Woah there. Let's not say things we can't take back. The EX games exist.
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8 Years Ago Today, SF4 was released, and Fighting Games Reborn
- Thread starter Shadow_Lord
- Start date
Woah there. Let's not say things we can't take back. The EX games exist.
Was it on ESPN before or after Brawl? CHECKMATE.
It is impressive how SFIV managed to have such a wide appeal when it's certainly a more complex game than you'd expect since it banked hard on SFII nostalgia. It also benefited well from the 360/PS3 long lifespan since Capcom managed to support the title for years.
Agreed. There's still no talk of Versus CPU (which should've been in launch) outside of "we're looking into it!"
Renekton said:
Evo is firmly in Capcom's camp. It's been getting better over the past 2-4 years, but Anime fighters and Namco fighters (hell, Sega and Tecmo as well) were never even considered by the Evo heads even if people brought some demand for it.
I hate this idea that SF IV revived the fighting game franchise and that sf v is killing it
Fighting games always existed, after thirdstrike we had lots of great fighting games, virtua fighter 4 and tekken 5 did great business, same with guilty gear xx and kof 2002. And Mortal Kombat had lots of entries too.
Another story is that people in the west suddenly playing "side scroller/2d" fighting games again after SF IV. For me the "death" of the genre in the states was more related with the real death of arcades and that we didn't had the online infraestructure that allowed versus with another players. SF IV was released on the precise time to surge, plus evo also had his growth alongside the popularity of streaming services
And with SF V the game is doing fine, if the scene catches up (like will maybe do with the goodwill of evo) the game could grow up) and if the game fails, we still had more options, mk, ki, kof, gg, tekken and all the anime games
Fighting games always existed, after thirdstrike we had lots of great fighting games, virtua fighter 4 and tekken 5 did great business, same with guilty gear xx and kof 2002. And Mortal Kombat had lots of entries too.
Another story is that people in the west suddenly playing "side scroller/2d" fighting games again after SF IV. For me the "death" of the genre in the states was more related with the real death of arcades and that we didn't had the online infraestructure that allowed versus with another players. SF IV was released on the precise time to surge, plus evo also had his growth alongside the popularity of streaming services
And with SF V the game is doing fine, if the scene catches up (like will maybe do with the goodwill of evo) the game could grow up) and if the game fails, we still had more options, mk, ki, kof, gg, tekken and all the anime games
Teknopathetic
Member
"Evo is firmly in Capcom's camp. It's been getting better over the past 2-4 years, but Anime fighters and Namco fighters (hell, Sega and Tecmo as well) were never even considered by the Evo heads even if people brought some demand for it."
Uh, this is very false. Tekken's been at every Evo except for 2. Guilty Gear has been at most, with some exceptions that weren't really Evo's fault (The latest GG version not being available on consoles and the GG community not really wanting to play an ancient version of the game), but even then there's always been an Anime equivalent. IIRC, that was the same situation for the 2 years that Tekken wasn't a main game, Tekken 6 was out but not on consoles. TTT2 was out, but not on consoles. Soul Calibur's been at a number of Evos as well. There's definitely a Capcom game focus, but to say that Anime/3D were "never considered" isn't even remotely accurate. By any stretch.
Uh, this is very false. Tekken's been at every Evo except for 2. Guilty Gear has been at most, with some exceptions that weren't really Evo's fault (The latest GG version not being available on consoles and the GG community not really wanting to play an ancient version of the game), but even then there's always been an Anime equivalent. IIRC, that was the same situation for the 2 years that Tekken wasn't a main game, Tekken 6 was out but not on consoles. TTT2 was out, but not on consoles. Soul Calibur's been at a number of Evos as well. There's definitely a Capcom game focus, but to say that Anime/3D were "never considered" isn't even remotely accurate. By any stretch.
same SFV revived the series for me i thought IV was meh, even though it had the huge roster.
FadedRevolution
Member
When was Brawl on ESPN?
