Ever since the debut of the game in Japan, there have been whispers of a Japanese invasion of the game. The rumors appeared greatly exaggerated as Pro Circuit Los Angeles got underway, as only three players made the long, boring, trans-Pacific flight. Only one made Day 2, which wasn't the most sterling start for the game's newest personalities. However, anyone who knows anything about Japanese gaming knows that these first impressions were probably false. Many Japanese gamers approach the games they play with such professional diligence that it doesn't take them long to reach the pinnacle of any game. Los Angeles was the warm-up, per se, for the greater picture. The Japanese players would be back, and they would be back in force.
Fast-forward about six months to a relatively overcast Friday in Atlanta. The setting for the Pro Circuit was amazingly well done, as per usual, and all of the major faces of the game were present. It appeared that the Pro Circuit would be business as usual for everyone involved. And then they showed up. Eight players that stood out from the rest—players who had everyone's attention. The Japanese have landed. And they brought game.
As a lover of the game, I desperately want to see the Japanese players do well here at Pro Circuit Atlanta. I think that it’d be good for the game on multiple levels. A successful run by Japanese players would lead to more Japanese players in the game. Growth is always a good thing. It would also breed a new sort of competition. Right now, the US has only a moderate amount of competition in the upper levels of the game. A successful Japanese run would cause that competition to go up. That forces every player, be they from North America, Europe, or Asia to raise the level of their game. On top of all of that, I'm looking forward to a possible Pro Circuit Tokyo (hint, hint, UDE).
I had an opportunity to sit down with the Japanese players after round 8 to speak with them about the game. None of them speak English incredibly well, so it was a fun little exercise in breaking down language barriers. The most well-known of the Japanese players, Masami Ibamoto (pronounced Ee-bamoto with an Italian accent), was the focus of my attention as I sat down to have a chat.
The first thing to note is that as I sat down to speak with the Japanese players, round 8 had just ended. Masami Ibamoto and Shota Yasooka were both 5-3, with a good chance of making Day 2. However, the other members of the Japanese contingent were having some troubles. Most of them were out of the tournament. "It's ok," Masami explained to me, "This is their first time. They're still learning." Of the original trio of Japanese players that made the trip to Los Angeles, only Ibamoto returned. This time, he brought with him seven new players, all eager to show their stuff on the professional level.
According to Masami, it's difficult getting enough players together to practice in Japan. "We don't have a store to go to. We do have my house," he laughed. "It's hard to get enough people together to do a full draft. We usually only get four or five. We did lots of drafting The X-Men, though. We needed cards for our decks." Despite their troubles with testing, the Japanese players still managed to be on top of the metagame for the event. They played a variety of decks (mostly Squadron) that looked remarkably similar to the decks played by the rest of the field. Despite their isolation, they were still able to effectively prepare for the event, which is impressive to see.
As for the future of Vs. System in Japan, Ibamoto is hopeful. "Constructed is starting soon in Japan. Japanese players like Constructed more than Sealed Pack, I think. So we might have many players when it comes time for the Constructed tournaments." When I asked him how he thought a good Japanese performance would affect the number of future Japanese players, he was optimistic. "I hope there will be more Japanese players in the future." After we talked about the benefits of a growing Japanese player base, we came to the topic of a possible Pro Circuit in Japan. "Yes, that would be nice. It's a very long way to come to America for tournaments. We have $10Ks, but a Pro Circuit would be nice. Maybe soon."
As I've said numerous times before, the influx of Japanese players can only strengthen the game. It will bring in new players who are eager to learn about the game and it’ll raise the level of everyone playing. Hopefully, in two days' time, we’ll have a Japanese player shuffling up for the bracket rounds. We'll check back with their progress as the tournament goes on, so you can be sure to catch up with them by reading the ongoing coverage here at Metagame.com.