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The Present, and what the future holds

The year 2001 is still fresh in most our minds. Players everywhere continued to rise from mediocrity, the ECC controversy continued, and Japan sent a contingent of players to compete at B5. There is also Justin Wong. He started to tear through the EC ranks in Marvel vs. Capcom 2, then won ECC6, MWC 2001, and B5 to take the undisputed crown in MvC2. The latter half of 2001 saw the release of Capcom vs. SNK 2, a legitimate game that could stand alongside MvC2. The year 2002 brings the advent of APEX, a system devised to help record tournament results and determine player rankings. APEX also brought a huge surge in the tournament scene in the USA, where tournaments now happen on an almost daily basis. 2002 also marked the debut of Bang the Machine at various film festivals across the USA. #capcom has an average of over 100 people at any given night.
An article like this can really have no conclusion. The tournament scene is hotter than it ever was. Who knows what's going to happen? Will the arcade scene continue to thrive? Will it eventually reach the heights that Japan currently enjoys? Or will it move on to online gaming? It is truly hard to tell. The ever-growing prescence of the Internet, including the increasing acceptance of video games in the mainstream of society will help influence the future. It is up to us, the SF community, to determine where the future lies.