Pixel-Based Fight Club

Street Fighter is coming back, Raul Julia's death not withstanding. With the sudden resurgence of tournament fighters: Street Fighter 4, Street Fighter 2 HD: Remix and Mortal Kombat: DC Universe, I am lead to ask the question why? And, here is what I came up with. When video games were new, gamers were chained to the arcade machine. Players could chose to play any game they wanted. But, they had no choice, when it came to facing one another. If someone walked up to you, while you're playing Street Fighter 2, you had two options: leave the arcade-stand in disgrace, or face him. With the death of Arcades, gamers retreated to their couches to regroup and vegetate. Unintentionally hiding behind the walls of their own home, protected from from the "pixel-based-fight club" that was the arcade. With games that are less about 1 on 1 conflict and more about A.I.-stomping.

But, luckily for Ed Boon and Capcom, it wasn't to disappear forever. The designers of U.T, Quake, Counterstrike, and Halo, realized that there was a way to re-introduce this "fight club", but in such a way that gamer's egos would be protected. Give everyone a Mask, in the form of an Alpha-numeric gamertag. A virtual blanket of anonymity. So new players are allowed to suck, while training to get better. All this without losing face, while dueling on a MK machine, in front of what at-times could grow into a small crowd, watching your every move.

What else does an online shooter protect us from? The occasional moment in an fps, where you just get lucky. You stumble upon someone who doesn't even know that you're there. You turn a corner, raise your weapon. You see someone on the other side of a poorly lit hallway, pathetically sprinting for cover. What do you do? A clip to the back, turn and go. Or, you're one of those gamers who's handle is "EoDCiA" and you have ALWAYS used a f'ing sniper rifle. You've masturbated to Shooter and Enemy at the Gates. You could hit a hobbit from a mile and a half; all while reciting lines from Clerks 2. Or just like someone who doesn't pass the pipe, you're a "Camper". You're the first in to every crevice and the last one who leaves a hot zone. Your RP-90 is aiming through a whole in the roof, where they could never possibly see you. Easy kills, all without ever actually facing the person.


Recently, however, a growing segment of gamers have tasted this "pixel-based fight club", and have started to desire more. More direct conflict with less anonymity. World of Warcraft's battlegrounds have gone from 40 on 40 AV matches, down to 2-3 man arena teams, where theory-crafting governs every move. RTS leaderboards have become hotly contested bloodbaths, where rush-fest 1 on 1 matches cause much joy and dismay amongst teenage-malcontents. While at the same time, online gamertags have become more and more permanent I/E: Steam, Xbox-Live, PSN and the emerging market of MMO's.


So what the FUCK does this have to do with tournament fighters? *Sigh* Well, we have after a long journey finally returned to the pinnacle of multi-player competition. One on one, no excuses win or lose, serious fucking multi-player. Now, I say all this with the caveat that, I am one of those people who has enjoyed the wall of anonymity. I am a rabid-gamer, but I am terrible at games that require more than eventual response. So this isn't a cry of triumph, as much as an observation. Thoughts?