But in my opinion, the fighting genre died simply because it was overmilked, and it didn't appeal to everyone anymore. Just to the usual fans. They started coming out with some crazy crap, but stopped evolving in general. Nowadays, I see few fighting games with actual tutorials and stuff to help newcomers get used to their systems. I don't see alot of stuff to get rid of the stupid elitism fighting games have. And that kind of bothers me. I know you think fighting games are better off restricted to a closed environment, so they won't be ruined with simplicity or just plain craziness. That's good, but they should really try to evolve the genre a bit, so they don't eventually go over their heads in this. Too much fighting and not enough audience are enough to kill a genre all over again.
But again, how does one go about "evolving"? And perhaps for an even more thought-provoking question: why should it be forced to "evolve"? Especially in light of how the likes of some genres and its subscribers (re: Dragon Quest and Pokemon) haven't done that much in the way of evolution in the
decades since they've been introduced? I mean, from my standpoint, I wouldn't mind games like Pokemon making a bit in the way of dynamic progression. But seeing how I feel about the Fighting Game genre as a whole, I can certainly respect and understand the opinions of those who would rather not see the basic game change that much. Same can be said for fans for a number of other genres, like those who profess to love Koei's Musou games and Zelda.
Again, to me, the only "issue" is that the game's meta-game is not laid out in-game for prospective newbies to learn almost immediately, in the "Trophy/Achievement" parlance that today's generation likely relates to the most. The best, if not arguably only way to do that is to actually seek out places like SRK, Dust Loop and etc., where the actual information (in the form of in-depth write-ups and etc.) lies. Sure, it may not be the most "immediate" way, but the information is there, and readily available in just a manner of a few clicks. It's only a thing that you, the prospective player, actually has to have the initiative to seek it out. Compared to when guys like me were growing up, where insider tips and tricks had to be gleaned from strategy guides, word of mouth and actually heading down to arcades in order to learn something from other players, the current generation has it made. All that you need to stay in (and keep up with) the game is laid out on a silver platter, waiting to be consumed.
At its core, fighting games still live and die by the virtue of what it is supposed to foster: a "community", where you get better through the effective 2-n-1 combo of learning the game on your own, developing your overall "playstyle", as well as through the community itself, which helps you to refine skills. No "in-game tutorial" nor objective based game play model is ever going to be able to match up with the kind of never-ending "teaching ability" that a community offers. Even a decidedly more "casual game" like Smash emphasizes that much; after all, it's not Nintendo's "job" to teach you advanced techniques that go beyond their scope.
And on that note, I pose this: if anything, I think it's just a thing that the PEOPLE need to evolve, not the games. Newbies need to realize that the tools are all there, and just need to get off their lazy duffs and be willing to accept the idea of that they need put in some work in-game and out to get good. Meanwhile, more of us among the "Old Guard" need to do more to drop the Pharisee-like attitude and be willing to teach those who are willing to learn, instead of shunning them. These kinds of things would be that which would keep a scene healthy. And after SF4 gave quite the injection of "new blood", it's my hope that a new generation of hopefuls will only serve to make things better. But it will only work out if the community itself is willing to make it such.