Do Names of Fighter Games Matter?

Is someone more likely or less likely to pick up a fighting game for the first time because of a name?

Are the names Mortal Kombat, Tekken, Dead or Alive (DOA), Soul Caliber more sexy than the name:

Virtua Fighter


For me I preferred the Virtua Fighter name because I'm more for martial arts simulations. But for others the name 'Virtua Fighter' might be considered dull, boring, 'not fun'

 

For me personally the names of games are not so important. I chose Virtua Fighter as my favourite fighting game because I love the arcade flair and the customizing feature (first Beat 'Em Up which had this feature, right?). More important for me, in case of Virtua Fighter, are the names you give your characters. I always had problems finding the 'perfect name' for my Fighter.

 

when i first heard of dead or alive i was thinkin *i gotta get that game, it sounds so tight*

even though ive never seen it, so to me the names do matter- at 1st when i heard of Virtua Fighter 5 coming out i was like *wut kinda game is that 'viruta fighter' i can tell it sux a$$*

but when i played it on ps3, thats wut it did 'suc, but then i got further into it on 360 and it turned out better than i thought.. names do matter

 

I think a lot of people when they hear the name for the first time vs seeing it in print somewhere think it sucks. For example:

Yo dude U should peep this virtua fighter game.

I will play virtua fighter until the wheels fall off, but I suspect that a lot of us wonder how come the game is not a popular as say tekken, there have been a lot of
speculation on VF message boards, and it might be something as simple as
hearing the name of the game or seeing the name of the game for the first time
you think it sucks because the name doesn't necessarily sound off the hook.

 

I don't think the name Tekken is any cooler than Virtua Fighter to be honest.

Tekken has LESS meaning to me than Virtua Fighter. At least Virtua Fighter clues you in to what the game might be like i.e. "virtuaL fighting."

 

The Virtua Fighter name was cool when SEGA was releasing Virtua games all over but now it does not seem like a good name for a game these days. Then again many games have worse names than Virtua Fighter.

 

Since Sega does very little marketing of VF. The name has to stand on its own. That might accent of "might" be part of the popularity problem. Maybe the box art is enough though...

 

One way to clarify would be to release a pile of shit and call it 'Super Kill Death Bitch Ass 2'..

 

I'm not one for names. I just relie on my killer insticts when it comes to unleashing my primal rage in any street fight. It makes no difference how fatal my opponents fury is, this samurai is ready for any showdown. Mere mortals are not ready for my style of kombat.
Too many in this world try to be heroes, only too face the wrath of the king of fighters. Only then is the true caliber of their soul revealed. Truly, when the fighters history is written one karate champ will rise above all the robots and be named eternal champion.

 

Wow Duck_King, that was amazing. Major props. And ya, names kinda matter if it's the first time you've heard of the game, personally Dead or Alive and Soul Calibur sounds cooler to me than Virtua Fighter, but if you have friends that tell you about the game, or if you see screen shots, then it doesn't really matter.

 

well played

 

strange question. its the inside that matters most, but then... big tits are similarily awesome!

 

who is this guy?
wow....
definently not normal
but still cool

 

I was staying with my girlfriend this weekend and her freind kept suggesting soul caliber IV to me and telling me that he really thought i'd like it better. I tried to explain that would be like going to the park and finding a baller and being like, 'if u like basketball then u should REALLY try football. I'm pretty sure u'd like it better, because it is funner." Of course he didn't understand. Funny enough, every time he said "Virtual Fighter" -go figure- he made a face and said it in a certain 'it's JUST virtual fighter' tone of voice. It was very obvious the name was turning him off of the game. I think the name suggest a very vanilla game to people, and u couple that with not being able to make characters...I do wish Virtua Fighter would let me create my own character appearances. That would be awesome!!!! Back to the subject. I guess the games name does make a difference to some.

 

most of the best fighters have the word "fighter" in them. it just so happens that they're also the least popular.

go figure.

 

we all know dis prob....
but THE TRUTH is... there is only ONE TRUE fighting game
out there...
the name ist "Virtua Fighter" and even the name is DAMN cool! ^_^

greets from germany

SoulKatana

 

The best 3D fighter I've played: Virtua Fighter
The best 2D fighter I've played: King Of Fighters
The game I played in Amiga days: Shadow Fighter
Favourtie old school beat 'em up: Final Fight

It's getting quite clear now xD

 

I think 'Virtua Fighter' is more than it seems to be as a title, and imo one of the least corny names.
Besides the virtuaL connotation, I believe it also suggest the word virtue (a particular moral excellence)...which SEGA did imply with their 32X-VF ad: "patience is a virtua."

Maybe this was more obvious than I thought, but just as my realization 6-months ago that this game was a lot more than it seemed to be, the title fits very well in this aspect for me.

But to answer the main question...The name most likely does matter, but it really depends on the person: if VF was named Mortal Romance or something...I would still try it and disregard any dislike I have for the title if I liked the game.

It all depends on who you are trying to market to.

 

Naming is everything, with great powers come great responsibilites, even ones you didn't know about. I mean, if this game was called Mortal Romance, this would be MRDC, mortalromance.com. Set up 6 years later after the first game was released.

 

Kids today have short attention spans and loose wallets, so sometimes all you need is a good name. Tig ol bitties never hurt either. Virtual Fighter just doesn't sound..... "sexy." It's a small difference, but a difference none the less.