Role of the consumer?

* DISCLAIMER: The views and fact based opinions-expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the position of Always Godlike or its members. Intended for entertainment purposes only.

 

Almost every member of the Fighting Game Community is happy to see the resurrection of fighting games. This really shows that ‘times are a-changin’. The stats from EVO 2011 showed more than 2 million unique viewers  online watching the stream and roughly 4,000 participants. This alone is evidence that fighting games can hang with the big boys of competitive gaming, such as Halo, Gears of War, and Call of Duty. With the influx of popularity in fighting games, has the fighting game community fallen into the trap of gullible consumers?

There is no doubt that the success of Street Fighter IV is the prime reason for the consistent release of fighting games in present day. Before its release, Capcom did not release a Street Fighter series title since Street Fighter III 3^rd Strike in 1999. In the time in between, American arcades and fighting game community was slowly dying due to lack of new competitive fighting games and discarded projects. This left the fighting game community with the same games for over ten years. Therefore, it left them the time to explore and discover the ins and outs of their favorite games. Some of these revelations were that MvC2 had six competitive characters while SFIII 3^rd Strike had only three top tier characters and three competitive characters, and CvS2 had roll cancels. The games were at their peak with little left to discover, allowing them to become stale. In 2008, Capcom took the financial risk to release Street Fighter IV in arcade. Then it was released in early 2009 for home consoles in a supposedly dead fighting game market in an attempt to possibly revitalize the genre. To their credit, they created a game that brought players back to fighting games with its iconic characters in a visually stimulating 3D graphics with traditional 2D gameplay. Street Fighter IV was a success, selling out in Japan on opening day and as of March 2011 Capcom sold 3.1 million units worldwide, helping to revitalize the EVO Series tournament with record breaking participants. All of these successes brings us back to the main point: Is it possible that this success is starting to exploit its loyal customers?

With their first StreetFighter titled game in over ten years, Capcom should be given the benefit of the doubt that SF4would not be the perfect game. However, it left players wanting Capcom to “fix” the game. In April 2010, Capcom released the definitive final version of the SF4 series, Super Street Fighter IV with ten new characters, two ultra moves per character, and added features. With a total of 35 characters and 4,900 matchup possibilities, SSF4 added to the depth of exploration that makes fighting games unique to any other video game genre. Then in December of 2010, Capcom released another edition of the Street Fighter IV series: Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition. This was initially released in arcades then to home consoles in June 2011 due to popular demand. What are the factors for Capcom to deliver revisions within the same calendar year such as Marvel vs Capcom 3 and Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3?
One factor that has forced multiple division releases is the incredibility fast rate of game knowledge. This is all thanks to the greatest resource in the world: The Internet. Acquiring game knowledge used to consists of going out and meeting at a local arcade to watch high level matches, trade matchups with other tournament level players, obtaining copies of matches or combo videos via VHS tapes or surfing alt.games.sf2 while trying not to be trolled by your favorite now coined Street Fighter OG’s like David Sirlin. Now players, novice or expert, can sit at home comfortably and watch top level matches of Diago Umehera versus The World at their own convenience. When game breaking technology is discovered, it is instantly put on the internet for thousands of people to obtain instantly instead of weeks or months for a local player to discover it. This instant gratification is apparent in all parts of society across the world but has it dramatically affected the fighting game community along with its growing popularity?

First and foremost, Capcom is a business, they are not a charity, a best friend, or a neighbor. Their business is making money, not putting out your favorite game and therefore putting a smile on your face. They sell video games to make money, and if it makes you happy, that could be seen as a bonus. Capcom contracts other companies such as Dimps who spend long hours creating sprites in the games people love. The risk of Street Fighter IV in 2009 turned to profit for Capcom. The question is, how much can they maximize their profits? Putting out DLC costumes, avatars, wallpapers, and so on are ways to test for demands. Increased demand of newer content along with the increased physical sales of the SF4 series and MvC3 have proven to Capcom that fighting games can help turn a profit once again with the new generation of gamers. Is possible that fighting game consumers are starting to resemble another large gaming community?

Across all forms of media including, TV commercials, internet, gaming websites, and game reviews, First Person Shooters (FPS) are the dominant genre in console video games with series including Halo, Call of Duty, Battlefield, Killzone, and Gears of War. It seems every month there is a new FPS that is the new craze and then fades as the next FPS the following month arrives and reigns supreme. Gaming companies are looking to cash in on the hot trend to maximize their profits to gullible consumers who simply buy the game because it is new, not necessarily better. Has the fighting game community consumers become blinded because of the lack of games for a ten year span? Has the most dominant fighting game producer, Capcom, realized by starving its consumers that they will now buy any fighting game with Ryu and Chun-Li no matter if the quality may be sub par in the eyes of the competitive player? Does the rise in popularity help or hinder the product. These answers will vary from player to player.
Street Fighter IV series producer, Yoshinori Ono, was so proud to stand behind his product of the first two previous Street Fighter IV editions, one has to wonder why would he apologize for the latest? The decision to update the series does not come from Ono but from corporate leaders within the company who, as previously stated, simply want to make money. With a dedicated fanbase demanding more content in a growing market of video games with no ceiling, it makes business sense to push a series to its financial limits.

