[Today's promoted blog on last week's eSports topic is from StriderHoang, who talks about the mass popularity of this year's EVO. If you want to see your own blog on the front page, make sure you write a CBlog on our current topic, East vs. West. -- JRo]
During EVO, I had the unfortunate luck to be busy uploading videos to my YouTube account. With my infuriatingly average bandwidth being provided by Verizon, I couldn't watch the stream.
But that didn't mean I didn't know what was happening right that second, though.
Nearly every minute, sometimes every second, someone I knew had posted something hype-worthy on my Facebook news feed: there's an eight-year-old in the top 32 of Marvel vs. Capcom 3; PR Balrog landed the most incredible level 3 grab with Tron; the cutest trans model ever is competing in Tekken 6; Poongko perfected Daigo; Latif eliminated both Tokido and Daigo.
I got all this information second hand from my social networks.
This year, fighting games with EVO have gone from an underground culture to a full blown eSport that nobody can fully ignore and shut out of their life. And it's truly an amazing thing.
I can remember a time when tournaments on Street Fighter III: Third Strike and Marvel vs Capcom 2 were something only the most dedicated fan would know about. EVO might've been big back then, but to my knowledge it stayed mostly within its own sphere of influence.
This year though, everyone was talking about EVO, and I mean everyone. Video recordings and streams were coming out the wazoo from more mainstream video game sites like IGN, G4tv, and Machinima. At one point I think I saw the official EVO stream hit 8.8 million viewers. When Latif eliminated Tokido, he was swarmed with cameras on stage.
Accepting the reality of eSports as kind of a big deal is no longer relevant. It's now an inevitability that you know someone who will drag you into the world because you happen to be in the mood to listen to them. Ever since Street Fighter IV released, the fighting game scene wasn't just revived, it damn near exploded and spilled over into mainstream culture. And from that big bang, millions of people were hooked on the substance known as hype.
Of my entire extended network of friends, I'd venture a guess that at least a third of them are gamers who play regularly, and not just at some social gatherings or parties. And of that group, nearly all of them were into EVO in some way, shape, or form. Some were like me, hearing the news second hand, and some were actually watching and chatting in the stream, sending their actual, excited remarks straight to Facebook. One even went to EVO and made a very strong showing in more then one game.
And pretty much all of the ones who regularly sign onto Facebook to post something all know the community's in-jokes.
And now I finally have an excuse to post this.
Heck, even friends who aren't truly attached to the fighting game community are surprising me. One friend asked me what it meant to be salty in the context that EVO had just ended. Another chimed in that he probably knows the man who fought in the Mortal Kombat 9 ladder cosplaying as Kitana after I shared a video.
Knowing I have something along the lines of "Six Degrees to Cookie" was pretty much the highlight of my day. Seriously, watch his match and tell me there isn't something silently awesome about Cookie when he gets up and shows his defeated opponent what is probably the firmest ass he'll ever see.
Pretty much what I'm trying to say is that EVO was a reaffirmation that the fighting game community, entailing all the sub-cultures of Street Fighter, Marvel, Tekken, Blazblue, and more. It is a giant phenomena that exemplifies not just the excitement of eSports but gaming in general. The people competing at EVO deserved to be there and the elite, select few created moments that will forever enshrine them and the games they competed in.
Welcome to the new era of fighters. In a word, get hype.
Contest:
7:30 PM on 08.10.2011 | 
I agree that fighting games have spilled from hardcore enthusiast category to full blown hype. Fighting games just have so much character in both their designs and the people who represent them like Yipes, the voice of Marvel.
Here's hoping that Evo gets even bigger and better and that words like "salty" never die.
Now I know I live in a world of hype.
Now the era of tourney*** pandering and excessive and exploitative DLC has began.
RIP... FUN Fighting Games.
I think it's awesome that this year saw eSports becoming much more mainstream.
But holy fucking hell, the way the word 'hype' is used in the eSports community may be the most grating thing I have seen (or heard, in this case) come out of gaming in a damn long time. I'm sorry, but it just sounds like you're all raping the English language. I love new slang, I love analyzing new words and seeing how they come about, but... no. Just no. Please stop using that word that way.
Welcome to the fold~
It's fucking hilarious.
@Muddbastrd - I swear, the community on the east coast must be holding conferences about making up new terminology. Seriously? Mortons to describe someone being a sore loser? Oh Yipes, will you ever be reasonable.
