Way back in the mists of 2009 Capcom made a sequel/reboot that actually worked, Street Fighter 4 encompassed much of what fans loved about the series while moving the genre forward in a way that kickstarted it back to life. A fighting game that gets released in this day and age has to reach a yardstick set by SF4 and not without reason, it being one those games that brings in an entirely new generation of players.

2010: SF4 with 100% more Super. Go Capcom

I however, was not one of them. I really enjoyed SF4, up until the moment I thought it was time to engage in some multiplayer competition. Because if chess was a game that was a $60 entertainment product, then it would be Street Fighter, as the board may be different and some regulations could be changed but basically the people who were amazing at chess the first time will be just as good at this new swanky version of chess.

And as Street Fighter is the basis of all fighting games worthy of note, it doesn't take much from a seasoned fighting game fan to become rapidly proficient at them. Or at least, proficient enough to wipe the floor with my arse.

I came to gaming in the very late 90's, and by gaming I mean cute colourful things flashing onscreen as I wrestled my young mind around dual analogue sticks with the PS1. My gaming began in the PS2 era, long after the heyday of MK and the Street Fighters had been and gone. The only option was Tekken, and as 3D fighting games are fundamentally weird from the outset, there was no hook to ever make me care about two Japanese men with camp hair hitting each other.

In however many months time, the promising Street Fighter X Tekken comes out, as will the little known Skullgirls (developed by a load of hardcore people from some tournament or other.) I would love to dive back into a fighting game such as SF X Tekken and have wanted to ever since the recent Mortal Kombat. The allure of a skill-based game offering endless depth for a person who is growing wearisome of buying AAA games that are over and done with in 10 hours cannot be denied. But seriously, how the hell does one play a fighting game against real people?

Chess. See?

The current fighting game crowd out there today are machines, able to determine every nuance and trick built into the systems at play in today's fighters. There are people out there who swear by Ryu, or Skorpion or even Mrs Hulk if you want to take the MvC3 route. They spend their lives learning every aspect of their preferred characters and then viciously use the same online services as me. A gamer who mashes buttons in the vague hope that something shiny will appear onscreen.

What the hell is super? How the f*ck should I know what a hit confirm is? The games aren't so much entertainment as they are sports for the lethargic. And my good gaming friend, being the sly dog that he is recommended SF3: Third Strike to me. Which could be used as tank armour as it's about as penetrable as granite. Fighting games have gotten to the point where you'll only get your money's worth if you play online, and the only way to have fun in that situation is to be good at fighting games. Something that bars anyone from my generation who came to games in the full-3D era of the Playstation 2.

There is no entry point anymore because everything Capcom puts out is so simultaneously insane and intensely focused on an audience that plays only these types of games. At this moment in time a person of my gaming history will jump into any fighting game and be beaten to a pulp by people who have made 2D fighting into a fine art. And the connective tissue between all fighting games that draw inspiration from Capcom's defining series means the transition from one crazy spin-off to the other is far easier than the brutal learning curve that the neophyte must surmount in order to get all $60 out of their purchase.

What is this and how the f*ck do I do it again?

My only hope is for Skullgirls, because apparently that has some base level tutorialising going on that teaches you about fighting games beyond Skullgirls mechanics. Until that day comes, the only fighting game worth playing for me is MK because that included single-player content that went above and beyond what Capcom does with its games. And even that game has created a hardcore online community that will discourage any curious newcomer with malicious glee and much fatality.

The renaissance missed me, there is no point of reference or arcane set of skills locked away in my muscle memory. when want to play a fighting game, I play it and I come away thinking "I would love that game if I could play fighting games" and now the barrier to entry gets reinforced year by year.