CountBlack
Member
SF4 best game
Rice-Eater
Member
I bought the game 12 times so that no one would be safe from my wake up DP's no matter which platform you played on.
SF4 PS3
SSF4 PS3
SSF4 AE PS3
USF4 PS3
SF4 360
SSF4 360
SSF4 AE 360
USF4 360
SF4 PC
SSF4 AE PC
USF4 PC
USF4 PS4
Keep in mind that this was literally the only game that I gave a damn about from 2009 onward. I pretty much stopped playing video games after my one year addiction to COD4: MW ended. I no longer enjoy playing video games like I use to and SF is the lone exception.
HomerSimpson-Man
Member
Goddamn!
Well, I guess I technically bought Street Fighter 4, five times, if you count the original iOS release back in the day, lol.
AlteredBeast
Fork 'em, Sparky!
Eight years ago, I was disappointed as all get out. 
3S for life, I am afraid.
3S for life, I am afraid.That Bee Elena vs Infiltration will go down as my favorite match of all time in the game. Also, on mobile and feeling too lazy to post the videos, but I think it was Winter Brawl when Bee bodied Zeus in an exhibition and then Sanford stepped up(with a lot of confidence and hype from the crowd), did okay with Oni, and then got downloaded into submission after a few rounds. If I remember right, Bee was in the Salty Suite taking everyone's money until like 3am afterward too. They wouldn't let him stop giving out beatings lol.
Another thing that sticks out in my mind is Sako completely mopping the floor with everyone at Capcom cup and pulling out the Evil Ryu Marvel combos. Started the great ERyu revolution, and all of a sudden everyone had one in the pocket.
Another thing that sticks out in my mind is Sako completely mopping the floor with everyone at Capcom cup and pulling out the Evil Ryu Marvel combos. Started the great ERyu revolution, and all of a sudden everyone had one in the pocket.
Exr
Member
I was on a date with a girl and I remember walking by the arcade in the mall, seeing the sf4 poster and pushing her out of the way to go in and play. Over time I really grew to dislike certain mechanics (ultras, invincible backdash, Blanka) but I had a lot of fun with it playing Rog Claw and Deejay. The roster alone makes it worthwhile.
Of course it has nothing on 3S and SF2 ST.
Of course it has nothing on 3S and SF2 ST.
Shadow_Lord
Member
HOW DID I FORGET THIS OH MY GOD. GONNA EDIT NOW
Eight years ago, I was disappointed as all get out.
yup 3S or life definitely, so happy with V direction.
im so totally 3S defense force, i got my shield ready.
7DollarHagane
Banned
People in my local scene always hated it. The huge reversal window and crouch techs were seen as a big handicap to the game. Also much slower walk speed than old games made footsies simpler. Also invincible backdash is a huge deal. So many scrubs mashing back to panic.
If you wanted to have some cred you played kof or tekken or marvel 2 or super turbo.
7DollarHagane
Banned
Street fighter ex is awesome. Don't you talk shit about skullomania.
Ex2 +alpha on ps1 is a really fun game, if you haven't played it check it out.
was there that day and saw this live. Shit was insane. Then Tokido later does the "demon" pose. hype
tiggerkiddo
Member
Was such a crazy time when it came out, everyone was excited for it, the first new mainline Street Fighter game in a long time. I remember being really annoyed at Gamestop for messing up my order and giving me a PS3 one when I wanted a 360 copy. Took several days for that error to get fixed, alas.
Finaika
Member
Thisss.
The issue with the old model of upgrading Street Fighter is that you had balance updates locked behind these editions (Arcade Edition & Ultra, specifically, as they were available as $15 DLC upgrades). This resulted in the fragmenting of the player base. With SFV, anyone with a disc (or a download) will never get left behind in balance updates & can download the characters that they want. Is it perfect, no, but it's better than the alternative. And once the Daily Challenges/Targets come out (hopefully with the Juri update later this month), Fight Money will be a lot easier to learn.