@Master Chibi - My (attempted) point was that fighting game culture and excitement has spilled over into mainstream media and that's a cool thing. Either eSport got added a few too many times in the editing process (I remember using it only once originally) or I just ran my mouth (keyboard?) too much.
It's exciting seeing how big this is getting. I'm still iffy on needing to give it the title of sport. It can be its own thing and still be awesome, but it's not like I'll shit myself either way. Regardless, the fighting community seems sweet, although I agree
Good article bro, grats on front page :D
*although I agree with MuddBstrd that 'hype' will get old fast :P That's trivial though :)
This YouTube personality I like, Behrudy, lives in Canada and has a Canadian scene he participates in. I've never heard of such a community (it had a name, like Canadian Joysticks or something) but it sounds like he has a great time being apart of it.
See kids! Being competitive doesn't have to mean being sponsored and going to EVO! It can also mean things like friendship and trust and guts and whatever else Shounen Jump stands for or something!
Thanks man, those are good ideas I'll definitely tuck away. Depending on how much fun I have, I may start thinking bigger, but I would love makin' friendly like with other children playin fighty-sticks.
Yeah, that's something I noticed, but don't mind so long as I'm having fun with it long after the purchase. I actually do own a PS2! :D But its broken :P Dammit. 35 bucks at the local VG Heaven will get me a new one though, so I may do that :) And thanks for the link, thatll be a good way for me to get my feet wet before buying anything :)
Look at these two, already showing Dtoid how cool the fighting community is :D
I think there's definitely excitement and an infection nature to following a fighting game tournament over a social network. I've enjoyed that for the past two years now.
But, I don't think fighting games are anywhere near the pulse of the main stream. Far from it. Outside of gamerdom, its still as obscure and ridiculous a concept to most people as considering chess a sport.
Aa mainstream eSport future? Its a possibility. But in no way an inevitability.
As an e-sport, I think that fighting games are going to become a mainstream staple. It's the community which is going to really vault it into the big-time.
If you don't think the people at these events are having fun, you're nuts. Some of my most entertaining memories are from game tournaments. And people generally only play games that they like to play. It's not like I'm forcing myself to play Tekken 6. I love Tekken, and I love learning more about it.
@Lausgoose,
The biggest barrier to tourny play is finding competition. If you can find a group of people that you like to play fighters with, you can push each other to get better and better. I used to be in the middle of a pretty good-sized community (Central PA) that was capped off on both ends (Pitt and Philly) with big gaming communities. Now I only have one other friend who plays competitively in the area so it's really hard to get experience.
The next biggest barrier is attitude. You NEED to be willing to get your ass handed to you a thousand times over in exchange for learning to get better. Online play will only get you so far, but it DOES allow you to get used to seeing the dozens and dozens of possible characters you'll be up against. And then, when you think you're getting good, go to a tourny and get your ass handed to you even more.
The price barrier can be rendered a non-issue if you can find someone with the games you want to play who's looking for people to play. I wouldn't care if someone was mooching off of my PS3 just so long as I had LIVE HUMANS to play against.
Yes, the people at TOURNEY's are having fun, but like I said, Tourny*** pandering ruins the game for normal people. The more you tweak a game for those people, the less casuals will play.
And if tourny**** have there way, it will get to the point where these games are only online and practice modes, and no one will play them but hardcore players, so they won't sell enough to warrant making them anymore... Leading to another decade of fighting games being dead.
At least we'll always have SSB, no matter how much THOSE people bitch about it being unbalanced.
I'd love to pick at the point that being a tourneyf@g is simply being GOOD at a game much like EVERY OTHER GAMER ON THIS SITE strives to be in their respective games / genres, but that's a blog that's barely worth addressing for another day.
@ Strider:
I've been playing for like ten years, for people to call it an 'esport' now makes absolutely no sense to me. We're really not fashioned into a league or anything close to a sport, but again it's not worth arguing over. People can call it what they want :P
If you aren't 'playing to win', then what the hell are you doing? Don't get me wrong, you can enjoy playing and still lose, but if it isn't your primary goal, then perhaps you should find another genre. They are FIGHTING games. Their very existence is based on competition.
