Too Many Games: A Good Problem to Have but What's the Solution?

Walking around Final Round this past weekend was an amazing experience, as it should be. Seeing players from all over the world, meeting up with personal friends I haven't spoken to in years and of course scoping out all the matches both on the big screen and the numerous setups on the ballroom floor. 

One thing it made me realise though is that it seems there are simply too many games on the market and made me think about how tournaments and events could be restructured to accommodate all the games that are out now and the ones soon to be released.

This all circles back around to Street Fighter x Tekken which I see to be the tipping point as it is a huge game that everyone will be playing. What if this game was featured as yet another tournament at Final Round? What sort of affect would it have on the other games at the event?

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Cognitive Dissonance: A Lack of Perspective

The fighting game scene has changed tremendously since the release of Street Fighter 4 in 2008. Where once gamers were struggling to fill 32-man brackets, now there is hardly enough room for all the entrants at many venues. Players are regularly able to not only pay for their tournament expenses by winning, but also pay some bills or make a profit. And as the flood of games has increased, niche scenes have been able to reemerge and grab some of the spotlight. However, a disconnect is growing between the mindset before the fighting game revival and after. Veteran players, unable to remember the old days, and new players who only know a post-Street Fighter 4 era are placing expectations on a gaming community that never before had them. In doing so, they are creating an environment that is becoming hostile for smaller games in the very scene they wish to promote and expand.

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Cognitive Dissonance: Fighting Against the Tide

I don't like the modern fighting game community.

I grew up in arcades, where people waited to play and you never knew if the older guys behind you might take a swing if you actually beat them. People yelled, punched cabinets and generally let their emotions run wild as they took a break from class, skipped school or even had the day off from work. It sounds intense, and it was, but it was also what motivated me to become a better player. Beating the older guys was an idea so euphoric it was worth being a little scared every time. I learned to talk shit, hold losses and even how to socialize with fellow players in the arcades of St. Louis, Missouri. And that was before I knew that fighting games had organized tournaments.

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Resetting the Bracket: Pause and Reflect or RTSD?

On Wednesday's episode 99 of Live on Three, Marcus 'djWHEAT' Graham covered a few topics relating to tournament organisers, based around presentation and education; one topic was on fighting game tournaments, specifically when one is at the point of a reset bracket in grand finals.

Marcus' argument was that when the bracket has been reset, time should be taken for the commentators to discuss what just happened, what it means and what happens now. Too often do we see players mashing rematch and the match continues without a second thought or satisfactory explanation. I agree with him, however this produces problems that must be dealt with.

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EVO Roadtrip Day 4 - Springfield, MO

If you're in the Springfield, MO area, head on down to The Arena at Next Level Games and get bodied. And if you live somewhere that has a potential scene but no venue, get at your local indie retailer and tell them to give Fred a call to find out how it's done. New arcades aren't exactly growing on trees.

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What is it that makes for enjoyable commentary?

When I began casting the earliest of iPlayWinner streams back in early 2009, we were among the very first to implement full play-by-play commentary on a fighting game stream. It was revolutionary for its time and along with casting, it quickly became a mandatory facet of all legitimate fighting game tournaments moving forward.

Despite this leap in awareness, the earliest of commentary for the most part wasn't necessarily for an audience, but for our own amusement. We were taking the playful banter from the event and piping it into a hot mic. We were using it as a new avenue to give our friends a hard time for making their way to the chat room but not the venue itself. We were a bunch of grown-ass kids who found a new toy to play with and it just so happened we were okay with sharing it.

It's nearly 2012 now and can we honestly say that much of anything has changed? The faces and the games they comment upon, sure, but are we as a community (iPlayWinner included, mind you) producing anything significantly greater than our earliest of experiments? 

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How Do You Feel About Non-Competitive Fighting Games?

Always Godlike posted up a very interesting take on the direction fighting games are going, looking at the consumer aspect of the scene, comparing it to other genres such as FPS which have new releases all the time because the market demands it. Of course, any company in the business of making games is out to make a profit and to do that, well, there needs to be something new for the consumer to purchase. 

Read FGC's Role as Consumers on Always Godlike

That said, releasing new fighting games all the time to turn a profit means that you can't expect each one to be the best fighting game ever. In fact, it's safe to say we might see non-competitive fighting games hitting the market soon, just to keep casual players interested in the genre until the next big thing. 

So, how do you feel about non-competitive fighting games? Do you feel there is space for them in this scene or should companies simply focus on making solid, competitive games if they want to stay in business?

