Virtua Fighter's "eSports Mechanics": A Discussion and Proposal

We may well be getting a new Virtua Fighter game soon, and it's easy to get cynical when you don't really know what to expect. So here are my thoughts about what the prospect of "eSports mechanics and concepts" could mean for VF, and why it might not be all doom and gloom.
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ko-fi.com/Sleepmode
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0:00 Intro
1:10 Virtua Fighter... eSports?
3:42 "eSports mechanics": What the are and what they aren't
7:55 How VF has changed over time
9:32 VF's "eSports Mechanics": A Proposal
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SOURCES:
VF5US match footage courtesy of RajmanGaming HD ( • Virtua Fighter 5 Ultim... )
Music: Gostropolis (Arranged Ver.) - VF5US OST
"Virtua Fighter 2?" - ZBEP ( • Virtua Fighter 2? )
"Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown. April's Fools - English sub (rough translation)" - Ssudden Ddeath ( • Virtua Fighter 5 Final... )
"Pokken Tournament - Pikachu Optimal Counter Attack Anti Air Combo" - Debow Gaming ( • Pokken Tournament - Pi... )
"Soul Calibur 6: Lethal Hit 116 Damage Cassandra Combo" - Exalted-Beleth ( • Soul Calibur 6: Lethal... )
"Shang Tsung 8 Krushing Blows in 1 Combo" - X-Azeez ( • Shang Tsung 8 Krushing... )
"A Tetsuzanko can change the whole match" - aceDOZA - AKRON ( • A Tetsuzanko can chang... )

[@Gorkzilla1]

putt knuckles in it

[@khanage1344]

My favourite part of Virtua Fighter eSports at EVO 2027 is when Akira used his Virtua Meter to perform a Virtua Low into a 45 second long super that gives him plus frames right after, allowing him to use his Virtua Dash into a Virtua Mid to take the round. Good to see you upload again, Sleepmode 🔥

[@SleepmodeFGC]

this is the future liberals want
thanks homie, hope you’re holding up okay

[@TexasLionVF]

I hope the backgrounds are like vf3 but more interactive. Like fighting in a bar and you can interact with the tables or crowd and you can break through the front or back door and fight in the street or alley. So many cool stuff they could do. The wrestlers could fight in an actual wrestling ring and interact with the ropes and turnbuckle and maybe fight in the backstage area of the arena. I hope the characters show more personality too like showing torn clothes and bruised bodies and being more talkative. I have high hopes for this game.

[@mismatch9069]

👍

[@SleepmodeFGC]

👍

[@mohastgridlock]

Esports will die but Virtua Fighter is forever

[@machinegun7547]

I'll be honest, depending on how many original AM2 guys are still knocking around working on this theoretical VF6, I'd be pretty hyped about radical design changes. If it's a bunch of AM2 veterans that know VF inside and out, I'd be happy giving them free reign. Who knows better what works and what doesn't in a VF game than AM2?
Fuck it, if they put super arts and special cancels and EX moves in the game I wouldn't complain. They'd find a way to set a new standard for the mechanics in the whole genre, let alone make the mechanics work in VF.
Imagine doing a super, your opponent getting hit, and then they do a specific input in a precise window during the super animation to cut the animation short and turn your super into their super for even bigger damage. While I doubt such a thing would *ever* be implemented, that is the kind of expectation I have for AM2's design decisions; batshit, interesting, and different from the way everyone else does things, but not without very good reason.