Kotaku: Why King Of Fighters Dominates Latin America's Fighting Game Scene

[litebrite]

People today cant tell the difference between a good fighting game and a mediocre one. I wouldnt expect a casual fan of the genre 20 years ago to have the knowledge or criteria to discern what makes a fighting game good or mediocre.

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Sure, but Street Fighter 2 was THE landmark fighting game of all fighting games, not only in the 90's, but of all time. There's a reason people gravitated towards it in the States beyond how it looked and why it entered and has remained in our cultural zeitgeist.

The FGC was built on Capcom fighting games.

 

[Deleted member 5621]

It's because Rugal brought the entire continent to tears together.

I obviously had nothing to do with the development at that time, but from my discussions with devs and players in the community I think a lot of it boils down to SNK's approach to character designs, especially when compared to the other mainline franchise in Street Fighter.

There was a little bit more nuance, for lack of a better term, given to the character designs and lore when compared to fairly one dimensional ethnic caricatures you see in Street Fighter.

That is just my personal take from all of the stories I have heard over the years.

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This is absolutely true. People who frequented arcades, or that later played console ports through gaming shots/rentals frequently would be all about Iori, Clark, etc. The KoF characters left a very strong impression here, and it was one of the few non story focused games people bothered discuss and care about characters and lore.

Anecdotal, but Tekken had a similar trajectory after the PSX was everywhere.

 

[Iori Loco]

You can't call yourself a mexican arcade player from the 90's if you don't know what "Iori Loco" is.

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I know, right?

I remember their Dragons game, that was a interesting game design wise and gameplay wise.

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I never played it but some of the mechanics from Rage of the Dragons ended up being implemented in later KoFs, like wall bouncing and tag team mates during the round.

To add in, Angel as a whole happened because SNK got salty they lost a friedly match with the Evolga devs that they challenge them again but now on their home turf with the requisite that the winner gets to design a character that appears on the loosers game.. Full story below:

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That story is legendary. Angel also has betting listed in her dislikes due to the circumstances of her creation, lol.

 

[Crayon]

Because the neo geo setup suited the market well. Sensible question, prosaic answer. 7/10.

 

[Futaleufu]

Sure, but Street Fighter 2 was THE landmark fighting game of all fighting games, not only in the 90's, but of all time. There's a reason people gravitated towards it in the States beyond how it looked and why it entered and has remained in our cultural zeitgeist.

The FGC was built on Capcom fighting games.

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Street Fighter 2 is the landmark fighting game, but while Capcom spent 3 years re-releasing the same game SNK was releasing several different games, improving their craft and moving the genre forward.

The american FGC was built on Capcom games, in Japan almost every game had their chance to shine. There was a youtube channel that had all the big tournaments since the early 90s and all the Gamest strategy videos but it seems to be gone. The closest scenes today are the ones from Mikado and acho. Lately there has been a Fatal Fury Special and Virtua Fighter 3 revival.

 

[Crayon]

I obviously had nothing to do with the development at that time, but from my discussions with devs and players in the community I think a lot of it boils down to SNK's approach to character designs, especially when compared to the other mainline franchise in Street Fighter.

There was a little bit more nuance, for lack of a better term, given to the character designs and lore when compared to fairly one dimensional ethnic caricatures you see in Street Fighter.

That is just my personal take from all of the stories I have heard over the years.

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I think i feel this, too. When I was younger, I don't like these designs as much as Street fighter. I was introduced to Street fighter first, but I can say for certain I was more attracted to the straightforward archetypes of Street fighter.

At some point when I was older, I looked at the kof cast and realized how much I liked it. The characters seem a tiny bit more real.

 

[Qvoth]

i was introducted to kof 1st, i think it was 97 or 98 by my brother who studied in australia
his friends were mostly cantonese, so yeah he was very into kof, even now he still watch videos of recent tournaments afaik
didn't really get into kof, guilty gear x was the 1st fighting game i truly like

 

[selo]

As a mexican kid living in the border with California, I grew up with Street fighter. I remember being very attracted to Art of Fighting (since the graphics looked great, it had zooming and you could see the fighters face being beat up) but whenever I saw a fatal furyor king of fighters arcade later on, I did just think they were cheap street fighter knockoffs.

