Are Fighting Games A Poor Man's Genre?

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

I've seen many posts in regards to the mentality and the economic status/behavior of fighting game players, (bragging about winning a $150 tournament like it's a big deal, "money matching" people for small sums of money, complaining about extremely cheap DLC, the fact that most are unemployed or barely employed) and I think there's a reason for this.

Fighting games are simply a much cheaper investment gaming wise. A person can buy a shitty console and a fighting game and invest thousands of hours on it competing and improving. Many fighting game enthusiasts have very little outside of the fighting games they play. People who have more money can afford to drop money on a game whenever they feel like it. You don't have to be rich to do this, a decent job will accomplish that. They don't have to complain about $5 DLC even when you can unlock it. Not to mention, who sits around gaming for hundreds of hours to unlock content when you can just purchase it for very cheap? You have to have a lot of free time on your hands to do this.

There's a reason that certain genres and the PC is seen as "rich kids gaming". People who play these genres have no problem spending much more money on parts and even extra content to get the best experience even when it's not necessary. Many of these players happen to be white. While many Asians play fighters and games like Starcraft, it's more cultural on their behalf than anything. Many blacks and hispanics play fighters and tend to be of economically lower means. What are your thoughts?

This article discusses this also:

pattheflip.tumblr.com/post/98215991048/why-i-find-fighting-games-to-be-political

Some parts about money and race.


1. "I didn’t really get into fighting games in a big way until high school. I went to a private high school that was probably like 85% rich white folks; I think tuition cost like $16k/year, and the only reason I could afford to go was because they had tuition assistance available. So I went, and I got a great education, but I didn’t really make many lasting friends there, because I never felt like I was living in the same world as most of the others were – not white and rich enough to really understand the white rich kids, not brown and poor enough to really get anyone else."

2. "David and I became friends through fighting games. David is half-Black, half-Chinese; I’m half-white, half-Filipino. Up until I had met David, I had always tried to fit in with the white kids and learn to do their thing, and it never really worked for me. Making friends with non-white kids made me realize that a lot of what I thought was nerdy social awkwardness was in fact me just not being able to relate to upper-class white kids – something that sounds totally obvious as an adult, but wasn’t obvious to me, because my dad is white and can’t really teach me about that kind of thing, and my (Filipina) mom died when I was about five or so. None of this ever came up when I played Quake or Starcraft, just Street Fighter – because Street Fighter had to be played in person. So for me, race is an inextricable part of Street Fighter as well, because it was the main vector for me to find other young people of color, which was key to forming my identity and sense of self as a kid."

[JACK-2]

I notice this as well. Most people who grew up with fighting games tend to be from a lower socioeconomic status.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Sept 8, 2015 11:57:51 GMT -5 JACK-2 said:

I notice this as well. Most people who grew up with fighting games tend to be from a lower socioeconomic status.

It makes me laugh because I was playing a game and this guy was angry at a gameplay video I made exposing a ragequitter. He talked a lot of trash and we went back and forth because I was never for the "elitist" crap anyways over a damn video game. Eventually he challenges me to a "money match" for $20 like it's some big deal.

Lol. Like I need his twenty dollars. I told him it was a joke and he needed to get a life. The time he spent "upping his skills", he could have been out actually doing something with himself.

I also notice the anti-wealth vibe there too. I remember a large company was going to sponsor fighting games and people cried "We don't need big corporations sponsoring our games!" and then in the same breath they complain that pro fighting game players don't make the big bucks. I wonder why.

The number of people who sit around playing these games all day thinking they're going to be some "superstar" baffle me. The biggest name players make their money from endorsements and even that takes a lot of practice. No way in the world would I drive hours multiple times a week just to play at a meet and "up my game". I'd rather play online, thank you.

[JACK-2]

I think fgc just sucks. I notice other communities like moba and fps while having problems. I don't think they have this mentality. There fully integrated online, have no problem with sponsorship and that do money matches. Fgc community is sleazy as shit and most of the players seem to be black or hispanic stateside.


You're right that pc oriented games tend to be for people with disposable income. Something most black people aren't. The white kds I knew that did play Sf got into it because of sf4. Only because they were curious, before then they played stuff like quake. It's almost like they were slumming lol.

I notice this for anime as well. Alot of blacks and Hispanic people love watching stuff like Dbz and Naruto.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Sept 8, 2015 13:05:25 GMT -5 JACK-2 said:

I think fgc just sucks. I notice other communities like moba and fps while having problems. I don't think they have this mentality. There fully integrated online, have no problem with sponsorship and that do money matches. Fgc community is sleazy as shit and most of the players seem to be black or hispanic stateside.


