I’ve argued (and still do) that Street Fighter 6 is, even in its initial vanilla form, the most balanced Street Fighter entry to date. However, balance doesn’t necessarily equate to fun. I wouldn’t go as far as to say the game isn’t enjoyable, but lately, there has been a more negative reception surrounding the game, even in its fourth month on shelves.
On our latest episode of Talk and Block, Catalyst and I analyze the current situation and perception of Street Fighter 6. It’s becoming evident that the honeymoon phase for the game is over, and developers will need to be strategic when making larger changes in the future.
While complaints about top tier characters and input issues are becoming more prevalent, players are still actively playing Street Fighter 6. The good news is that the game still possesses plenty of charisma, even if it has lost some of its initial charm.
As Catalyst mentions in our discussion, players were eager to move on from Street Fighter 5, and Street Fighter 6 received a lot of initial love simply for being the next iteration in the series. Capcom made significant improvements based on the issues in SF5, ensuring that its successor launched as a fully complete title with many added features that demonstrated their attentiveness to fan feedback.
A quarter of a year is a significant amount of time in the video game world, and it’s natural for fans to start losing interest at this point, especially with new competition like Mortal Kombat 1. Discussions about the game’s flaws are essential in the patch/update process.
Looking ahead, Capcom plans to release a major update for SF6 annually. Although we still have eight months until its first anniversary, the potential for fixes is at an all-time high.
Recently, competitive legend BST|Daigo Umehara and Katushiro Harada, a key figure on the Tekken development team, discussed the evolving relationship between fighting game developers and fans. While these discussions came from different perspectives, they shed light on the current state of this crucial relationship in 2023.
In the past, fighting game developers made changes to their games with limited communication with players. However, since the Street Fighter 4 era, the internet has allowed fans to voice their desires more specifically. This is a double-edged sword as not all vocal fans are thoughtful, but the rapid spread of information now makes it almost necessary for developers to incorporate fan feedback into updates.
We cover these topics and more in the full episode of Talk and Block below. We would love to hear your thoughts on the matter as well, both here and in the YouTube comments. Join our discussion as we strive to express our feelings and hopes for SF6 as it evolves.
Timestamps:
00:00 – The SF6 honeymoon is over
09:52 – Developers MUST listen to players, but it’s a double-edged sword
18:33 – The politics of game balance
