WHY??? I DO NOT understand!!!!!!

Actual gameplay can however 'feel' very different, and its usually that what people mean when they talk about something incomparable.

 

So true.

 

Well, like you, focusflute, I do not understand on why American gamers are not that interested in the Virtua Fighter series. Like the rest of the guys, I always hear and read negative comments on what they say about the series, yet I kind of believe on what they say is opposite. I can list down a things on what makes the V.F. series superior than its two rivals, but I guess some of the guys might put them up before me. That is why I will prefer staying in Japan since the V.F. scene is a lot better there than the U.S.[/size]

 

Its the fast food society, what would you expect. We want everything NOW. A game like VF seems slow to new comers. I wont forget the first time I played the game following a nice session of Tekken, it was SLOW. Its still no different for new people. I got a few of my friends to play not long ago and the first then they say, "wow this is slow".

Jump in Tekken and spam a few buttons its like your half way to expert already! People here want fast instant satisfaction, they don't want to have to learn or work for the best of anything.

 

Well, just because one shooter has different guns compared to another shooter, doesn't mean that the game is different. If the gameplay (more than just guns) from one game is different from the other than that could make a significant difference. Let's take Halo and Bioshock for example. Both of those are shooters and most of their guns are identical to one another (both games have shotguns). However, Bioshock is strictly a single-player game and Halo is practically 8 games in one if you count the campaign and the multiplayer modes (if Bioshock chose to add multiplayer modes, then you could completely compare them) and we all know that single-player games are not meant to be played competitively (except the original Donkey Kong and other old arcade games like it). However I could compare Halo Slayer with Gears of War's Warzone because they are strictly meant to be played competitively even though most of their guns are identical (I personally think that GoW is more evolved), and there are many shooters w/ versus multiplayer.

As with driving games, well, not all driving games are necessarily meant to be played competitvely either. Have you ever played an old driving game called Chase HQ (it came out in the '90s in arcades)? That was never a racing game or competitive driving game (OK, you could achieve a high score), but a game where you caught criminals by bashing their car with yours (before time ran out). A game like Gran Turismo could not be compared to that because GT is a game that's strictly meant to be played competitively. I could put a Skyline in either game, but it wouldn't change the purpose of either game.

As with RPGs, although the objective of just about all RPGs are all the same, you can't compare all of them. Let's look at Oblivion and Final Fanatasy. Both are RPGs that feature characters with different options. However, combat in Oblivion is done manually while fighting in most FF games is done in turned-based format (you don't really do anything; the computer does the work for you). Also, FF games are team-based; therefore, no one character can do everything (except in a few instances). But in Oblivion, you are controlling only one character so if an enemy turns you into stone, you could do nothing because there would'nt be anyone there to cure you (you couldn't cure yourself because you can't move while you're a stone) unlike FF where another active character can use an item to return the "stoned" character to normal form. I could give either character the choice to use either swords or projectile launchers (bows, guns, etc.) in either game (in Oblivion, you can choose to have your character use bows over swords--in FFXII, you can choose to have Fran use swords over bows), but it wouldn't change anything significantly.

So it's not necessisarily what the game includes, but rather what the game's gameplay mechanics are designed for.

 

Culture difference is the key. If Sega thought they could make money here with VF arcade machines, they would invest w/o blinking.

I think the difference in culture is this: Americans like to become REALLY good at something inherently simple, whereas the Japanese are happy to become proficient at something inherently difficult. America has some ridiculously amazing FPS players, and FPS is simple at base.

Case in point: Look at their TV game shows versus ours. They have Ninja-Warrior and the like, where they are happy just to complete one stage of a nearly impossible course. We have a bunch of trivia games and worship someone with too much useless knowledge who gets all the answers right.

 

Well said.

 

America also have games like Whammy! (the new Press Your Luck), where the gameplay requires no serious skill like Jeopardy does (provided that the knowledge from the questions in Jeopardy are actually useful for your daily life).

 

I think am2 actually do understand this their way of making the cover look good is with mind blowing graphics the problem is now all the fighting games have more or less similar quality graphics.

Back when VF2 came out it looked better than anything out there int he 3D realm. VF3 looked alright, it had the strange graphical style of most games of that era if you all know what I mean.

AM2 just needs to figure out now that there is more to flash than just graphics.

 

The only 3D beat-em-up I can compare VF5's graphics to is DOA4s, in which case the latter's characters aren't well made - they reached their graphical limit in DOA3.

VF5's case of the characters looking like dolls actually had a valid explanation (when they first made the characters look real, they blended too much into the background).

In either case flash-wise, VF doesn't needs sparks. It just needs to make all moves look and act brutal/painful, thankfully which is present in VF5R.

Well... at least more of its is there anyway. The original VF5 throws especially haven't changed. Much.

