There will be plenty of people in NC for SC5, there always is in the beginning. The problem is keeping them.
A little NC history:
SC2 - Atlanta showed up and blasted everybody twice. Everyone left. A lot of complaints were about how defensive the game was. A couple of us that stayed on never saw it that way. Maybe it's because we either played w/ X, Sophie, Cass, Mitsu, Yoshi or Ivy. Me personally, I left for school and joined the Florida SC2 community. The Winston-Salem crew just stopped playing altogether (because I was the one pressuring them to play).
SC3 - Variable Cancel (VC) glitch. Split community. No one could ever make up their mind on what was banned and what wasn't. Very scrub-minded. Tier list very lopsided. Game was very linear and the characters that could exploit this (auto-step or great verticals) were on top. But overall, it was the community as a whole that turned off vets and newcomers alike.
SC4 - It's SC4. This game is complete ass. On to Street Fighter IV we all went. I volunteered to run the SC4 North Carolina regional for nationals. I bailed and handed it over to Q to run. I wasn't going to put forth any effort in promoting this game. Only about 18 people showed up. Ass.
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Justin, I sent you a message on facebook regarding something for SC5.