I am simultaneously intrigued and disgusted by the phenomenon known in the “fighting game community” as “hype.” At first, I thought “hype” was simply excitement, loud cheering, intense emotions, etc., and while that definition isn’t wholly inaccurate, it seems that for a lot of players, “hype” is better defined as brutally aggressive taunting/trash talking. I realize that a lot of times this comes from players that know each other pretty well, or it escalates when one person talks a bit of trash and the other person can’t resist upping the ante of abuse, but some of the stuff I’ve seen on Youtube seems to be beyond explanation. It seems like the trash talk/chest thumping is more important than the game for some people.
So in light of that, I’m wondering, what is the scene like in Japan when it comes to “hype”? I know that big tournaments have announcers that get really jacked up, but do the Japanese tend to trash talk like many (but certainly not all) of the Americans do? Are the Japanese much more restrained, as might be expected (look at Daigo, for example), or is brutal trash talk simply ingrained in fighting game culture all around the world?
Edit: I’m realizing this might be more appropriate for the general fighting game board, so feel free to move it, but this one gets so much more traffic
Saint Gut Free (what the heck does your handle mean, btw? lol… I like it but it throws me every time), you were at the Play-N-Trade ranbat with me, and I saw only two instances of really hateful trash talking while we were there, and I guess that’s not THAT much for a two person tournament, but both made me really uncomfortable. And the weirdest thing was that, in one instance prior to and in one instance after the trash talk, I ended up talking to the trash talkers and they were both as friendly as could be! Go figure.
I guess I’m just going to have to accept that there are lots of people who can get nasty when their egos are on the line but aren’t necessarily bad guys when you get to know them in multiple contexts.
I’ve done many competitive things, and I still do to this day. One of them better then anyone else on the planet (save ONE other guy, except he has never won it all). Trash talk is simply not part of my game.
Handle is a character from the book “Haunted” bu Chuck Palahnuik.
Exactly! they don’t necessarily have to be douches, most of the guys i know like that are quite the opposite when not playing competition. I guess some people need to burn their frustrations if it helps their game, were others can hide it entirely ; look at Daigo, Poogko… would you see those guys talking nasty? they look more like bored senseless to me.
Saint Gut Free, don’t get me wrong - I’m really uncomfortable with some of the “hype” I’ve seen, and while I’m withholding judgment for now, I’m afraid that I’m going to conclude that “hype” and ego and making things really uncomfortable for new people trying to get in the scene are a big problem in the American SF culture. I mean, there’s plenty of it to be seen on these boards, although some of it’s legit criticism aimed at people who don’t learn to think/do a bit of research before they type.
I am not so much defending them as trying to remaini optimistic that there is a place for me in the “Street Fighter community” (I use the quotes because I’ve gotten so sick of the phrases “hype,” “SF community,” and “good shit.” Nothing particularly wrong with those phrases, but some variation would be nice. Guess the development of a slang vocabulary is to be expected in a tight-knit group.
there is some hype that makes the game fun to watch. when a player lands a clutch ultra and everyone screams it really gets the adrenaline running through the blood stream. whenever a rog player combo’s into an ultra and sanchez from ai screams TIME TO GET PAID i crack a smile every time.
however, there is some hype that is so amazingly ba mannered and quite frankly shouldn’t even be allowed to happen. When a player wins with an ultra and puts his stick down and walks away during the ultra sequence - come on grow up. or take this video of ILoveUJoe vs Gootecks. [media=youtube]UvYqbT3JOnI[/media] 2:45 Whoever that douchebag in the crowd was should have been kicked out of the room during the match for being an ass hat. Nerd Thugs for life I guess.
they look more like bored senseless to me.