As for Street Fighter IV, it's honestly my 2nd least-favorite Street Fighter game (the first game being my least favorite by a huge margin). But despite the fact that I prefer other Street Fighter games (namely SFIII:3S, SFV, & SSFIIT) to SFIV, I can't deny what it did for the community. It pretty much broke fighting games out of stasis & helped pave the way for it to come into the mainstream. And let's not pretend that SFIV always had a huge roster, it actually started out at around 16 for its initial arcade release (& gained 3 more in the form of Gouken, Akuma/Gouki, & Seth). It was after 5 years of edition upgrades that SFIV got to its 40+ character roster that we know now. Given that SFV is worked on for just as long, it'll get to a similar roster count.
Emperor Bohe
Member
Cmon man
What makes you think I haven't played the game? You might not want to make assumptions. Sf4 is already more approachable than sfv in that it has single player content for those who don't want to play online. If you want to unlock colors for your character, you don't have to do a tedious mode like sfv's survival, you can unlock em just by playing vs mode or arcade. If you wanted to play online, sf4 had no major issues to speak of, compare it to sfv's early rampant ragequitting and failure to construct a proper netcode(the fact that they had one person on it even though it was such a major part of the gameplay in the beginning says a lot). I find sf4's arcade mode with a beginning slideshow and ending short a lot more enjoyable than sfv's 2-3 fight "story mode" and that jumbled mess of a story expansion, where the only enjoyable part for me was the schoolgirl
Just saying, imo sf4 was a much better effort by capcom even if the artstyle was a bit ugly.
sf2fanatic
Member
Danny Dudekisser
I paid good money for this Dynex!
Street Fighter IV has never felt particularly good to play, for me. And incidentally, its release was also when I went from being super into fighting games to gradually losing interest in them.
I acknowledge that it revived the genre, but it killed my enthusiasm.
I acknowledge that it revived the genre, but it killed my enthusiasm.
Something else to consider, Street Fighter games tend to have side tournaments after their successors take over the FGC. To this day, Third Strike & Super Turbo still have side tournaments at EVO. Ultra Street Fighter IV didn't have a side tournament at all, so that should tell you something.
For the record, while I wasn't huge on the game from a gameplay perspective, it was at least a solid Street Fighter game & I respect what it did for the community.
For the record, while I wasn't huge on the game from a gameplay perspective, it was at least a solid Street Fighter game & I respect what it did for the community.
Douche McBaggins The 3rd
Junior Member
Five is a shit direction. There was more defensive play in 3s and it was far more viable then then it is now. 5 is just so brain dead when it comes to offense, but I'm wondering if that's because the game as it is, is still incomplete, or if it's an intentional design choice. But it's ok. KOF 14 will wipe the nasty taste of SFV tomorrow. Abuela is coming to help us.
I'd defend SSF2T, 3s, and hell, even Ultra 4. But I can't defend V in good faith. There's just too much shit wrong with it.
Oh and I saw someone with those dlc colors on that 25 dollar capcom package. Dear God. Some idiot bought it. They bought it. They bought it. May Horse armor have mercy on us all.
SpiceMelange
Member
Superb game that gets way more heat than it deserves imo.
SplitYourInfinities
Member
The greatest. This game transformed the FGC in what it is now.
SFV already have more modes/content than SFIV, and SFIV update model will most probably be available for SFV with the start of season 2 in the form of physical re-release.
In my case, I run local tournaments in my community, so I kinda have to get everything that I can. Though to be more specific, I had to have every character & every stage, so I thought "If I have to buy the stage, might as well go the whole 9 yards & get the rest", especially since I get requests for certain premium costumes. I'd have all the colors as well if Survival wasn't a total pain in the ass (& I'll probably have to get the "Unlock All the Colors" pack to keep the community happy, especially one Laura player who's a good friend of mine that wants one of the Hard Survival colors for Laura.).
I'm assuming you mean a collection of all the DLC that came out up to that point. It would be the best course of action for not forcing newbies to grind like hell for Fight Money to get older DLC.
Every fucking SF thread, for fucksake.
"God's Beard!"