Those that talk down on tourneyf@gs strike me as people who don't want to learn to win. Those who don't want to improve themselves. If you do not have that drive, then seriously: find another genre. Preferably, one that has no hint of competition, because there is always going to be someone better, and if you don't have the drive to improve, you'll never enjoy the game.
On topic: That is an epic pic of Viscant. Also, great article.
If you don't care about the competitive community, what does it matter if the devs decide to change gameplay based on feedback from the competitive community?
And wait a second. Why am I even discussing this? I started this article because I was surprised my friend asked me to define, "salty," on Facebook!
Then explain why SF4 and MvC have almost no extras? It's arcade, training, practice and online and shadow battle. 4 out of those 5 things are tuned to "Serious" players. No story mode, no Vs. Cpu, No special modes, No unlockable art... Unless you count the Dozens of tags for online, but once again, that is something casual players will never notice after getting creamed online and giving up.
Look at something from the last few gens, or even a few years ago. like Tekken 6 and Soul Caliber 4. TONS of extras, or Street Fighter Alpha 3! That thing and tons of modes.
BlazBlue and MK were good with extras, but SF and MvC are as bare-bones as could be, and the are the gold standards of fighting games. so what is there really for a casual player to do in the game? Unlock the two frame text endings in the super repetitive arcade mode?
You seem to be missing the whole meaning of "Casual"
They aren't playing to win, they are playing to HAVE FUN. Not everyone gets off from beating other people, some people just like to mess around with a good fighting engine with a lot of modes and extras.
That's like saying people who don't play mario to get all the stars shouldn't bother, because they "AREN'T PLAYING TO WIN!"
Also, good stuff Strider.
I worded my point poorly, the problem isn't tuning the game for tournaments, the problem is ignoring the casuals to cater to said tourney players.
Once again I point to the content difference between Alpha 3 and SF4.
Why couldn't 4, or super 4, or arcade 4 have all that content... no, even half that?
Personally, I blame Seth. He is the voice of the tourney players, and said voice doesn't really get why Casuals play fighting games.
There is absolutely no reason SF4 shouldn't have the same amount of content as Alpha 3, a PS1 game.
But, the article is very well written, even if i don't care for the subject matter ;)
I honestly don't understand your point... If you don't find playing the actual fighting game fun, then maybe fighting games aren't for you? Extra modes are always a good diversion, but that is all they are. Once again, if you don't find engaging in fighting games fun then I don't know what to tell you...
Just because you don't find fighting games fun doesn't mean they aren't fun for the rest of us. I have played hundreds of hours of Street Fighter 4 in its many iterations, I can honestly say I was having fun the entire time. Once again, just because you are playing to win doesn't mean that you aren't also playing for fun.
It is like saying that Borderlands is not a fun FPS because it doesn't have a good story; since when has a quality FPS been decided by a quality story? Sure some have had them, but it isn't what makes a FPS fun, the gameplay is.
It doesn't matter how good the foundation is when there is nothing to do with it.
You are thinking with tourney logic. The is a reason Smash Brothers totally kills SF in sales, and it's not just because of Mario and Link, In fact, it outsold both galaxies and twilight princess (not combined). It's because it is fun AND full of content. and it doesn't alienate players with over complicated mechanics and an overly competitive atmosphere.
2 generations ago we could pick up SF and say "Boy I can't wait to get home and kick my friends in the face!" Now it's "I can't wait to get a 150$ stick to give me a slight edge in online play!"
The Capcom games tend to be feature light due to budget constraints. This pushes the playable characters, playtesting and gameplay animation to the forefront. This ensures, at the very least, that their product is everything their targeted market wants.
Could Street Fighter or Marvel be more enjoyable for the general masses if they spent more development time on unlockables, single-player content and customization?
Yes. They could. However, they would completely lose their target market. These games are developed by fans of fighting games for fans of fighting games, a very fiercely loyal market with huge emotional investments. If the people at Capcom have to make sacrifices, why should they prioritize anyone else? It's actually one of the nicer things about the company (or at least a subsection of it).
Capcom has the potential to cater to both audiences with a proper budget and a generous development timeline (The guy running the Capcom pocketbooks will cringe at these two phrases). The features can work and be developed in tandem, but they need substantial initial investment, something I don't think Capcom could have possibly been ready to do with SFIV. That game was slated as a "Last Hurrah" for the genre, getting an appropriately smaller budget. The additions didn't have the budget to implement anything substantial on the single-player end of things.
