Street Fighter II
Capcom's 1991 arcade fighting game that defined the fighting genre.
Where Street Fighter II comes up1 episode or test
- One-on-one fighting concept
- Odd cabinet, two huge buttons
- Flopped
- Same one-on-one concept
- Huge cast, depth, art, music
- Hit that defined the genre
Same idea, rebuilt experience: fighting became the top genre
From Street Fighter II case study
What was said about Street Fighter II
1How Street Fighter II turned a failed first game into a genre
Capcom treated the flop of Street Fighter as a draft. The first Street Fighter was a dud, possibly because of its odd cabinet with two huge pressure-sensitive buttons. Capcom kept the concept and rebuilt the experience in the sequel.
The source hedges on the cause of the failure, saying the cabinet was a possible reason.
Street Fighter II won by fixing the whole experience, not the concept. Capcom's sequel set out to create a new genre with a huge cast of memorable characters, deep gameplay, strong sprite work and catchy music.
The idea of a one-on-one fighting game stayed the same. The big cast, depth, art and music made it a hit that defined the genre.
Street Fighter II made fighting games the top genre for three years. Fighting games were the top genre in the dataset in 1996, 1997 and 1998, with more than 30 fighting games released in 1996.
The data shows the sequel's influence on the wider market, as many other studios made fighting games after it.
The History of Every Video Game Genre
The first Street Fighter was a dud with an odd cabinet of two huge pressure-sensitive buttons. The sequel had a big cast, deep play and great art, and fighting games topped the data in 1996 to 1998.
Capcom treated the flop of Street Fighter as a draft. The first Street Fighter was a dud, possibly because of its odd cabinet with two huge pressure-sensitive buttons. Capcom kept the concept and rebuilt the experience in the sequel.
The source hedges on the cause of the failure, saying the cabinet was a possible reason.
Street Fighter II won by fixing the whole experience, not the concept. Capcom's sequel set out to create a new genre with a huge cast of memorable characters, deep gameplay, strong sprite work and catchy music.
The idea of a one-on-one fighting game stayed the same. The big cast, depth, art and music made it a hit that defined the genre.
Street Fighter II made fighting games the top genre for three years. Fighting games were the top genre in the dataset in 1996, 1997 and 1998, with more than 30 fighting games released in 1996.
The data shows the sequel's influence on the wider market, as many other studios made fighting games after it.
More in Games
GamesNintendo
A Zelda adventure where Princess Zelda copies objects and monsters as echoes to solve puzzles and fight.
GamesThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Nintendo's long-running action-adventure series about Link exploring Hyrule, solving puzzles and fighting Ganon.
GamesDead Space
A major video game publisher and the guest's employer.
G
29 sources · 94 tipsMind Over Magnet
A puzzle platformer where you escape a factory using a magnet and a magnetic field.
GamesFar Cry 2
An open world action game where you recruit and play any of London's citizens.
GamesGod of War
A combat-focused action adventure game from Santa Monica Studio with Norse mythology and light puzzles.
Mind Over Magnet
Mark Brown's first game, a puzzle game he made while learning Unity.
GamesDishonored
A first-person stealth action game from Arkane with supernatural powers and the Clockwork Mansion level.