Aomori e-sports project "The 2nd Aomori Game Tournament-Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown" was held on December 15 at Workspace SHIFT (Momoishicho, Hirosaki City).

The project was started with the aim of spreading esports, which competes in computer game skills, in Aomori and improving the environment. The event is hosted by the NPO Aomori IT Utilization Support Center, which is the second game tournament held.

The competition is "Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown" (SEGA Games). It is the latest title in the "Virtua Fighter" series of 3D fighting games, and even now, eight years after its release, it is still very popular, with competitions taking place in various places.

The event was organized by "Asobu," a game community centered around Hirosaki, and "Virtua group" in their 30s and 40s who played at game centers in the prefecture. On the day of the event, 45 people from Aomori, Tokyo, Akita, Yamagata and others participated in the competition and spectators. Sexy Saito, who was born in Hirosaki and is a charismatic commentator in the series, also rushed to the competition.

The competition was also streamed live on the Internet, and viewers commented that the level was "high" and "strong". In the competition, 28 people participated in the first part of the single tournament match, and Mr. Yarton of Aomori City won. In the second part, a three-person team brute force round-robin match was held, with mixed teams from Tokyo and Aomori, Aiko, Ars, and Bargo de Mira, all winning.

Masakatsu Oura, the organizer of the event, said that “it is important to create a community that enjoys games in rural areas for the development of the esports industry. We are planning to hold the third tournament next year”.