With the console release date of Street Fighter 4 finally being announced, I’m sure there are a lot of players out there that have been waiting for it to come out on console to really start learning the game. Yeah I know there are plenty of players who would be playing everyday if they didn’t live six hours away from the nearest machine, so this article is not for you guys. This is for the players who do live relatively close to a SF4 machine, but are not taking advantage of this huge opportunity to get a jump on the competition.
1. You will be six months behind
Here in SoCal, we’ve had Street Fighter 4 since about mid-August or so. It started with one machine at Super Arcade, but now I believe there are eight locations with SF4. With all of these locations, I believe we have a larger player base than anywhere else in the country and that means that as a whole, I believe that we will have had more collective experience against a wider variety of play styles, characters and players than any other are of the country. That means that if you are starting three months from now, you will be a full six months behind us. Of course, some players will be able to learn the game quickly, but learning the basics and placing high in tournaments are two different things, which brings me to my next point.
2. Experience is key
Just like in all fighting games, experience is a huge factor in whether you are winning or losing. The fact is, those of us with six months of experience will be crushing those of you that are barely getting started in February, because this is a totally new game. That may change later on down the line, but I’m pretty positive that when Evo comes around, Top 8 will consist only of players who have been playing months before the console release.
While new players will still be learning the basics of Focus Attacks, those of us that have been playing for months will probably have already perfected Focus Attack Back Dashes, Kara Focus Dashes, etc.
3. You will be playing matchups you might have never played before
This part is mostly geared toward 3rd Strike players, but it may apply to Marvel players as well, not to mention players of 3D fighters such as Tekken or Soul Calibur. In addition to the four completely new characters, Gouken and Seth, you will probably be playing a whole slew of matchups you’ve never played before. A lot of you guys, myself included, have never played most of these matchups before, such as Balrog vs Dhalsim, Ryu vs. Guile, anybody vs. Zangief, anybody vs. El Fuerte etc.
These matchups take a lot of experience that can’t be learned overnight. The sooner you get started, the less your chances of getting peaced out at Evo by a play style you’ve never seen before.
4. There will be even more characters to learn
In addition to there being an entirely new combo engine, Focus Attacks and the Revenge Meter, there will also be eight new characters added to the roster when the game is released on console. These new characters will add even more depth to the game, which will be a challenge for those of us already playing. For us, we’ll have to learn how to play against eight new characters, but you guys will have to learn 24 (well maybe not quite, depending on how crappy Dan is 
). That means 3x the effort and 3x the matchups.
5. You will have missed out on six months of tournament experience
Playing a new game in a tournament can be surprisingly difficult. When you’re playing a game you have years of experience with (such as 3s, CVS2, Marvel, etc.,) you already know every option in every possible situation. But when you’re still learning the game, you’re probably going to do pretty bad in tournaments for a long time because not only do you not know all of the situations, you’re not 100% comfortable playing with your character because you simply haven’t put the hours in.
I remember the first three or four SF4 tournaments I played in, even if I did well, I felt like I got lucky and was still mashing out uppercuts and combos, even though I was playing fine in casuals. I’m sure glad that I got most of the tournament jitters out of my system now before Evo comes around and it really counts.
I believe it is possible for early tournament results to dictate lots of future results because of players’ expectations. For example, a mid-level 3rd Strike player who gets a lot of early SF4 experience now, could easily reap the benefits for years because they did well in early SF4 tourneys. Let’s say that you never managed to consistently get top 8 in 3rd Strike, but now you are always getting top 8 because you jumped onboard SF4 early. Now you expect to get top 8 which will propel you to work harder to maintain your new top 8 status which will help you for as long as you’re playing SF4 and all future revisions.
Hopefully this inspires some of you guys who have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for SF4 to come out on console to get started putting in the time and effort that this game requires! What do you guys think?
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Yeah I agree with gootecks on this matter, you can’t get really good in a game in just one day and people are also behind strategies. Better crack at that ST4 folks!
socal we da best.
yeah seriously. if you live relatively close to an sf4 cabinet and know that you’re going to be playing the game eventually, do yourself a favor by listening to this man and heading over to the arcade (like, right now!).
i used to take it for granted and i would complain about the nearest machine being 40 minutes away until i realized that the majority of the players in the country don’t even have access to the game at all.
@Tatsujinken
That’s the spirit! 40 minutes isn’t that far, that’s about how far I live from FFA so I got making that drive every weekend to level up.
Reason #6: BLAM!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_H07dcqZ3E#t=2m59s
You guys are so lucky to have arcades.
