Sign on Options
Upcoming Event:PAX East 2012
Theme:
To Dark

Fixing Fighting Games

Maxwell McGee
By Maxwell McGee, Associate Editor

Fighting games have appeared on home consoles for more than 20 years, yet they struggle to advance beyond basic game modes. It's time to set the new standard for this genre.

Street Fighter X Tekken, Soulcalibur V Fighting games have produced some beautiful and complex ways for people to beat the tar out of each other. Yet, aside from a handful of games, the typical fighter is still designed with the traditional, minimalist approach of delivering the best arcade approximation. This leads to an anemic game mode selection. While sufficient for genre veterans, this selection doesn't cut it in 2012. For the fighting genre to continue its resurgence, developers must establish new standards that give consumers more incentives to play. Otherwise, the current momentum will break, and the genre could implode.

Fighting online feels a lot like this for some players.

This risk looms large for two reasons: the market is being slammed with fighting games all targeted at the same core audience, and all these games have a high barrier to entry. These facts present some unique, long-term problems. Chiefly, developers are returning to the same well too often. Eventually, they will reach a point where the market can no longer support so many fighters all vying for the same dollar. Games will flop, developers will go under, and the scene will shrink along with the number of new fighting games. In fact, it may have already started.

According to data collected from the NPD Group, fighting fans are reaching their limits. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 fell short of its predecessor by a significant margin. The King of Fighters XIII, despite all its improvements, still hovers around the sales of The King of Fighters XII. And the same can be said for BlazBlue: Continuum Shift versus BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger. Then there's the issue of fighting-game training modes. As previously discussed in Failures in Training, these modes are ill-equipped to prepare newcomers for competitive play--let alone casual online fun. If fighting games can't find ways to become more appealing to a larger audience, the community will stagnate.

The risk of a second implosion is real; it happened once before. Back in the '90s, when Street Fighter II was making waves, game developers were tripping over themselves to get a fighting game on the market. This fervor led to such gems as Justice League Task Force, Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi, and dozens more copy cats. By the turn of the millennium, public interest was shot and fighting games became a niche genre. There were simply too many iterative releases offering essentially the same mechanics. Then Street Fighter IV happened. Now these games are back in a big way. But if the genre wants to continue growing, it must widen its scope and cater to more than the tournament players. It must evolve.

Some fighting games need to strike a better balance of content.

Evolution can take many forms. Looking outside the fighting genre, Blizzard Entertainment's Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty is an excellent example of getting it right. The game's focus is squarely on competitive multiplayer and tournament play--not unlike most fighting games. Yet Blizzard still put resources toward developing an engaging single-player campaign. This campaign wasn't just mindless battles against the computer; each mission had a unique twist, and players were incentivized with new units, upgrades, and a grand story along the way. For some people, this was all they wanted; online held no appeal for them. While fighting and real-time strategy are two very different genres, the fighting genre could learn a lot from Starcraft II's balance of single- and multiplayer content.

Where developers have made promising (yet inconsistent) strides has been in player incentives. The weapon master mode in SoulCalibur II had numerous combat conditions and rewarded you with new weapons and costumes. The Tekken series has also experimented with different game modes using its fighting engine, ranging from bowling to an arcade-style brawler. Unorthodox? Sure. But this is the sort of experimentation developers need to be doing. It's easy to think fighting games aren't flexible enough to handle nontraditional modes--until someone gets it right. There are lots of creative opportunities that need to be explored, not just for fighting mechanics but for game modes.

Mortal Kombat actually had something for you to do outside of traditional versus fighting.

As of this writing, the gold standard for game modes is developer NetherRealm Studios' reboot of Mortal Kombat. This game expertly balanced a fun fighting system with a variety of different game modes. Between the hundreds of challenges, the entertaining story, and online with replay and spectator support--all types of players could get engaged. And whether you fought casually with a friend or in serious competition, the game rewarded both with currency and unlockable rewards. Toss in a training mode that actually teaches you about fighting games, and you've got the complete set. These elements should form the basis for all fighters, not the exception.

Maxwell McGee
By Maxwell McGee, Associate Editor

Maxwell McGee earned a degree in Journalism from the University of Arkansas, and has contributed to The Escapist, GamePro, PC Gamer, and more. His introduction to video games was Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the Sega Genesis, and he has never looked back. He welcomes your feedback through the site, or Twitter.

228 Comments

  • Buck_Swaggler

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 1:02 pm GMT

    The guy who wrote this article... I wish Capcom would hire that guy.

