If you play competitive fighting games, you’ve probably heard of Justin Wong. Hell, if you play competitive fighting games, you’ve probably been beaten by Justin Wong (at least in the fact that someone’s steeling his tactics). What it all boils down to is this: fighting games are back to being big business, and with big business comes big names and big competitors. By comparison, only one name stands out amongst the now-larger (thanks to Street Fighter 4) fighting game community as best of the best, and that name is Justin Wong.
Proof, you ask? Sure. Outside of constant tournament wins across the US and an infamous rivalry with Daigo “The Beast” Umerhara (the Japanese Ryu to Wong’s American Ken), Justin is a mainstay and fan-favorite at the yearly Evolution (“EVO”) fighting game tournament, held every summer in Las Vegas, where he typically places in top honors for whatever game he chooses to compete in. Not enough? Then let me ask you this: if you were to spend 10+ hours in a chair taking on all challengers in Street Fighter 4 at something big, let’s say E3 2009, how many matches would you win without losing? Justin went 300-0. The guy’s a force of nature.
But the landscape is different now. As strange as it sounds the term “hold back then push forward and punch” is an oddly appropriate metaphor for the fighting game market. Once the undisputed king of the arcade (and later console) hill, the 2D fighting game was the video game industry’s last major shakeup in the now somewhat defunct North American arcade business. While it did survive on home consoles in the form of popular 3D series like Tekken, Virtua Fighter, and Dead or Alive, the same players that ruled their local mall arcade or mini-golf concession stand were relegated to a niche market to fight tooth and claw for the intensity they found not ten years earlier when a stranger would put their quarter on the machine to get in line. The EVO tournament was formed to keep this player base thriving and competing as well as to, essentially, get people together to shake hands, share stories, and start fights –in the nicest possible sense, of course.
In the advent of Street Fighter 4, however, renewed interest in quarter-circle-forward + punch play mechanics has made the competitive scene blow up with new players. And by “blow up”, I mean less of an explosion and more of super nova. Though it may still be too early to tell, new sharks found in the wake of the SF4 ocean are going push the fighting game scene forward. How did it happen? It could be any number of reasons, really. But one thing is certain: people love to compete, and people love to compete against the best. And if they get that far, they’re eventually have to get through Justin Wong to even come close to giving themselves that moniker.
Since 2009 was a pretty huge year for not only Justin and fighting games in general, we thought we’d catch up with him for a little chat about his 300-0 showing at E3, his sponsorship, and where headhunting Street Fighter players can catch him this year. Justin took the time to answer these questions after last night’s Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars launch party, so the topic of competition was definitely fresh in his mind.
TGI: Let’s start with what you did at E3 this year. 300 Wins and no Ls is a whole lot of fighting. How long were you in chair beating these fools?
Justin Wong: Well I was there for about 10+ hours I believe, I couldn't even keep count
anymore. I just kept going for the goal.
TGI: Any breaks?
JW: Bathroom and snack breaks but I try to make sure I don't take
a break too often now.
TGI: Any close calls?
JW: I think the only close call I had was against Mike Ross.
He got 2nd at the Gamestop SF4 tournament.
TGI: There are videos on the internet of the final match. You were using your
typical powerhouse Balrog against an overwhelmed Viper. Did you switch it
up at all or was it "I'll do 300 with the boxer"?
JW: At first I was switching it up because I was getting bored but after a while I just
wanted to end it, so I stuck with Boxer mainly.
TGI: With a lot of competitive gamers out there, a high profile player like
yourself can generate a sort of "gun slinger" mentality with the
competition. Meaning, they see Justin Wong sitting there, they think that
they can take Justin Wong. Notice any of that during the 300?
JW: Yeah a lot of people did think like that because SF4 is a new game so everyone thinks
they are the best and in order to prove it, they need to face one of the best.
TGI: Did you know any of the other players at all? Anybody you think was
actually going to give you a run for your money?
JW: Just Mike Ross because I see him a lot at tournaments.
TGI: Was there a training method that you used for this? Any insight or is it a
trade secret?
JW: My training method was just practicing up on the EVIL Controller for a couple of hours during the week to make sure my execution is on point, everything else is up to the mind game.
TGI: Charts of good character match-ups are pretty common, but it seems as
though more players use certain characters for any number of reasons. Were
the majority of people using the same two or three characters or did you
see a wider spread of choices? Did that effect how you prepared for the
event?
JW: Yeah a lot of people tried varieties at first but during the end, they try to use characters like Zangief to wear me down because that character is not a character you can just run over.
TGI: You're known for using sticks in competitive play, but you're clearly
using a controller to pound 300 people. What kind of approach do you take
to pad fighting vs. stick?
JW: Well a little history lesson is that fighting games are meant to be played on a joystick but you can use a pad to play if that is your preference, I learned the ways of the pad ever since the first couple rounds of the Gamestop tourney. So me using a Evil Controller pad is a lot easier because the thumbstick reacts a lot better since it’s made of different quality.
TGI: Do you have a preference whether it's sticks or pads?
JW: Joysticks all the way for me.
TGI: Can you tell us a little about the pad you used at E3?
JW: The pad I use has a better grip on the thumbstick which makes the durability alot better than the standard XBox controllers. It helps me to play the game longer and able to pull of some nasty combos.
TGI: Are you gaming full time with sponsors?
JW: I do have other sponsors such as J!NX, Gunnar, and GPX gaming. But I do not game full time because I do regular things such as work and spending it with my lovely GF, and cute puppy, Momochi.
TGI: How long have you been hooked up with Evil Controllers?
JW: I been working with them for almost a year and besides the E3 event, I just go to regular tourneys and repping the Evil Controller brand. They been busy selling hella controllers.
TGI: E3's a pretty big showcase for your skill, it being the largest games-only
trade show in North America each year. How was the crowd? Was there more
pressure here than at EVO?
JW: No the most pressure was at EVO because its 100% all fighting game competitors. E3 there were gamers there but not hardcore as EVO.
TGI: Hear any side bets in the background?
JW: Umm the noise was def not near me at all. I shut down everything to make sure I was able to concentrate my match with Daigo in the finals.
TGI: On the subject of EVO: are you training for another SFIV tournament or are
you going to wait it out for Super and start practicing that?
JW: I will probably just play some games non SF-related because I am not training until Super does come out. I also have to make sure that I am also a person who loves video games now. It isn't all about competition all the time.
TGI: Justin, where else are we going to see you this year? I'm guessing you'll
be at Caesar's Palace this summer for EVO, but are you making another
appearance at E3 or other larger events?
JW: I will be at E3, PAX, and any events pertaining to the industry but I will be at tournaments around the US. Hopefully to see you guys there.
Special thanks to Empire Arcadia and Evil Controllers for assistance with the interview. Pictures and video courtesy of empirearcadia.com.