So the thought which I've had ruminating around is this:
I truly believe that right now, we are at a major crossroads. This is probably the most critical juncture in the history of the fighting game community. The reason why is that the FGC, like some other game communities, is built on the local culture of gaming. It has it's roots in arcades, bars, pizza shops, barber shops, and other places where you could just walk in and be yourself. Anything goes, say what you want, maybe fight about it if somebody gets mad.
And it was this way for a loooong time. But now, Twitch TV + World of Warcraft has changed the game. With Twitch TV, for the first time, millions of people around the world gained the opportunity to tune in live and watch gaming events as they happen, in an easy/friendly way. And with World of Warcraft, for the first time ever, the kind of gaming that requires a bit of thought (not a ton, but more knowledge than Super Mario) became popular at such a level that it is now a household name even among people who hardly play games.
So that's the chain reaction: WoW -> Twitch making viewing accessible -> LoL/SC2 attracting the new huge gaming audience -> Millions of people joining twitch. And now that all these people are comfortable with the idea of tuning into gaming broadcasts and shows.. Enter, the fighting game.
But we're faced with the fact that even an event as large as EVO is still, in some way, just an extension of guys hanging out and cussing each other out at the local arcade. Thousands of them.
So where do we go from here? Which side of the culture do we want more? Would we rather have guys like PerfectLegend be able to earn a solid and reliable living as a 'professional gamer', or is it more important to us to say whatever the heck we want onstream? Would we like to have $200,000 prizes for getting 1st at a fighting game, or is it more important to people to watch CORN and Fanatiq get into a fistfight onstream? Do we want Stream monsters, or paying customers that can be advertised to?
I don't know which way it's going to go; but it's clear we can no longer ignore the elephant in the room, and decisions will have to be made.