For a short moment at this year's Evo in Las Vegas, I was gifted the chance to talk to one of the names that probably defined the early years of the FGC, created its most famous moment that still gets talked about today, and is a player that holds such a high calbire that it cannot be understated how much he has helped define the legacy of not only Evo, but fighting games, as a whole, on the past couple of decades.
That player is Daigo "The Beast" Umehara, the man who gifted us Evo Moment 37, a legendary play that is still meme'd and talked about today, despite happening over 20 years ago in 2004. It's stunning to think that a player who competed over 20 years ago is still playing to this day to try to be an Evo champion, but for Daigo, it's hard for him to see himself doing anything else.
When I asked Daigo what keeps him coming back to play fighting games for over 20 years since that precious moment, he paused for a bit and seemed to think deeply about the answer.
"There are a variety of things, but the biggest one is that this is what I love to do," Daigo told Destructoid. "Second is that it’s my job. Those may seem like conflicting motivations, but to me, they fit together in a way that isn’t contradictory. I guess I’ve been able to make sense of it, or digest it. My biggest motivator is the desire to always be doing my best in the present."
Daigo went on to say that it was the most important thing for him, and while many players praise and remember him for the feats he was able to perform in the past, he still wants to be appreciated as a player now. Telling us, "If I’m not appreciated in the now, then the praise is meaningless to me. That’s why I want to keep fighting against the people who are here right now. I want the people of the present to see me, and I want to be of value in the present. You could say that’s my perpetual pursuit."
However, it is hard to escape his past and the achievements he has reached, and Diago shared with us his past self, highlighting what he was most proud of.
"It's not much next to any EVO achievement, but looking back, I think there was value in how fully I devoted body and soul to fighting games in a time when video games weren’t so respected in Japan," Daigo said. "If I hadn’t, I doubt I would be receiving the kind of treatment I get today, and the future would’ve looked different. Before the scene got so big, in an age when you couldn’t expect to get anything in return for your efforts, I really put my heart into it purely for the love of the game. In a way, I feel like I pulled off something difficult."
There is also a wish for Daigo to still see himself playing over the next 20 years. He told us how he hoped to be still playing the games he loves, and it was "a wish I hold strongly," but did note that, sometimes, things don't go the way you expect.
"I hope I’m still playing," Daigo told us. "That’s a wish I hold strongly, but if it’s not meant to be…it’s hard to say whether I’ll still be in this industry or not. As I said before, it’s important to stay focused on the now. If I’m not still playing, I don’t think I’d be able to stick it out mentally, because I’d feel like I was just being credited for past achievements and prestige."
But even without the prospect of him still being around, Daigo has high hopes for the FGC as a whole.
"It’s hard to predict the future, but it’s hard to imagine the fighting game scene suddenly disappearing after getting this big. And while the speed and extent to which it grows may vary, I think the simple fact is that it’s only going to keep getting bigger from here." Diago said. "Assuming things go normally, it’ll probably end up like traditional sports, where you have non-player positions, like coaches and trainers. In fact, we may already be in that phase."
The post One of the FGC’s biggest legends discusses past, present, and the future ahead appeared first on Destructoid.
