Battle Royal Final Round 18 only receives 42 pre-registrants for DOA5LR

In a year that brings Team NINJA's exciting and new tournament circuit, Battle Royal 2015, the pressure is certainly on the community to match up to the support the team has provided for it. Winter Brawl 9 (WB9) concluded a few weeks ago in Philadelphia, PA with 32 entrants - an improvement over Winter Brawl 8's numbers by 50%. However, many were disappointed in the turnout at WB9 regardless of the fact the game was released in the same week.

Larry "Shin Blanka" Dixon, organizer for Final Round 18, recently posted the pre-registration numbers on his facebook:

Thanks to everyone that pre registered online for fr18! Remember there still is Emergency Door Registration on Thursday and Friday. Sad to see kof and the injustice numbers so low, but it is what it is. LoL. See everyone in two weeks!

Ultra Street Fighter 4 = 343
UMVC3 = 189
GG Xrd = 186
TTT2 = 139
Smash U = 122
Under Night= 69
KI = 55
Smash Melee= 50
DOA =42
Soul Cal= 42
Injustice = 24
Kof = 16

Previous Final Rounds scored as high as a 68 entrant tournament, so the pre-registration numbers certainly aren't too far from that mark. However, with this year being the debut of Battle Royal 2015, and the final entry of Dead or Alive 5 now released, the eyes are on the DOA community to support its own game and the competitors who are trying to keep the game alive in the competitive circuit. Sadly, even if the numbers are equal to previous years, one would hope with the increased support from Team NINJA in investing in a tournament circuit, that competitive entrant numbers would be improving. If numbers aren't improving at events then support from Team NINJA probably won't be continuing in the future... including future iterations of the series. Could the low pre-registrant numbers for DOA5 Last Round at Final Round 18 be a sign of this being the last year for competitive Dead or Alive?

Final Round 18 takes place in Atlanta, GA on March 20, 2015. For those players who want to support those in attendance, but are unable to attend themselves, an FSD donation pool has been set up to give towards the total Pot bonus.

 

Sorwah I know you are very passionate about the game and the community and I can tell you are frustrated. That said, I don't think it is a good idea to have a mostly negative tone to the original post. Berating the community in general will not get us anywhere (other than just letting off steam).

Let's focus on making Final Round the best possible tournament we can. There are sure to be over 50 players and that is more than enough to have a great time! Can't wait to see everyone there.

 

I definitely understand. Maybe a lot of people are saving up for specific tournaments, such as the Evo side tournament. Or TFC, which I consider the premier DOA tournament (and it is free entry). But I think numbers for future tournaments will improve, hopefully. People have a schedule in front on them and will show up to events that they can. However, it's also up to us as a community to get new people to attend.

You know, it's funny how folks like to think that players like me (I'm no one special, just saying), JDE, SR, etc. keep players away from these events, where if you WATCH THE TOURNAMENTS, WATCH THE HOME STREAMS, THE VIDEOS, AND COMPREHEND POSTS, we WANT more people to come! The only way that any of us gets feisty with those who can't attend is when the same non-tournament attendees run at the mouth. "I'm a good Rachel" or "I'm the best Eliot" or even when you talk shit about a certain player that goes to these things. PROVE YOUR WORTH. Holy shit, it's like folks are against the fgc "lifestyle". LOL YOU'RE IN THE FGC. Nut up, or never speak again.

 

The numbers are not that bad, but they could be better. I do feel like if more people were out there giving back instead of leeching we would get more done around here.

I also blame a horrendous launch. I don't know who is responsible, don't care; but they blew it. Because of that I expected a few low-turnout tournaments because some waited to buy, some waited to play until the patch, and most are a bit behind.

I like that Sorwah is raising the bar for this community and is setting challenges for it. Yes, we are doing better than ever before. But let's do even better than that.

 

Regardless of the retail success of the game, the competitive numbers shrinking would tell Koei it's not worth investing in the competitive community. Therefore, you are correct, the top brass could give two shits about a tournament, and wouldn't bother to waste their money on it and instead just make a new game.

What their more interested in is advertising and viewcount. Getting many eyes and ears on DOA for a generally small amount of money (advertising wise) is a good investment for them.

 

Sorwah I know you are very passionate about the game and the community and I can tell you are frustrated. That said, I don't think it is a good idea to have a mostly negative tone to the original post. Berating the community in general will not get us anywhere (other than just letting off steam).

Let's focus on making Final Round the best possible tournament we can. There are sure to be over 50 players and that is more than enough to have a great time! Can't wait to see everyone there.

Although I understand the reason you could have read it that way. I think many here would tell you I'm one of the more optimistic people in this community when it comes to community involvement.

A lot of that "berating of the community" is more from me sharing some of the feedback and frustration other power members of the community have shared with me. Having stable numbers is fine, but sadly we need to see growth during these critical times.

 

I'm pretty sure that a large reason there are small numbers is because there is already a small community, but there are a lot of "good" people who don't go because they've been so salty or abusive over things. Also offline matches are normally for people who are at least decent. The worst part is this is how most people get decent online.

 

Not surprised about that after the latest occurrences. Not saying they are definetely the reason but as a neutral bystander I can imagine some people aren't really in the mood to support tournament organizers by showing up to their events.

Personally, I wouldn't try to shout things concering an "community growth" from the rooftops now, especially because TN also did not make the best job with showing what the game actually offers and rather managed to make it's little re-start quite a mess.

