EVO Japan lineup announced, with BlazBlue, Guilty Gear and Tekken 7 leading the way

The lineup for the inaugural EVO Japan, which will take place in Toyko between January 26-28.

Seven games will be playing during the event, with Arms, BlazBlue: Central Fiction, Guilty Gear Xrd, King of Fighters XIV, Tekken 7, Super Smash Bros 4 and Street Fighter V being the official lineup.

It’s interesting to see the changes in the region compared to EVO in Las Vegas. The most obvious sign of this is Super Smash Bros. 4 being chosen over Smash Bros. Melee, with Melee being more popular in America, but SSB4 winning out in Japan. There’s also the telltale lack of Injustice 2, a game that performed well at EVO, and finally the addition of BlazBlue, Guilty Gear and King of Fighters XIV, all games which have strong competitive scenes in the eastern market.

It’s been a long time coming. EVO Japan was originally announced in 2010, but the Tohoku earthquake in March 2011, occurring shortly before the event in May 2011, led to it being indefinitely postponed until the dates were set for this event in January.

It’ll be notable not just as the first Japanese EVO, but also as one of the first time Nintendo’s Arms has made it to a competitive fighting event.