Street Fighter IV: Braggadocio Off and On-line Norman Makoto Su Department of Informatics University of California, Irvine Irvine, CA 92697-3440 USA
[email protected] ABSTRACT scrolling fighters beating up opponents), usually had only In its heyday, the video arcade was a social scene to prove two to three buttons. SF2, in contrast, was a head-to-head one’s video gaming prowess. The introduction of a revolu- fighting game offering three separate punch buttons (jab, tionary head-to-head fighting game called Street Fighter II strong, fierce) and three separate kick buttons (short, forward, in 1991 ushered in an era of competitive video gaming with roundhouse). Moreover, it introduced special moves requiring unparalleled complexity. An influx of copy-cat games and the execution with joystick movements of unheralded intricacy. arrival of consoles with capabilities rivaling coin-ops led to For example, SF2’s signature character, RYU, can “throw” the arcade’s demise. However, the release of Street Fighter a fireball at his opponent by moving the joystick a quarter IV (SF4) has brought about a revival. I report on the cultural circle towards the opponent and then pressing a punch button; practices of hardcore gaming that have revolved around SF4. the punch button determines the speed of the fireball. SF4’s release on both the console (which enables fighting others online) and the arcade has engendered a new set of The establishment of this genre of video games brought about challenges in constructing what it means to be competitive a new wave of competitive gaming. Competition used to mean and legitimate in the world of head-to-head fighting games.