Where are the Street Fighter "clones"?

Current Fighting Games Fighting Game Discussion
101

if you don’t actually play fighting games then everything with two characters and two lifebars and no other major interactive features is basically the same thing to you

six characters and six lifebars is basically three of the same thing happening at the same time but does it even matter when it’s still only just more of the same thing

watching election results be televised live as the vote counts come in is also basically the same thing

102

The same Neo G that messed up Savior 2.

103

No, I don’t, I grew up with KoF and like all of those characters. Is it really so hard to separate the post from the poster? I’m just saying that’s how it is generalized, and isn’t that true? I did say all possible points, not all correct points.

Here you are with a KoF avatar misreading my post as some sort of attack on your game? That’s quite a blow to my optimism right there.

104

I have seen a few people on this forum express that sentiment, but I never understood it or considered it that significant. I am sorry that my post came off as particularly angry or super defensive to you, I meant it to be more baffled than anything.

105

Developers think and probably like anime / MVC mechanics in fighters. Personally I too would like a new fighter with some good old-fashioned SF basics. I think there is a market for spiritual follow-ups to games like Hyper Fighting, ST, and the like.

106

Actually, I just thought of a more interesting take on the issue. Who makes fighting games?

  • Japan makes fighting games. Why are they not making games that the OP likes?
  • Complicated, anime-style fighters seem to have greater market share there?
  • Apart from Capcom and S-E, most Japanese game companies are still focused on the japanese market. There has been a fair bit of media commentary on whether this is a mistake or not.
  • Because FGs are still somewhat popular in Japan, we’re still seeing the phenomenon where each game tries to outdo its competitiors/prequels by adding more features, characters and mechanics. As opposed to “revival” periods, where developers try to reboot and streamline to attract new and lapsed players. There is a minor exception of SF4 and BB, where a conscious effort was made to streamline/rollback game mechanics. But its only a small rollback, SF4 and BB are still far more “complicated” (as opposed to complex) compared to SF2 and the OP’s desire.
  • I wonder if there is a hidden playerbase in Japan that shares the OP’s desire for a new, SF-style game that isnt SF? They have so many existing choices tho, so I dunno how much they care.
  • US makes fighting games. Why arent they making games that the OP likes?
  • actually, the large companies in the US dont make FGs anymore. MK is the lone exception.
  • What about the US indy scene? There’s a revival of retro genres like scrolling shooters and platformers. Why not more FGs other than Skullgirls?
  • 2D FGs are hard work, assets-wise. It’s not something 2 programmers can whip up in their spare time. There’s also a much smaller talent pool of 2D sprite artists compared to Japan. Most game artists in the west have moved to 3D. Possibly the mobile games industry will revive 2D skills, so we will see.
  • 2D FGs are not “sexy” from a programming point of view. They dont have interesting physics or software problems to solve.
  • 2D FGs, like most competitive games, are daunting to game designers who are not hardcore FG players. Any amateurishly balanced/designed FG will simply get torn apart / derided / ignored by the FG community. Unlike timewasting singleplayer diversions, FGs arent consumed/enjoyed in a disposable manner.
  • What about the FG community? Why are Mike Z and the Skullgirls team the only FG fans to step up and actually do something? Surely there are artists and programmers here? (I’m a professional games programmer, after all, so there must be others.)
  • I dunno, that’s a question for you guys to answer, I guess.
  • There has been one or two indy FGs posted to FGD, iirc.
107

Not that I’m counting, but a gut comparison of the percentage of posters in this thread enthusiastically supporting the OP versus those who are just here to pick things apart or discuss the issue, I wouldnt say that there is an overwhelming show of desire that might convince a developer that there is a fortune to be made here. Maybe someone should make a poll.

108

Because, after all, an SRK poll is legally binding. :\

109

MY HEAD A SPLODE

So, for a ‘SF clone’ to not have a problem, it needs to have characters who are as iconic/appealing as SF? Guess what? NO MODERN-DAY CLONE IS GOING TO HAVE CHARACTERS AS ICONIC/APPEALING AS SF. If characters like Iori Yagami and Mai Shiranui are not good enough, then God knows a brand-new character isn’t going to be either.

For God’s sakes, Terry Bogard was more popular in South and Central America than Mario and Mickey Mouse. C’mon.

