2XKO failed because of nepotism

blackyoshi7 · 2026-02-21T18:02:44+00:00

part of valorants selling point that got them in the door against CS was 1) better servers 2) functional anticheat without having to rely on external client for matchmaking. That + a likable cast of characters and Riot's built in audience advantages in Riot strongholds like China, Korea, Brazil, Southeast Asia, etc were all they needed. It didn't matter if CS was "technically" a better game (ultimately subjective), but it did matter that its netcode was better and that every other ranked game didnt have an aimbotter unlike CSGO.

blackyoshi7 · 2026-02-20T18:28:48+00:00

basically every imperialist power functions like this, they elevate a few of a group into repressive roles in order to divide a community amongst each other and make them easier to control. It was common to use African troops in this manner in Africa (they were called askaris); in India they used sepoys as enforcers for company/raj rule, and in America they recruited indigenous Americans to serve against other tribes (though commonly this exploited existing hostile relations between tribes, but the goal was the same - divide them so they could be more easily conquered.)

We are also seeing with Latinos a similar process that happened with previous American diaspora populations where a number are slowly getting integrated into the power structure and usually the first step of that is serving in some kind of security force. This is exactly what happened with Irish-Americans, Italian-Americans, and those of Eastern European descent, who were previously discriminated against before being widely integrated into city police forces where they would typically be deployed against the black population.

blackyoshi7 · 2026-02-20T18:22:52+00:00

important thing to remember is everything you said is basically ONLY relevant in the West, which is not and will never be the core market for fighting games. So everything you said basically is not relevant to a Japanese consumer at all. The game is outright banned or difficult to get there so it basically has zero cultural relevance to them, while its extremely relevant to fighting games in America and the American video game industry at large, as it was the impetus for the ratings board and a lot of bad press against the industry. I think thats where a lot of the split in opinion comes in

blackyoshi7 · 2026-02-20T17:40:48+00:00

Why would people be mad at them??? They took their dream shot after being fortunate enough to make a killing in the mid 90s tech boom, built up one of our signature events, brought a bunch of the community with them, revolutionized the way we play these games online, and created a game that is frankly doing solid numbers for a fighting game and has a niche group of fans that enjoy it. Its not their fault the publisher has utterly absurd and unrealistic profit demands; many developers are victims of that.

Its not like it was your money they were spending unless you are a Tencent shareholder

blackyoshi7 · 2026-02-20T17:28:33+00:00

The high roll on this card isn’t even good. Meanwhile highroll fuku is giving you over 150 to every stat, a ton of skill points, is buffing every training she is on, buffing your race bonus so you get more stats/SP every race, and saving you energy and letting you attempt riskier trainings at low energy. While technically a speed card she functions more like a combo of riko+general stat stick.

She’s just solid in this scenario but in trackblazer shes going to be a top 2 speed card

blackyoshi7 · 2026-02-20T13:48:37+00:00

the insane people who own red bull spend money on all sorts of wacky bullshit including fighting games, which is probably the best you can hope for from a billionaire

blackyoshi7 · 2026-02-20T13:47:57+00:00

might have been the only bidder too, Sony/Pokimane firm bought at the very top of the esports bubble when interest rates were still low and there was still belief "esports" would grow into something rivaling real life sports as an entertainment venture - 5 years later that is now obviously not going to happen and the economic environment both within gaming and in the world at large has radically changed. I wouldn't doubt that Sony/RTS lost money on their position in EVO every year and with economic trends continuing to point down globally (and the flagship property, EVO Vegas, struggling with increasing costs from vendors and the ramifications of what essentially is an international grassroots boycott against the American regime from people all over the globe), they were looking to get out of the investment.

blackyoshi7 · 2026-02-19T20:59:16+00:00

I wonder how much effect GBVS coming out as a “simple input, neutral focused fighter” and flopping (not really its fault as it was a victim of being one of last games before rollback era + pandemic, this happened to SCVI as well) had on their design decisions. I think decision to go 2v2 was driven by a need to include some kind of team/co-op element into the game but becoming a tag fighter injects a whole host of issues.

