It was inevitable for me to compare SFV to Justin Bieber at this point. It seems like everyone who is involved in the FGC and specifically SF fans – either love or hate SFV with a passion that could move mountains. It’s the whole Kardashian effect of being hated by enough people to turn them into your personal marketing agents.
The sad thing is that these haters don’t even know that all they do is fuel the hype, and bring in more and more money into the pockets of the developers of the game they hate. Talk about sucker punching yourself to death.
Haters gonna hate
Some people hate for the sake of hating and that is exactly what happens to people like Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian. Do those haters think that these celebrities lose sleep over their hateful comments? Justin Bieber gets more tail than every single hater combined, and Kim Kardashian laughs in her diamond milk filled bathtub as she sees those dollars flowing into her bank accounts.
The exact same thing is happening with SFV. Haters complaining that the game sucks, that comebacks are too easy, that their grandma could frame trap the best players in the world, etc. They are hell-bent on showing the world just how much SFV sucks, but all they are doing is making it more and more popular.
A recent Video I released has received a great deal of comments. Some people are giving the video thumbs up, while others give it thumbs down and that is fine- The problem is that most of the negative feedback comes from people who didn’t even get the video in the first place. They are blinded by their role as SFV haters and won’t even give themselves a chance to see things from a different perspective.
The video clearly states that SFV has taken a completely new approach to fighting games. They have done this by lowering the execution learning curve significantly. The video is not saying that SFV is the ideal fighting game. What it does say, is that Capcom seems to be looking to cater to the masses because that is how they make money.
The video also states that the only way to force Capcom to listen is to stop playing the game entirely and to stop talking about it. The truth is that the haters are actually the minority and the rest are the people who practice and get better, they attend tournaments and they go to Evo – the Super Bowl of Fighting games.
Talking trash about SFV won’t make it go away. Just like hating Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian makes them richer, hating SFV and making it so relevant, makes it bigger and bigger. I don’t care what sales charts have to say. SFV is the Facebook of the FGC too. They are at the top with a huge lead on everyone else.
Here are some EVO 2017 facts:
- Tournament players for SFV– 2,622
- Tournament Players for Smash bros for Wii U – 1,515
- Tournament Players for Smash bros Melee – 1,435
Let’s see now, we have the top 3 spots for the 3 games that provide execution friendly gameplay. Wow, what a coincidence! You could argue that those games are the most popular and that is why they get more entries, but that only goes to show that SFV is definitely a massively popular game for modern fighting game players.
Evo 2017 was a huge success
You can say all you want about easy execution, but no scrub is ever going to beat pro players consistently in SFV. The game takes skills, frame data knowledge and a lot of practice. Haters make it seem like you can just mash standing MK with Laura and beat everyone, but that is not how it works.
This is the new age of fighting games and it’s not meant to cater to old school players. Fighter101 will always support retro gaming, but the undeniable truth is that old school fighting games will always be sideshows in the mainstream. That is unless everyone decides to protest against Street Fighter 5 and Smash by never playing them again (good luck with that one).
You can throw a hissy fit and say how much you hate Capcom and how much you hate SFV, but the reality is that you need to adapt or kiss your chances at becoming a fighting game pro player goodbye. Alternatively, you could become the ultimate hero for the FGC – just get everyone involved in a massive protest – one that will force Capcom to play by your standards of what a good fighting game should be, but you know you won’t be taking the streets for that purpose anytime soon. With that said, why bother hating SFV if you are just making the game bigger by talking about it?
Oh and before I forget, yes, we all know that the fighting game community was started as an execution heavy genre, but it has hit the mainstream now. You can’t expect it to continue to please the purists when the big bucks are being made in the mainstream. It’s like calling the local hot dog stand owner a sellout for opening a new restaurant and charging more money for their food. Who told you they got into business to please you? They are in it to make a living just like everyone else.
I saw a comment on the Old School vs New Generation video from a person who said that he refused to believe that companies make games just for the money. He also used the word “soulless”. I’m sorry to say, but how naive can you be to think otherwise, and why is it a bad thing for games to be made for money? They are obviously looking to entertain us, but the ultimate goal is to make money. If that bursts your bubble on how the world actually works, perhaps you need to start seeing things for what they are. Here, have some reality pie, because you need a mouthful.
Note: This has nothing to do with Guilty Gear, KOF, Tekken and every other game out there. This is about the direction that Capcom has decided to take with SFV.
Now, pick up SFV, Believe and never say never! All puns freaking intended!
-Fighter101