You're right that pc oriented games tend to be for people with disposable income. Something most black people aren't. The white kds I knew that did play Sf got into it because of sf4. Only because they were curious, before then they played stuff like quake. It's almost like they were slumming lol.

I notice this for anime as well. Alot of blacks and Hispanic people love watching stuff like Dbz and Naruto.

Haha, not to mention all of the stealing that's been going on at the past few events and their failure to beef up security. Niggaz will be niggaz lol.

They have much more money and much more sponsorship because more people watch and play. Those games have either more accessible games which are more mainstream because they're easy to get into, or they are part of culture (like Starcraft). Computers have lots of parts so they have a lot of sponsor choices (and they say the money isn't in PC gaming). These people are a bunch of angry lowlife types who get angry and get into fights. Remember the event with the black nerd and the fat woman? Look at all of the "niggaz" online who get angry as well.

The white kids into fighters tend to be poor as well. These are the ones who brag about $150 and winning money matches for $20. Plenty of poor white kids love fighters. There are plenty of white fighters who play Smash, but they tend to be more casual and in it for fun more than anything, it's not "serious business" to the vast majority of them.

Lots of "niggaz" love DBZ as well. They get angry at anybody who disagrees with them and then complain about Superman, lol. It's like DBZ is a poor man's Justice League or something.

[JACK-2]

Goku is a poor mans Superman. Not surprised they would hate superman, he is white, more powerful than goku and more influential. Not to mention he symbolizes anerican power like most caped heroes. Plus to many Superman represents white priveledge because he was born strong while goku has limits and needs to train. Plus goku is a person of color. Of course, Superman does train and is a much smarter character. He also relies on his brain more. But, Goku feeds the hater mentality that most black people have.

Goku and most anime characters have never been impressive to me. People always make a big deal about the fights and how eoic they are. I always remind them that heroes like Superman and Thor do stuff in a much higher scale regularly. Thor vs Gorr was on a much larger scale than anything on dbz. Most of the epic Naruto and Dbz fights these guys wank are not on the level of your typical Hollywood production.


I think the real reason these guys love dbz and nardo is because comics are more expensive. The target audience is also college aged white males. Anime has always been a cheaper form of entertainment and because of weak copyright laws. It was very easy to pirate. I used to watch dbz bootlegs all the time. There's also a large latin american contingency in anime because the shows are much cheaper to license and easier to pirate. The internet has made it even easier. Comics and American entertainment is still much harder to find illegally online vs anime. I remember talking to a bootlegger and he mentioned that asian media is safer to pirate than American media. The latter being to risky and can lead to massive jail time.

I love these games but they definitely appeal to a lower sectors of society. I grew up poor and I made these observations as well. Coincidentally I'm trying to get into more pc oriented games like fps recently and more american entertainment too.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Sept 9, 2015 3:50:04 GMT -5 JACK-2 said:

Goku is a poor mans Superman. Not surprised they would hate superman, he is white, more powerful than goku and more influential. Not to mention he symbolizes anerican power like most caped heroes. Plus to many Superman represents white priveledge because he was born strong while goku has limits and needs to train. Plus he is a person of color. Of course, Superman does train and is a much smarter character. He also relies on his brain more. But, Goku feeds the hater mentality that most black people have.





I notice this too, I think it's because comics are more expensive. The target audience is also college aged white males. Anime has always been a cheaper form of entertainment and because of weak copyright laws. It was very easy to pirate. I used to watch dbz bootlegs all the time. There's also a large latin american contingency in anime because the shows are much cheaper to license and easier to pirate. The internet has made it even easier. Comics and American entertainment is still much harder to find illegally online vs anime. I remember talking to a bootlegger and he mentioned that asian media is safer to pirate than American media. The latter being to risky and can lead to massive jail time.

I love these games but they definitely appeal to a lower sectors of society. I grew up poor and I made these observations as well. Coincidentally I'm trying to get into more pc oriented games like fps recently and more american entertainment too.

It's sad because Goku didn't start out that way, he was much better as a kid.


Interesting you say that. There are definitely a good number of black Superman fans. I remember on KMC they were on there arguing for characters like Storm, Phoenix, and whatnot. These posters however were more articulate and smart. They were educated and even if they were biased, were a far cry from the "niggaz" you often saw in other parts of the forum like in the gaming or anime forum at times.

It's ironic because Goku doesn't even look Japanese like most anime characters and his hair even turns blond and sayians get green or blue eyes. So it's already white worship. Nobody would watch DBZ if it weren't for the overpowered characters, so complaining about Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern is silly. I find the ones who complain about DC characters don't even read comics anyways and just go by deathbattle. There are many characters more powerful than Goku or Superman and they exist in Marvel. Phoenix anyone.

