Footage from the Friday night launch of Super Street Fighter IV was on several pieces of video equipment stolen from I Am 8-Bit, the production company of the renowned video game expo. They're offering a reward for its return.
An email sent early Saturday morning by Jon Gibson, the founder of I Am 8-Bit Productions, explains the theft and makes clear that the footage - not the equipment - is what's worth the bounty. The company was producing a documentary for Japanese television about Daigo, the elite Street Fighter player who was flown to the event by Capcom.
I Am 8-Bit is promising full anonymity for the return of the equipment (and the footage).
We are prepared to offer a cash reward if that footage is returned to us. We don't care who stole it, we just want it back. We will NOT drag anyone through the mud; your identity will be kept secret. We can promise you that.
Just please, come forward. We can arrange for a drop point somewhere in Los Angeles.
Seriously, this footage meant the world to us. It was important to Daigo. It was important to Capcom.
We produce these kinds of events for the fans, and for the evidence of such a night to be ripped out from under us - well, it hurts.
It really hurts.
The equipment stolen is a MacBook Pro, two Kodak zi8 HD cameras, and "lots of SD cards."
"We could care less about the equipment itself. It's the FOOTAGE THAT MATTERS," Gibson says. "For the entire night, that Mac Book Pro, along with those SD cards, stored hours of footage from the event. It was really great stuff that is now gone because someone decided to take the shiny objects."
Gibson's asking people to email him directly if they have any knowledge of the missing equipment. His address is jon AT iam8bit DOT com, please put "Capcom Fight Club Footage" in the subject header.