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[Eddie-Griffin]

Other than the lukewarm update to VF5 with Ultimate Showdown, we haven't seen a major VF release in 16 years.

Almost none of the VF games (or FV2, or FMM) are pushed by Sega, there's no mobile game (even Tekken got one) despite Sega going hard on mobile, and the games are never re-released on anything. Where's the remaster collection on PS5 and XS? Where was arcade VF3 for the PS4 Xbox One? Where's the DREAMCAST port? Crazy Taxi is playable all over the place console and mobile why nothing for VF?

There's got to be an intentional reason for Sega not giving a crap about VF, FMM, or FV outside FV1 which for a release on PSN.

Sonic the Fighters has been distributed more than VF and FV. Which is a clone of FV with Sonic characters.

I'm not the biggest fan of fighting games but had some fun back in the day with these games and for some reason Sega just seems to not give too shits about the series for whatever reason. You can't say distain for Yu since they distribute several of his other games, even as mini-games within games. Heck, that happened with one version of VF5.

I mean you can make the (imo poor) excuse there's no "new" game because no one wants to bother with it from scratch with Yu gone, even though they just released Ultimate Showdown not long ago despite it being a minor update compared to a new game. However, that doesn't explain the lack of interest in remastering, porting, or making a collection for the older games.

It only seems to be for this series too of all the ex-major Sega ip franchises. Very curious.

 

[mansoor1980]

they hate all of their AAA games , except for yakuza series

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

Virtua Fighter appeals to a niche that loves fighting games.

Now it's all about the gore and flashy moves and waifus.

It's a bad business decision with a lot of heart, like Okami, Dark Cloud, Binary Domain, Shadow of Rome, God Hand, etc.

 

[Fake]

They even hate Sonic at this point.

 

[Kacho]

They re released that one version (PlayStation exclusive lmao) to test the room and I’m guessing it failed spectacularly. It’s dead bro. Capcom coming with Street Fighter 6 about to dominate everyone.

 

[Tarin02543]

the superior game without the superior marketing.

 

[93xfan]

Would love a re-release of the arcade games. Already have VF2 and 5 on my Xbox, but would really love 3 and 4

 

[kunonabi]

Ultimate Showdown did extremely well and they've all but said a new game is on the way.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

I’m guessing it failed spectacularly

did extremely well

 

[Kacho]

Tbf I guessed and he stated authoritatively, thus he is required to bring receipts

 

[Green_Eyes]

Sega are retarded...and I mean that with full offense. They push their idol trash more than anything else, and let so many great IP's go to waste.

 

[64bitmodels]

No, people hate virtua fighter. It was always second banana to tekken and tekken 8 will only bring that fact to even more light if the last 20 years of the franchise's dominance didn't make that clear already. Pointless franchise

 

[begotten]

Everyone hates Virtual Fighter.

 

[ReBurn]

It's probably hard for Sega to make money with Virtua Fighter. It's very technical and precise and ultimately more difficult to master than Tekken. I play Tekken with friends a lot and we have talked several times about how VF requires so much of you to get really good at it that it's not worth the effort for everyone. Sega also didn't put as much effort into the backstory as other developers have in their games. I think it's really hard for a lot of people to care enough about the characters to want to buy VF.

 

[dreamcastluvr]

Yes, they do. As well as all their other games/ IP's that aren't part of a neverending cycle of redundant Genesis/ Mega Drive compilation re-releases.

 

[kubricks]

Nah, It's worse than hate. They are just indifferent to this IP.
It is unlikely to make them immediate cash or become a smashing hit on an instant, why bother?

 

[//DEVIL//]

Same reason why there is no proper DOA game and they are remaking the old games. There is no talent to develop these games.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Modern Sega is trash.

 

[VeganElduderino]

Sega is sitting a gold mine with all their arcade games they could release! But nope they are in a coma

 

[Seider]

Im tired of Street Fighter, Tekken and Virtua Fighter.

Maybe thats the problem. The genre is obsolete with no innovations.

 

[kunonabi]

https://www.eventhubs.com/news/2021/jul/10/harada-virtua-fighter/
https://www.eventhubs.com/news/2021/dec/28/virtua-fighter-future-sega/

 

[SSfox]

They will a make a new VF for sure. Now it's all about hoping it's gonna be very good an as good as VF2 and VF4 evo

 

[Barakov]

Everyone hates Virtual Fighter.

