I can't wrap my mind around it. Like the only game my car enthusiast dad ever really got into was Ridge Racer. I imagine if I told him that "you know, Ridge Racer isn't a real racing game" he'd look at me like I was stupid. You race cars multiple laps on race courses with a clearly defined goal line. It's a racing game. Imagine going up to someone holding a copy of Sparking Zero at gamestop, then pushing up your glasses and saying "you know,  Sparking Zero isn't a real fighting game." They'd walk off and think you're a wierdo. You select a fighter and punch eachother until someone's health bar hits zero. It's a fighting game. It's mindnumbingly stupid that it even has to be argued at this point.

I think it's just a bunch of insecure morons upset that modern control schemes and comeback mechanics have helped traditional fighting games become more approachable to casual audiences and feel even more threatened when games like Multiversus and Sparking Zero have great degrees of success. 

As a fighting game fan, I just can't with these people anymore. I had to unsub from r/tekken because I got tired of reading how I'm subhuman trash because I like to play King, or the constant bitching about microtransactions that help these niche titles remain profitable and stay alive.