With the letdown and disappointment of the awful SFV, I looked elsewhere for other fighting games, I picked up KOF XIV and man, what a game, love it.

 

[litebrite]

Street Fighter 2 is the landmark fighting game, but while Capcom spent 3 years re-releasing the same game SNK was releasing several different games, improving their craft and moving the genre forward.

The american FGC was built on Capcom games, in Japan almost every game had their chance to shine. There was a youtube channel that had all the big tournaments since the early 90s and all the Gamest strategy videos but it seems to be gone. The closest scenes today are the ones from Mikado and acho. Lately there has been a Fatal Fury Special and Virtua Fighter 3 revival.

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Well I also think it didn't help that SNK fighting games were locked behind an expensive console for the home market in America, while MK and SF II got big releases on Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. As somebody who was too intimidated to play SF II in the arcades due to how long the lines were and how fierce the competition was, those console ports were a gateway for people to learn how to play in the comfort of their homes. It was playing the SNES version of SF II where I learned all the characters and moves and the basic concept of the game that I felt comfortable enough to try my luck playing the various versions in the Arcades as well as newer Capcom fighting games like SF Alpha.

 

[Voyevoda]

I was born as a human but an evil witch transformed me into a Japanese train station who can post online.

Send help pls

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Is this Shin Megami Tensei V teasing? CONFIRMED FOR TGS BABY.

 

[AzVal]

Because they were available? I mean someone was distributing them in Costa Rica becaus our local red cross station had a couple of arcades,one was KOF98 then somewhere else they put a machine of 2000,etc. There were other machines but those only were available during the local festivities of each town whereas there was usually a fixed KOF machine somewhere.

 

[Basileus777]

SNK didn't even have a strong arcade presence in the US. Most people playing Street Fighter would never even have heard of King Of Fighters.

 

[litebrite]

SNK didn't even have a strong arcade presence in the US. Most people playing Street Fighter would never even have heard of King Of Fighters.

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In all the mid size to big arcades I've ever visited around the states in the 90's, I always remember seeing a SNK arcade cabinet. But, yeah. Street Fighter 2 was most likely to be at a laundromat or outside a corner/convienence store.

 

[capitalCORN]

I honestly dont remember seeing one KOF arcade in the 90s in canada. At the time I thought you had to be a rich kid with a neogeo to even play it.
Saw quite a few samurai showdown and that awful awful World Heroes game.

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Funland in Toronto was all about KOF for a few years. I think 96-98. SF basically fell off after Alpha 2 and then KOF and Tekken 3 took over.

 

[Village]

SNK didn't even have a strong arcade presence in the US. Most people playing Street Fighter would never even have heard of King Of Fighters.

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From my understanding it was street fighter and MK and then when I came about tekken and soul calibur and 3d fight games hit really hard and I litterally did not know what the fuck an SNK was

 

[Deleted member 10551]

I got to spend a year in California in the early 2000s. I'd make occasional weekly treks up to Golfland. I was the only anglo dude who would play KOF. I just liked SNK better, felt the Capcom games of the late 90s sucked.

Loved Samsho a lot as well. 4 was really popular, 3 wasn't.

 

[Modest_Modsoul]

oddly KOF97 being the most popular followed by KOF98.

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I assume because 97 is the climax of the Orochi saga.

And I agree.

Kyo+Iori+Chizuru team ending is awesome.

 

[Kain]

I only remember horror stories of my time playing online older KoFs with Mexican folks. They wiped the floor with me without exception. As I understand it KoF is almost religion there

 

[Deleted member 2669]

SNK didn't even have a strong arcade presence in the US. Most people playing Street Fighter would never even have heard of King Of Fighters.

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I only knew about SNK because of Capcom vs. SNK. Friends from other regions convinced me to play King of Fighters.

 

[Ninjadom]

As someone who frequented arcades in the 90's, from an American lens SNK fighting games came across as bootleg or lesser than compared to it's peers.

I think it's fascinating how different it was perceived through another lens from a different region.

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In the London in the 90's, SNK fighting games stood just behind Capcom...until KOF 98 came out. Then they took over.