  • FriendBear

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 12:46 pm GMT

    The fighting genre has been broken for many years, once I loved this genre enjoying the original SF series, MK series and the early Tekken and Dead or Alive games. Then something happened and the entire genre seemed just old, tired and frustrating. And I really have to blame A.I programming on it, after all ~ Japan is more or less the main leading country for Beat-em-ups, and they have a love affair with highly complex Up/Up/down/quarter circle to the right/Low Punch + High Punch then do cartwheel and pray the move you want to do works...method and essentially fighting A.I which can essentially read your moves, counter your moves and pull off highly complex special moves instantly without flaw is what makes this genre stale, not to mention ridiculous end of game bosses with practically one hit and your dead moves, or just really cheesy combo attacks.

    The real evolution of this genre has come with multiplayer online modes, but even then ~ this really isn't enough anymore. How many times have you played a fighting game online without any stat matching going on? I mean, lets face it ~ a newbie vs a hardcore player..the newbie will get owned. And to iterate on what Gunnplay mentioned, it is true that a newbie player can far more easily pull of headshots on any random FPS than pull off the most complex moves on fighting games.

  • gunnplay

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 12:29 pm GMT

    @irishdude199210

    Continuation of previous post:

    "Press B for a high kick" That kick will always come out exactly the same, every single time. You can't speed up or slow down the attack, you can't alter it so it hits the chest instead of the face, you can't tweak it so it comes down on the right instead of the left. There needs to be another way, for things to truly evolve, and for casual players to be placed on an even field. Martial Arts should be about positioning, fluid adaptation and infinite options. Analog can provide that infinity. And casual players would be far more inclined to stick with it, because of the natural way the controls can be understood and applied.

    My sister can play Modern Warfare and pop off headshots with the best of 'em, but she can't even begin to develop any real skill in Street Fighter, after all these years. Why is that?

  • gunnplay

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 12:28 pm GMT

    @irishdude199210

    I agree. Granted, there is a place for over-the-top, multi-hit super ultra combos and the like, but there should be an offering that presents precise, realistic fighting controls that are easier for the layman to acclimate to. Fight Night Champion initially utilized the analog sticks exclusively for punching and, despite the inclusion of button controls based on a small but vocal subset of the FNC community, most players have fully embraced the innovative control scheme, and the game is all the more dynamic and interesting because of it. Those who do use the button controls only really do so simply because they're used to that method of input.

    For the uninitiated, analog controls present a more effective way of giving power to the player. It's much easier for a casual player to associate an analog stick to the range of motion of an arm or leg, as opposed to abstract button presses, which are really just like a switch to "turn on" an attack animation, rather than letting the player control what actually happens, It's like playing Call of Duty, pulling the trigger, and watching your character aim, track and fire at an enemy, automatically. There's only gonna be so much you can do with that.

  • lee1823

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 12:26 pm GMT

    i say boll*cks.

    your way of thinking is why mass effect 3 has multiplayer and why final fantasy games are a shadow of their former self. If it aint broke.... dont fix it. I sincerely dount the purists agree.

  • Getbacktogaming

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 12:16 pm GMT

    What about the Batman games? Isn't that exactly what the genre needs? Instead of the excessive amounts of story driven "shooters" can't we have more story driven "figthers"?

  • Diznale

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 12:11 pm GMT

    I think it might be neat to see a platformer type game but with fighting mechanics and some other stuff thrown in. Maybe kind of like Streets of rage, but with much more fleshed out fighting dynamics, like Tekken. Each level could start off fighting dudes with basic mechanics, and get more complex as the levels went on, until eventually fighting a boss that would throw everything at you. This gradual increase could also help newer players learn how to defend against certain attacks from certain characters, and be able to more easily read a strike the instant it's thrown. This could transition to better competition online in the more traditional fighting modes.

    The idea also kind of reminds of the old "Kung Fu" game on original Nintendo. It was brutal, but a lot of fun. Adding some story and maybe even some "timing" style climbing/jumping areas could be a nice added distraction. (Kind of like Uncharted tries to do, but with some actual challenge lol.)

    I dunno, just a thought. I agree with this article though, the genre has grown a bit stale!

  • ZachMasta

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 12:06 pm GMT

    sv5 an excellent fighting game and more complex than (insert any competitive 2D fighter here)? o_O for 3d fighters, take a look at virtua fighter 5 final showdown

  • realdevilsalias

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 12:00 pm GMT

    I think some people have all ready mentioned this. But to say that fighting games need rewards is kind of like saying driving games need customizable drivers. Who are we trying to attract here? Street Fighter IV revitalized the fighting game genre by catering to people who had played the game in years past and remembered it. Same with Mortal Kombat. What fighting games need the most is stable net code and a good tutorial mode. Which, by the way, Namco has trademarked a certain tutorial walkthrough style which has hamstrung the entire genre for years. Soulcalibur 5 is an excellent fighting game with everything anyone could ever want. But it is a 3D fighter and a little more complicated than Street Fighter IV. So automatically, there is a problem... Fighting games live or die by their tournament scene. If developers want to make fighting games as popular as COD then they need to make the whole game able to be played with one button.

