Will Fighting Games Ever Become Standard on PC?

[TactiKill1]

Fighters are obviously an extremely competitive genre, much like FPS'. However, unlike FPS games the competitive scene for fighters is largely geared towards consoles, which I see as a problem. With consoles, you're basically working with outdated technology and more importantly you're limited to 60fps and essentially 60hz which is terrible for competitive gaming and any sort of fast paced gameplay seen in fighters.

So I'm wondering if you think fighters will ever evolve to PC and be built specifically for the PC, instead of being ported over. Whereas they can push the games even further in terms of technology and features and not be limited by technological restrictions with consoles.

I also see PC as a way to bring the entire online community together instead of being split between two different consoles. Personally I don't really see why the demand for fighters on PC hasn't been bigger than what it is, for better gaming. Thoughts?

[Mr Bakaboy]

Short answer.......... no

Longer answer. Fighting games are so hyper sensititive to the smallest things. Lag can be noticible in the hundreths of seconds. Any slowdown from the system itself is considered a game breaker. Look at a lot of the web pages talking about demul emulators.

Console is the easiest solution to a complex problem cause everything is the same across the board (until you factor in internet lag). When person A is using a state of the art PC and person B is trying to get by with an older PC, that can cause headaches as well.

On top of this for tourneys and get togethers it's always easier to hook up consoles. I had friends that had lan parties for FPS. It was a pain compared to having consoles. Impossible...... no...... but still quite a pain.

I'm not saying there isn't a place for the FG community on PC, but I think FG's will mainly be a console 1st community.  Though I think it deserves more attention then it gets now for sure.

[CJ]

Consoles are easier in some ways, but they definitely have their share of issues as well.  More expensive and time consuming to update on is one (patches), they don't run nearly as good as a functional PC is another.  Fighting games take very little resources compared to other genres so running it wont' be a problem.  You'll only be using one computer on FG's live most likely anyways.

Emulating won't be an issue if we're talking about modern games.  Lag isn't an issue if you're playing live, lag online is an issue on consoles as well, and even worse (especially certain games where one console has an inherent lag time compared to another, ala SF4), with PC's this isn't a problem unless a person is running an ancient toaster.  People love to talk about arcade quality.  Arcades are really just computers in a giant cabinet, so it can be done outside of that.

For computer parties you're really better of simply using a laptop.  I think of the issue comes from the fact that most people just don't care to learn how to use a PC (the fighting game community tends to be younger and also not as computer savvy and don't want/can't spend money on a gaming computer, even though it's cheaper in the long run), and it's not "mainstream" for fighting games.  Consoles are just plug in and go.  You can plug in a PC and use it too and with the cost of consoles going up with more expensive games, they are often just watered down PC's.  PC's also have the advantage of accepting any controller and most are simply plug in and play.

I'm glad that more and more fighters are finding their way to the PC because I find myself gaming on it almost exclusively (between my desktop and laptop).  It's already on, it's fast, the games are cheap, and you get some pretty neat mods and fan projects too.  I'm just waiting for 3d fighters to find their way there.

For the foreseeable future, you will see gaming on consoles.  Though with smartphones and portable games becoming more mainstream, I expect to see a decline in console buying when you could just get a PC at that point.

One more thing to factor is that gaming events are often sponsored by consoles, which is why you see their presence there.  If a computer company was the main sponsor you'd certainly see more PC's.

[solidshark]

Last year and this year has me thinking that PC at the very least is going to remain a viable platform for fighters, especially if more developers and publishers start using cross-play. USF4, SFV, KOF XIII, 98UMFE, 02UM, probably a future KOF, Blazblue series, MK and Injustice games, smaller indie fighters like Yatagarasu, even MS's flagship KI could appear there, meaning I'd have less of a reason to get the Xbox One right away.

I don't know about standard, but the surge of official FGs on PC and Steam are making a strong basis for things. Arcade and console might always be my favorite way to play, but we'll see what companies do in the future.

[EXWildWolf]

Right now it seems like it! SFV on PC, Rising Thunder, FE... seems like the way to go. There won't be a hassle to get dual mod or console differences

[The Good Loser]

Well I'd certainly like to see it happen but it will also mean more competition for the consoles (even more than before).

[Mr Bakaboy]

I think right now the console companies are trying to go back to console exclusives being more prevalent that is causing PC to get thrusted into the spotlight more and more. The last generation had $200 fightsticks. Now we have to buy all new again..... unless you go PC. Then if you're a fighter the pickings for fighters on the current gen systems is very scarce. KI and SFV being console exclusives while MKX and TK7 being on both it's harder to want to spend the big bucks on a new console especially since the era of porting old arcade titles is all but over now.

I'll admit now I play more on the PC then I do on console.

[EXWildWolf]

With the availability of all the sticks you could use on the PC and pretty much Steam GreenLight, smaller devs could, without much legalities and financial issues, could make a profit out of putting it on Steam. If we took a game like Chaos Code  and put iy on Steam, that would make them a bit more money just from people who wanted to try the game out overseas, and there wouldn't be this hassle of "ah crap, I want to try to this game, but they only have it on PS3, and I can't get it on 360 soooooooo RIP."

It's just like.... you're not risking anything but getting more money from the arcades and people buying the game off steam for $10-$15.

[Naruto0408]

I dont want fighting games to ever become popular on PC because getting the best possible PC is too expensive and getting a not so great PC puts you at a disadvantage