Member
SFIV is arguably the greatest competitive fighting game of all time in terms of not only balance and mechanical depth, but the influence on the scene and tournament growth. Only II compares on all fronts, and that game established the genre.
I'm personally not the biggest SFIV nut and none of the SF games are perfect, but you really have to respect what it did at a time when 2d fighters were basically dead.
I'm personally not the biggest SFIV nut and none of the SF games are perfect, but you really have to respect what it did at a time when 2d fighters were basically dead.
Rewatching this and I swear that's LI Joe in the audience shots.
Most fighting games aren't played 8-9 years after it's release (at least in a competitive scene) so SF IV definitely had lasting power, especially with the frequent updates. I think it was easy for the community to nitpick after all those years.
It's amazing that it revived a seemingly dead genre though. I remember picking the game up and all the hype was too much at the time. I never thought we'd take it as far as we have. Going from playing vanilla SF IV on a 360 pad to buying my first arcade stick and forcing myself to learn, this has been one hell of a ride so far.
It's amazing that it revived a seemingly dead genre though. I remember picking the game up and all the hype was too much at the time. I never thought we'd take it as far as we have. Going from playing vanilla SF IV on a 360 pad to buying my first arcade stick and forcing myself to learn, this has been one hell of a ride so far.
TriAceJP
Member
Eight years ago, I was disappointed as all get out.
SF4 took everything that made 3S great and threw them out. SFV was an improvement, but nothing they do has brought them to be even on par with 3s.
SpiceMelange
Member
People complain about Nash/Chunli/Ryu in 5, but it's nothing compared to the gap of the top tiers in 3. Also fireballs are actually useful in 4/5. No free air parries either. If you mess up your empty jump in you're gonna get AA'd in 4/5. Building meter by whiffing normals is also super dumb.
Douche McBaggins The 3rd
Junior Member
I don't run tournaments, but I do have a weekly gathering for games. We play a lot of fighting games, but SFV has fallen off. We played it a lot the first two weeks, but it basically went into nothing. Characters were hated, systems were basically loathed the more we played, the eight frames kind of fucks with defensive play to a point where some we're guessing more and doing hard reads rather than countering at the last second. Only one in the group likes SFV,
I'm not buying anything. The content is sparse, and they are asking me to buy more of that package that I don't even like that much to begin with? Nah. It honestly needs to be free. Or 15-20 bucks for all six characters. Not 30. Then pay for colors? No. That's crap. Paying PER costume?
Honestly I want this game to at least do moderately well, but there's a LOT wrong with it. Grabs kind of suck in this game. Well Command grabs. Meaty grabs shouldn't be a thing. They never were in the last, Meaty wakeup attacks, and cross ups are fine. But giving a meaty grab more priority over a command grab is pure crap. But at least Zangief's Wakeup grab loops are gone. Along with his green hand. Along with his immense fear pressure due to grabs. But that can hopefully be fixed after the Capcom Cup.
I dunno I could see SFV being the Alpha variant and just dying quickly after a quick flame.
SF4 grew on me coming from 3s. It had the right mix of execution, footsies and diverse playstyles. Too bad that SF5 took a dump on all of that and streamlined the experience for the worse. I used to compete in SF4 but can't find the energy to even start SF5 up, it's just so uninteresting and lacks so many things.
Yep, like USFIV and AE's physical versions.
Bolded the ones I bought, I also copped 2 sticks for PS3 (1 shit one, 1 TE) and 2 for 360 (2 Horis).... and the only reason I didn't even bother with Ultra for PS3 was because Australian PSN was ass... and even XBL wasn't too flash with Ultra (felt a lot wacker compared to Super and AE... even people I've played countless times before) so I played 90% of my time on Ultra on PC. Playtime via platform was like SFIV (85% PSN, 15% XBL) Super (30% PSN, 70% XBL) AE (5% PSN, 95% XBL) Ultra (10% XBL, 90% PC)
Also prob dropped over $150 on arcades... when we got Arcade Edition like a day or two after Japan shit was hype
Shit I even bought a Pana Plasma for this game and it's still going strong.Man watching Seb's streams, Lord Aborigine's youtube channel, watching Spooky and the crew playing the "EAARLLLY" Super... getting the same thing a few days later... the hype when AE 2012 and Ultra dropped.... everyone switching to SFxTK to see 90% switch back within a few days..... good times man.
