Consolidation of fighting games

Just a thought - i know this does not appeal to many people - please hold your reservations about other fighting games before commenting on this post.

The fighting game scene is very fragmented in the UK at the moment - some play street fighter, some play GGX, some play tekken, some play virtua fighter, soul calibur etc.

If a tournament was hosted for players of all these different games to compete in, it would be more likely to attract media attention from outside sources.

Theoretically a show of such solidarity would indicate to potential sponsors that there is a large target market to advertise to at such events.

Sponsorship of tourneys provides more resources, for example for prize money for players, or to help secure further media coverage.

Ideally, with more interesting prizes on offer at such tournaments, and larger meetings of like-minded individuals in these games, the stakes are higher in such tournaments, so the skill level raises accordingly.


The result - better competition for gamers, and more interest in our common love, fighting games.

This idea is FAR form perfect I know - this is the best case scenario.
Have cross-discipline tourneys like this been staged before in the UK?
Any serious, thoughtful comments from others would be welcome, but PLEASE don't turn this thread into a flame sesh between players.

Daggi

I am a UK player - the mention of the UK is purely as an example.

 

er........

I dont this idea would work myself dont you know the contempt that the british media have for video games? They dont do game reviews in the papers but do movies ones even though computer games make more money. The news on the tv cover the latest holywood blockbuster but when have you really saw anything about a luanch of a big game?
The tabloids write crap about how video games turning kids in to pyscos. Dont know how it would work in other countrys though

'Strong body but a weak mind' Sam Seed from Drunken Masters

 

Re: er........

"The news on the tv cover the latest holywood blockbuster but when have you really saw anything about a luanch of a big game?"

I think you're under a slight misapprehension here. Big budget films are still _bigger_ than video game releases. They appeal to a much wider age group, and to more people in general. The reason video games make more money now is because of the price tags of around £30-40 per game, whereas seeing a film only costs you about £5 at the cinema. Even to buy the video would only cost you around £15, with DVDs about £20. So, yes, video games may have slightly higher turnovers nowadays, but they aren't 'bigger', as I see it, and so don't get nearly as much media coverage as movies.

 

I'm with you there Daggi. I have often thought about a possible future where one or two fighting games are featured in the Olympics, but there are obviously a ton of logistical nightmares with the idea. What fighting games will be chosen? Who will make the rules? Etc.

Clearly, fighting games can never be more than just *games* unless some sort of consolidation occurs...i.e. there are only one or two fighting games in existence at any one time or everyone only plays one or two fighting games.

Things already seem to be moving in that direction in the 2D fighting genre...with SNK going bust, it'll be all Capcom or Capcom vs SNK. At least until other 2D games like GGX get a bigger following, then we're back where we started.

What we really need is some sort of a external, non-profit and neutral committee that has designers and programmers from the major houses to create the ultimate game...either brand new or a collection of other franchises. A Namco vs Sega vs Capcom vs SNK vs Tecmo type of affair. Then we could have the platform that people could universally train for and compete on a global basis. But then that raises questions like what if the game sucks.

Anyway, just random musings neither here nor there.