I’ll definetly grab a 1 hour bus drive every single weekend, but there’s no such thing as “Arcade scene” in Spain.
On the other hand, I wonder if with time, they will release Sakura and the rest of the console-only cast on arcade.
It’s pretty dumb to have 8 extra characters, that will never be played in serious tournaments, therefore, become somehow “2nd line characters”.
This will be a problem for arcade version tournaments (which are the only choice on most European countries). Extra characters banned or not? Maybe they’re broken, or maybe people want to play sticking as much as possible to a real arcade experience…
I hope Capcom make the right move, and makes some kind of second version or revision to the original arcade, in order to add the new characters.
well done ryan, well done.
Great Write Up .. ill be in China Town Fair Saturday till it closes showing up late cause some friends got overtime..I live about 30 mins away in Jersey but transit takes about 2 hours because the path trains suck. This game is great even if you play 10 matches just get them in ,cause its worth it to know what your buying on the release date. Its well worth it.
@Hideki
I’m almost positive Capcom will release an arcade update that adds the new characters. Maybe not Seth or Gouken, but for sure the other six. Seth and Gouken might be limited to console and banned from tournament play in the same way that Gill in 3s was.
@Bob
Thanks! And thanks for catching my typo lol.
@John Cosentino
Damn that sucks, but it’s good you’re putting the time in when you can, cuz it will pay off in the longrun!
@gootecks
Seth I know might be banned, but Gouken as well? Well I’m not too sure since I didn’t see his gameplay too well.
Aye, I think assuming Gouken’s going to be banned is viable.
Awesome read, Gootecks, I agree with you 100% here. Though, I gotta admit, I haven’t been goin’ to Super or JG as frequently these past couple weeks… Gotta step up, hahah.
As a person who started 3rd strike pretty late (july 2006)
I can safely say, starting late sucks total ass, playing early gets you a better feel for the game since you can progress confortably instead of pissing off everyone around you cuz of your scrubbyness.
In many ways, playing before any of the metagame is really developed is fun, but the game can also usually feel quite scrubby, since no one really understands how to play the game, and we’re all used to perfect understanding of the fighters that have been played for the last 8 years. When you start a fighter later, you come in after the groundwork is done by players much better than you (typically the Japanese). It seems it’s much easier to get better, faster… but you’ll also get rocked by comparatively much better competition.
I was watching some older (SBO2-era) 3S videos this morning, and while the unpolished play was a bit more evident, the matches were still incredibly intense and exciting to watch. I’m a bit concerned that due to SF4’s more defensive, static nature, that these crazy ebb-and-flow, high adrenaline matches won’t really take place once the SF4 metagame really settles down. It will more or less come down to counterpicking and waiting for mistakes (limiting options, winning by time-out, etc), which makes for less entertaining matches to watch (imho). What are your thoughts on this, gootecks, since my understanding is that your first competitive SF game was also 3rd Strike?
@Dae
Who knows, anything is possible at this point. For all we know, Seth could be usable in tournament. 100% speculation at this point.
@madriker
Time to take advantage of our head start!
@Infil
I agree that when you come into a game later after everything is already established, it’s easier to level up if you have a knack for that sort of thing because you have a higher jumping off point so to speak. But I don’t really think that that applies in this situation because I’m specifically talking about players not being able to catch up in time for Evo 2009.
Rumor has it Evo 2009 will be held toward the beginning of summer, giving players who wait until the console release approximately four months, whereas the rest of us will have been playing for approximately ten months.
Also, saying SF4 is defensive and static is a pretty big generalization. Nobody would say that 3s is defensive or static, but yet this year we had a Top 8 full of Chuns, which is arguably defensive and static. So to me it depends more on the tier list and how much the high tier characters dominate.
Part of the reason SF4 might seem like there’s a lot of waiting for mistakes is because we might be at a period where that is the best option for a lot of players because everyone has gotten comfortable attacking and defending, but not enough offensive options have been figured out yet that beat solid defense.
Indeed, this upcoming Evo didn’t really enter my thought process because it’s never been realistic for me to attend Evo.
But I can see that if you’re practicing for an upcoming tournament, then getting this early practice in is going to be extra beneficial.
