This weekend is Mini-Megacon, a multi-genre geek convention being held at the Orange County Convention Center. One of the more anticipated events of the convention is “Year of the Fighting Game: Round 2″, a 90 minute panel that will cover all 2009’s fighters, including Street Fighter IV, BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, The King of Fighters XII, Tekken 6, Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars, and others. I will be hosting it with my fighting game buddies Chris Smoot and Mike “Brotha Kyo” Burgess. We are going to break down the titles that have already come out and discuss what we like and don’t like for each one. Also, we are going to cover some of the more notable aspects of each game’s design and even show some interview clips from each games’ key development staff. In addition, the panel will have time for open discussion so you are feel to share your thoughts at this panel. Lastly, we’ll talk about upcoming fighting games, classic revivals, and the future of the genre.

Fighting games are a passion of ours; it’s definitely a genre of games that doesn’t get the accolades it deserves for players forming creative strategies in order to win. This year has brought back the competitive nature of many old and new fighting game fans. Not only that, advances had been made in several of the games that have already been released have made significant improvements in either game balance, developing characters and story, or online play. This panel will not only be a discussion of fighting games but also a celebration of the genre’s return and its advancements. We hope to see as many of you as possible because an awesome to will be had!