Who is Street Fighter IV?

Seriously, who is Street Fighter for? I love the characters, especially Sakura and Chun-Li. I love everything Capcom does. But I can't see Street Fighter IV doing well here. I'm just a little puzzled at who will get excited about this game.

Personally, as a person who's always trying to be deeply involved in games, I'm dissapointed that I've never been able to really get into fighting games. I've always wanted to. It's not that I'm not a fan of the genre. But I think that it's gotten to a point that it's incredibly difficult to break into those types of games. There are three basic types for fighting game players. Those that don't play. Those who somewhat play. And those who play competitively. Of course there's some spill over into each and some people don't exactly fit into one or the other. But overall that's what the breakdown is.

My question is of course, who is Street Fighter for? Who is going to get excited about this game? I am moderately excited. More so than I was for Soul Calibur IV earlier this year. Seeing the cover with Chun-Li makes me want to buy it. There's no question about it. Out of respect and support, I will pay for this game day one. But will I play it? That is the real question.

Thanks to Brad I got introduced to the world of Tekken. I really enjoyed learning the game and while I never got to the level I wanted, I am confident enough to where I could play the game against most players and enjoy it . Other fighting games are different though. I've tried/wanted to pick up other games. They had things to draw me in. The character design of Arcana Heart. The art of Guilty Gear. The uniqueness of Battle Fantasia. King of Fighters, Melty Blood, Third Strike, Project Justice, Soul Calibur, Virtua Fighter. They all had something to get me interested. But to keep me interested, I need something more.

First off, I think a lot has to do with having someone to play with. Playing the CPU is only fun for so long and a lot of the draw of these games is learning from other people. That is the second reason my experience with Tekken lasted as long as it did. These games can be very frustrating when you don't know what you're doing. I'm not content with just hitting buttons hoping things will work out. I want to know what I'm doing. Trying to learn a fighting game by yourself is a huge bummer and online is still not yet up to speed.

I can't find the time or determination to get into these types of games. Will others? I think there are very few fighting games that can survive now. You see fighting games have these tie ins. MK vs DC, perfect example. Soul Calibur with Star Wars. Is that the only way a fighting game can come out be reach an audience? Hardcore players took it to another level. Competetively there's just too much of a gap in skill. It's like how it is in Dragon Ball. The power level is just too great. So you find games aimed for the casual players and you find some for the hardcore. The latter does not sell well because honestly, there's not that many players in that category. Bridging the two to make a game appeal to the both is near impossible. I don't want a game to be too hardcore but I also don't want it to be dumbed down so that it's too easy. It's a very difficult balance to try maintain. Honestly, I think they have the best chance. The name is there, it basically popularized the genre. Other's have tried to bridge the gap before. They're were never really on one side or the other, so they never really garnered the success towards either side. And with Street Fighter IV, I'm worried it will be the same way. Hence the question, Who is Street Fighter IV?


Thanks,
David