  • Duck_Zero

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 11:47 am GMT

    Great article. I totally agree and I've been thinking the same thing. The last fighting game I played that I felt had REAL (single player) value was Tekken: Dark Ressurection.

  • berserkker

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 11:11 am GMT

    the campaign in blazblue is really complex and awesome.the story is awesome the only downside is that is like a lightnovel...you have to read or listen only...still imo it has the most well told story(I know street fighter tekken etc etc have a much bigger story line but they just dont spend time telling it.)

  • Tzunoy

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 10:02 am GMT

    The combo system of Killer instinct beats all the fighting games.

  • AznWarrior480

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 10:02 am GMT

    As technical as street fighter is or respected, you gotta respect MK's singleplayer Kontent, really kills those boring nights

  • SnappySnake

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 9:53 am GMT

    Wait... seriously? Fighting games are complex and inaccessible? The genre is supposed to be downright simplistic to get into so that you can only get better after you get a hold of the basics.

  • tomio1600

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 9:53 am GMT

    They are all WoW clones anyway...

  • ZachMasta

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 9:46 am GMT

    @Jestersmiles It MADE the fighting game genre. It doesn't MAKE the genre today. Besides, one of my core proponents I argue is that popularity isn't everything. Guilty Gear is certainly superior to SF4, in the eyes of the majority of fg fans. I am not trying to be rude, you have your opinions, I have mine.

  • Jestersmiles

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 9:28 am GMT

    @Crazyguy105

    yeah why cater the the casual, it stupid I am pretty sure game developers can make profit with just catering to the tourney crowd.........sec..

  • Jestersmiles

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 9:24 am GMT

    @ZachMasta

    Really? street fighter doesn't make the fighting game genre? .. Well if it was not for SF4 there would be no fighting game genre. Hell SF might as well be fighting games ambassador, not only did it make the genre , it also saved it and it also the most popular of the bunch, hell the community at SRK sure think so since they eat up any dribble from Capcom and disregard anything else.

  • kuda001

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 9:03 am GMT

    I see the fighting genre for me at least to be inaccessible and a bit complex. I can play games like SF:IV for example but things get complicated when you bring in elements like Cancels, Super Combos or EX attacks in all their iterations especially with tag team games like SF x Tekken. Like the article said it's probably down to a lack of good tutorials and variety. In the end though, I just don't get the same enjoyment from this genre as I used to.

  • metalgrinch

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 9:03 am GMT

    Fighting games have already done plenty to try and branch out of just plain fighting in tournemant and vs. modes. They do moreso than they really need to, and a lot of these other options are just pointless and never even used. Sure it's discouraging logging into the the PSN to play others in UMvs C 3 as I always tend to get my butt kicked. But considering my schedule, I don't have the time or the desire to become an UMvsC3 expert as many kids are able to. It's cool though, I love the game regardless. So what fighting games really need is just to be GOOD.

  • ZachMasta

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 8:56 am GMT

    @ Jestersmiles I hope you realize that street fighter doesn't make the fighting game genre.
    Also, DLC is optional, and fighting game DLC never affects the competitive dynamics.

  • Jestersmiles

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 8:53 am GMT

    keep paying \$20 dollars for costume packs and stuff that already on the disc and this what deserve to happen to your favorite video game genre.....and capcom not also helping with releasing the turbo x hyper edition of every game they make.

  • VilandasUK

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 8:45 am GMT

    Hmmmm... wrong, people should decide themselves if they want to buy a fighting game, you don't expect after you played it to have something it actually doesn't have.
    If you want a shooter you buy a shooter game, if you want a horror game you buy a horror game, it's logic sense. This article is a waste of time.

  • CerpinCygnus

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 8:33 am GMT

    " the market is being slammed with fighting games all targeted at the same core audience, and all these games have a high barrier to entry."

    This isn't true in the slightest. Every game that you've listed is a much more accessible game than it's past-gen counterpart. Developers have been removing and simplifying core elements that made their games great to cater to a new, less invested audience... but still trying to cater to hardcore fans at the same time. The result is typically a garbled mess that doesn't please either party.

