Virtua Fighter is surely becoming more underappreciated as time goes on
Sure it is, and it really is a shame, the legacy of the series goes unnoticed by many. VF not only created and redefined a genre it also had a huge impact on the industry as whole. VF is one of the most important games of all time ( up there with Mario, Zelda OOT, Tetris, Half Life...)
Let me summarize some of the series milestones:
- First 3D fighting game, build the bases of an entire genre. Almost every 3D fighting game was bulid on VFs foundations.
- Sega brought the 3D graphics technology to the masses, in 1993 doom used sprites , capcom games were running on CPS-2 ... the PlayStation was originally being considered as a 2D focused hardware, and it was not until the success of Virtua Fighter in the arcades that they decided to design the PlayStation as a 3D focused hardware.
- Brought new technology into the industry such as texture-mapping and motion capture.
- Received the American Smithsonian Institution's Computer World Smithsonian Award in 1998. In a first for Japan's game industry, Virtua Fighter became a part of the Smithsonian Institution's Permanent Research Collection on Information Technology Innovation
- Became a social phenomenon in japan, with appearances on tv shows; area names, character names and martial arts moves' names became widely known across Japan, and helped VF to develop a strong following in the gaming scene.
- Network services such as VF.NET and ALL.Net have been available since VF4 ( 2001 ). This was coming at the beginning of a big broadband boom in Japan. Helped arcades to adopt the broadband infrastructure and thanks to ALL.Net, Tekken 5 became really popular . VF.net offered ranking and socialization network for players.
- Sega introduced its VF4 Character Access Card retaining a record of each game played.
- Esports ? VF had a thriving competitive scene much before quake and others even existed. VF had nation-wide tournaments, events and contests that generated a lot of interest. ( Remember there were not cellphones, internet...at the time).
- Overwatch contenders ? Sega had the Star Player system, they created a group of pro players and had them travel to local tournaments and events.
- Loot boxes ? Fuck them, VF did item customization sooner & better.
- Share button ? VF5 offered Twitter and Youtube integration in 2009.
And lets not forget about dat VF4 console training system and the Quest mode, being able to use the ps2 memory card to carry over your characters data, the arcade cab link system, VF TV...
VF embodies excellence, every new entry in the series raised their standards. In Am2's own words: the duty of Virtua Fighter is "to offer the best battle tool with the state-of-the-art technologies".
Every FG fan should give VF a chance, the game is only as complex as you want it to be. The mind games and the ability to read your opponent well really decides who wins or loses. The animation and core system also help a lot, the diversity of how attacks flow from one move to another gives players a lot of freedom to play their characters with a great deal of individuality.
It is a shame that Sega dropped the ball on the console front with a barebones VF5 with no online for PS3 and the budget release of VF5FS. VF4 performed really well on console.
I don't think Virtua Fighter would benefit from a Rage Art / Ultra stlye mechanic tbh. Y
Do you guys remember this video Am2 posted on aprils fool day ?
https://youtu.be/Lo_oTzd0k58
" you know, maybe some R&D staff goofed around a few times, and maybe… maybe it wasn't entirely made specifically for April Fool's Day" DK VF5 game director
in a 2011 interview, Daichi Katagiri admitted that only around 12 devs created Final Showdown. i think that's pretty outstanding, but it also informs why 6 is taking so long, if we accept the possibility that 6 is a thing.
50 + temp workers for a mainline VF.
http://gaming.moe/?p=2873
I still believe VF6 is coming, they even acknowledged being working on concepts & ideas for a new entry back in 2013. But my hope is fading away XD.
Either the 2015 restructuring hit Am2 hard and they lack the manpower ( almost 200 layoffs from the arcade business in Japan ) and/or VF is far behind on their priority list, or the project was canned at some point in development.
These last years Am1 has been pumping out more games than Am2 and both studios are using more 3rd party licensed IPs than ever, with card, rpg & rhythm games being the main focus. So yeah, things are not looking good for VF rn.
