money. There were some controversies along the way with Skullgirls head programmer, Mike Z(aimont), tweeting out against the pay-to-win structure of the contest.
Whether the friendly competition was detrimental in the end is still a debatable point, and as of now EVO 2017 is complete. Nine fighting games will take the stage in Las Vegas and main stay Ultimate Marvel 3 will be one of them. It might not have been my first choice but I respect its win and I look forward to seeing people duke it out from July 14-16.