 

[DForce]

I'm sure they re-released the latest VF to see if they could resurrect the franchise in the future.

 

[Orta]

VF was a hardcore fighting series. It was beyond Western casuals who opted for button mashing tripe like Tekken instead.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

No, people hate virtua fighter. It was always second banana to tekken and tekken 8 will only bring that fact to even more light if the last 20 years of the franchise's dominance didn't make that clear already. Pointless franchise

A highly technical game series confined to failed consoles until the mid-PS2 era was always second banana to the much more casual-friendly series with the flashy graphics and anime lore that has always been available on the most successful home system on the market. Go figure.

 

[SpiceRacz]

I don't think Sega has a vision on which direction to take the franchise, let alone the talent available to make a new entry.

 

[Alexios]

Idk, maybe you'll find a newspaper article claiming that as proof they do, lol. For once you ask rather than proclaim, gg.

Naturally you won't acknowledge anything going against your narrative and pretend people are hating on you, not your bs.

They've tried to make it a success time and time again since the arcades where it reigned supreme (in Japan) died. It didn't work.

Whether they added meaty single player, training, customization or whatever other series copied from them and it actually worked then.

They still showed they care about the IP alongside others that aren't good to invest into by including it in various Yakuza and Judgment games.

Also by having Virtua Fighter characters in a series that trucked along despite being essentially a Virtua Fighter clone surpassing it via softcore porn.

A complete visual remake in a new engine by their most successful studio offered for free is hardly lukewarm. Response was so it didn't lead to more (yet).


That's more than enough to make it look modern considering the original already animated better than competition that still uses janky 90s moves with no issues.

So, what do they do if a great, free (since the offer ended cheap with bundled collab packs of popular IP), slick game doesn't succeed to show they care, pay folks to play?

Not that they've always handled things well, though that goes for many IP from companies you don't bother making up bs about, but no, there's no hater manager sabotage, lol.

Edit: and now apparently the whole series - that you claim you're not undermining - is shit with nothing going for it according to your shit opinion so why care, maybe they just agree?

Oh right, another x thing I don't stan for sucks thread, a conspiracy theory as the OP followed by spewing bs on the side as fact, business as usual knowing few will see/care to argue with a troll.

 

[spinfive]

Yes which is why Ultimate Showdown had to release first instead of a new game

 

[Esppiral]

Don't know about Virtua fighter, I know for sure they hate Shenmue though.

 

[lostinblue]

Don't know about Virtua fighter, I know for sure they hate Shenmue though.

Well, I'm sure Yu Suzuki hates Shenmue more judging from how he did Shenmue 3.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

they hate all of their AAA games , except for yakuza series

And Sonic

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

They even hate Sonic at this point.

At least Sega gives Sonic games chances over and over again. Look how long and much begging it took to get Streets of Rage 4 which came out great imo and Sega didn’t even develop it that I know of.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

Yes. They seem to really dislike Virtua Fighter.

 

[Eddie-Griffin]

Idk, maybe you'll find a newspaper article claiming that as proof they do, lol. For once you ask rather than proclaim, gg.

Always insult evidence when it doesn't fit the motional narrative, doesn't make you look very smart going after documentation even as a side jab. It also shows you're petty.

I don't think Sega has a vision on which direction to take the franchise, let alone the talent available to make a new entry.

That goes for other IP like Sonic too. I think it's bold of Sonic Team to finally put a post in the sand and say "Sonic is going the direction for Frontiers from now on" although we'll see if they keep to that.

 

[Eddie-Griffin]

A highly technical game series confined to failed consoles until the mid-PS2 era was always second banana to the much more casual-friendly series with the flashy graphics and anime lore that has always been available on the most successful home system on the market. Go figure.

It doesn't help that VF originally was barebones and even with 5 they still don't add much of even a small narrative to get things going. No reason to care about the characters which even 2D MK did, and was mostly used as a graphical showcase instead of a game with depth and content.

But the fact it used to sell without that just shows they have a series with potential they are not utilizing properly. The fact we haven't even see ports of fan favorites like FMM is baffling, let alone the other VF games.

I'm sure they re-released the latest VF to see if they could resurrect the franchise in the future.

To be fair that was a fan theory but Sega didn't really hint at that. They also barely pushed or promoted the game and just kind of released it with a whimper. If US was supposed to be a test then VF6 is doomed.

