Why fighting games are no longer popular

Fighting games have reclaimed some of their long-lost fame lately, but they're still balancing between mainstream and niche. What's preventing the genre that used to be so popular from getting back into the limelight? There are several reasons for that.

[lptmg]

absolutely no mentioning of Evo breaking record numbers every year? I'm not even a fan of that and I gotta admit that thing is big nowadays

[Eonjay]

I play Marvel vs Capcom every single day. There are people online.

[FallenAngel1984]

Statistical data says otherwise

[Born2Game83]

Where is this data of yours? please provide it so we can see it. Don't give that google it shit. Cause I then you don't have any source to backup your claims.

[FallenAngel1984]

Well if you insist

- Mortal Kombat X sold over 5 million units
- Tekken 7 sold over 3 million units
- Injustice 2 sold over 2 million units
- Dragon Ball FighterZ over 2.5 million units
- Super Smash Bros 4 sold over 9 million units
- Street Fighter V sold over 2 million units

I could go on but my point is clear. The fighting genre isn’t dead

[WilliamSheridan]

2 million units is a failure... You think these games only cost 70 million to make?

[NapalmSanctuary]

There is, in fact, a downward trend, but I wouldn't call the genre dead by any stretch of the imagination. The problem, IMO, is the dlc models. $25-$35 for a season pass is a massive ripoff. Tekken 7 is the last fighting game I bought and I'm not buying any dlc for it. I might buy Injustice 2 complete edition while its on sale for $18, but that game is so ugly that I'm hesitant to pull the trigger. As for games like DBFZ and Soul Calibur 6, I'll wait for complete editions, or big sales. Its just not worth $100+ dollars for a complete fighting game.

Another factor is quality. Capcom has had some serious issues with their big FG releases: SFV and MvC:I. Netherrealm games are plagued with bad animations.

@WilliamSheridan You got way too many people on the team if its costing you 70 mill to make a fighting game.

[Flewid638]

Amount sold vs amount that is still playing.

Good list, but the number of people who bought MK vs the folks who still play are abysmal.

[Dom_Estos]

If a thing doesn't sell 50 billion trillion units, it's regarded as a failure these days for some reason.

Edit - as perfectly illustrated by the simpleton williamsheridan already.

[ApocalypseShadow]

Like I've said before, sequel after sequel with the same fight engines and gameplay. It's stale. I've played long enough to know and was playing since karate champ, yie ar kung fu and way of the exploding fist. With way just another karate champ derivative.

Gamers gravitated to new fight mechanics with SF2, VF, mortal kombat, tekken and doa. But the other games are just derivatives of SF and VF. One opened up the 2D combo system over karate champ. The other opened up the 3D combo system over karate champ.

Unless there's a new IP created with a new combo system, it's just going to be the same tired franchises. I love fighting games. I just don't love being fed the same fight engines without something truly new.

We need a new fight engine that patterns real fighting. We have enough buttons and the graphics power to animate the moves. And, we have popular fighters that would bring in the casuals as well as the hard core. No one thinks of putting Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michele Yeoh, Donnie Yen, Chuck Norris, Jim Kelly, or even masters like Ip Man, Wong Fei Hung,etc in a game. But it would be the ultimate fight game that would sell on names alone. And spread the love of martial arts.

Things won't change unless you ask for a new fighting game with evolved mechanics. Gamers will just move on like they already have to something else to play. And, how many gamers do you think would go to Esports thinking they are the REAL Bruce Lee?

[Zeldafan64]

Funny how you don't even mention Smash Bros

[Chaos_Order]

You couldn't be more wrong if you tried. You're either being intellectually dishonest or you simply haven't played fighting games in the past decade.

[ApocalypseShadow]

sure kid. never played fighting games.

[Chaos_Order]

