The annual EVO tournament in Las Vegas is the largest and most prestigious fighting game tournament in the US, pitting the best fighting game masters in the world against one another in virtual combat. This past weekend’s EVO was a huge success, drawing over 1800 contestants for Super Street Fighter IV, alone, as well as thousands of other fighters for games like Tekken 6, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, and Melty Blood: Actress Again, and even saw the first playable version of Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds anywhere in the world.  The biggest news to come out of the event, however, may be the announcement that Yoshinori Ono’s next game will be shown at this month’s San Diego Comic-Con.

Ono had previously teased the project, stating that “SuperSF4 is nothing compared to what’s coming!!,” but at EVO, the Super Street Fighter IV producer referred to the San Diego Comic-Con as the game’s debut.  He shied away from details about the project, explaining that it would upset Capcom, but also hyped the game, saying, "I strongly believe in two weeks, you guys are gonna be like, 'I'm gonna buy that game next year.'"

Ever since Ono’s cryptic Tweet, Capcom fans have speculated about what the company’s next project might be.  While Darkstalkers, Capcom Vs. SNK, and Rival Schools are the most frequently guesses, it sounds like none of these is in the cards; as fans shouted out their suggestions and guesses about the title, Ono was heard to remark, "We will definitely make something a lot better than what you guys are saying right now.”

So we still have no idea what’s coming, but at least now we know that it’s coming before the end of the month.   I’m still not 100% convinced that we aren’t getting Darkstalkers in some form or another, since Ono has called it his “dream project,” but maybe Capcom has come up with an entirely new fighting franchise.  Or maybe, and this would be sad, it’s just an arcade version of Super Street Fighter IV.  Since I haven’t seen a legitimate arcade in the greater Philadelphia area since the early 1990s, this news would be significantly less than exciting.