Yep, because $4 Premium Alts (with colors that need to be unlocked in a stupid mode) are so much better compared to paying $5 to get 5 alts with all colors unlocked already.
No Region filtering in battle lounges unlike every Capcom fighting game the previous era makes it useless to the point where I might as well only set up private slots.
long ass loading times and the worst part is it can't even accept a ranked fight while it's loading, when new updates came out for SFIV I didn't even get to the actual fight before getting challenged.
Can't even look up my play time and win % with characters.
Can't switch music.
I actually like roman cancels, f the haters.
Brerlappin
Member
I was hooked on SF4 for a good while. It was my first SF game that i actively played against other people (i only ever played SF2 against the CPU as a kid).
So it was a whole new experience for me. I loved it. I had a Hori fight stick and everything.
I gave up playing it because 1 v 1 competitive games actually just stress me out too much tho. And i remember one night my 360 corrupted my profile when i was about 5 fights away from the 500 fights achievement and i lost all my stats. After that i was done. Great game tho.
So it was a whole new experience for me. I loved it. I had a Hori fight stick and everything.
I gave up playing it because 1 v 1 competitive games actually just stress me out too much tho. And i remember one night my 360 corrupted my profile when i was about 5 fights away from the 500 fights achievement and i lost all my stats. After that i was done. Great game tho.
katsubento
Member
People who only cared about SF or Capcom fighting games had something new to care about again, but that was mostly it.
Personally, I think the genre was in a more interesting state before it - Namco managed to give attention to both the Tekken and Soul Calibur series, Aksys was cranking out Guilty Gear updates, SNK had both mainline KoF games and other side stuff like Maximum Impact and NeoGeo Battle Coliseum.
When SF4 arrived, the market practically retracted from a period of experimentation and creativity to deal with the behemoth in the room:
- at Namco Tekken got the primary focus on the fighting efforts (discounting anime stuff like the Naruto and DBZ games, which AFAIK never had a thriving competitive scene)
- SNK had to rush out its current King of Fighters project to meet its old rival on the market, and we know how that turned out
- Skullgirls was basically designed by SF fans for SF fans, but with an actual new SF game on the market, it couldn't do as well as it would have without the older game casting a big shadow over its visibility and taking many of its potential players.
It wasn't even a good thing for Capcom, considering how poorly they handled something that should have been great, like SFxT. The idea of a Capcom only crossover fighter in the style of the marvel games is yet to materialize, when it should have been a natural progression of a fighting game renaissance, but nope, still hasn't happened - yet something like CFJ was allowed to exist before SF4.
Personally, I think the genre was in a more interesting state before it - Namco managed to give attention to both the Tekken and Soul Calibur series, Aksys was cranking out Guilty Gear updates, SNK had both mainline KoF games and other side stuff like Maximum Impact and NeoGeo Battle Coliseum.
When SF4 arrived, the market practically retracted from a period of experimentation and creativity to deal with the behemoth in the room:
- at Namco Tekken got the primary focus on the fighting efforts (discounting anime stuff like the Naruto and DBZ games, which AFAIK never had a thriving competitive scene)
- SNK had to rush out its current King of Fighters project to meet its old rival on the market, and we know how that turned out
- Skullgirls was basically designed by SF fans for SF fans, but with an actual new SF game on the market, it couldn't do as well as it would have without the older game casting a big shadow over its visibility and taking many of its potential players.
It wasn't even a good thing for Capcom, considering how poorly they handled something that should have been great, like SFxT. The idea of a Capcom only crossover fighter in the style of the marvel games is yet to materialize, when it should have been a natural progression of a fighting game renaissance, but nope, still hasn't happened - yet something like CFJ was allowed to exist before SF4.