"We need a new fight engine that patterns real fighting."
And we pretty much have that in the UFC series. A fight can be ended with a single well-placed blow to the head and the games have a depth that mirrors actual fighting on a high end level rather than the movie-fight "HOYYAAA!" approach. The mechanics may not be perfect, but they're at least close enough to what you seem to be asking for. Failing that the more recent games in the Fight Night series turn boxing into something more realistic and not a combo fest. Then we have more alternative fighting games trying new things like Divekick and Rising Thunder made to be much more accessible than the likes of SF and Tekken.
The thing is, you say fighting games can be so much more and then give your own personal example, but the fact is not everyone is going to like that. People enjoy regular fighting games because the mechanics, as rooted in the old as they are, WORK. Just like how the general mechanics and ideas for how 2D platformers should work from the original SMB can still apply to current gen games. Also while fighting games aren't as popular as they used to be they're still pretty popular, with games like MKX selling upwards of 5 million. It's more that other genres are now more popular and new genres have sprung up over the years giving fighting games some competition, and I don't think a game with martial art celebrities and more realistic fighting would change that in the slightest. It might have the looks but for a brand new system getting the balance right while still offering tons of variety would be near impossible without years of testing by hundreds of fighting game players. Balance is one of the most important aspects to current gen fighters for a lot of people, especially in an age where information is shared at a rapid pace, and balancing a fighting game can be a ridiculously arduous task. Games as broken as Tekken 4 would not fly in today's market of fighting game fans. Melee is only still played because it has a tournament rule list of banned tactics and stages the size of the Magna Carta.

[agent4532]

Best comment ever, why the disagrees I don't understand. You are absolutely right is always Street Fighter, Tekken, Mortal Kombat, and now Soul Calibur over and over again. The only difference is the visuals but same gameplay, engine, etc....

[ApocalypseShadow]

They don't understand because most of them are from this era of gaming. They don't know what has come before. I mean, I loved all of them in different ways like soul calibur(course soul edge was first when I played it in the arcade), and almost all SNK fighters. Loved Them. I still wish Sega would have updated Last Bronx to modernize it like Namco did with Soul Edge.
https://www.youtube.com/wat...
But Sega forgot about it and moved on.

Since I'm attacking their favorite fighting games, they don't see that companies like capcom, namco,etc are just updating the backgrounds, adding a few new characters and calling it a new game.

It's funny that eveyone calls for Bethesda to update their graphics engine as it is the same thing over and over looking stale. Everyone asks EA to update madden instead of their continuous roster updates. Activision updating Call of Duty and it's the same thing over and over.

But ask gamers to look for the fight engine to be updated beyond SF and VF, and they go crazy. The same rote motions to throw specials. The same tap tap nonsense. The same juggling nonsense. They just don't want any change. It's sad really. The fight genre will never move beyond where it is. And will never hit the level of popularity and craziness as when SF2 first showed up or when Yu Suzuki made Virtua Fighter. Now those were great times. Almost as big as when Pac Man showed up.

[boing1]

Don't be ignorant. And Tekken changed its engine with latest iteration.

[garos82]

you dont know what you are talking about Street Fighter V is vastly different to SF4. cant comment on the latest tekken and sould calibur to be able to comment on that

[UltraNova]

Apocalypse,

I totally get what you are saying, the same thing can be said for the infinitely repeated soccer engine in FIFA and PES. Thing is, people got addicted to these formulas, its what they came to know and expect through decades of playing and getting addicted to them. They depend on this unchanging concept because they feel their competitive experience is carried over from iteration to iteration allowing them to feel confident in knowing their past experience will help them beat their friends or others Online and Pros win tournaments - familiar mechanics have allowed the development of a sense of dependability and security if you like among fighting/soccer gamers. Fighting and sports games mechanics in general have become an unshackable standard expected to carry over forever and we cant blame people for expecting, wanting this to stay the same.

You, me and others might see this as progress stagnation but some things are good and people enjoy them simply because they don't change, just like beer and burgers/pizza on a match day; I wouldn't have it any other way...

Hope this is clear.

[agent4532]

I understand what you are trying to say. But shouldn't fighting games progress. We as gamers saw a CGI trailer of Tekken for PS2 which showed the future of fighting games; yet, it still remains a trailer. I understand with sport games due to you can't change the objective of the sport. Especially if the sport videogame is trying to be realistic. But with fighting games is possible to bring something new. During the PS One era fighting games did not only changed visually it changed gameplay wise. It was a time for fighting games to go from a 2D plane to 3D but also when game developers/publishers were willing to take risks. It was a time that gamers were playing fighting games like Bloody Roar, Bushido Blade, Tobalz (Square Enix fighting game). For crying out loud we got a Star Wars fighting game. During the PS2 era Mortal Kombat introduced a legit story driven fighting game. It was also during that era that BlazeBlue was born. Is time for the fighting genre to evolve again don't let it go to sleep again. Look at the PS3 era when in the final years of that era we saw fighting games again; do we want to go back to that.

[UltraNova]

Agent,
"You, me and others might see this as progress stagnation but some things ..."

Notice the second word on the above quote from my comment? That means I also believe change and progress should not halt. But I cant fault devs being hesitant to disrupt their loyal customers expectations as I have described above.