 

Most Americans like broken and unbalanced as all heck fighting games such as Tekken, Soul series, vs. series, etc.. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif

 

Most Americans like flashy games.

VF isn't one of them. Although... it's getting there bit by bit.

*Points at VF5R*

 

With all due respect On some Real Shit Shut the hell up.
VF ain't perfect but its a very entertaining just like any other game.There's no such thing ass a perfect fighting game (Garou: Mark of the Wolves comes close.) Why did DOA4 sell? Because it was marketed and had a Rich online component.

I take that a insult to the intelligence of americans since everybody from other countries don't like americans.
LEt me ask you a question though? How are you going to make money if you don't spend money?
Sega did'nt Market his game the way anybody else markets there games plain and simple. Giving this game a 6 month exclusive window on PS3 really hurt this game as far as distrubution goes if you ask me. Sega is in the red financial wise and they could'nt spend more dough.

 

I think you underestimate the power of the casual crowd.

Casual gamers look no further than the cover of the book. More flash + more personality = more attractiveness of the cover. The more attractive the cover looks, the more likely a casual is gonna pick up the book and read it.

And it's not just the American casual crowd. It's the entire casual crowd on the western side of Earth.

They look for the the flash and the personality; anything else beyond those two aspects are added bonuses.

Unfortunately, the bonuses aren't must-haves. The higher-ups don't think the bonuses are wanted, which is why the casual crowd's taste aren't good, eg. most of mainstream hip-hop and R&B.

In the case of the analogy of hip-hop and VF, VF should be a catchy beat with proper deep lyrics.

Like, coincidently...

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/q1Et1siZhTk"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/q1Et1siZhTk" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

Dumb It Down, by Lupe Fiasco. Catchy beat, deep lyrics.

That's where VF should be going. Appeal to the casual crowd, and keep the loyalty and pride of the hardcore crowd.

Killing two birds with one stone.

 

Overfiend is right...

I read a lot of video game magazines and the amount of advertising for Soul Calibur 4 is intense... They will have more than one whole page add in every magazine, if not the entire back cover like last month... I just feel like NAMCO is pumping SC4 a lot harder than SEGA ever tried to pump VF5.

I think most agree that the XBOX360 version of VF5 is superior (not trying to start a console war, just thought that was agreed upon from what I've read) however, more advertising was done for the PS3 version and was considered a highly anticipated game on PS3.

Low and behold, they port VF5 to 360 and now it's version C and has ONLINE, a big improvement, but don't do the advertising to lift the game to the "highly anticipated" level. Maybe that was due to what they felt the nature of the gamers that buy their systems and what kind of games they prefer. I assume SEGA didn't think as many fighting fans would buy the 360 version...

Honestly, I believe some of the 360 VF5's popularity was spread "virally" over boards and game reviews and many people ended up buying the game months after it was released.

 

I'm guessing they didn't advertise the Xbox 360 version as much as they thought the multiplatform announcement + Xbox 360 version being superior to the PS3 version + bigger install base = instant success.

Here's what I think happened:

Announcement comes up, Xbots tell the Sony Ponies to kiss their asses.

When more info comes out, Xbots and other Xbox 360 owners are like "Hmmm... I should play the PS3 version at a friend's house, see how the game plays and stuff".

Xbox 360 owners are disappointed with its lack of flash and personality, therefore don't buy the game when it comes out.

It's just a theory. I could be wrong.

Bare in mind that Sega did advertise VF5 on the Xbox 360. Via gaming magazines. Proper rubbing salt into PS3 owners' wounds saying how the PS3 version has no online whatsoever while the Xbox 360 has exclusive online play.

 

Nas been doing this Longer that Lupe and on top of that he's the last artist to go platinum on lyrics alone. Never a catchy radio single for clubs but still sells a Milli. Just hard nose Lyricism at his finest. Lupe is More Tekken that anything.

IF Lupe was 34 he would'nt get the love.In Fact he don't even get the proper advertisent he deserves.

I was going to say that DOA and SC has a controversial gimmmicks that help advertisment alot (Hooray Boobies.) for buyers. Even Nas need a gimmick (N!GGER.).

 

ya but think about this...

the DOA community even admits that DOA is not that great and can go on and on about it.

the tekken community is complaining about T6 and how its just a juggle fest like T5R was http://tekkenzaibatsu.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=108798

and the SC community is already complaining about broken this and that and online lagggggggg.

Seriously...not that VF is a perfect game or anything but there isn't a lot of broken crap that ppl just go on and on about. The GAMEPLAY is darn good and why don't other ppl recognize this?????????

When ppl complain about "their game" (can't we all just enjoy MANY games?) I say that's why VF is my MAIN game!

 

and let's not forget how all the 2D players complain about tiers (3s, MvC2, CvS2)

 

It's hard to balance a game that has anywhere near 50 characters.