Does the Rise of Tekken Signify the Release Capcom's Stranglehold on the FGC?

Full disclosure, as a Street Fighter fanboy, I write this article with a heavy heart.

For those interested in the full history of Street Fighter and what it has done for the Fighting Game Community (FGC), I will link you to this great documentary.

Of particular note is Harada acknowledging that Street Fighter's success paved the way for other fighting games to be developed, including the Tekken series. It's clear that Street Fighter was the first, and for a very long time Street Fighter was the best, but now there is a growing air of discontent for Capcom fighters due to the poor launch of Street Fighter V, and the lukewarm response to Marvel vs Capcom Infinite's playable demo.

Conversely, it seems that Tekken's momentum has been steadily growing with the release of Tekken 7, and now celebrates its landmark 1000 entrants for EVO 2017, one of the biggest eSports tournaments of the year[1].

So why should Capcom be concerned about Namco's success? Aren't we all Akuma fans here? Maybe not. A quick investigation of any Tekken forum will reveal that the players who praise Tekken also tend bash Street Fighter in the same breath. It's even to the point where this Steam player's post landed at the top of the Street Fighter V Most Helpful Reviews section[2].

Why the animosity? So you don't like SFV? Big deal, you play your game, and I will play mine. Maybe the animosity isn't about the game itself, but about the attitude from Capcom fanboy community. A sentiment that has been highlighted in this infamous post from Lupe Fiasco in March of 2016[3]. The post was later deleted because the community misinterpreted his words, and that's not what he really meant. But we all know what you really meant, Lupe.

With Capcom dominating the FGC for so long, the players that embraced Capcom enjoyed a level fanboyism bordering on elitism. However, those who did not embrace Capcom games and their decisions were considered inferior. Lupe's tweet was only one minuscule speck of a long-standing mentality that has been causing a rift in the Fighting Game Community[4]. This growing rift would be more recently mentioned in Aris' brutally honest impressions of the Marvel vs Capcom Infinite demo.

The result is that the non-Capcom fans that stubbornly refused to embrace Ryu as their savior are now enjoying a boon in their own communities, while the Capcom fans are living with symptoms comparable to Stockholm Syndrome[5].

So does Tekken's EVO numbers mean that Capcom games are dying? I don't think so. I still believe that the Street Fighter V and Marvel vs Capcom Infinite communities will continue in bring in numbers alongside their Tekken, Injustice 2, Guilty Gear, Smash Bros, KOF XIV, and KI competitors. However, I do see Tekken's rise signify the release of Capcom's stranglehold on the hearts and minds of the FGC members like myself that always believed that Capcom would be number 1.

A lot of people seemed to have already moved on greener pastures. As fresh new eSports blogger, I also need to think about this more, and I believe you the reader might need to think about this as well.

REFERENCES
[1] https://twitter.com/MrWiz/status/880124302829297664
[2] http://steamcommunity.com/id/calebisangry/recommended/310950
[3] https://testyourmight.com/threads/lupe-fiasco-deletes-derogatory-mk-tweet-after-being-challenged-by-sonicfox.59250/
[4] Over 20 years of personal experience in the FGC.
[5] https://twitter.com/Chris_Tatarian
**Special credit goes to TattooedArms for his research on this article, and to my girlfriend for pointing out how ugly Chun Li is now.