Justin Wong needed to move to California for a future.
He needed a change to his life that New York could not provide. The year was 2009 and Wong faced a dilemma -- pursue fighting games as a job or continue toward an office job?
"I thought to myself, did I want to live the same lifestyle? It was becoming cyclical," Wong said. "I felt there would be no change unless I took a risk. When the opportunity was given to me, I just took it. That, and the whole mentality of California: if you know someone, you're fine. But Street Fighter was the biggest reason to move."
Wong is a professional fighting game player. His accolades now include seven Evolution Marvel v. Capcom 2 championships, a GameStop U.S. Street Fighter 4 championship, a Mortal Kombat 9 national champion, and the most watched clip in fighting game history. But despite the competitive recognition, it's one certain life choice that separates Wong from many professional players: his decision to move away from his home state.
Before California, his Evil Geniuses sponsorship, and an apartment in Santa Monica, Wong started as just another (very talented) player at his local arcade, the legendary Chinatown Fair. He won everywhere he went and around 2003, joined an organization called Empire Arcadia (EMP) simply because he liked the idea of playing on a team with friends. It would be his first taste of something larger.
"I was baited at a young age when I joined EMP," Wong said. "I knew most of the group since they were my friends from the arcade. (The leader) 'Triforce' had dreams that this was a business, but to me it was a regular thing. It's funny when you first hear about his dream because it's like lore, but I enjoyed being a part of it because I was playing on a team with my friends. It was a good memory."
He quickly became the biggest piece in the EMP puzzle. Despite the success, he stayed grounded thanks to his work mentality that things were earned, not given. He would go to school, then work, and only with free time would he play with friends or enter a tournament. To Wong, his family's concerns were a priority -- his grandmother’s in particular.
"I was raised by my grandma, my family was non-existent," Wong said. "I never met my mom and my dad was always working. My grandma just told me to get a job, grow up, and take care of myself. I didn't want to stress her; she already took care of my dad and myself."
Luckily for Justin, his timing was just right. With school finishing up, a job at Dave and Busters that was going nowhere, and plans for an office job looming in the future, Street Fighter 4 answered back. GameStop promoted a huge tournament toward the end of 2009, and gave Wong a new perspective for his hobby.
"Once GameStop had the Street Fighter 4 championships and I saw the presentation and the sponsorship, it just blew everyone's mind to recreate events like it," Wong said. "After I won the tournament, we received sponsorship from a company called Evil Controllers and that's when the big transition came from. I started to think I could make a living out of this. I could always go back to work anytime. I can work at 30-35, but I can't play games when I'm 35 or 40 because reactions go away."
His deteriorating relationship with the Empire Arcadia crew furthered the need to distance himself from New York. Because of dissension within the group over each tournament Wong won, he felt isolated in his own community. Wong cited a particular moment in 2005 during an Evolution Marvel vs. Capcom 2 final against his EMP teammate, Michael "IFC Yipes" Mendoza where Mendoza won. He remembered his EMP teammates being the loudest to cheer against him.
"I didn't like the community. It didn't want to change, and I did," Wong said. "I felt resentment in EMP because half the group grew jealous. They never wanted me to win when it came down to me vs. another EMP player."
Wong decided that his future was in California. He moved there with his girlfriend shortly after.
"If gaming was getting popular, why not move to California?" Wong said. "New York didn't have anything. And it's not just about gaming, it was also about raising a family in California. Everything's bigger and people are nicer. Financially, it was also better."
If not for a certain individual, James Chen, a veteran fighting game community member and commentator, Wong would never have moved to California as soon as he did. In 2009, at a tournament called ActiveGamers, Chen approached Wong about a potential move to his apartment with no strings attached. Despite not knowing each other well, Wong looked at the apartment and decided that it was time to move.
"It's hard to just move your whole life across the country. I didn't know anyone in California, personally," Wong said. "James Chen saw that I was trying, he was very nice. Maybe he also thought it would be cool to have me at his house to play games. I didn't care if the reasons were selfish because he gave me an offer that many would not. If James didn't offer, I would probably still be in New York."
Support from the rest of the fighting game community gave Wong confidence as well. From players he met to players he'd known for years, there was plenty of encouragement and help with the transition. To help pay for rent, he would work at the nearby Family Fun Arcade on the weekdays, which also afforded him enough to enter tournaments on the weekend. Many would balk at the idea of winning a tournament as a legitimate source of income, but as an established top player with consistent top three placings, Wong was an exception to the rule.
The end goal for Wong, even with fighting games, was always to land a job at a gaming company. Since his move to California, he's worked at companies such as Nexon (as a community manager) and Snail Games USA. Thankfully for Wong, the fighting games he was so passionate about exploded at the right time. The office job plan simply became Plan B, and within a year of his move to California, he was picked up by his current sponsor, Evil Geniuses.
With that, Wong took his passion and ran with it. His many successes are well-documented -- one of the winningest sponsored players in the world, and one of the best at multiple games. A winner in multiple of tournaments and fighting games during a career that began with Marvel vs. Capcom 2, he has nothing to regret.
“If I kept the same life, I wouldn't be happy, but some people just have harder lives," Wong said. "But, that's what makes me patient and if something new came that would change my life, I would take it."
Timothy Lee is a video game and sports journalist obsessed with finding the important detail. He's written for publications such as IGN.com, 1UP.com, Riot, and Rotowire. You can follow him @SHBL_Tim on Twitter.
Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com
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