So first off, what is Street Fighter IV? Here’s the factual lowdown. SFIV is a 2D fighting game produced by Capcom. It was released to Japanese arcades in July 2008 and to home consoles in February 2009. The basic point of the game is to have two characters beat each other into a blinding pulp until one emerges victorious. Whether you care much about fighting games or not, you should already know this. Fighting games have been around for decades and they’re really nothing new. So what makes SFIV so special if it’s just the same thing that’s been around for years? More importantly, why do I even play it? Well, I’ll tell you…

Hands down, SFIV has to be the most competitive and rewarding games I have ever played. When you win, you feel like you really deserve it. When you lose, you may become frustrated, but deep down you’re encouraged to try harder. Sure, I’ve played plenty of competitive games before: Starcraft, Halo, Gears of War, etc., but none of them really give you the same feeling of satisfaction that SFIV does. When you land that match-ending Ultra, you feel good about it. When you nail that finishing combo, you can’t help but smile a bit cause you deserved it. When someone does the exact same thing to you, all you can do is look at the screen and go “awwwww” cause they kicked your ass and you know it. It’s not a game like Halo or Call of Duty where if you lose, you end up making a bunch of excuses. “That’s bullsh-” “I shot him first!” “There’s no way he could’ve shot me!” “That’s impossible” “It was lagging!” “This game is garbage!” Seriously? Games like those are filled with the biggest bunch of crybabies and after hearing them whine so many times, I stopped playing multi player shooters.

Believe it or not, but SFIV has been responsible for some pretty awesome get-togethers too. You just can’t beat having your friends come together to eat food and fight each other till the wee hours of the morning. It’s awesome. You can’t forget the arcade scene either. After the interest in arcades began to decline over the past decade, some will argue that SFIV singlehandedly revived the arcade scene a bit. My friends and I are lucky enough to live close to Arcade UFO in Austin, an abandoned laundromat that was transformed into a Japanese head-to-head style arcade. Players from all over Texas come just to compete in tournaments or to just play for fun. Simply put, it’s an awesome place to meet people and kick their asses while doing it. So what if you don’t have an arcade or even friends to play with? Take it online. No matter what online game you play, there’s always trash-talkers and SFIV is no exception. But overall, people who play SFIV online are generally nicer and chances are, you’ll more than likely get a “Good game!” rather than a “You suck!” Don’t believe me? Here’s just a few of the messages I’ve received from playing others online:

TPeezy80 -  ggs g viper | NovaGrau - gg indeed | Skyfire Cascade – great fights thanks! your vipers really good! | Xx BOSP xX – lol thanks but u had a damn good viper ggs | ARMODILLOXX – hey ur great too! thxs | krimb – lol ldw your viper is amazing! :) | Krzysioxxx – 1# meeega fucking nooob in SF !! that’s all 1 player fighter??!! | II Maru II – your too good | redhadouken23 – u 2 lol ur like da best viper player i seen so far | Saadaas – best viper ever… respect | AmySan – your are verry good with viper ^^ | Dulvalius – got to go back to work…GGs…you whipped my ass | JpCafff – Your Viper is awesome. Keep Going !!! | stratonimbus – YOur good at viper. I don’t see many player her out there. | AnotherBayesian – same to you dude… yes, you have an awesome viper | SmthHeidern – nice viper | II Mr Bear II – badass C viper there!!! | Jude Blatt – nice fights m8 | parabellum srk – your viper is good =) | AsgardTheDestro – nice viper. I actually dont see too many. Thats why I studied the matchup. You on SRK? | Senger – ggs even match | DaftOyster – I thought I’d get one eventually :P Good games, man. | Excalibur212 – GG’s, stikll got some training to do, to get on ur level. | TehAngryPierre – Viper is mean :( I should try to learn viper again… I quit last time i tried | rfxx – ggs. hey i just started playing viper. any tips for me? xD im not good with the canceling and mix ups yet. | flintsider – gg too good for me

SFIV hasn’t brought anything groundbreaking or innovative to the gaming industry. It’s no less of a game than any other. But because of it’s unique take on competitive play, it’s become a phenomenon that continues to bring players together. The phrase “easy to learn, hard to master” definitely applies to this game and there’s a reason why it was crowned Best Fighting Game of the Year. Players are constantly demanding more. With Capcom delivering Super Street Fighter IV early next year, they are giving their players the ultimate fan service.

This is why I play SFIV.