 

lol at "this is a small community" there are about 150 people logged onto FSD right now. Going by the sells of this game and especially the free download numbers, then that damn player map (the US looks like it has chicken pox) LMAO. The DOA community is far from small. That is a lame excuse for this game and community.

 

Around that time, I get to show our adversaries that the US isn't to be messed with for about 2 weeks. Too bad I can't go.

 

Seems like I recall the last few years at Final Round, a number of people registering at the door on purpose. Might not make a huge difference in numbers though.

 

Seems like I recall the last few years at Final Round, a number of people registering at the door on purpose. Might not make a huge difference in numbers though.

Yeah, in the past it appeared pre-registrant numbers were around 1/3rd to 1/2 the final member count. However, in the Philly tournaments numbers went up when awareness went up for the monetary savings and the tournament benefits higher numbers give. So now those events generally have 75 to 90% of the total participant numbers. Higher numbers though make for a higher entrant cap at the door. The TOs don't take too kindly to getting only enough entrants for a 16 man tournament and getting 60 people at the door, opposite applies too where they get 16 people and set aside a 64 man bracket but only get those 16. Has to deal with scheduling issues.

 

I understand we want more people, but can we please write these articles in a positive, energizing and uplifting, inviting manner, instead of fear, doom and negativity?
I just feel that will be far more effective.

 

It's a bit too early to count on PS4/Xbox One users to attend tournaments at this point. Hopefully some of the new players will get competitive with time, but right now you can see lots of players online that barely know what they are doing (including me lol).

Besides it's not a new game that usually gets lots of interest from the fighting community, and graphics don't look that good anymore in current gen, so I don't think it's getting huge sales but hopefully some solid numbers.

Still even though I wish there were more, those are decent numbers. KI and KOF look really bad in comparison for a current gen game with great support and such a beloved franchise like KOF. Also I'm surprised to see how the MK community have abandoned Injustice. Kudos to the Soul Calibur support in there.

 

The thread does come off a bit doom and gloom, doesn't it?

I understand where Mr. Wah is coming from. The same place that Team Ninja and the tournament organizers are coming from, I imagine. They want you guys to flourish and its frustrating for them.

Still, you can't squeeze blood from a stone. Let's try to celebrate the turnout of the game we love rather than agonizing over what we're all aiming for.

 

We have to also remember the impact of Core Fighters. A lot of the people who play via F2P aren't going to come out to tournaments. But people who do join FSD and DOAW, we have a higher chance of reaching out to them. Also, keep in mind that a lot of people may be turned off what they see online. We can keep saying that it won't be like that offline, but to a new, casual player, what they see online can still make them nervous or turned off. Yes, I used to be like that, but now I'm more than excited to go to Final Round and meet everyone.

 

I'm pretty sure that a large reason there are small numbers is because there is already a small community, but there are a lot of "good" people who don't go because they've been so salty or abusive over things. Also offline matches are normally for people who are at least decent. The worst part is this is how most people get decent online.

Nope, here's where i feel you are wrong. Offline matches are normally for people who want to get better at the game they're showing up for and compete at high levels in the process.

Hell, i went to KiT for GG and got bopped really badly, but i went because i wanted to improve and i got to meet a high-level player who kicked my ass (Black Snake) lol

 

You cant expect that the Numbers will explode. A Community has to grow up over time. So keep supporting it and maybe a great Numbers. And to be honest doa5lr is not a real new game. And also maybe the tournament has also a Limit. Dont worry guys keep up the good work. So again keep up the work. You dont need a big Community like street Fighter. Just have Fun And Show the others that doa is fun.

 

Although I understand the reason you could have read it that way. I think many here would tell you I'm one of the more optimistic people in this community when it comes to community involvement.

A lot of that "berating of the community" is more from me sharing some of the feedback and frustration other power members of the community have shared with me. Having stable numbers is fine, but sadly we need to see growth during these critical times.

I do not doubt it is a feeling held by many others - I've been around DOA for a while now and the story on turnout has not changed. Regardless though, Final Round is going to be a great event and the narrative should be about that and not about how disappointing the turnout is. And honestly the number is not even that low (as others have also noted). You control the front page - I believe you are the owner of this site? - and prospective players who may attend this event or a future one may be turned off by the tone.

 

I'm donating some greens to the Final Round prize pot right now. Enjoy!

 

I'm all for DOA taking off, but I agree with Dr Drake that no one can expect it to explode immediately just when Battle Royal is announced. It takes time for word to spread and you have other games where the companies have been giving consistent support for years.

I'd recommend that when people do attend, you gather around for all the matches and get hype and do a lot of cheering and hollering. It builds excitement on the stream and gets attention at the tournament itself.

Also, having watched a lot of different streams for a lot of different games, I can't begin to emphasize how important the quality of commentating is to how enjoyable a stream is. I have no idea who will be commenting for this tournament, but I hope they do a good job. I can watch a stream of a game I don't really play if the commentators are attentive and explaining what the match-up is like, what strategies and moves to look for, basically acting like real sports commentators (or going even more in-depth for beginners), and making it easy to understand what is going on. DOA has a lot more depth than people think, so talking about some of the mechanics is great. Yet, when commentators are all over the place talking about in jokes, personal stories, babbling about whatever, I hate it. I could do with never having another stream sullied by someone's inevitably boring story about what happened in a hotel room at some other tournament. I don't care. That said, overall the commentating I've seen for DOA matches is above par.