Street Fighter and fighting games is only a small portion of Capcom’s major titles. Monster Hunter 3 for PSP sold more copies in Japan alone than the Street Fighter IV worldwide. Putting out a subpar edition will not financially hurt Capcom or tarnish its gullible patrons who buy the games regardless of quality.
A short interview released after the initial completion of this article with Yoshinori Ono, is the tale tell sign of Capcom’s intentions in regards to fighting games. He states how he does not want the games to die and will continue to rebalance or patch. At this point, the words rebalance and patch might as well mean ‘gimme the loot’. He also amazingly states how Capcom will make competitive and non-competitive fighting games. So will the competitive fighting game player participate in a game that is not built for competitive play? In this scenario, the competitive fighting game player will purchase any Capcom related fighting game in hopes that it is the game they have been waiting ten years for. But with a gullible market who will buy any Capcom related title, chances of a new game being “the best” is slim considering the corporate business strategy of frequent title releases. However, without the financial support of the consumer buying new releases, the fighting game genre could possibly fall into another ten year depression.

Once again, this is not implying Capcom should not update their games. It is a partially objective and subjective take on the now frequent release of fighting game updates. It is a never-ending revolving door of supply and demand, with the consumers mixed on what they want and the supplier unable to fulfill the needs of susceptible customers. It is simply to satisfy their business practice of ‘getting paid’. Quality is being sacrificed for quantity which at some point will hopefully develop games for every fighting game player to enjoy at all skill levels.
*Charts taken from the official Capcom website.
Thanks to Magus1234 for his assistance with this article.

Written by Denjin Dave

Aquaria

I'd heard lovely things about Aquaria, the beautiful underwater adventure for PC and Mac. It was an underwater 2D throwback of a game, an action-adventure with mysterious new-agey music and a good story. But I haven't play it on the computer. I've played it on my iPad, for which it went on sale last night. It's handled the transition well, with just some manageable control issues. Aquaria lets you control an underwater nymph named Naija who can swim through a massive underwater world filled with colorful aquatic animal and plant life. She narrates her own story of conflict and re-discovery.


The game plays like a mix of Metroid, Zelda and old shooters.

From Metroid and its imitators the game gets its massive world, a network of caves and temples waiting to be explored. The game's grand map is filled in as you do this, just like in the classic Nintendo series. And, as in Metroid, many areas are initially locked off, but Naijia gains powers that make formerly bocked passages accessible.

From Zelda the game gets both its core puzzle-solving mechanic—the learning and playing of magical songs—as well as its old-school tendency to not give away its puzzle solutions or even aggressively point the player where to go next. From shooters it takes the fact that Naija can convert to a non-singing magical form that can blast underwater enemies.

The game warns players early on that they can be lost, a fact that will either entice you or ensure that Aquaria is not your kind of iPad game. You have to figure a lot of things out yourself and you may find yourself swimming through the world wondering what to do next, stopping at various exotic spots and tinkering with the environment, singing various songs, poking and prodding until you get the eureka of progress. That kind of old-school style and lack of hand-holding suits a game that also asks the player to do things like collect food items to collect recipes. This is a throwback indeed. It will mostly be taste that determines if this game is for you, though eager gamers should be warned that there is a control problem: namely, the fact that human hands are not transparent. You will need to tap your fingers both near and far away from Naija, depending on whether they want her to sing, dash, cling to walls or what have you. You'll also need to play two-handed when it's time to convert her to her energy form and shoot bad guys. This means that the player's hands can never just cover one area of the screen; they'll need to repeatedly interfere with the view of the action, pressing various parts of the screen. The more you play, the more you get used to this, but the big-handed among you may find this frustrating. The game has depth and charm. It looks wonderful (see the iPad launch trailer in this story). Control concerns aside, it's really a matter of whether you want an old-school adventure that won't hold your hand. On the iPad, there are few alternatives to choose from, for better or worse. This one would be a good pick.

Aquaria ($4.99) [iTunes]

SRK Interview with Daigo – AE2012, Being a Top Gamer, and a New Training Regimen

Daigo Umehara, globally known as the biggest legend in fighting game history, needs no introduction. Countless world titles spanning multiple games, clutch moments in fighting game history, and a fighting game spirit second to none – you name it, he’s done it, and he’s not even close to finishing yet.
In this interview with SRK, he shares his thoughts about his future with AE2012, his new training regimen (full with vitamins and minerals), and more. Check out the full interview below.


So let’s cut to the chase. Are you going to use Akuma on AE 2012?
“Everyone knows everything?!?! it’s true that I’ve been practicing Akuma for now. I don’t know when the AE 2012 version will be finalized, and I don’t think it would stay the same. While it is going to change, Akuma as of now fits my style, so I am using him. But again, the balance is not finalized yet, so depending on how Akuma would balance out, I may switch to another character.”