For the sake of discussion, I'd love to see a AAA story driven semi-open world fighting game, think Yakuza but in Mortal Kombat, SF etc universes with some RPG levels, one that you dont get dragged into a 2.5D arena every time you need to fight someone but engage in full 3D real time combat. I'm not talking about some half-asses mode here, I want the full fat AAA treatment.

[ApocalypseShadow]

Ultra, that was on point. Exactly.

They are so used to playing with the same game mechanics that they want to bring that over to the new game. The new game may have a few tweaks, but it will play almost like the one they already played. They're too scared to try something new.

When I played SF2, it didn't play like anything out there. Then other companies copied the formula. When VF came out, others copied the formula. Tweaks here and there. But I still recognize where it came from.

Doesn't mean I don't enjoy them. Or love ryu and the gang. Akira, Pai Chan and the gang,sub zero and crew, morrigan and the other night warriors,the kof gang,forrest law, li,Nina and the tekken roster and so on and so on. But nothing is changing.

The gamers waiting for smash brothers already know how is going to play without even playing it. They know. They just won't admit it.

And agent, yup. I still remember that tekken and Paul surrounded by fighters. I was like yeah. Can't wait for next Gen. Then tekken today still plays like the rest. Still love tekken 3 and the characters and music was on point. But it just never changes.

But you guys know what I'm talking about. Long time ago, I thought there was some potential with urban reign from the soul calibur and tekken team. https://youtu.be/m3bZ0azpIV...

But they didn't take that engine and do anything with it after that game. And no game today matched the feeling of when bushido blade came out. Guess we'll just see companies just update the roster with one or two characters, new graphics and new background like always. Oh well.

[AK91]

You kinda sound like your talking outta your a** Apocalypse I’ve been in to fighting games since Tekken 3 and they’ve just been getting bigger and more popular, Now whilst I’m not a fan of Street fighter 5’s broken release the fact the game is still being supported and still has a lot of hype whenever a new character is announced.

[agent4532]

Bigger how, you remember the CGI trailer of Tekken for the PS2 right. That was a glimpse of where fighting games should strive for. Don't you want the fighting genre to evolve?

[ApocalypseShadow]

And you sound like a child ak. How many sf do you expect before you get something different?

SF25 :old man edition where they fight with canes and spit out dentures. After playing all the sf games, the championship editions, the turbos, the alphas, the 3D ex game, strike and the rest. You would think gamers would want something different with a new engine and a new combo system.

Guess not. You just love roster updates like madden. With a new mode thrown in. Stick a $60 tag on the box and call it new. How fun.

[AK91]

@Apocalypse the only child here is you, your argument is essentially fighting games aren't the way I want them to be so they suck, what kind of logic is that?

Look I despise how the FPS genre has become so microtransaction heavy, in the past it was one of my fav game types and even though I don't like the direction the genre has gone it would be silly to say it sucks because I don't like what it's become.

[BigTrain]

@Apocalypse @agent4532 @UltraNova
I totally agree with what you're saying and I laugh at all of the downvotes you received. The only explanation for those is youth. Don't get me wrong, some not so young people could be in that crowd but I'd put money on most of them being sub 28 at the least. My buddy and I loved the fighting genre since its inception in arcades, but now as it stands its rehash city. I get what Ultra was saying about gamers with invested time in these games wanting things to pretty much stay the same but gamers like myself, mostly older gamers are worn out on the industry being heavily sedated in the area of innovation. I am somewhat a collector of AAA franchises in certain genres across numerous consoles since the NES era. Ultimately I've been playing games long enough to see and feel *in my opinion* that the industry has changed wholly into a corporate profit driven business and when that happens the core of what once drove gaming as a hobby, which was innovation/tech no longer takes precedence over making a profit. For me personally this is why I'm glad all 3 console creators exist and is why I support all 3 even though I havent purchased a Switch. Unfortunately though, I think the disease that is the fighting game business model is nothing but a reflection of the entire industry. Bottom line, I am sick of purchasing games that are basically the same as the games I've been playing for 37 years. Sports games fall into this category as well, they dont get a pass from me just because they're sports. Sega and Visual Concepts created 2K sports and their football game was great. It's death was caused by EA securing the license from the NFL to exclusively make NFL football games and we've been stuck with Madden's annual rehash for over 13 years now.
Ultimately Apocalypse, I think that for these younger gamers to feel what we feel is gonna take them another 10 to 15 years of them playing and paying for the same rehashed games and I definitely believe that's exactly what will take place. When the marketing budgets match and sometimes exceed the development budget for games it shows you where the priority lies for publishers.
@ Ultranova The answer to addressing stagnation is to release a new IP altogether. That way whatever franchise fanboys have attached themselves to will be completely safe with their annual touchups. A truly new fighting game is something my friends and I have been dreaming of ever since Tekken, SF, and VF all reached iteration number 4 and we're well past that now.