    What needs to happen is this; Fighting game developers need to focus on making good fighting games the best they know how. Stop trying to cater to any specific demographic and make a good game, period. Simple as that.

  • ZachMasta

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 8:00 am GMT

    I disagree with this article. genres of videogames shouldn't have to cater to any size or group of people in particular, that should be up to the individual games themselves. All genres also should not focus on being universally appealing to every type of gamer. That will lead to solidarity of video games, and as a medium of numerous artistic components, that would be detrimental to the medium. Sure, the fighting game companies could sell out and start making more universal fighting games with more modes, but that isn't what a real fighting game player wants. They want a deep, competitive fighting system, and they don't need extra fluff that could take away from that. In fact, I think everything this article proposes would simply spell the death of the fighting game as a competitive niche in the video game world. The question is do we keep the fighting game franchise as it is, where the fans LOVE these games, but the fanbase is small, or do we change the franchise to where everyone sort of likes it? My answer would be no, my support being the beat-em up genre.

  • the_requiem

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 7:46 am GMT

    I think this article raises a very valid point about an entire genre catering to very specific core gamers. Problem is not a few fighting games catering to hardcore gamers, but every fighting game doing so in every iteration. There is limit to how many games any core gamer can buy. I've noticed even in core community, most players stick to 1 or 2 games.

  • phatsanta

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 7:44 am GMT

    Most fighting are already dumbed down and broadened out for more casual people. Any real fighting game fan knows that :/

  • irishdude199210

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 7:34 am GMT

    I think a very realistic fighting game would be great. No fireballs and 10 hit combos and crap like that, I'd like proper life-like fighting. MMA games are good like that, but they're sport games and they have rules. A game called Urban Reign, which is only okay, had some good ideas. You could attack different regions based on the direction you input (e.g holding down + an attack button was a leg attack). Those regions would then be affected with repeated attacks (repeated leg attacks would make opponents stagger more) .While Urban Reign wasn't a great game, it had solid ideas. It would be nice to see ideas like that flourish again.

  • oldschoolvandal

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 7:17 am GMT

    @ paperwolf
    @ dragonps

    I agree with both of you....but unfortunatelly times have changed and developers will find a way of casualizing and dumbfying all sorts of games. They all want some share of the market and public that nintendo "found" with the Wii. Not pointing fingers or saying nintendo is to blame but that's the best example I can think of....

    If you think it through, real gamers will always demand more for their money while the casual audience will (most of the time) be glad to get whatever they get out of their money.

  • fadersdream

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 7:16 am GMT

    Separate players by skill level. Earn Ranks.

  • cjimrun

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 7:05 am GMT

    The BlazBlue series is the most balanced in the genre in my opinion. It has plenty of competitive depth but also features tonnes of different game modes, including a rich story mode with multiple endings per character. The soundtracks are also some of the best available in modern gaming as far as I'm concerned. The only thing that keeps it from dominating is the heavy Japanese influence, which isn't a problem for me.

  • ThAdEa82

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 7:00 am GMT

    Instead of the 80th installment of a fighting game, it would be nice to see something fresh out there. Maybe something groundbreaking. Super mega ultra combos are fine but when you revolve the game around that...meh

  • dragonps Site Greeter

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 6:45 am GMT

    @paperwolf I couldn't agree more fighters have always been hardcore I hate how company's are casualizing them for the mass market.

  • PuffinGod

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 6:43 am GMT

    The gaming world has changed, and those who cannot adapt suffer. As a teen I was adequate with Street Fighter 2 but then it seems as I got older so did the fighting game model. Plus when people get their asses handed to them via the online play, they are reticent to purchase any more games. It's not about dumbing down, it's about reaching the biggest audience. I agree Mortal Kombat has started to show realistic fight damage. That's I would like to see, plus I tire of the 2D that's snazzed up with just shadows and better art work. 3D please, we are in the 21st century, start showing us what you can do in those environments developers. The 3D world has been around since Virtua Fighter in 1993.

  • paperwolf

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 6:41 am GMT

    I know that fighting game companies want to grow and reach larger audiences, and right now they are stagnating again, but lets tread carefully here please. We don't want to water down the games too much so they can become the fighting game equivalent of modern day Call of Duty. Mortal Kombat was a good game that had mass appeal and a somewhat interesting story, but among the hardcore fighting gaming community it wasn't considered as deep or well made balance/gameplay wise as some of the other recent fighting games. I'm just suggesting we try to progress the genre slowly so we don't accidentally lose sight of the formula that makes fighting games so appealing to the hard core fans that live and breathe them.