You were a favorite for this year’s EVO, but you finished 4th. What happened? Do you think that you could have placed higher if you were playing Ryu?
“I don’t think Ryu would have made a difference. Coincidentally, I actually didn’t run into anyone who uses a character that Ryu could not have won, but it was just an accident. Yun is the strongest character by far in AE. And I was inspired to win the tournament.
I think the overall level of the players at EVO have gone up so much that it just became so much more competitive. The world fighting game community has grown so much, thanks to EVO staff and supporters. This all means that I have to work even harder. The level of competition out there and where the community is at have made it so much more fun and interesting for me. By nature, I am a challenger. I like to be on the challenger seat than setting on the champion chair all the time. So I only will work harder for next year’s EVO.”

Can you put in words what it feels like to compete?
“It is a process of like piling a round stone one after another, very carefully and creatively. I enjoy a process of challenging myself. I set goals for myself. I identify what’s missing in myself and find out what I need to do in order to reach the goal. That revelation and growth process is so valuable to me.
For me to play a game means trying something new and pushing myself to a new boundary. It’s not whether I can win, throw a cool combo, or just simply have fun with it. So it has nothing to do with what others think of me or my play, but how I feel. I keep pushing myself, and that’s all there is. I don’t compare myself with others. My inspiration and drive comes from my internal desire of wanting to challenge myself. I think that’s what people see in me as a competitive person.”

What is the secret to being a top gamer?
“Though it’s a video game, I look at it as an athletic sport. As preparation is most important in every kind of professional work, it’s no different for my profession – practice is the key. Specifically, in my practice I aim to achieve both a high volume of play as well a high quality. In order for anyone to rise above all the others, he has to practice, even when a game is less popular and some people are not playing. That’s where I believe champions separate themselves. It’s easy to have fun when everyone is crowded around and playing, but it’s not so easy when it’s just you driving yourself forward.
In terms of quality, I not only practice continuously, but I’m always thinking about and searching for the most effective methods. Without this kind of consideration, your practice may not be stimulating, and your growth will come to a halt. Even if you don’t know how you should think about and approach your practice, if you strive to be self-aware and reflect on your game, your way of thinking will evolve. In this way, my conception of the game and how to win evolves continually.
That said though, you can’t discipline yourself to that degree without a true passion for the game. So my ultimate secret to staying at the top would probably be my everlasting passion for fighting games.”

So what’s up? What have you been up to lately?
“I’m doing great! I feel I have mentally reached another level, personally and professionally.
I am working on my own projects which I feel very passionate about. One is that I am going to tour around Japan, visiting local arcades to promote Japanese arcades, and I will play against good local players. It will be my own campaign to promote the arcades. You know, there are many many great players who are yet to be known outside of Japan. This will be my own way of honoring the arcades. I would not be here today without them. There is another one that no one else in the community has ever done. I’m sorry, I just can’t tell you yet, but I hope I can share it with you very soon!”

You reached another level in what way?
“Domestically and internationally, I’ve been getting many interesting, real offers of projects that would mean a lot to me. And that’s given me a different motivation. Of course, I love fighting and traveling to another country to fight. At the same time, these new challenges have brought my professional life to another interesting level. As a pro gamer, I used to think I only need to focus on playing games and I need to bring the result, which is to win. I still want to win, but my way of thinking fundamentally changed and gotten even deeper.
I am taking more holistic approach to my professional life by taking care of my body. I’ve changed my diet to macrobiotic, and have been working out to build balanced muscle. I don’t even drink any more except for special occasions. I have set a strict schedule for myself consisting of 8 hours of sleep, 1 hour of gym training focusing on weight lifting or jogging, 1 hour of bike ride between home and the arcade for each trip, 9 hours of game practice, and the rest is spend for eating, shower, and the likes. [Editor's Note: You gamers that want to become pros, this is real tawk.]
There are two major reasons for my physical training. First, in Street Fighter, mental strength holds such a large part in one’s winning. And in order to stay mentally strong, I have to be physically healthy and stay balanced as body and mind are related to one another. Secondly, I want to look good in order for the sponsors, fans, and supporters to feel proud of me and feel good about myself. As more people get to know about me, I want to give them a best impression as possible and believe in me.
I take my profession very seriously and am confident that I am the only one who takes it this seriously. I work the hardest. I am proud of my profession, and I am determined to make the best out of the opportunity given to me, for myself and the community. And this confidence has given me another level of confidence in me. Nothing and no one can defeat me.”

What do you hope to accomplish in this field?

“I love fighting games. I have learned so much from playing the games, and it’s just so much fun to play them. When I decided to become a professional player, I have also taken a responsibility of an ambassador for the community. I want more people to learn about fun and depth of fighting games, and want to help the community to grow, self-sustainably. I would be happy if I could contribute to the community’s growth in any way.
As for myself, I don’t have any set “goals” in a traditional sense. I want to keep challenging myself. My growth never stops and I have no limits for myself. Of course, I want to win, but to win at EVO or to get an international title at such and such, etc. are not my ultimate goals. There are no ultimate goals. I only have a desire to keep challenging myself. I will never stop challenging myself.”