[chiefJohn117]

Smash Bros and MK- "hold my beer"

[MoshA]

The best fighting game Injustice 2 was defiled with immense amount of microtransactions. Tekken 7's first season pass only gets you 3 characters. Soul Calibur 6 runs on the exact same engine but with worse graphics, Classic characters behind paywall and weird sound effects.

[DivineBliss]

Injustice 2 is trash and barely even a fighting game.

[MoshA]

What would that make Smash, Dbz etc.?

[nowitzki2004]

"The best fighting game Injustice 2"

Serious question.. How old are you? No disrespect, but if you think thats the best fighting game then my guess is no older than 20.

[MoshA]

Enjoy your unreal engine cash grabs. Enjoy Season pass in next Smash because Bandai namco is helping out :)
You deserve to be exploited.

[pietro1212]

Injustice 2 is no where close to being the best fighter to come out this gen.

[MoshA]

Too bad. Go argue with critics, sales and awards.

[pietro1212]

MoshA
Just like any other form of media awards don't mean anything and as for sales crap sales all the time (not saying Injustice 2 is crap) Both Injustice games as well as most NR games are shallow and lack any depth in gameplay.

[pietro1212]

Funny how you can complain about how Nintendo handles Smash Bros's DLC when NR does the same thing (at a higher price) As for for gameplay if you're going to complain about Smash Bros for having shallow gameplay, but praise a NetherRealm game.. something doesn't add up here.

[MoshA]

Yes. WB Bros tried to ruin Injustice 2 but they failed. It's still the best fighting game to date. Just wish it had even better graphics by coming out only on PS4 with a Pc port 1-2 years later but I guess 2 platforms is still fine. Still 10x more content than any Bandai Namco game with no character interactions and bland environments.

[pietro1212]

MoshA
While Injustice 2 does have a pretty good story mode Its probably the story I got to experience in a fighter. That being said I'm not all that interested in a story on fighting. I just want good gameplay, depth to the gameplay and good netcode. Injustice 2 is shallow terms of gameplay.

[Ashunderfire86]

Super Smash Brothers Ultimate will prove this article wrong on release date!

[Zeldafan64]

I just had someone say that Smash Bros isn't a real fighting game. There are way too many kinds of stupid out there.

[blazin8]

but smash isn't a real fighting game

[zahdab]

because we're lovers not fighters !!

[sampsonon]

no innovation. that's why

[agent4532]

True, but no one agrees with you except me

[sampsonon]

4 others lol.

i played fighters in the arcade back in the early 90's and today's fighters are almost the same.
but whatever, I'll never again pay for one. hence the reason for the drop in popularity i guess.

[PhantomS42]

If it ain't broke...

[sampsonon]

fix it? why not make it better? or should all games look and play like an arcade game from the 90's?

[Skankinruby]

They're fighting games, there's only so much innovation you can even do

[sampsonon]

people thought the same way about platformers at one time

[sawoosevens]

Its the whole microtransactions and the paywall thing killing off these games.

[Matrix6]

I've stopped buying them D1 because they're not full games. I eventually buy the čcomplete editions" though. Still don't be SFV...

[-volt-]

I'd like a 4k- 2D Mk.

[AK91]

Um yes yes they are.

[Acecalibur]

Lies.

[RizBiz]

"'Super Smash Bros. Ultimate' Pre-Orders Are Doing Record-Breaking Numbers on Nintendo Switch"

[Zeldafan64]

Yeah but according to what someone said to me Smash Bros. isn't a real fighting game. Didn't you get the memo?

[agent4532]

Lack of innovation is killing this genre. On the PS One fighting fans had games like Bloody Roar where the fighters became beasts; Bushido Blade a fighting game where one hit kills, etc. We haven't seen a true evolution of the fighting genre in terms of gameplay. The CGI scene of Tekken during the PS2 era when Tekken was announced for PS2 that's a start in the right direction of fighting games

[Chevalier]

https://www.google.ca/amp/a...

Back in July when they did the top 10 games of 2018, Dragon Ball Fighterz was number 5. Now we hear Smash is breaking records and Soul Calibur 6 had the 3rd best launch for the series only behind Soul Calibur 4 and 2. What the hell is this writer on about? Did they do any fact checking at all?!