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EVO Roadtrip Day 2 - Brookfield, IL

I was quickly reminded that even when it's a game I don't care for, I love watching people play fighting games. The ebb and flow of a good match is part of it and that's something you can get from watching streams and YouTube vids. But being there, in the presence of the competitors, hearing the button slaps, watching their expressions, seeing the urgency, intensity, finesse and dexterity of their hands across the sticks and buttons and feeling the energy between them and the small crowd of spectators  is very powerful for me. I believe that, in it's purest form, it becomes about mastering oneself to master the mind of another. This mixture of inner and outer conflict results in a level of mental engagement that is totally unique, both in and outside of the gaming world. It's one of the best reasons for arcades to exist. 

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The Salty Runback : Glitter-kake

If you would indulge me, the introduction to this article involves you following my instructions in order to physically participate. Don’t worry, you won’t have to move out of your chair or from your keyboard. You just have to take one of your hands off the keys momentarily. If you’re busy, it isn’t as if you don’t have plenty of practice typing one-handed.

First, sit up straight in your chair. I want you to picture, somewhere on your desk, an invisible mug. It can look however you please. It’s invisible. Inside the mug is a whole mess of glitter and confetti. Now, I want you to take one of your hands and use it to pick up the invisible mug by its handle. Make the same fist you would make holding a visible mug. Hold your invisible mug against your stomach, just over your navel. Now shake that mug up and down and spew confetti everywhere.

That is exactly how I feel about SBO.

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EVO Roadtrip Day 1 - Philadelphia, PA

EVO Roadtrip is a series of articles detailing the trip of long-time fight fan and upcoming freelance journalist, Vince "W.K." Ingenito.  After a difficult year, both personally and professionally, he decided to pack as much of his stuff into the back of his Jeep as he could and drive across the country from New York to California to make a new life.  On the way, he takes a look at how the fighting game community has grown and spread, both in huge metropolises and small one-light towns. 

The trip reaches it's climax at the 2011 Evolution World Championship in Las Vegas. Check back regularly to get more and more pieces of this unique, personal look at fighting game culture.

"Welcome to University City" reads an overhang, as the first stop on my roadtrip draws near. It occurs to me that I have only the vaguest memories of Philadelphia, as the last time I visited I was on a day trip with my elementary school. What I definitely didn't remember was it being so CLEAN. Some older Philly residents might be quick to correct my use of the word "clean" and opt for "sterile" or "Pennified" due to the urban renewal initiatives led by the University of Pennsylvania, which calls the neighborhood home. But as an outsider, my shoulder is chip-free. From where I stand, University City looks like the best parts of Brooklyn: diverse and urban enough to have verve, but clean and quiet enough to seem sophisticated, at least at 3 in the afternoon when I showed up.

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EVO Roadtrip: Crossing the Land of the Free With W.K.

EVO Roadtrip is going to be a series of articles detailing the trip of long-time fight fan and upcoming freelance journalist, Vince "W.K." Ingenito.  After a difficult year, both personally and professionally, he decided to pack as much of his stuff into the back of his Jeep as he could and drive across the country from New York to California to make a new life.  On the way, he takes a look at how the fighting game community has grown and spread, both in huge metropolises and small one-light towns. 

The trip reaches it's climax at the 2011 Evolution World Championship in Las Vegas.  What follows is just a quick intro.  Be sure to check back regularly to get more and more pieces of this unique, personal look at fighting game culture.

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INTERVIEWS: Get to Know Your KOF Community Sites & Their Founders!

Hi folks! I've seen that the KOF XIII hype is stronger than ever so I believe it's a good time to introduce some of the KOF exclusive communities for those folks new to the KOF world. While this is not an exhaustive list of every single KOF website out there, it's good enough as a starting point into the KOF world.

Each founder/admin was asked these questions:

Tell me about your community : When it was founded,main country that represents,etc. Why KOF?

What does KOF have that pushed you to form a community?

How do you think that KOFXIII will impact your community?

Check out each admin's response and thoughts on the KOF community after the break!

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IPW Topic of the Week: What's Your History with Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike?

First off, many apologies to all our readers for slacking off and not posting up a topic last week. We were a little overwhelmed on this end as usual and didn't get around to it. 

In any case, with 3rd Strike Online Edition set to drop in the next day or so here on both PSN and XBLA we wanted to get a better idea as to what is everyone's history with the game is at this point. Are you the type who started off playing it in the arcades way back when? Or are you a player who discovered the game through the magic of GGPO? Perhaps you gave it a shot on the Dreamcast and didn't care for it too much then but might give it another chance tomorrow? 

Whatever it may be, post up in the comments and let us know where you got started with the game or even if 3rd Strike OE will be your first time playing it!

On the Scene: NYC Fight Club Draws Huge Crowds, Hot Feline Cosplay Models

[Note: If all you want to see is more Felicia, skip to the end of this post now.]

