Note that this is a translated excerpt from a forum post I just made on the topic of whether introducing new games, especially 2D titles, into the community would be worth the hassle. I am responding to subjects as whether or not playing a game with no scene is worth the time of day, whether or not there's a point in playing a game that only one person has, if it's meaningful to buy a title that no one will be playing in two weeks and also I'm lashing out at the dominance that Capcom had over the entire community for the past decade despite not making the effort to actually releas new games until just recently.
"The problem with today's fighting gamers is that no one seems to every play the games for fun or even because they are GOOD anymore. It's only about community, tournaments, winning streaks and match videos with celebrity players. The fact that fighting games are like any other video game, part of a medium designed primarily around entertainment, is something that seems all but forgotten. In the end reality has been twisted to the point where people are still playing their ten year old fighting games (I won't mention any names though Capcom games in general should feel targeted) either because they don't know any better or simply decided to jump on already existing bandwagons because they simply can't be bothered. That kind of behavior is usually referred to as backtracking.
To have or not to have isn't even part of the debate anymore because I know for a fact that it means nothing whether the games in question can be provided or not. I would gladly sponsor everyone in the area with a copy each of King of Fighters XI if I didn't already, from previous experience, know that it would be a waste of time and money. And if we're talking about learning curves; let me ask you how long it takes for seasoned fighting gamers to learn a character from an old classic like World Heroes 2 which only uses three buttons? 5 minutes? 10? Regardless, the problem lies in the fact that most players these days aren't prepared to dedicate even that time to try something new to them, even out of curiosity.
We talked a little about how ungrateful being a fighting gamer can be and yes, it can get really hairy every now and then. But maybe, just maybe it wouldn't be so damn bad if such large parts of the entire community still wasn't completely focused on only doing their own thing. Just look at the lingo from different games as an example; 1234 in Tekken and SC respectively doesn't mean even nearly the same thing, and these were made by the same company. Similarly A and B in SC and KOF uses the same terminology for two entirely different things, a mid in 3D is called an overhead in 2D and it just keep going on like that. Sure, it doesn't help that the companies that make these games often somehow try to establish their franchises by coming up with new names for things. Anyone still remember that a “super combo” was originally invented as “desperation move” before a certain company desired to change it up or that a “parry” was originally called “deflect”? But even so I still don't think I've seen many communities that ended up so divided and whose members are so concerned about hanging out in groups, or even having members being forced to simply stick with the group that is the closest to their interests in hopes of getting any playtime at all.
At the same time the whole fighting game genre is in the middle of the biggest comeback since the mid 90s, yet no one seems to bother taking a loot at the world outside of their little corner made from whatever fighting game series you hold above all others. I honestly don't give a damn about how Street Fighter 4 turns out as a game, all I care about is new players coming in and enjoying a game that was neither played to death like a broken vinyl five years ago nor taking 18 months of playtime before anyone even bothers to remember your name.
All in all I think that fighting games are like the wine in a documentary I just saw on public service TV the other day; if you only drink the brands that people tell you to drink then you are doing it WRONG! It's nothing short of a miracle that there are so many titles out the entire population of the western hemisphere only bother to play five of them. Regardless of their reasons for doing so.
So if anyone feels particularly moved by this go to Ebay and buy the first title you find at the to of the fighting game genre list, I'd be surprised if you had to spend more than a measily 30 bucks for it nowadays. Bloody Roar, Fatal Fury, Rise 2 Resurrection, Brutal Paws: of Fury, Mortal Kombat 3, Toshinden 2, Street Fighter the bloody movie game or fucking Shaq Fu. As long as it's something that you don't have, I dare you! If you want anyone to join in, I'll be on it, I don't care if it's a bloody game boy port of power rangers that you dig up!
And by the way, considering that virtually every fighter produced between 1990 and 2003 is available on emulators (and everything after that being relatively easy to get hold of cheaply) I say there are no excuses about not getting hold of specific titles. I would gladly hand them out myself if I had to.
Well if nothing else, thanks goes out to the people who bothered reading my entire rant.
Hex off"
Original rant can be found at: http://www.bitterharmony.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2001&start=270
