Sega Announces New Virtua Fighter Game is in Development - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 06 November 2024 / 2,216 Views
Sega Global Transmedia Group Justin Scarpone in an interview with VideoGamesChronicle announced a new entry in the fighting series, Virtua Fighter, is in development.
"So we have a suite of titles in development right now that fall into that legacy bucket, which we announced last year at The Game Awards; Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage, Shinobi, and we have another Virtua Fighter being developed," said Scarpone.
"And so all that’s very exciting. And then in certain instances, we’re also doing animation series, or live-action films to augment that and be part of those roadmaps."
The last entry in the series, Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown, released for the PlayStation 4 in June 2021.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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Between this and the confirmed Switch 2 backwards compatibility, at least we got some good news today.
Hopefully Sega looks at what other fighting games do to make them more friendly for noobs and casuals to pick up the game and make a real commitment. Past VF games (and less popular IPs like Fighting Vipers and Virtual On) just gave you the vanilla Arcade mode, Vs. mode, maybe, a very basic Training mode against a dummy opponent, maybe Time Attack and/or Survival Mode, and that's it.
It doesn't have to have things like Kart Racing or Break the Targets or Weapon Master Mode or whatever that thing is in Street Fighter 6 (not hating on it, just can't remember what it's called), but a bit more effort in sending the message that the game is for everyone and not just loyal fans would go a long way. Things like teaching players how to perform bread-n'-butter combos and well-known special moves, making players aware of intricacies and playstyles for specific characters, allowing macros to certain buttons or analog flicks outside of ranked online play.
Virtua fighter is one of the most beginner friendly fighting games out there. It doesn't overly emphasize technical execution, it has the market leader in training modes that all other figghting games are still playing catch up to. and it genuinely explains all of its mechanics instead of intentionally obfuscating them the way tekken for example does. Like seriously the "massively improved training mode" of tekken 8 over 7 is really just adding a few features that were already present in virtua fighter 4.
VF just really struggled attracting attention by not beingg flashy enough. And that was tekken 7's big success. increasing the flashiness adding slow motion and such to increase its spectator value.
Also didn't help that VF got its start on the Saturn and Dreamcast before coming to PS2, while Tekken got its start on PlayStation. and was one of the PlayStation line's very first blockbusters. I always preferred VF over Tekken.
I also like that VF is so versatile with just three buttons - punch, kick, and block.
This is literally the first time I have ever seen anyone call Virtua Fighter "beginner friendly". The consensus I have gotten over the years is that VF is one of the most complex, hard to master, purely skill-based fighters you can play.
Regardless, that's not the point. "VF just really struggled attracting attention by not beingg flashy enough." That's more along the lines of what I meant. I'm not saying VF needs to turn matches into a Independence Day fireworks show with its specials or bring back moon jumping to stand out or something. I'm just saying that it could stand to have more modes to not only bridge the gap between beginners and veterans, but to have more than the bare bones basics (Arcade, Vs., Survival) that Sega fighting games tended to have in the past.
Sega are in pretty good shape I think, so they should be able to give the next Viryual Fighter all the features it needs, and more. They can look at some recent fighting games for inspiration. A functioning rollback netcode is a must of course.
I've never gotten into VF, but also never gave it much time. There was one thing I remember not liking, at least when I tried it, and that was having to wiggle the stick (or d-pad) to get out of hit-stun from some attacks. Kinda like the dizzy effect in original Street Fighter 2. Maybe I'd end up liking it if I get used to it though. But I feel like I wouldn't.
my sega/samy stock needs this!
Last entry was 2021 makes it sound like it hasn't been that long when VF5 was first released in 2007. A full proper new release would be welcome.
Fighting games seems to be taking off for the most part of late. SF6, T8, DBZ Sparking Zero, are all seeemingly doing well. Ignoring T8's issues with mtx of course. Fighting might now be a niche genre but the players of it are dedicated and seem to want it to thrive.
Day 1 buy for me
Day 1 buy for me
Day 1 buy for me
Awesome! Waited almost 20 years for a VF6
Well, this is some good news.
Hell yeah.
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