And you’re right, I don’t mean to unfairly generalize a game I haven’t had the opportunity to play for myself. It’s more an internal “fear” that I’m expressing, and hoping isn’t true, but then again that’s my playstyle and others may disagree. Heh, it’s funny you mentioned the Chuns at Evo this year, because as I was typing my message I thought of that myself. Third Strike does have its boring and its unfair matchups, so it’s not realistic for me to expect that every character will have options against every other character. But when I see a classic Makoto/Dudley matchup, or something with a ton of offense, a ton of action, and a ton of options at any time, I’m a little worried to think that a typical match between high-tiers in SF4 might be a defensive struggle won with time-out, and offensive characters like Viper continue to move down the tier list. Maybe I’m alone in this.
oo i might try to go to my first evo since i have been playing this game for awhile. I never bothered to go for 3rd strike since i started that around january of 2007. i started 3rd strike way late and it took me quite awhile to learn the game to the fullest so if you guys live near a sf4 machine start now! plus learning a new game along with everyone else is really fun. Every time i go to the arcades im always getting help or helping someone and it really is the time to start playing. there is still a lot to learn even so if you don’t start now you will be so far behind and the competition will be intense. i am trying to attend to as many sf4 tournies as i can since i lack tourny exp. probably have only gone to less than 10 tournies and this game has given me the most tourny experience. also if you are transitioning from 3rd strike as i did and many others, the match ups are really weird at first so the sooner you can play the more you will get used to the match ups. gootecks really did hit the key points on why you should play it now if you have it near you. also you will just be making the community bigger and better if you start now. good job gootecks, hopefully this will make more people come out. everyone brings a new style which makes this so much fun and you won’t be the only one learning, we all are!
Living six hours away from a SFIV arcade cabinet… boy does that sound familiar. It stings, Ryan… it stings. lol
This is great advice for anyone who’s looking to get serious about Street Fighter IV though. I’d be at the arcade any chance I got if I was so priveledged to have a machine within reasonable distance. Those who do should really take that opportunity… even if you’re not planning to be go to tournies. I say this because you really never know… you could try out the game and really get sucked in and that desire to want to get better could grow from that. The next thing you know it’s full-blown addiction and you’re searching for quarters between the couch cushions. lol
Basically I’m saying there’s no harm in trying out a game early… before it’s released on consoles and before you buy. Gives you a better idea of what you’re getting and if you’d be into it. And for any of those that do have an arcade with SFIV nearby… if you do start practicing, I’d say try encouraging others to play with you. Whether it’s your friends, or just others you see around the arcade. Ask them if they wanna have a go. If you’re both just starting out then you’ll probably be pretty evenly matched so it’ll likely not be as frustrating as playing someone more experienced. You can level up while helping to expand the community! That’s good for us all.
Remember kids,
Do Street Fighter. Not drugs.
I live 2 hours north of San Jose and an hour south of Davis. I am not willing to make either drive, even every weekend just to play SF4. As much as I want to get the practice in, and do well, I simply can’t. It sucks, there’s no SF4 love in the Bay Area.
Oh yeah! Me and 2 of my friends are trying to scrounge together some money so we can pay to drive from SD to LA to play at FFA just to get stomped by people who actually know how to play. Might even have to miss school to get there when it’s half off.
Learning in the arcade is really tough for me. I frequent CTF (I usually go about once a week and have been since the first day SF4 was installed), but unless I go early (as in when it opens), I’m going up against the players that visit the arcade probably every day, and I feel like I fall behind. Not to mention, plays are a dollar each, the waiting lines can be long and its tough to learn when you have people like JWong at the machine. I still stick it out though.
Get a head start while you can guys. I mean from a Top Tekken Player’s (TTP, lol yeah I just made that up) point-of-view, this game is extremely different, but right now it’s pretty fun learning a totally new game and starting all over from scratch again. I’m just happy to live 30 mins away from 3 arcades that have it for the cheapest price in the WORLD! If YOU live in Socal, no excuses man, get on it!!
@Chopper Dave
If you can make a weekend out of it, you should stop by AI and Denjin as well. Fridays and Saturdays are usually pretty packed at AI.
@v-rated
You gotta go more than once a week, probably more like everyday. But yeah it’s not your imagination that you are falling behind, but at the same time you’re still ahead of the curve because you’re not waiting till console. If you make it a point to go early more often, you’ll start to see steady improvements.
@MYK
But yeah Video 94 still has it for a quarter! SF4 spoiled!
Too bad AI raised it to 50 cents again. Wah wah.
Street Fighter 4 is shaping up to be quite the game. I think that if you look at the arcade play vs. console play for many games in the past, there is only a slight difference in gameplay, especially now with the new controllers coming out.
That said, true tourney players will only rely on the console play for the online play.
I totally agree with you, gootecks… It was well said but if you live in Poland, where we don’t have arcades anymore, you’re forced to wait till Capcom release the console version.