  • svbandanaman

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 6:39 am GMT

    @strawhat1987 I don't believe in this case they are talking about dumbing the games down, what is being said is that they need to introduce ways of teaching new players the skills they need in order to be competitive, and with this I totally agree. I really enjoyed SFIV, but was only able to have fun with my mates at home, as soon as I went online I didn't have a chance and a better tutorial (as a specific mode or worked into the single player) would have been really beneficial in keeping me playing

  • paperwolf

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 6:28 am GMT

    Please don't dumb down our fighting games for mass (effect) appeal please!

  • Deingerous

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 6:22 am GMT

    DOA5 is a huuuggee step up (shame about NG3 but The new DOA looks awesome) don't think fighting games need radical change to be honest it's just how many street fighters are gonna get released a year before we get tired of them? Seriously I think they should ration it down to at least 1 a year lol

  • jtthegame316

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 6:20 am GMT

    I love virtua fighter, street fighter and king of the fighters but what i want to see is the return of the streets of rage style beat em up with a Streets of rage 4. sega get on it.

  • franzito

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 5:45 am GMT

    It's been a long time I don't play a single fighting game, although in my teen days the arcades were just full of Samurai Showdown, Mortal Kombat and such, and I couldn't resist playing them.
    It became a stale genre but it's still fun watching others jumping and punching on the screen.

  • earlmccormick88

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 5:43 am GMT

    I own almost all of the newer fighting games and MK seem to be the best one IMO.
    Because of the amazing story and the long challenge tower. The game seems to be the most balanced to me, except for cheap Shao Khan. Capcom fighting games have no story mode and all of the other dlc they implement seems too bland.
    Sidenote: I wish Capcom releases Capcom vs SNK 2 HD. I miss that game.

  • Am_Confucius

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 5:30 am GMT

    @BryanParksSuper Yeah right.

  • def_leg

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 5:17 am GMT

    I totally agree with Max, Times have changed since the days of SF2, arcades are far and few between, the bulk of the market now is console players, people who are against the growth of fighting games may be feeding off of nostalgia, every other genre of games give you a wealth of content, why not fighting games, only when a development team takes the risk and add something in then people will ask for more of it otherwise most consumers are not acceptable to change

  • Garity-Star posted Mar 30, 2012 5:16 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    Garity-Star

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 5:16 am GMT (hide)

    People who have bad wrists cannot play fighting games so easily as you havae too hhiitt so many buutttotonnss inn aa smaalll aammuntount ooff ttimie...

    Noott oonnllyy tthhaatt bbutu eevveen tthee bboossssees ccaann bbee hhaarrd oonn eeaassyy iiff yyoou ccaan'tt mmoovveey yoouurr ffinngegrss ffasst eennoougghh

    ((ssootrryy mmyy commpp ddoees tthe mmuullttiipple lleetttterrss ffoor rreeaasson nnooww))

  • zaiwen

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 5:04 am GMT

    way to go MK... rip the spine outta SF & UMVC3

  • ssorrekrab

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 5:00 am GMT

    @maxwell You make a good point, for the majority of my time with my 360 I wasn't even online and when my brother moved out I stopped playing fighting games. I remember the origional soul calibur had an awsome story mode and that got me playing it.

  • moonlightwolf01

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 4:49 am GMT

    Got to agree with this article I've always loved the look of fighting games but when I sit down and try to play one I'm instantly put off whether I jump into the unintelligible training modes or try to button mash my way to knowledge in the first few arcade stages I always end up lost and on the wrong end of a fatality. Most game genres use the story mode as a clever way to introduce game mechanics and ready players for multiplayer, perhaps fighting games aught to try something similar.

  • J-007

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 4:42 am GMT

    I think fighting games has evolved nicely but took some time to change. If I had to change the way they are then I would just put them into an environment and offering realistic and ballistic skills to take seriously than rather making it all so basic. Tekken 6 was good but could introduce more of a movie type ongoing with all the characters perhaps? I honestly don't see much evolution any more than perhaps seeing into motion sensing abilities to take fighting more seriously...

  • DuaMn

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 4:35 am GMT

    @BryanParksSuper

    Do three moves to win only works for casual players. On higher levels you can't even hit your rivals with only three or four moves. But that's higher level. For casual level, fighting games do need extra modes. That's certainly true.

  • irishdude199210

    Posted Mar 30, 2012 4:18 am GMT

    I'm a huge fighting game fan and I'd definitely admit they are past their best years. They are too complicated (cancels, supers etc.) and lack variety. 2d fighters especially have this problem. Developers should take a risk and do something different for once.

Subscribe to GameSpot's YouTube Channel