This…
and you have to understand how fads work and the bandwagon effect.
On a related note. Where I live, when someone see’s you playing KOF most likely they will think it’s Street Fighter. I’ve had people think that KOF '98 is CvS2. Terry Bogard is a Anime character and no matter what you tell people, to them, you’re a Street Fighter player.
:looney:
The big strike against 2D fighters is that they’re 2D. I don’t know how much this matters anymore, but back when fighters were dying out (around 2000) 3D was the new hotness, and 3D games were finally really taking off graphically. 2D, no matter how well drawn, would always be “a cartoon” to a lot of people.
If you think SF4 sold really well because it was the first SF in years, you’d probably be very wrong. It sold well because a lot of people who played shit like SF2 back in the day were all “oh shit it’s Street Fighter, IN 3D!”
On top of that there is, like Xiii mentioned, a barrier to overcome when starting. You see people complain about juggles and Eddy in Tekken, but these things make Tekken really easy to get into. Sad as it may be, probably at least 40% of Tekken/Soul Calibur sales are to people who buy the game to smack buttons. Smacking may not be viable, but it’s a playstyle a lot of people enjoy (for some reason).
It also makes it easier to slow move from smacking to learning a couple moves, and the transition from beginner to mid-level becomes much easier than in something like Guilty Gear, which is ridiculously complex in comparison.
>implying Killzone 2 and Halo Wars were good games
>implying 2D fighters aren’t what they used to be simply because they haven’t been making them
>implying a Tekken game wont be the most played fighting game on the planet
Ha ha… Oh wow…
KOF is non-exsistent in the US. That’s probably one of the main reasons I own a NeoGeo AES System w/ the whole KOF library.
it’s not that americans don’t, or wouldn’t, like KOF. it’s that the bastards aren’t advertising the damned thing properly. street fighter 4 got mega hyped, and luckily was decent enough to live up to it. (I’m not that big a fan, but it’s doing really well). KOF needs to get the word out…bettenhausen is only one man. hahaha.
This is a big problem with the game. It was never really marketed in the U.S or Canada when it’s best titles where released in the 90’s. Because of this, future titles also where overlooked and it was still never marketed.
They had a lame attempt at marketing KOF:MI to WWE fans through promotions a few years ago. Not the greatest game nor the proper crowd to market too in my opinion.
well snk don’t have as much money as capcom and the SF brand
This is very true. You can also see the love SNK gave and SNKP gives to central & south america by giving them hispanic characters in their games. I remember the BIG location test SNK gave for the release of KOF2K1 in Mexico. Massive gathering.
thanx, and the same to you. keep on trolling partner:wgrin:.
on the marketing part, i think the last 2d fighter that snk really marketed well in the west (us, europe) was…dum, dadummm: SSII. yeah, its been that long. 15 years, hint.
i dunno about that “SF not popular in other countries” misconception. In mexico, SF4 seems big enough, though KOF just seems bigger. The gap between the two is not as divided like it is in the US.
as far as other countries, i figure it was more popular because smaller arcades could pirate KOF MVS carts MUCH MORE easily than capcom games. i dont think it has anything to do with marketing.
Apparently KOF is more popular with the ladies. According to my videos (on the AI channel) SF videos only pull 10% female demography while KOF pulls 18%.
not as popular as SSII. well that was back in the days…:lol:
they have cash, but they spent it on the gorgeous graphics.
**
here’s what I predict:** this game built the foundation for the rebirth of the series, and these sprites are gonna be around for awhile. the first game will be a hit with the core, with critics, but casuals will probably miss out. the NEXT game will be much easier to produce, as they’ll probably just tweak gameplay, add a handful of new characters and levels and features and spend the rest of the budget on marketing. not to mention all the critical acclaim for the first game will definitely be a bonus in hyping the second.
^^ thats already known. but where still waiting for XII first.
Here’s my interpretation of KOF’s popularity:
KOF is huge in Latin American countried because Neo-Geo/MVS was a cheaper and better investment for the relatively poor arcades of those regions. This increased prevalence in arcades compounded with the relative population density of many major urban centers in that region (ESPECIALLY Mexico D.F.), and thus the disproportionately high KOF representation in Mexico and the like (which SNK naturally gives a nod to with characters like Ramon and Angel, who are not only explicitly Mexican, but also seem more geared to the kind of higher KOF skill that could more easily/readily be found in Mexico).
SF commands more recognition in America because (a) it hit the scene first, and (b) arcade owners in America didn’t have to lean on Neo-Geo/MVS for all-around game selection as hard as Latin America. Therefore, for fighting game purposes, American arcades mostly stuck with Capcom titles (being on average in a better financial position to throw out old busted for new hotness) and dedicated their Neo-Geo contingent to non-fighters like Metal Slug and sports titles. Combine that with the huge spatial isolation at work in America that (until the Internet came in full bloom) prevented a rapid large-scale cultural exchange among pockets of gamer talent, and you therefore have the underdeveloped KOF scene of North America.
KOF XII will probably not prove MUCH more popular in terms of overall sales and new community than previous KOF titles, but it is easily the best-positioned KOF for the North American market in years – hell, possibly ever. It has a lot going for it:
As for longevity, I imagine that XII will ultimately prove at least as easy/fruitful to milk as Capcom will find for FOUR. Nothing stellar, but quite sustainable, and god knows SNK has a sufficient war chest from those disgusting little moe DS titles. I’m personally hoping this will mean at least one Champion Edition/Ultimate Match from both companies to give more love to semi-forgotten favorites (Dee Jay, T. Hawk, R. Mika, Mai, Yamazaki…dare I hope Lucky motherfuckin’ Glauber? “YEAH!”)
tl;dr Before the Internet made information/match play exchange trivial, KOF never really had a chance in America. In today’s smaller but much more well-connected global fighting game community, I think XII has the potential to finally establish KOF as a worthy equal/rival/alternative/whatever to SF.
In sum:
Street Fighter became popular in North America due to promotion, word of mouth, plus multiple console ports. KOF wasn’t as popular because of a lack of promotion, a lack of MVS machines in arcades (I’ve been to many arcades and pizza parlors and I’ve only seen three MVS machines in my lifetime), and there not being many console ports in North America. If the games were ported, they were largely exclusive to Japan or had only a few thousand units shipped in North America.
I think this year is going to be different.
Alexander, please check your PMs.
at alexander, no. its about sf being the first and being acknowledged as the legitimate fighter in the western parts of the world. i dont think people where really trying to learn new 2d fighter as that takes time. shit, a few of my friends didnt play anything but sf, even after pursuading them back in 94 and 95 that SSII and kofs where really great games. yeah far better than the sf games released back then. they sucked at it, got raped in it. said fuck it. now 15 years later theyre thinking of playing and buying xii cause, well there aint a lot out there to buy for 2d fans. some people wont touch a fighter unless they see a title they recognize and like. unable to try something new.
My prediction, not really based on anything scientific
KOFXII will have a sales volume similar to STHD’s.
SNK will be happy with that.
Can it really do that, though? STHD has already sold more than 250,000 to date as it is. Even with all of the hype and media coverage XII’s been getting, pre-order sales haven’t charted at all at places like Gamestop online, either; I’m only mentioning it because BlazBlue had been in the top three for the overall site from May up until the first week of June (last I looked, it crept back into last place on the 360 chart, and is second on the PS3’s), and that only comes out one week before XII is supposed to.