The latest Capcom Fight Club went down last night in New York City. The first thing we noticed upon our arrival was that the line to get inside was easily over 1,000 fans deep, overwhelming an entire city block and drawing stares from passers-by on a nearby overpass. Once we got inside, it was classic Capcom Fight Club goodness. There was a live DJ, cosplaying models, and a ton of setups for all of Capcom's upcoming fighting games. We got some hands-on time with Street Fighter X Tekken, Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, and 3rd Strike: Online Edition. The place filled up so quickly, however, that we were reminded of the legendary Chinatown Fair. The heat and the smell — not to mention the beatdowns from Chinatown's 3rd Strike killers—brought back so many memories. Thanks to Capcom for another awesome event, but with the incredible popularity of your fighting games, perhaps an even bigger venue is in order for the next one. Oh, did we mention that Felicia was there?

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IPW Topic of the Week: Which New Game Or Update Are You Most Hype For?

With so many new fighting games on the horizon, not to mention a few much needed balance tweaks on the way for existing ones, fans of the genre are going to have their hands full come later this year and all through out 2012. Are you looking forward to the updates for MVC3 and SSF4:AE or are you tired of those two and want something completely different? Perhaps Tekken Tag Tournament 2 to switch things up a bit? Hey, I know it's been a while since most of us have taken a Soul Calibur game seriously as well. Not to mention the console release of King of Fighters XIII is right around the corner!

Hit us up in the comments and let us know which new game (or update) you are most hype to play!

iPW Community Article: Rediscovering Fighting Games and Finding a Scene by Worf

The iPW Community Article series gives our readers the spotlight right here on the front page of iPlayWinner. If you have strategies you would like to share, scene highlights or anything else related to the community and the games we all play, send an email to kumo@iplaywinner.com with your article or article idea.

Today's article from Worf Jostar highlights his journey towards rediscovering fighting games, searching for a scene, and building one from out of essentially nothing. If you don't have a scene in your area, give this a read for some inspiration.

Hi, my name is Vicente McPeek. I am a gamer, a gambler, and a metal-head gunslinger located right here in San Francisco. My friends call my soul Vee, and my warrior brethren and spiteful enemies call my battle spirit Worf Jostar.

This is a story of how I got back into fighting games and how I started the “SFSU Dojo”, a community in the Bay Area that learns and fights together in the form of digital battle. I want to share this story to my fellow gamers and, in the process, hopefully inspire or encourage those who thirst for battle.

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IPW TOPIC OF THE WEEK: How Will You Experience EVO This Year?

Considering today is the absolute last day you can register for EVO2K11 I am going to assume that most of you already have your plans set in stone for the biggest fighting game tournament of the year. This week we want to know how you'll end up experiencing EVO, whether it's going to the event itself or simply staying home and catching as much of the stream as possible.

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IPW Topic of the Week: What Would You Like To See In An Update To Marvel vs Capcom 3?

Marvel vs Capcom 3 is an amazing game, but I don't know that even the most passionate fan would argue that the game is pretty bare-bones in many aspects -- not to mention a little unbalanced, to say the least.  With Street Fighter 4, Capcom reminded us that it isn't afraid of releasing updated versions of its fighting games.  Marvel vs Capcom 3 is almost a no-brainer for an updated release.  It sold very well and there are many ways that it can be improved.

That said, there has been very little talk of any updates or changes to the game until recently, where it sounds like over the next month -- between Comic-Con and Evo -- we may get some news on a potential update. 

So, what would you like to see in an update to Marvel vs Capcom 3?  Any new features? Balance changes? New characters?  Share your opinion!

IPW TOPIC OF THE WEEK: How Do You Watch Live Streams?

As a broadcaster and fellow stream monster myself, one of the things that fascinates me the most is how people find and watch fighting game live streams. With streams being delivered to everything from laptops to mobile devices, there is pretty much no excuse for missing the Grand Finals of any tournament these days. 

While I know many of you are probably a lot like me and spend some Saturday and Sunday's in bed eating cheetos and watching whatever major is going down at the time, I also know that there are others that take it to another level. In fact, this topic of the week is inspired by the picture to the left there that was taken by @Jaredr at Southtown Arcade here in San Francisco as they were watching Starbase Arcade MVC3 casuals on the big screen!

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iPW X TYM Feature: History of the Mortal Kombat Scene by Shock

My name is Matt Luongo. Most of the fighting game community knows me as "Shock", and some even refer to me as the Godfather of the competitive MK scene. I am a lifelong fighting game player, having roots as early as Karate Champion and, more notably, Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat. I didn't start playing MK specifically until it came out for the home systems, as I was around 11 at the time and getting around to arcades that had MK wasn't easy to do.

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