I assume that the more successful the game is among buyers, the more likely DLC content is added, which is always a plus. I do have two things I’ll be watching as the game nears its release. There are a plethora of YouTube videos asking why games don’t feel fun anymore, and I think something like what “Street Fighter 6” is trying to do may address this. In fact, if there’s anything the booming streaming industry has shown us, it’s that sometimes you don’t have to even play a game yourself to enjoy it. The ubiquity of “Animal Crossing” during the height of the pandemic showed us that community is possible online and that there’s more to gaming than competition and beating bosses by yourself. The shared experience of movietheaters has not been rendered obsolete by the convenience of movie streaming websites because they fulfill two different needs. But my rebuttal would be: Why not have both?

Of course, chat rooms and gamer tags aren’t the same as in-person arcades. Perhaps 2023, when the official release is expected, could be one step closer to a new age of gaming, with even more expansive and immersive digital community. While I do have deep nostalgia from walking through those electro-mechanical wonderlands filled with flashing lights, a cacophony of machine sound effects and sporadic shouts of joy as I mulled over which coin-operated system deserved my last quarter, I sadly cannot remember seeing one that was wheelchair accessible. (And I’m not recreating Abe Simpson’s Old Man Yells At Cloud meme through Golden Age thinking as I relish the glory days.) Sadly this type of in-person community is rare these days.

This is not to deny the value the industry gained from modernity, which is unquestionably priceless.

Largely lost, however, is the arcade era of strangers meeting in person and forming friendships as they’re enjoying an activity together. It also presented a vacuum - now filled - where international communities of online modders could take official titles to the unofficial next level. The industry’s mass production of consoles in the late ’90s to early 2000s - and embracing of the internet years later - brought gamers the convenience of playing from the comfort of their own homes, incredibly heightened graphics, and the complicated game physics we have today.

Street fighter 6 release date pc