 

[Platy]

The best ranked street fighter player from Brazil at EVO have KoF in his name xD

 

[cj_iwakura]

The Swap Shop in Sunrise has a beat up KOF XI machine. Every now and then I see random Mexican groups playing it, and it warms my heart.

 

[bionic77]

Maybe I remember it wrong, but I don't remember the NeoGeo games being cheaper than SF2.

I do remember them increasing the prices AFTER the SF2 craze because people were going to arcades and eventually were going to play other games. And it kept going up steadily, but unless my memory sucks I kind of remember SF2 and NeoGeo cabs being the same price. At least initially.

 

[capitalCORN]

Maybe I remember it wrong, but I don't remember the NeoGeo games being cheaper than SF2.

I do remember them increasing the prices AFTER the SF2 craze because people were going to arcades and eventually were going to play other games. And it kept going up steadily, but unless my memory sucks I kind of remember SF2 and NeoGeo cabs being the same price. At least initially.

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Neogeo carts were like $200+, in the 90s. You could play some decent home renditions of SF2 on your SNES/Genesis, but fighting games were all about putting up quarters back then.

 

[SteelBeast6Beets]

Back then when Chile still had arcades, KoF reigned uncontested. I don't even recall seeing any SF or MK machines at the places I frequented.

 

[bionic77]

Neogeo carts were like $200+, in the 90s. You could play some decent home renditions of SF2 on your SNES/Genesis, but fighting games were all about putting up quarters back then.

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At my local arcade SF2 and MK1 were both a quarter each.

I think it stayed that way until the 3D fighters came out and eventually went up to 50 cents a game. My timing could be wrong though because this happened a long while ago. Its possible that that happened with like M2 or 3, but I don't think so.

We didn't have NeoGeo cabs at my local arcade but I did play them in jersey and in some other places while visiting friends/family and also in college there was a very good selection at my school and also at the local mall.

But my point was I don't think the arcade owners passed the savings on to the consumer in the US, at least not in my experience. I just thought 25 cents was normal for a fighter and was kind of annoyed when it finally went to 50 cents.

A legit NeoGeo @ home though? I only knew one kid who had that setup and he was rich and annoying so I never got to play it. I could only look at it in the window 2 EB games and dream what it was like to play arcade perfect games at home.

 

[martincrimson87]

In Argentina sf and mk dominated but I always had the impression that snk games were for the more advanced playeR

 

[Firmament1]

I haven't heard much about KoF lately. Pretty cool to hear other's perspectives on it, though!

 

[closer]

i can only speak for certain NY arcades and pizza places, but there was way more NeoGeo multi-game cabinets than SF2 cabinets. It's true that SF had more real estate in the mind of the public, but it would be more typical to see an AoF or NeoGeo w/ Metal Slug cabinet around than SF in my experience.

 

[MasaDrew]

Definitely had nothing to do with actual quality. Overall when it came to the American scene it came to brand exposure and impression.

Back in the early 90's SF2 blew up in popularity. It became a household name, everyone knew it and when it came to arcades it made it very easy to gravitate to. Americans not taking to KOF or SNK games had nothing to do with their gameplay or accessibility. It simply came down to not being the brand the consumer was exposed to.

And that mentality can give someone faulty judgement calls. Thinking back as a kid anecdotally I can recall glancing over at King of Fighters or Samsho. And while I had some interest and may have tried it the intention was mainly because my quarter was still waiting on the ST screen. Id have an intial impression of "looks different" "its not SF". Me being a judgemental brat aside I wouldn't doubt that thought coming across the average consumer.

 

[AmirMoosavi]

Thanks for sharing the article. I've been in Guadalajara the past few months and I noticed a few KoF cabinets at arcades/gaming cafés.

 

[Era of not Yakuza]

Kof and MK >> SF where I live

 

[Cess007]

I only remember horror stories of my time playing online older KoFs with Mexican folks. They wiped the floor with me without exception. As I understand it KoF is almost religion there

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There's a law here that if you want to date a girl, you gotta beat his dad in KoF. That's how so many people got really good :P

 

[EchoChamber]

If I see a kof cabinet I have to play that's the rules.

