I don’t think I have ever played a fighting game, but after sitting through the Street Fighter x Tekken panel at Comic Con (it was just before the SWTOR one), I think I may be tempted.
Here’s a link to video of the entire 45 minute panel.
I’ll try to sum up below. The Japanese developers came on and showed some video of the new characters, to rapturous applause. They got fans to wave $10 in the air if they wanted to get the new game sooner (the air was awash with sweaty arms waving dollar notes). They also discussed issues around balance and invited players to contact them via social networks if they had any balance issues or suggestions (can you imagine a MMO dev doing this?) And then things started to get weird.
The Streetfighter producer announced that his colleague who developed Tekken had suggested that he be in the game as a fighting character. So to decide this, they’d agreed a series of 13 challenges, which they then showed on a video in the style of a Japanese game show. Challenges included competitive coke drinking, hot dog eating, hitting each other with weapons that looked like large balloons, etc etc.
(The other developer lost, although I have to say he was actually quite butch especially in the tile-breaking challenge, but then came on stage in person to accept this with good grace.)
And then, they announced another of the new characters for SF vs Tekken via a trailer, a scantily clad dominatrix called Poison.
The crowd cheered. Evidently a fan favourite (can’t imagine why :P). And then Capcom brought on a model dressed as Poison to more cheers, then another, and another, then a couple of male models dressed as Poison too, and finally the Street Fighter producer himself came back on stage … wearing the same costume.
This is the point where I again lament the loss of my camera because words can’t really do justice. And if you thought things were weird then, they got even weirder when one of the Poisons started whipping the Tekken guy and no, I don’t entirely understand why.
If that has intrigued you, just watch the video of the panel. I don’t know if all Japanese developers are as batshit crazy as CapCom, but it was like nothing on earth I’ve ever seen. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and get hold of a copy of Streetfighter …
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Firstly, you really should play some fighting games. Street Fighter IV arcade edition is pretty good and given your european zone, asian children will be too far away to utterly destroy you should you play online.
Secondly, some this makes more sense when we reveal that Poison has a penis.
Or did at one point.
Mostly because when Final Fight was released in the US, the game where Poison was one of a pair of whip wielding ladies, Nintendo of America was not fod of the idea of having lady punching in their games. So Poison became a transvestite As time went on and more Final Fight shennanigans occured, apparently Capcom of Japan were taken enough with the idea that now Poison’s dudehood (And perhaps former dudehood, I think there was a sex change at some point) became official.
You know, the cosplay makes a LOT more sense now.
SF 4, hmm? Maybe I will give it a go.
Ideally, you’ll want to grab the Arcade Edition, which is the most recent variation.
Ha ha ha.
Oh my, sounds like too much fun, hope the rest of the Convention’s a blast too!
The issue I have with fighting games is I’m really bad at them. I only found about two people I could beat and they, for some reason, didn’t want to play me much after it was obvious I could beat them almost every time.
I think there is a level, as with Starcraft and games like that, where you become competitive but I think you need to invest a lot into playing to reach it.
That last sentence is an interesting thought. I’ve been playing the M:tG computer game recently and they pretty much explicitly aim to use the AI opponent to teach you how to play the game well enough to go join in with a tabletop game with human opponents, at least at a newbie level. (They throw in a voucher for a free starter deck also.)
It makes me think that one of the challenges of any established gaming genre is how the single player game can prepare a new player for being thrown into a competitive mode with other players. And I wonder which multiplayer games do this the best. And whether solo mode will come to always be seen as a tutorial for multiplayer rather than a game style in its own right.
I’f you’d like a trustworthy human opponent to play M:tG with, then let me know:)
If you thought I wanted to go to Comic-con before… 🙂
Imagine Daniel Ericsson and Chriz Metzen dukking it out like that! -Maybe thats just me
Simon nailed it on Poison. In Japan I believe you she’s still a dude who ‘tucks’ it away in those jean hot pants and in America she’s a post op. One of the reasons she is a known figure besides the lack of clothes lol.
I totally wish you took pictures though, those moments are something to remember
Looking it up, ‘Tucks it away’ is the exact term that Capcom uses as well.
Don’t forget those abs rival Daniel Ericsson’s!
I love fighting games. While I’m more of a fan of SNK fighters, they honestly haven’t made a good one for about 10 years now. That said, Super Street Fighter IV is a fantastic game. I was playing it quite regularly and need to get back to it and get my B rank with Cody (speaking of Final Fight characters). It can be hellishly competative, but they have a wonderful matchmaking system in place.
If you’re like me and no matter how much you play, you’re not destined to be an A ranked player, then all is still well. You may even lose more than you win (again, like me), but it’s great about matching you with people who you’ll have a fair chance at (once you’ve played enough to be matched against them that is).
I recommend trying it, and the game isn’t too expensive…..until you start buying fight sticks that is. =D
I may be destined to be a Z list player if I get really lucky. I think I am convinced now to give it a go, will write in a couple of weeks about how I get on.
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