I think the heads of Capcom have a chance to "see the light" in this situation. 3rd Strike Online is jam packed with extraneous baubles and features that don't directly effect the competitive audience. If it sells well, future development may focus more on extras.
MK9 was a great competing product, as well. It's a great example of catering towards both audiences. They had deep pockets with WB, though. The game also lacked a lot of the standard gameplay "refinement" we see from companies like Capcom or Arc System Works. It had great singleplayer components, though. It also went toe-to-toe with MvC3 in sales.
With enough time and money to supplement work and effort, no one will be left behind in future titles... Whether or not Capcom has enough cash dollars for that kind of project is up in the air.
And content is important, Say I like the engine of Street Fighter, Smash Bros, MvC and Dissidia equally, but I can only buy 2. Well, Smash and Dissidia have substantially more content. So why should I bother with SF? Because it is more balanced? that means nothing to a casual player.
As for Smash Bro's... Well, it isn't really a fighting game. Sure, there is fighting in it; but it is the antithesis to all the fighting games people love. It seems like you are a big Smash Bro's fan, that is awesome, it was made for people like you. Don't try to make traditional fighting games something they aren't, something they never have been.
Budget constraints? Give me a break. Street Fighter is the gold standard of fighting games, and Capcom is one of the biggest companies around. On top of that Alpha 3 was during the depression of fighting games, meaning it probably had a substantially lower budget.
You don't need to ignore one side to please the other, BlazBlue did a fine job walking the line, and you'd have to be completely insane to say it had less constraints than SF. Budget or otherwise.
I think you and I are perfect examples of people who have fun playing fighting games... How so? I argue that any Dan main has an excellent fundamental understanding of fun. ;)
Just because it shattered the mold and spit all over every arbitrary "Law" Tourny**** made up over the years doesn't make it any less legit.
That's like saying System Shock wasn't a FPS because it broke away from the tradition twitch aspect of the Average FPS and put an emphasis on storytelling and RPG elements.
Except you know, every other fighting game by every other company this gen that had loads more content, and probably more balance than SF4AE.
Aw, that's adorable, how you brought out your poorly constructed straw man to win an argument.
Again, it's a fighting game. There is exactly one objective - to beat your opponent. That's it. If you are not trying to beat your opponent, then you are playing the game wrong. Arcade Mode? Beat your opponent. Versus Mode? Beat your opponent. Story Mode? Beat your opponent.
If you are going to compare it to Mario at all (a flawed argument, considering it isn't a competitive game), it'd be like a gamer playing and getting game over before leaving World 1. Then another player comes up and beats the game in no time flat, sets a time record and never gets hit.
And the first player mocks the second one, and implies that because he does so well at the game, he must not be having fun with the game.
Also, you are seriously implying SF4 happened at a BETTER time than SFA3? SFA3 was during the time of Marvel vs Capcom, Capcom vs SNK, Darkstalkers, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Cyberbots, Power Stone and legions of other titles from Capcom ALONE. While fighting games were mostly dead at home (because the PSX couldn't handle them, and it was the dominant system of the time), they DOMINATED arcades. When SF4 came out, 2D fighters were considered dead outside of the doujin fighters. There's not even a BIT of a comparison. Its night and day.
Would it be nice if Capcom fighters had more single-player content? Sure. It'd also be nice if there were more costumes to choose from, a greater variety of stages and music options. That's all fluff. The focus of Capcom fighters is purely on providing a solid competitive experience. If adding any additions to the game compromises this goal, then it isn't worth it.
Every game has budget constraints. Some more than others. In case you didn't pay any attention to SFIV's development, a company poll said that half of Capcom wanted the whole franchise dead so resources could be allocated to other projects. A Triple-A title being developed in a time when the genre was dead, on the back of a new engine? They even cut whole characters to make release (Deejay and T.Hawk were left unfinished on the disc.)
As for Alpha 3, all games developed in the 90s had exponentially smaller budgets than anything you'd see today. Workforces were smaller, people worked and were worked harder, people were paid less, software licenses costed less, audio was handled by 2 people instead of 20... the list goes on. You can't do that now, especially not with 3D assets. I don't care how much you outsource.