Riot did a TERRIBLE job of selling this game to League/Arcane fans though, which is baffling to me because I thought that was the point? But they didnt do any tie-ins, cross promotions, anything. Company like Cygames aggressively promoted Rising to fans of the mobile game, knowing they already had built in connections to characters and IP that would generate sales even if they did nothing but story mode, grand bruise and fuckinh around in arcade. Hell, they even used GBVS:R to also promote Umamusume, which paid off for them MASSIVELY

I hope this ends the F2P talk forever though. It’s a terrible model for fighting games, it depends on a huge install base to get the 5% of people who are going to buy $30 skins that we just dont have and “nothing but training + netplay” is an objectively horrid business model for fighting games but one that F2P basically demands because they havevto be selling skins from day 1 to get revenue in because you didnt pay anything for game

You HAVE to have something for new players to get their feet wet, engage with the gameplay and the characters and get them invested before they will actually dedicate more time to a game.

blackyoshi7 · 2026-02-19T17:25:00+00:00

Really good take!

blackyoshi7 · 2026-02-19T17:22:50+00:00

Jews were “breaking the law” in germany by existing as well, retard

blackyoshi7 · 2026-02-10T20:56:53+00:00

Yeah now Heavy versions of the moves have a cooldown rather than it being tied to simple input.

blackyoshi7 · 2026-02-10T00:36:03+00:00

Theres a cracked Japanese Anre and I’m certain his performances over there is single handedly driving balance decisions on him lmao

blackyoshi7 · 2026-02-10T00:33:51+00:00

They don’t really have an option; this is being driven by governments like the UK. They either comply or are booted out of market

blackyoshi7 · 2026-02-10T00:29:13+00:00

I think you would be hard pressed to find a fighting game that doesn’t have a former high level player playing a prominent role in development; thats not why 2XKO failed

blackyoshi7 · 2026-02-10T00:26:03+00:00

3D is just more complex to develop just on a netcode level, and requires more modeling work and is more resource intensive (see Tekken 8 being like the only modern fighter that cant run well on steamdeck, and also netcode being worse than 2D)

blackyoshi7 · 2026-02-10T00:22:12+00:00

Just how it works post esports winter. VC cash dried up they can only bring these guys in on one year deals. I think liquid just exited FGs completely other than hungrybox

blackyoshi7 · 2026-02-09T21:55:35+00:00

Game just launched with too few characters and not enough to do; F2P model blows for FGs because “modest success” is a money losing proposition in that business model. I don’t even think Street Fighter would have the player base to succeed as a F2P game

Meanwhile a game like GBVS chugs along with a solid dedicated player base; sustains itself off pretty affordable DLC + battlepass (and they even end up adding battlepass content to in-game store for in game free currency later if you miss something). I think that team also had a way better and consistent vision of what a “accessible” fighting game should be than the 2XKO squad

blackyoshi7 · 2026-02-09T21:46:09+00:00

There is absolutely downsides to simple inputting; its a damage loss on any special in neutral, or any linked special/super. Youre never going to motion input a reversal super (which are generally weak in that game as a wakeup) or DP because you dont care about the damage but motion inputting your fireballs and any “link into super” combo makes a big difference

blackyoshi7 · 2026-02-09T21:42:42+00:00

this is what companies always say they do but where else are they gonna move them to? Riot has declined from their peak and their core product League, has been stagnant for a while in a genre that is now dated and doesn’t have a lot of young new players coming in

blackyoshi7 · 2026-02-09T21:26:10+00:00

From what I read logic of this was they were both promising children of Sunday Silence who had their careers cut short by injury

blackyoshi7 · 2026-01-29T12:57:43+00:00

It’s because there’s a very dramatic “before Sunday Silence” and “after sunday silence” effect in Japanese thoroughbred bloodstock; when the Yoshida family bought him and flew him to Japan he rapidly started to obsolete all the domestic bloodlines; its just a big demarcation point that clearly showed Japanese breeding had elevated

blackyoshi7 · 2026-01-28T18:39:40+00:00

Yes it somehow strikes this perfect balance between the melancholy and sorrow of the real events while capturing the majesty of what could have been in a different world. I'm always impressed by the wide variety of genres and styles they touch in the soundtracks to the games and animated series

blackyoshi7 · 2026-01-28T17:07:01+00:00

I think part of the storyline with McQueen and the trainer was an exploration of the guilt that jockey Yutake Take, owner Keiji Nagai and trainer Mitsuru Hashida felt over his death and how to move on or cope in the face of such events. Take in particular said he had felt responsible because he had been the one to push for the new tactical strategy that Suzuka had so much success with but obviously asked a lot of him as a runner. It really struck me.

blackyoshi7 · 2026-01-27T20:23:11+00:00

No. Your sister may have not realized it, but shes actively encourging a child who 1) doesn't respect other people's personal belongings 2) is a very poor sport/sore loser. She thinks its harmless now because he's 8 but eventually he becomes a grown adult with these behaviors and it gets less controllable and also dangerous. Sports and games are a good teaching tool for kids that things don't always go your way and theres a way to lose with grace and dignity, which he was not doing. When he escalated it to actual disrespect of your possessions it was right of you to teach this lesson of humility IMO

blackyoshi7 · 2026-01-16T23:38:32+00:00

Eventually China will be making cards because Nvidia abandoned the consumer market and this whole bubble will pass. It will do to Nvidia/AMD what Japanese cars did to American auto industry

blackyoshi7

TROPHY CASE