Street Fighter V (SFV), the latest in an iconic series of fighting games, is still in development. The planned launch is in 2016, and developer Capcom hopes to move more than 2 million units in the first year.
Noah Solis, a Lompoc native and genuine Street Fighter prodigy at the ripe old age of 12, has a copy of the game’s beta—a preview build for testing purposes. Capcom has emailed out keys to a lucky few, and Solis, who is so good at Street Fighter IV he plays for money against the best in the world, has been tapped as a beta tester.
“2 more hours i cant handle it,” he posted on Facebook the afternoon of July 24. Followed by: “i just wanna play street fighter 5.” Then, jubilation: “wow this the best beta i have ever played in my life.”
Solis caught the bug when he got the chance to test the newest version of Street Fighter at the Evolution Champion Series 2015, which is the World Cup of competitive video games, held at Bally’s Paris Casino in Las Vegas the weekend of July 17. He plays for Empire Arcadia, the e-sports team with the most wins in history, and competed with the best in the world for real money. The prize pool for Street Fighter IV at this year’s EVO was $72,270.
So Solis loaded up a minivan with granola and gummi bears and drove down to Vegas with his aunt, brothers, and dad. “It was big,” he said of the tournament. “A bunch of jumbo screens and a bunch of people.” He met some of the best e-athletes from Mexico and Japan and got to shake the hand of Jamie Lee Curtis, the she of classic 1980s slasher movies like Halloween and The Fog.
“Noah is a very important player that a lot of people are not aware of,” said Triforce Johnson, CEO and founder of Empire Arcadia. “Because of his youth, when he matures he will be one of the most powerful e-sports players of his upcoming generation.”
In the tournament, Solis played hard, competing in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom, he made it out of his pool and lost in the semifinals. Still, his recollections are upbeat.
“It was pretty good,” he said. “It was a cool experience. Awesome.”
Will he be headed back next year? Solis didn’t miss a beat. “Yes,” he said immediately. “Of course.”
This article appears in Jul 30 – Aug 6, 2015.