BlazBlue's extra content was smartly handled. There was very little of it. A bit of art and a lot of writing (which is super cheap to produce, by the way) goes a long way. It was not nearly enough. BlazBlue didn't find mainstream success, which is what Capcom requires for it's level of investment.
Also, try giving System Shock to someone who enjoys playing Quake 3 Deathmatch and wants more of that. They'll be bored to tears. It's a different product developed and aimed at a different audience. System Shock is an awful game if you're looking for a substantial multiplayer experience.
Smash Bros isn't a bad game. The problem with Brawl (Melee was cool competitively by complete accident) is that the game and it's developers do absolutely nothing to foster development of your skill with the game. This is why the competitive community laughs whenever it's brought up. However, this is a problem for the competitive community alone. Any effort they put towards the game will be for naught, struck down by random variables and poor game engine decisions.
Playing Brawl competitively is like trying to become a chessmaster if the rules state that some douche will always comes by when you play and slap some of your pieces off the table, regardless of who you're playing. Casual players will think it's hilarious and a fun time. Anyone striving to be better will curse at the lack of skill involved.
So Namco put extra resources into adding these modes and in the end it probably hurt them more than it helped them...
Just saying...
It's not a Strawman when my entire point is how Capcom is ignoring casual fans. In fact, I have no idea what your point is beside "Screw Casuals" which basically proves my point. It's a video game, the point is to be FUN. Shooting games are about shooting, and making sure said shooting fun, not boosting your ego by beating others, the same is true of fighting. fun is subjective, the amount of content is not, and Capcom's recent fighting games are severely lacking in that department , especially compared to their contemporaries.
@Krackatoa
1st of all, don't believe all the corporate propaganda you read, companies lie and distort the truth to seem honest and reliable, and by this point we should all know Capcom has a very tenuous grasp on the truth.
2nd, you don't really buy that budget stuff do you? Games like BB or even Arcana Heart and Battle Fantasia have more content than SF, and on a substantially lower budget.
Besides, you basically admitted Capcom doesn't care about casual fans or extra content, so why are you even arguing with me? It's like you agree with me, but don't want to knock your precious Street Fighter.
System Shock wasn't made for competitive players, but it is still a FPS. The same is true of Smash. It's not a competitive fighting game, but it is still very much a fighting game.
Tekken 5 sold about the same if not more than core SF4, and Tekken 6 didn't do to bad either.
So quality of the extra content aside, the games still sell.
You could argue quality over quantity, but I found Tekken 6 to be just as good as 4 in the gameplay, so the extra content is what makes Tekken 6 the better game for me.
You are not looking at the bigger picture. Forget the modes, proof that the games were created with a much stronger focus on 'casuals' is right there in how they operate.
- Cinematic 'ultras'.
- Reversal windows large enough to drive a truck through.
- Input shortcuts.
- The combo mechanics being changed completely for the first time in SF's history (most combos start at a chain, then go to a link, THEN go to a cancel that leads to a special).
- SF4's entire intial roster was created with the thought of bringing back those 'casuals' who enjoyed playing SF2 in their youth.
- Knee jerk patching to Sent in MvC3.
- The combo mechanics in MvC3 are child's play compared to the executional lunacy that was required of you in MvC2.
- X-FACTOR.
- Magic pixels.
The games were created with the casual gamer first and foremost. They should have been, there's not a chance in hell they would have made money catering to a 'tourneyf@g' like me. Two thousand people at Evo doesn't equate to the millions they've sold for SF4.
I don't know why you posters are wasting your time with this Laharl character.
Capcom games lack fun because it doesn't have lots of modes in addition to versus fights? Dude, the versus fights *are* the fun. That's the whole point.
Fighting games are about fighting your opponent, and getting good at it (as in winning). It's about finding new ways to defeat opponents or strategies you have trouble dealing with. It's about the process of developing your knowledge and skill in the game. That's the fun part. Whether you do it at home with your buddy, or online, or at a tournament, or you do it casually, or hardcore, it's all the same. Versus mode is the whole point of the game.
If you don't like versus mode, then you don't like fighting games. And in that case, you can't really be helped, because the game you want to play isn't really a fighting game.
If you're buying a fighting game in order to play puzzle minigames, or a tacked on "adventure mode"(like Tekken usually has), then your money can be much better spent elsewhere on games that actually are about that kind of gameplay. They'll do it better, and they'll give you more of that kind of content.