Knife Fights and Sonic Booms

When I was eight years old, a group of wannabe Filipino gangsters dragged me out of a bowling alley arcade and pulled a knife on me over a game of Street Fighter. Not to say that I was some sort of gaming savant growing up, but I knew how to play one mean Guile in the times of the M.Bison bicycle loop. I also didn't know how not to play in a shady area of San Jose. These punks in their late teens thought that I was joking around when I accepted their hussle. After the match, I questioned his manhood and the size of his balls for not paying up when he lost. I never did get another match with the misanthrope, but I also didn't get stabbed over a few good traps. Fair trade.

This is what I think of every time some poor smuck decides to open his mouth over a game like Street Fighter. I had to play in that god awful bowling alley because it was the only competition I could find where people would actually play me like a human being. Meaning, they didn't cry like little girls when I threw and they didn't call anything cheap.

Cheap. That fucking word.

I shouldn't be surprised by the actions of those playing Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting over XBOX Live. If you recall my last entry on the subject, I'm really not happy with the conversion, and it's even worse online. Still, I can not resist the smell of fresh achivement points. I shouldn't be surprised because the current crop of online players are the exact demographic Microsoft is gunning for. The type of people who will look at the game and go, "Street Fighter. I remember that!" and immediately jump online, completely unaware that the scene has evolved.

I believe I have filed more harassment complaints today than all my time on XBOX Live put together. It is, in a word, pathetic as to the actions some people take over such simple matters. Some will scream at a simple throw (Which just results in nothing but tick-throws from me). They will disconnect at the sight of a perfect round. Some will just pick one of the three mashers (Honda, Chun, Blanka) the next time they see you and pray that the gods of latency are on their side.

It's pathetic, really. Unfortunately, I expect nothing less from the XBOX Live community.

That is the world of ranked matches. Last night, Chris and I took on a variety of challengers in a quarters match lobby and it was actually a lot of fun. We got a few serious competitors but it was still all for laughs. For once, it actually felt nice to play with a random group of people who actually enjoy the spirit of the game and not for reasons of serious business. It was the perfect example of how I wish the community as a whole would handle themselves.

Civilized human beings.