The Fighting Games Are Making A Comeback; Can It Work?

[ABMorales787]

As of late there's been a steady stream of Fighting games coming out. Street Fighter 4, Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny, Tekken 6 and now Tatsunoko vs Capcom. These kind of games used to be very popular in the early 2000's. My question is if they can reclaim their fallen glory in this ultrarealistic modern age of gaming. Nowadays its about what game is the most "online friendly" or the most "realistic" shooter. Eventually this trend, like any other will die out. My question is if this new breed of Fighting Games can take its place, or is it just a short trip down "Memory Lane".

 

[Dagger Dias]

From what I remember, fighting games were even more of a big deal before the 2000's with classics like Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat. Fighting games have gotten good again lately with titles such as Smash Bros Brawl, Soul Calibur 3 & 4, and of course Street Fighter 4. Are you asking if these new and improved fighting games can take the place of their ancestors or of the online gaming trend? I think they can give people a nostalgic reminder of their ancestors from the SNES and 64, but will ultimately not be able to bring back the glory days of fighting games since those are long gone. It COULD happen but i doubt it. However if you were asking if they could replace the trend of online gaming, unfortunately I don't think so because too many people like it. I was never a fan of that myself, but the gaming companies need to capitalize on what's popular so they can make more money, and online gaming as a trend doesn't seem like it will die anytime soon.

 

[ABMorales787]

From what I remember, fighting games were even more of a big deal before the 2000's with classics like Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat. Fighting games have gotten good again lately with titles such as Smash Bros Brawl, Soul Calibur 3 & 4, and of course Street Fighter 4. Are you asking if these new and improved fighting games can take the place of their ancestors or of the online gaming trend? I think they can give people a nostalgic reminder of their ancestors from the SNES and 64, but will ultimately not be able to bring back the glory days of fighting games since those are long gone. It COULD happen but i doubt it. However if you were asking if they could replace the trend of online gaming, unfortunately I don't think so because too many people like it. I was never a fan of that myself, but the gaming companies need to capitalize on what's popular so they can make more money, and online gaming as a trend doesn't seem like it will die anytime soon.

Actually, I was noticing a pattern. In some way, Fighting games always have some sort of innovation in the beginning of a decade. In the early '90's it was the rise of the 2D fighters in controversial fashion while in the early 2000, they temporally brought back the arcades as well as break into 3D. Can they come up with something fresh this time around?

 

[Spunky]

Can they come back? Short term yes. Why short term? Because Beat em' ups are very one dimensional, It's the reason games like Mortal Kombat, And Tekken introduced a story mode into the game, Because beating the shit out of someone, The same way repeatedly is only fun for a certain amount of time.

Long term comeback? Not a chance, They need to introduce innovations too often to keep them fresh.

 

[Leafy]

I've never liked fighting games because for every person that has played it and mastered every character, there is a gamer that is a complete button masher and can put up a fight against the seasoned veteran.

Fighting games are extremely online friendly but the new generation aren't looking for one on one fighting, but 18 people parties with different modes. With fighting games there is not much room for creativity. With FPS's for example you can capture the flag to creative modes like Infection. With fighting games you can fight them to the death but that's about it.

I don't see fighting games lasting much longer because of the limited room for them to evolve. While other games are merging such as FPS and RPG, fighters are basically staying the same. If they can merge fighting with another genre, maybe we will see the genre living longer.

 

[Kasey]

Fighting games have become a definite niche market that caters to the hardcores mainly because each new edition of one of the dominant franchises (Fatal Fury, Street Fighter, MK, Tekken, etc.) has to keep upping the depth each time out. This makes it tougher for the novice to jump right in and even come close to mastering the game. Take the depth in Street Fighter IV, for example. Capcom has slowly introduced much more by way of air juggling, different blocks, and super moves over the years that to each person playing, it doesn't seem like much. However, when you do a direct comparison of Street Fighter II (any edition) and Street Fighter IV, you can see which one would be damn near impossible to master without quick access to the internet or a pause screen and a command list. This is one of the reasons that Tekken became so dominant in arcades. It became like a cult. Novices had to pony up some serious practice time because the learning curve was excessively steep.

Fighting games will always be around, but simulation games like UFC, Fight Night and EA's upcoming MMA game will probably be the dominant sellers. The fighting games of the past are still rooted in their basic structure, which is cool. In the long run, though, I don't think they'll ever recapture the luster they once had the first time I watched Kano rip out Sub-Zero's heart. Indeed, those were the days...

 

[HBK619]

I always liked the fighting games that were like Tekken,Street Fighter,Mortal Kombat etc and UFC being the only exception.However i hate Fight Night.I didnt like it one bit.Its a good game yes i agree but i dont like it.

It can comeback but it wont be huge.It will become popular but not as popular as Call of Duty:Modern Warfare 2 for example