 

[Fisty]

Yeah this puzzled me big time, a friend of mine from Mexico asked me in late 2013 which gen 8 console he should get, I asked him what games he likes, he said fighting games like KOF. I was like ???? that is random. I asked this forum a few years later why, and I was told pirated cabinets were HUGE in Latin America so that would likely explain it

(I told him to get a PS4 and he didnt listen, he got an XB1 and obviously regretted it in 2016 LOL)

 

[Futaleufu]

Back then when Chile still had arcades, KoF reigned uncontested. I don't even recall seeing any SF or MK machines at the places I frequented.

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I remember Third Strike being played for a couple of weeks, then everybody went back to play KOF and Tekken Tag.

 

[SteelBeast6Beets]

I remember Third Strike being played for a couple of weeks, then everybody went back to play KOF and Tekken Tag.

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Now that you mention it, I do recall seeing a 3rd Strike machine once. It didn't last long.

 

[mreddie]

Yeah this puzzled me big time, a friend of mine from Mexico asked me in late 2013 which gen 8 console he should get, I asked him what games he likes, he said fighting games like KOF. I was like ???? that is random. I asked this forum a few years later why, and I was told pirated cabinets were HUGE in Latin America so that would likely explain it

(I told him to get a PS4 and he didnt listen, he got an XB1 and obviously regretted it in 2016 LOL)

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I assume because XIV

 

[JusDoIt]

This is the content I'm here for.

 

[Meatwad]

It's funny, growing up in the 90's I only ever saw a single NEO GEO Cab at a local convenience store. The local arcade I frequented didn't have anything NEO GEO

By contrast Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat cabs were virtually everywhere. So I think it's just a matter of exposure as to why KOF didn't take off here.

 

[Deleted member 11413]

SMH at people calling SNK games knock offs or lower quality.

 

[nded]

I lived in South Texas as a kid and we had the best of both worlds at the arcades. Capcom and SNK cabs living together in harmony.

 

[celigio]

Back in my highschool days KoF was the thing, followed by Metal Slug and MarvelvsCapcom

 

[crimzonflame]

KOF97 was my favorite. SO many memories.

 

[LuigiMario]

I'd love more stories about gaming in non-primary markets like Mexico. It's so interesting to hear about systems and series catching on when they never did much in the States or sometimes even Japan.

 

[RedSwirl]

After reading the article, I think a major factor is indeed the accessibility of home consoles and a sort of classism. Home consoles have always been mainly sold and marketed to Japan, North America, and Western Europe, and they've always been sort of a middle or upper-middle class thing at that. Maybe that's changed in more recent years, but regions outside of those gravitated towards other platforms like arcades or PC which were just more affordable to more people.

I think Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat were more dominant in North America because you could play those games on Super NES and Genesis, whereas KOF was just on arcades and SNK's prohibitively expensive (ironically) NeoGeo console. Before KOFXII I only remember playing someone's copy of KOF95 on Game Boy.

Oddly enough though, other SNK fighting games did show up on SNES and Genesis back in the day, and I played them quite a bit: Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, I remember Samurai Shodown and World Heroes 2 in particular being the shit. Plus I probably watched the Fatal Fury anime movie like 100 times. SamSho and Fatal Fury are probably a bit more well-known in America compared to SNK's other properties.

An odd flashpoint for me though was when I moved to Germany and ran into a Last Blade 2 cabinet at a barber shop. I'd never seen anything like it.

 

[Advc]

Hell yes. Most SNK games are well known here in Mexico arcades in particular. Metal Slug being the most popular just below KoF. I wasn't much of going to arcades back on my childhood but every time I visited them, there was always like 10 machines ("maquinitas" as we say it here) playing KoF and all of them being played.

 

[sibarraz]

In chile a local arcade was opened 5 years ago thanks to the love that the hardcore kof 98 scene had for the game

Is called dream match

 

[Douche McBaggins The 4th]

Kof in mexico is robert. Robert garcia everywhere. Every Mexican i know knows how to play Robert. Though i play it because its the middle ground not as slow as street fighter but not anime hyper trash speeds.

 

[donkey]

Man, back when I used to live in LA, my friends and I would rock some KOF at the local carniceria. Good games and good food. XD