Im tired of Street Fighter, Tekken and Virtua Fighter.

Maybe thats the problem. The genre is obsolete with no innovations.

Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, and Tekken has their best selling games of all time with their latest releases. Virtua Fighter could have got in on that action if Sega bothered.

 

[Holammer]

If I were to hazard a guess, maybe they don't have people on hand that can do, or have any interest in developing a 1on1 fighting game today.

 

[Morrie’s wig shop]

Never listen to the hate Eddie.

I hear ya. But I really think it comes down to the technicality of it really going for a sim-like control of different fighting styles and it’s not for everyone. I love it, I was there when the first game came to North American shores and people gathered around the cabinet at the local arcade………….. (drifting off into thought of walking into the arcade with all the sounds and the stench of cigarettes in the air and how dark it was in there, anyone else miss that. Remember you can smoke a cigarette while playing MK at the arcade

 

[RAIDEN1]

How is it that with the latest virtua fighter even access to just playing it in one player is denied unless you pay for PSN?

 

[RoboFu]

While we are at it I would like a sega racing bundle. Saturn versions of Daytona, sega rally, sega touring car, Manx TT

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

https://www.eventhubs.com/news/2021/jul/10/harada-virtua-fighter/
https://www.eventhubs.com/news/2021/dec/28/virtua-fighter-future-sega/

Nice, but

Akane >>>> Nabiki

 

[Azelover]

No, people hate virtua fighter. It was always second banana to tekken and tekken 8 will only bring that fact to even more light if the last 20 years of the franchise's dominance didn't make that clear already. Pointless franchise

I hope you're joking. But in case you're not, you do know Tekken would not exist...

 

[Neff]

'It's too technical and hardcore' is the reason which always comes up, but it's kinda nonsense. There are many reasons why VF floundered in the West but its alleged complicated nature isn't one of them. VF is one of the easiest 3D fighters to learn and play for a beginner if not the easiest.

The real reasons are

1. It debuted on Saturn while Tekken established itself on the vastly more popular, sexier and cheaper PlayStation.
2. By the time VF went third party on PS2 it was far too late to challenge Tekken's huge lead in popularity.
3. Tekken, despite being a much bigger headache to play at high levels than VF, is admittedly easier to read. People can interpret the limb system more logically than GPK.
4. Tekken's tenstrings are hugely appealing to players lacking skills.
5. Tekken always had higher perceived value due to going all-in on content. Rosters, BGM arranges, CG movies, minigames, museum modes etc- Tekken discs were overflowing with stuff. With VF you typically got a humble roster, an intro, some ending pics and that's it.
6. Tekken's cast is eye-catchingly novel. With VF you have a roster of generic martial artists. Tekken gives you robots, bears, kangaroos, laser beams, angels, devils, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and so on.
7. Perhaps the biggest reason, zero marketing. Like, ever. VF's distant cousin DOA (reverse-engineered from VF, similar gameplay and same arcade board) picked up VF's gauntlet and ran with it in the west to fair success due to competent marketing, and tits.

Japan is the only country to jump into VF with any enthusiasm. At its peak in Japan VF mania almost rivalled that of SF2. The western gaming public however made its decision very early on and VF simply never stood a chance.

 

[NT80]

It's probably hard for Sega to make money with Virtua Fighter. It's very technical and precise and ultimately more difficult to master than Tekken. I play Tekken with friends a lot and we have talked several times about how VF requires so much of you to get really good at it that it's not worth the effort for everyone.

That just isn't the case anymore. They've been making VF easier and easier to the point where the last version is easier to play than Tekken. The message was never put across by Sega so the old perception persists that it's super hard.

 

[Eddie-Griffin]

Nice, but

Akane >>>> Nabiki

Looks like you need some Shampoo for all that slime.

I hope you're joking. But in case you're not, you do know Tekken would not exist...

3D fighting was going to exist in some form (and already did), Tekken's difference from VF which was the over the top anime and flash is why it sold more (and having content) if Tekken used gameplay in its first couple releases based on it's own original mechanics or from non-VF it still likely would have sold more for the same reasons.

VF was pushed as a graphical achievement but not much in the way of depth, content, repeat play for most audiences, or hints of a story. Even SF had to change up to revive itself. Sega can easily make VF relevant again given almost every fighting series has had their best selling entry in their franchises for their latest entries.

