MK9 is getting constant support from Netherrealm, and by the time of Evo next year, the current DLC characters are Freddy will have been checked out and allowed, so it’ll be just like a new version of the game will have been released. The finals were the most diverse finals at Evo, and one of the most hype, so I really can’t see MK9 not being there next year.
While its maybe not the most realistic option due to time and size constraints, Evo should increase its game count to at least the 6 it had last year to accomodate for all the new games that really deserve a shot, combined with older games that are steadily revitalizing their scene. 8 would probably be best, but, again, such a thing is probably only possible in a perfect world.
Anyway, going off that, what will probably happen is, in order (i.e. 6 to 8 will only happen if they have that many slots):
-Street Fighter 4
-Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3
-Street Fighter x Tekken
These three are guaranteed, given that Shoryuken is the brains behind Evo. Street Fighter’s getting a rebalance, Marvel is Marvel, and SFxT is apparently the best thing since sliced bread, so I’m happy with these.
-Mortal Kombat 9
As I said above, its basically getting a new version if you assume time stops in between this year’s Evo and next year’s. Its exciting, its popular, all the pros are behind it, I really hope it sticks around and Netherrealm continue to give it the support it deserves.
-BlazBlue
Its pretty well balanced and seemed overall hype, even though not as many people play it and its early time slot on Sunday, though that may just be because people love seeing a low tier win regardless of whether or not they know what’s happening. Its also pulling a community by itself (dustloop, that is to say), and that’s an upside by itself, really.
-Skullgirls
If its out by then and MikeZ hasn’t been high the entire time he’s been designing the game, I can’t really see it not getting a spot. MikeZ is a really popular player in the community, and this is the first fighting game that’s been designed and done entirely by a fighting game pro, so, even though its not out yet, I feel pretty assured it’ll be exciting and balanced.
-Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (if its not out, Soul Calibur 5):
The main reason this is down so low is its unlikely it’ll actually be on consoles before Evo, but if Namco does get it out on consoles around the same time as arcades, then it should be a lock. Tekken is popular, Namco wants it at Evo, but…people don’t want Bobben 6: Bobline Bobvolution, and that really caused the hype to drop around Tekken finals. TTT2 looks to be more enticing of a pick, as, even if Bob is once again god tier, you can only have one Bob on your team. Soul Calibur, however, has been at Evo before, but only in the absence of a Tekken, and that was due to T6 being out in arcades but not consoles, and no one wanting to go back to Tekken 5. I’m sure it’ll be given a chance to prevent Bob single-handedly consuming hype and support the 3D community in the absence of TTT2, however.
-King of Fighters XIII
This being the lowest on the list should really show you why 8 slots would be so beneficial to Evo (or even maybe 9 if TTT2 is out and people want SC5 still). Its balanced (despite what some really…odd glitches might imply about the game), diverse (by necessity of the 3 man team system) and popular. It, as with all of the games besides the overlap in Capcom games, wields its own community, and as such would, once again, promote Evo being a fighting game convention, which is the image they really want.
I’d really like some older games like Third Strike, Super Turbo or VampSav being given a chance again (or for the first time, in the case of VampSav), but, even with 3SO, I doubt they’ll be able to draw a large enough crowd to necessitate them knocking one of these ones out. Its a real shame, especially for ST, which many see as the quintessential fighting game, but what can you do? The only way to fit more games after a certain limit would be to change to an SBO style system, which would ruin the fighting game convention angle, and lower hype quite a bit. Nonetheless, a boom in popularity might happen for God knows what reason before Evo decides its game, so you never know what might happen. Assuming nothing big changes, though, I can’t see the games list being too different from mine (which is pretty much the same as everyone else’s anyway).