[chris235]

maybe it‘s not as fun as made out to be having to deal with humans in videogames. just a thought.

[Imalwaysright]

I'm still waiting for a successor to my favorite fighting game of all time. Where is VF6 sega?

[doggo84]

I loved Db fighter Z

[TheGoodestBoi]

Same I found it relatively easy to master as opposed to Mortal Kombat, Tekken and Injustice. Actually the other fighting game I enjoyed was Guilty Gear, same developer. They make them really well

[PhantomS42]

Same but everyone online was playing at Pro levels within 10 minutes of the game's release. So it's playing against an easy computer or get wrecked, there wasn't an in between which is discouraging to people who have real jobs and families and can't play 24/7. Normally there is at least a middle ground in other fighting games so it's fun to play online.

[ILostMyMind]

For me... combos.

[boing1]

lol, what??

[inxine]

some fighting games maybe. but smash is still popular, Street fighter and Tekken are still popular.

[TheGamez100]

Used to love fighting games back in the snes-ps2 days as a kid. Now I just cant get into them anymore. They just feel like arcadey short experiences, i prefer more of the opposite now. Only fighting game I enjoy nowadays is smash bros and even those games I dont play much.

[blazin8]

fighting games are still very popular even being a niche genre. only a scrub would say they aren't.

[shauzy]

tekken 7?

[kevnb]

Huh? They might not be ruling the market, but the are still popular.

[Miraak82]

I like to fight people in dark souls 3 , does that count?! . But seriously I used to buy complete games for 50 bucks why would I throw my money away like that , I’ll rarely ever buy anything with MT or season passes . Half these overly expensive games are in the bargain bin within the year . Oh the good old days

[ShadowWolf712]

It's cute when people pretend Smash is a proper fighting game.

[Flewid638]

This is the only online multiplayer genre I play. I dont play shooters, only fighting games....the rest is SP.

With that said, fighting games tend to never evolve and remain stale....not to mention the skill barrier is high. No one wants to change this because the Fighting Game Community is probably the saltiest and most toxic of all of them.

Such a shame too since fighting games is the OG vs genre.

[Cobra951]

I never understood their appeal. Street Fighter II on SNES (~1994?) is the first and last one-on-one fighting game I ever bought. Every other one since has looked basically the same to me. Two characters face off in a single room or scene. They fight using arcane combinations of button and stick presses. And . . . somebody wins. The end. Just, not for me.

[schommerc]

The market for fighting games is shrinking for the same reason RTS games shrank dramatically, they aren't accessible online because most people will mop the floor with anyone new to the game and there just isn't enough to do offline. Most games are getting bigger and bigger; Open world, side quests, mini games, dlc story content, etc but Fighting games are exactly as big as they've ever been - not much to do IMO. The genre won't die, but it will take its place next to RTS games and there will be a very dedicated fan base. Then some fighting game will come along and totally reinvent the genre, adding deep storytelling elements, open world, etc. My two cents.

[Atomicjuicer]

Fighting games depend on an audience with testosterone. That’s why they’re disappearing.

Just look at the characters in the most popular games - Fortnite and Overwatch. The males wear tights.

I blame plastic for interfering with hormones.

[Skankinruby]

Fortnite and overwatch are trash, just shows how low this whole industry has stooped to give those goty. And as far as your 'testosterone' theory I'll just say that the sales of Battlefield, COD, and GTA surely contradict that.

[Skankinruby]

I cant imagine why fighting games would be declining if this claim actually holds any validity. The brainless redundancy of these games fits right in with a lot of the popular franchises you see today.

[Yi-Long]

Every fighting game coming out recently (this gen) has been released incomplete, with half the roster being offered seperately as (expensive) DLC.

This means I haven't picked up any of these games, despite some of them being games that interested me.

I would have happily payed 50-60 bucks for a complete Dragon Ball Fighterz, but after their greed, I'll pay 30 bucks TOPS, for a complete edition. Same for a handfull of other fighting games...

[godofboobees]

They're not popular because casuals are scrubs, and there is no gun involved

[Youngindy21]

It's because it's hard to get good at fighting games and they sort of get boring after a while. I know many people still like fighting games, but they are kinda a niche community.

[EricLane]

I would like a nice storymode to go along with them. Something along the lines of Double Dragon side scrolling levels or an overworld that you need to traverse with different fights and creative challenges to complete.

[Platformgamer]

simple, they're incomplete at launch.
developers should stop these practices and include all the characters/arenas in the game at D1