Did you know that the four ghosts that torment Pac-Man are called Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde? In the coming 15 months after Pac-man’s release, people all over the world would spend more than one billion dollars in quarters to play the classic arcade game. In the Golden Age Of Arcade Video Games, Pac-Man was just one but of many iconic video games during the era among the likes of Space Invaders, Galaga, and Asteroids. However, arguably the most popular genre to rise up and persist among modern pop culture is the competitive fighting game.
Karate Champ was released in 1984 originally for arcades and is credited for birthing the modern one-on-one fighting genre. However, there was no health bar and instead, hits were credited in a “point system”. What resembles the modern fighting game the most however was Street Fighter released by Capcom in 1987. Although it was not necessarily received with praise, it would set the precedent for one of the most successful fighting games ever released: Street Fighter 2: The World Warrior
Upon its release, it was met with critical acclaim all over the world. It had improved upon the mechanics of the first game and featured the same multi input special moves. Famously, that is where the move “Hadouken” was first made popular -- an energy blast and Ryu’s special move. Arguably, Street Fighter 2’s release created a boom in the fighting game industry. From there on, games like Mortal Kombat would rise and join the ranks of Street Fighter 2 as popular arcade fighting games.
Eventually, the biggest fighting game tournament, Evolution Championship Series, would be formally held in 2002 featuring games such as Super Street Fighter II Turbo and Capcom vs. SNK 2. Although the fighting game scene was dying at the time, Moment 37 in EVO 2004 helped revive the competitive fighting game community (Please watch this --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS5peqApgUA and with the crowd here --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzS96auqau0). It is arguably the most famous moment in esports history. Daigo’s incredible skill and comeback has been compared to the likes of Miracle on Ice and Babe Ruth’s called home run. Daigo had just 1/10ths of a second to parry 15 strikes in a row and the crowd’s reaction shows just how much “hype” there was. It’s because of moments like these why fighting games became so popular in the 2010 decade.
Today, Street Fighter V is played among many competitive fighting games. They may never regain the popularity that they once had, but they have definitely cemented themselves as legends in modern pop culture history.
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