^^^I’ve got a sprog on the way so such trips are out, but if you want to kick my arse some more for practice feel free 
As I understand it they only play on ps3s correct? Thats a big barrier for me since theres no way in heck I could even justify to myself buying a ps3 and rebuying HDR and another TE stick just for the ps3, let alone justify it to my wife. If they used 360s, thus allowing me to use my 360 TE stick and not putting me at a subtle handicap do to the differences between the systems, I might consider it.
I doubt it would be a fun experience for me anyway though, when it comes to sports or other reflex based competitions I have a tendency to choke under high pressure situations, thus why I’ve always stuck to tournaments for chess or card games where you have time to stop and regain your composure if your nerves start to get to you.
^guys don’t come ONLY to get top8 in your games or to make it to semi’s, etc. sure those should be some of your goals and such, but man, i have more fun networking and getting hype @ evo every year much more than i do competing.
plus vegas rocks 
And I’ve got no problem with people who go for that sort of thing but thats really not anything I’m into. Thats like people who buy tickets to a football game even though they know their team is out matched and probably going to lose and lose badly, just because they enjoy being with other fans and other perks like tailgating. Some people love that stuff, I’ve known some, but for whatever reason I’ve never found it particuarly appealing. I guess I’m the kind of fan many sports team owners hate, the kind that would rather watch the game in the comfort of their home on tv then actually go to the ballpark to watch it even if you didn’t have to pay for seats, the fact you do just makes it even less appealing.
Same thing with EVO, if I’m just planning to watch I’d rather do it from the comfort of my home as I did this year, so my only real motivation to go would be to play in the tournament. But to me, hire pressure events like that don’t tend to be fun, they tend to be stressful and frustrating, one of the worst feelings is to lose to some one you knew under any other circumstances you would beat but in this situation you couldn’t keep your hands from shaking violently and it resulted in you playing like a fool.
If I really was determined to make a career of playing fighting games then oh well, I’d endure and hopefully with experience the jitters would lessen over time, but frankly I don’t want to make fighting games into work, I like them just being a fun pass time.
All that said, I still stick to my original statement, if it wasn’t for the ps3 issue I’d still consider going. Through out much of high school I rarely took risks, lived a rather boring but safe life, but back when I was in college something inside me changed, I decided I wanted more and developed my “I’ll try anything at least once” slogan I’ve been known to spout to friends and family. Odds seem to be against me enjoying myself at an event like evo, but it’d still be an experience, and I’d never know until I tried, so part of me is still interested in going.
But again, on top of all the other costs theres just no way I could justify buying a ps3, a rebuying te stick for the ps3, and rebuying HDR for said ps3, so as long as EVO exclusively uses ps3s I just don’t really see myself attending it.
Re: PS3, it’s a smaller hurdle than you might think it is. Neither I, nor Sirlin, nor a great bunch of entrants own a PS3, yet we competed on it fine.
I’ve always wondered about this, with events like this if you don’t have a stick that works with the system they’re using do they provide you with a te-calibur stick? Even more so then the speed or whatever subtle differences the ps3 has to the 360 version the fact my 360 te stick isn’t ps3 compatible is a pretty big hurdle if a stick isn’t provided. I believe I heard Sirlin borrowed a friends te-calibur ps3 stick for EVO but I don’t know any friends with a ps3 stick I could borrow.
^you buy one.
srsly. none of my freinds have x360 sticks so i’d be in the same boat as you. as much as i’d hate for evo to go to x360 for reasons other than not having a stick, it looks like i would have to man up and get one. $80-$150 not worth it? oh well, then i guess evo isn’t for you then. that price is a steal considering the amount of hype and enjoyment i would get out of the 3-4 days i’d be at evo.
Sirlin borrowed a friend’s PS3 stick ; I bought an entry-level Fighting Stick 3 for 60$. I guess these are your two main options.
Sounds like a side-benefit of networking to me. Trust me, as an introvert myself, I can tell you that going to tournaments, regardless of how good you are, is an invaluable experience. If I didn’t have a little guy I’m trying to raise, I would’ve been at EVO this year. The people that I’ve met (from alt.games.sf2, at that time) are far better to be around in person, plus you never know when knowing somebody will come in handy for you.
And…yeah…that shaking hands thing becomes less of a problem when you play in more tournaments. The adrenaline rush is quite unforgettable, though.
Except when your opponents don’t wash their hands after they take a shit aaahahahaahahahahahahah hahahahah I’ll try not to name names
on the real though, some of us spent all our money GETTING to evo, can’t afford to drop 80+ more bucks for a one weekend event… I’m lucky I had buddies to borrow from.
I’m 99% that I will be there next year, I have been playing SSF2T for so long that I feel I’m as good as I’m going to get. I hit my wall but I should be able to hold my own… 
Oh goodness, I’d love to be able to go to EVO or any big tourney to play SF (or VF), though I’m probably years away from being able to go, (just picked up SF about a month ago), though I’m really enjoying playing SF and learning strategies.
Also, first post.
Can anyone point me at a list of Hotels or W/E near where EVO is/was/will be held so I can get an idea of how much i need to save up for next year? Didn’t go this year but next year will be a different story.
I am not sure if they hold it in the same casino every year but if you scroll down on that link it shows nearby hotels.
I’m hoping to go next year, we shall see.
I’m a Soul Calibur player tryin’ to get into this game. I don’t plan on competing but it’s fun so far.
HDR>Soul Caliber.
Or any fighting game for that manner.