The reason Street Fighter IV was a major success is because Street Fighter II was a major success. MOST companies understand this, which is why you aren’t seeing much in the way of competition except from other powerhouse licenses from decades ago such as Mortal Kombat and King of Fighters.

As for the reason you are seeing a lot of anime-inspired fighters: it’s because there is a very dedicated fan-base for it. Small? Yes - but the small fan-base is dedicated enough that profit is guaranteed. If someone tried to make a Guilty Gear-esque game, those fans will snatch it up regardless. If someone tried to make a Street Fighter-esque game, a good 99% of the SF fan base will latch onto all the faults and use them as a way to dismiss the game from ever being taken seriously. (You know, just like we did back in the day.)

110

That kind of attitude just leads to gimmicky games that are terrible, though.

The reality is, competitive games are a medium that requires far more testing, feedback, and iteration than almost anything else. It takes several years of competitive play, and updates/sequels, to get a really good competitive game. It’s pretty rare that a new series will get everything right in its first attempt, although obviously the odds are better if the developers are veterans of the genre.

By “new fighting game from old franchises theyve made no progess on”, I assume you mean the latest round of FG sequels. But the main complaints against them are all about their differences from older games, not their similiarities.

From years of forum watching, I’ve noticed 2 groups of people when it comes to any game release:

  • "I am a fan of the series/genre. Any change other than those addressing my specific complaints are bad and will ruin things. Any attempt to cater newer players will casualise and ruin my game."
    vs.
  • “I am not particularly a fan of the series/genre (or I am tired of it). Any resemblance to prequels/other games in the genre are a sign of a lack of innovation and originality. Ideally, they should make a completely different game suited to my tastes, since I dont really like the others (anymore) anyways.”
111

And this doesn’t include the ton of characters not present in XIII like Yamazaki, Saisyu, Ramon, and the US Sports Team.

112

Well, at least it would be more convenient than manually trying to count posters in this thread :wink:

113

Citation needed.

Watch out for KoF fans: they drop these around in the hope people will not notice.

114

Here’s my damn citation.

Seriously though, KOF is really popular with the ‘Latino’ crowd - likely thanks to the proliferation of affordable MVS cabs in those areas (and, the ease of bootlegging making them even more affordable). I don’t see how anyone could say that isn’t true. Do I need to cite my years of personal experience for that?

And none of that changes the point: that we aren’t seeing SF4 clones because most companies that want to follow in it’s footsteps do not have a long running franchise that they can use as a foundation to guarantee commercial success.

115

Which means no citation, but at least you have given an explanation for the inaccurate claim. Thanks.

I also attribute the arcade popularity of KoF to those reasons you have mentioned.

I would say SFxT will already be some sort of similar game, and I wonder why people want bad games, in the first place. There are enough hit-confirm, explosion-heavy fighters around.

116

Didn’t realize that SRK was such serious business.

As for SFxT, can that really be considered a SF clone? I thought we were talking about new SF4-style games from other companies, like EA or Activision or something.

117

In my view, it can. Capcom has messed SF so much since A1 I do not know what people mean by “SF-like” game, anymore. It does not make any difference, people just want long combos, hit-confirms and explosions. SFxT will have all that.

118

Well, I figured this thread was more of a “Hey, Street Fighter IV is a huge success like SF2 was - why are there no clones of SF4 being spawned the same way SF2 spawned clones back in the day?” And I admit, I thought the same thing at first. I was fully expecting that SF4’s success would spawn a ton of fighters just as COD’s success exploded the FPS genre on consoles.

But then, after really looking back at it - and seeing how SF4 originally just had 4 characters added to the cast of Street Fighter II: Champion Edition and Street Fighter II Turbo (seemingly the most popular SFs among the common man) - I came to realize that the biggest reason SF4 was a commercial success was because it played up the nostalgia as hard as it possibly could. And that’s when I realized that companies like EA and Ubisoft and Activision and everyone else couldn’t possibly make a game that follows in its footsteps, because they had no series that they could exploit to a similar effect. Only Midway (or what’s left of it) and SNK (or what’s left of it) could follow up SF4’s success - and they did.

119

Battle High: San Bruno

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120

one was already made, its called 豪血寺一族 先祖供養. have fun