Feel free to jump to the last paragraph if you want to skip my "my gamer dad is so amazing" story.
-PG

I visited my parents again this weekend, and like all visits, my dad's been actively talking to me about how far he got in a game or a new title he's looking forward to. A few weeks ago, my dad finished his first PS3 game, Assassin's Creed. When he asked what other games were out, I blurted out "Street Fighter IV".

My dad and I used to visit my grandmother every weekend. For the last few years of her life, she was bedridden, watched over by my aunt and uncle. When they came back to America to watch my dear Vovo, my cousin gave my uncle a gift; a box of his old games, along with a PS1 and Dreamcast. My dad, sister, and uncle would all sit around and play fighting games like Soul Calibur or Street Fighter Alpha 3. And while none of us were very good (yay button mashing!) it was a lot of fun. I think that was the last time my dad and I ever sat down and played games together, which would mean we haven't played together for roughly 6 years.

It's not that we grew apart or anything; my tastes were starting to broaden as I sat down with a wide variety of games, while my dad stuck to safe bets like the James Bond games, Zelda games, and the Prince of Persia trilogy.

So jump back to this weekend; my dad gives me $60 and tells me to pick up Street Fighter IV for him, since I have a discount at work. I was secretly reluctant; when my dad is bad at a game, he complains. When he loses too much, he quits. He's quite the sore sport. And I've been playing SF4 all week at my buddy's place; the skill gap is pretty wide.

"But you only have one controller" I reply, hoping to dissuade him. He insists I buy it anyways.

I was going to flat out lie and say we were sold out, thinking I'd protect him from being frustrated with something he spent $55 on. I know, I know; it sounds horrible. But then my dad ordered pizza. And when he picked it up, he returned home with another PS3 controller.

Ever love someone so much that you hate them? Goddammit, Dad. Stop being so perfect.

I think this is his way of reaching out to me by getting back into videogames, the same way we'd read Nintendo Power together when I was six. So I pretty much had to buy the game today.

Anyways, TL;DR: My dad doesn't even know what a Hadouken is, much less how to execute any sort of combo. And he's also in his 50's. So training him is going to be quite the challenge. Anyone have experience coaching new players? I want to be supportive so that we can start playing games again, and I don't want him to feel like he wasted money, but I don't know where to even begin.