'It's too technical and hardcore' is the reason which always comes up, but it's kinda nonsense. There are many reasons why VF floundered in the West but its alleged complicated nature isn't one of them. VF is one of the easiest 3D fighters to learn and play for a beginner if not the easiest.

The real reasons are

1. It debuted on Saturn while Tekken established itself on the vastly more popular, sexier and cheaper PlayStation.
2. By the time VF went third party on PS2 it was far too late to challenge Tekken's huge lead in popularity.
3. Tekken, despite being a much bigger headache to play at high levels than VF, is admittedly easier to read. People can interpret the limb system more logically than GPK.
4. Tekken's tenstrings are hugely appealing to players lacking skills.
5. Tekken always had higher perceived value due to going all-in on content. Rosters, BGM arranges, CG movies, minigames, museum modes etc- Tekken discs were overflowing with stuff. With VF you typically got a humble roster, an intro, some ending pics and that's it.
6. Tekken's cast is eye-catchingly novel. With VF you have a roster of generic martial artists. Tekken gives you robots, bears, kangaroos, laser beams, angels, devils, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and so on.
7. Perhaps the biggest reason, zero marketing. Like, ever. VF's distant cousin DOA (reverse-engineered from VF, similar gameplay and same arcade board) picked up VF's gauntlet and ran with it in the west to fair success due to competent marketing, and tits.

Japan is the only country to jump into VF with any enthusiasm. At its peak in Japan VF mania almost rivalled that of SF2. The western gaming public however made its decision very early on and VF simply never stood a chance.

DOA however has been DOA for some time now in the west. Microsoft helping push 3 and 4 is one of the reasons why those did well too, but still didn't light the charts on fire.

Sega has momentum with VF4 when it went mp, but Sega did nothing to sustain that momentum at all. They also again, never re-released anything while Tekken was re-released, new versions of games, on multiple systems and handhelds, on PSN and XBLA, etc etc

Then VF5 came out in its original state (online only on the 360 version iirc) and gave you the same low content, short play, generic design. VF5 came out in 2006, we got a new update for VF5 just last year, 16 years later with no marketing.

Honestly, I'm not even a fan, I just want the ability to play the older games with better controllers and cleaner image.

 

[synchronicity]

I don't know what Sega feels, but Virtua Fighter is the greatest fighting game series ever made imho. (Especially starting with 4/Evolution and onward.)

I sure would love another entry. I don't get those who trash Virtua Fighter or even don't appreciate it. It has such beautiful complexity layered upon a foundation of simplicity. The depth is virtually endless.

 

[Morrie’s wig shop]

While we are at it I would like a sega racing bundle. Saturn versions of Daytona, sega rally, sega touring car, Manx TT

This also, I mean what the fuck is the issue here?

 

[Neff]

This also, I mean what the fuck is the issue here?

Sega. Sega is the issue.

Sega is always the issue.

 

[kunonabi]

I don't know what Sega feels, but Virtua Fighter is the greatest fighting game series ever made imho. (Especially starting with 4/Evolution and onward.)

I sure would love another entry. I don't get those who trash Virtua Fighter or even don't appreciate it. It has such beautiful complexity layered upon a foundation of simplicity. The depth is virtually endless.

To be fair the depth isn't obvious at first. I would throw quarters into the machine from the beginning but I never got all the hype until I really sat down with 4 to try and learn it. I was a big fighting game nut too but when nobody around is playing competitively and resources are limited it can pass you by.

At least I realized Nabiki was perfection from an early age. Some people seem to still be having trouble with that.

 

[Azelover]

Looks like you need some Shampoo for all that slime.



3D fighting was going to exist in some form (and already did), Tekken's difference from VF which was the over the top anime and flash is why it sold more (and having content) if Tekken used gameplay in its first couple releases based on it's own original mechanics or from non-VF it still likely would have sold more for the same reasons.

Great post. But I don't agree with that. Seiichi Ishii, which is credited for Tekken came out of Sega. He worked on Virtua Fighter and Virtua Racing. Also, legend says that Ken Kutaragi was inspired by Virtua Fighter to make the PS1 focused on 3D technology. So while I highly respect Tekken, I believe you are undermining VF a little.

Saying "it would have happened anyway" is not acceptable to me. "Oh we didnt need Mario 64 either, we had Tomb Raider". No offense but that's not how it went down my friend. Tekken was made as a response to VF..