Anime/Manga is also cheaper to produce, but with the internet it doesn't even matter anymore. You can watch anything anyways. You definitely need to come over to PC. WarMachineRhodey just keeps giving you more reasons why. I've been trying to convince a friend of mine, black of course, to come to PC and he just won't do it. He keeps saying he will, but then he comes up with excuses about how it's "too much maintenance".

The appeal of consoles is "so easy a Neanderthal can do it". They're a waste of money as is but people don't want to put in the effort.

[JACK-2]

Anime fans also tend to be less intelligent when compared to comic fans. I remember tryng to get some Dbz tard to read comics. He complained comics "talk to much" lol.

Japan copies Hollywood alot. There are a lot manga and tv series that straight up plagiarize. I've seen scenes from movies copied in manga. There was a scene from silence of the lambs in a manga. They also trace celebrities and fashion models in manga. It's a very cheap entertainment medium.


Windows 10 will be my gateway into Pc I think. Xbox is what started "Pcification" of consoles.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Sept 9, 2015 4:58:53 GMT -5 JACK-2 said:

Anime fans also tend to be less intelligent when compared to comic fans. I remember tryng to get some Dbz tard to read comics. He complained comics "talk to much" lol.

Japan copies Hollywood alot. There are a lot manga and tv series that straight up plagiarize. I've seen scenes from movies copied in manga. There was a scene from silence of the lambs in a manga. They also trace celebrities and fashion models in manga. It's a very cheap entertainment medium.


Windows 10 will be my gateway into Pc I think. Xbox is what started "Pcification" of consoles.

To an extent, but to be fair you could say the same thing about comic books compared to reading something much more intelligent or useful like investing, but it's just fun. Look at all the chicks who "read" garbage like Twilight and it has tons of words. I find comics take me longer to "get into" when I start, but once I'm in I keep going. Manga is great for on and off quick reading. If that makes sense. Might be because of the wordiness, or because it seems like more of the same. Not sure.

Stuff like Watchmen is pretty dep though.

Get windows 10 then. It won't be as big of a loss for you since it'll be your first. It'll probably be more simplified.

I think PS2 and Xbox were solid, once PS360 came along they really got bad.

Japan has lax copyright laws, and they see imitation as a form of flattery so I'm not surprised.

[JACK-2]

I meant the mainstream contingency. People who read Hst or Dbz vs the average Dc and Marvel fanboy. Those people tend to be downright dumb.

I think I'm gonna try halo or something. I dunno lol.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Sept 9, 2015 7:12:49 GMT -5 JACK-2 said:

I meant the mainstream contingency. People who read Hst or Dbz vs the average Dc and Marvel fanboy. Those people tend to be downright dumb.

I think I'm gonna try halo or something. I dunno lol.

They're probably also younger in many cases. I've seen some intelligent anime/manga debators.

It also depends on the fanboys. People who like X-Men/Wolverine stuff tend to be dumb and childish. "Badass" characters in general have this problem.

Eeewww. Halo.

Either way PC has a ton of good stuff. I'd take Duke3d over Halo any day.

[JACK-2]

Wolverine fanboys are just 50 shades of dumb. Worst character base ever.

Older anime fans are generally smart. But, they also tend to be rare. Older fans in general tend to be better. I think its because comic's have alot of older fans makes them more tolerable. Not because of the source material.

I never told you this but I played alot of duke 64 back in the days. Remember laser trip wires?

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Sept 9, 2015 7:25:56 GMT -5 JACK-2 said:

Wolverine fanboys are just 50 shades of dumb. Worst character base ever.

Older anime fans are generally smart. But, they also tend to be rare. Older fans in general tend to be better. I think its because comic's have alot of older fans makes them more tolerable. Not because of the source material.

I never told you this but I played alot of duke 64 back in the days. Remember laser trip wires?

Yea I've never seen a worse base. Older anime and manga fans are into more classic series like Lupin and whatnot. They're around but keep to themselves. The thing is they don't debate; they generally discuss. It's the 13 and 14 year old DBZ, Naruto, and Wolverine fanboys who go crazy in versus threads. My friend like the higher power character threads in comic debates because he felt they were more mentally stimulating. That said they have their own issues there with hax characters an whatnot.

Comics have their revolving base as well, if you recall back in the silver age they would blatantly recycle stories because the fans of comics had a window where they would enter and exit comics so it was easy to do. Marvel was purchased by Disney to appeal to young boys because of their Hannah Montanta, Jonas Brothers garbage.


Duke Nukem 3d is a masterpiece. I might play some right now. Duke 64 had co op and some neat weapons but no music and no save anywhere. You win some, you lose some.