The Current State of 3D Fighters

[Jyakotu]

All of my friends know that I am a huge fan of 3D fighters. The freedom. The mechanics. The varying ways in which you can play characters. The graphics. There's a lot to like about 3D fighters. However, with the current gen in swing, only two franchises are making the jump: Tekken and DOA. Now, I love both these franchises and right now, they are the two top 3D fighters right now. Soulcalibur V makes appearances at locals, but Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown has basically faded away from the tournament scene in America. Back then, 3D fighters ruled consoles and 2D fighters were far and few between. But Street Fighter IV changed all that and 2D/2.5D fighters are bigger than ever. It seems like now, developers are pumping out a new 2D fighter every month, while 3D fighters are getting left behind.

While I applaud Tekken and DOA for keeping 3D fighters alive, and for local tournaments still including SC5 in their lineup, it makes me question about 3D fighters and their future. There's only four major 3D fighting franchises left: Tekken, DOA, Soulcalibur, and Virtua Fighter, but the latter two are currently dormant. I know 3D fighters aren't going to completely go away, but I would hate for the subgenre to completely fade away.

Thoughts?

 

[Argentus]

Eh its doing fine. Bout as well as 2d which died off for a while until sf4. At least 3d fighters were staying alive that entire time.

Only real issue I see is that people are too comfortable now. We are past the point if experimenting or trying new things.

 

[synce]

I don't think 3D fighters will ever be that popular again now that we've got things like twitch and esports. IMO given the choice, most people would watch and play 2D fighters. They're much easier to get into since there's so many similarities between most 2D series, whereas 3D ones like SC, DOA, and Tekken play virtually nothing alike, so they're only attracting certain crowds. Personally I don't care if 3D gets less popular. In fact I'd love to see 2D versions of 3D series

 

[Jyakotu]

Personally I don't care if 3D gets less popular. In fact I'd love to see 2D versions of 3D series

Now see, after the whole Street Fighter X Tekken fiasco, which I did buy, I can't get jiggy with that. Lol

 

[CFW]

I think if the developers and companies actually support their game's offline scenes, things would be a lot better off for 3D in general.

I'm not thinking strictly monetary, but even a simple "hey our game will be at this tournament, come have fun!" would suffice. I think this is why DOA's offline community is growing, they go through the trouble of letting people know. I knew nothing about offline tournaments in 2011 and I feel like a lot of people are in the dark about them even now with social media being the number one canvas for advertisement.

 

[Jyakotu]

Team Ninja has done a good job with letting people know about where DOA5U is going to be at tournaments. I agree, developers do need to support their offline scenes more, because the 3D fighters are not as mainstream as their 2D counterparts. Though they do put in effort. Team Ninja did do Road to TFC, Namco did Master Cup, and Sega did hold Sega Cup. Events like these are what keep the scenes alive and there needs to be more of these. They might not be on the grand scale of Capcom Cup, but the fact they still exist at least shows that 3D fighters are not dead and people still support them.

 

[Doa_Eater]

3D's need to match or at least offer double less then Capcom Ultra money to stay in relevance. I can guarantee that at this moment (well not this because at this he's sleeping) Ed Boon is requesting half a million or more from his parents Warner and Bros.

 

[Jyakotu]

3D fighters are mainly staying relevant due to company tournaments and local majors. The scenes are active online, but when it comes to offline events, they do not show. I understand not many people can make it out, I am such a person. However, that is where a major improvement needs. I also won't be surprised if a 3D fighter has to pay its way into EVO again in 2015, just like Namco had to do to get TTT2 on the 2014 lineup.

 

[Argentus]

3D fighters are mainly staying relevant due to company tournaments and local majors. The scenes are active online, but when it comes to offline events, they do not show. I understand not many people can make it out, I am such a person. However, that is where a major improvement needs. I also won't be surprised if a 3D fighter has to pay its way into EVO again in 2015, just like Namco had to do to get TTT2 on the 2014 lineup.

honestly...i stopped taking evo seriously a long time ago, so its not even a factor for me anymore, in terms of taking a fighter seriously.

 

[Jyakotu]

It's all about perception. EVO is one of the largest fighting game tournaments and great exposure for a game and its scene.

 

[CFW]

Popularity and sponsorship ($$$) is like the two huuuuuuuge factors for EVO. If your games don't make it in the main lineup, there's always chance for a side tournament.

 

[Jyakotu]

I have a feeling that the 2015 lineup of EVO is going to exclude 3D fighters again unless the companies pay up. I honestly think Tecmo and Team Ninja should pool money together to secure a spot for Dead or Alive 5 Last Round. If they can't, then I hope a side tournament would be possible.

 

[David Gregg]

TTT2 was actually added to EVO 2014 even though it was late so a 3D fighter was there this year. Honestly though I could care less about EVO at this point. The types of players they draw play 2D fighters (UMVC3, SFIV, Injustice, etc...) so that is what they will continue to choose to include in the lineup year after year.

It's possible that with the LR and the number of consoles it will be released on, it could become more visible to the public eye. But I doubt it will be at EVO 2015.

 

[Jyakotu]

If anything, it seems that Team Ninja is content if DOA5 appears are most of the major local tournaments, such as TFC, NEC, Winter Brawl and the like. But after the backlash EVO got after revealing the initial lineup and no 3D fighter, I think TTT2 has a chance of getting back on the lineup without having to pay. A lot of people complained that not enough peopled entered TTT2, but it's really not the player's fault. TTT2 was added late and people with lives cannot just drop everything to attend a tournament. This is why tournaments announce dates and lineups months in advance, so people can prepare and save up money.

 

[Matt Ponton]

If anything, it seems that Team Ninja is content if DOA5 appears are most of the major local tournaments, such as TFC, NEC, Winter Brawl and the like. But after the backlash EVO got after revealing the initial lineup and no 3D fighter, I think TTT2 has a chance of getting back on the lineup without having to pay. A lot of people complained that not enough peopled entered TTT2, but it's really not the player's fault. TTT2 was added late and people with lives cannot just drop everything to attend a tournament. This is why tournaments announce dates and lineups months in advance, so people can prepare and save up money.

I don't think they're "content". They would like to see an EVO-like event that hosts 3D tournaments just as much as we would. The idea was to try and get TFC to become that, but for various reasons it didn't end up being what we were hoping.

 

[Jyakotu]

I don't think they're "content". They would like to see an EVO-like event that hosts 3D tournaments just as much as we would. The idea was to try and get TFC to become that, but for various reasons it didn't end up being what we were hoping.

I really wish I could have attended TFC this year. I'm more upset that I learned that I could have gone, but was led to believe that I had to save my finances for something else. Ah well, at least there is Final Round. If I had TO experience, I threw around the idea of a 3D fighter tournament with both classic and new 3D fighters as part of the lineup. Problem is, I know there's a lot that goes into putting together a tournament and with 3D fighters not being so popular, Idk how it would turn out.

 

[Yurlungur]

I think it's because people are lazy and don't want to learn more then 30 moves

 

[Argentus]

I think, instead, what should happen, is leave Evo to the 2d fighters, and have a seperate tourney gathering for just the 3d fighters. Wont be as big, but much more reliable.

 

[SpellBound]

I'd say production hinders 3D fighters the most. Very seldomly does the 3D community get new games or event updates, with the exception of DOA5 of course.
Personally i think it would be good if Namco, Ninja, or somebody else to make a whole new 3D fighter series.

 

[SilverForte]

Don't forget TekkenxSf, which is still in production, still very much looking forward to that.

Of course I am eagerly awaiting a new Soulcalibur announcement, but I suspect that the earliest one will come is after tekken 7 releases.