I was watching the MK9 tournament all day today and decided I want to get into the genre.  I am looking for a game that is just fun and has simple combos.  Ideas?

It's really not going to come any easier to get into than MK 9. SSFIV, even the low tier players are decent at the game and will crush you. Get into MK while it's new.

• Tekken 6 because it's cheap as hell (price-wise), the characters don't have cheesy long-range attacks (well, one does, but it's easy to dodge), and a roster of 40 characters means you're bound to find a couple that fit your playstyle.
• SSF4 because it's the arguable gold-standard of 2D fighters, has Ryu and Ken (perfect balanced characters for newbies) and a whole metagame that you can play or ignore at your leisure.
• BB:CS because of the very unique personalities and playstyles, amazing attacks and fast-paced action. If you happen to like visual novels or anime-ish storylines, then that's a bonus.
• MK9 because it's new, it's revamped, and the player base is not mostly composed of elites who will crush you like a bug (yet).
  

It depends what you consider to be fun. For example 2D or 3D, air dashing/double jumps or no air dashing/double jumps, links (timing based attacks) or chains (A>B>C>D approach). It might also be worth investing in at least a Fightpad, as the standard console controlers are not really designed with fighting games in mind (though some people sware by them). Or even a stick if you've got loads of cash to blow on a fancy.

Of the games listed;

BlazBlue: Continuum Shift has the most in depth in game tutorials. And a "Beginner mode" which while not that useful for learning, might be of some assistance.

Super Street Figther IV has the largest online resource for learning, as it's a much more popular game. There'll always be someone online to fight with too.

I'm yet to play MK 9 so can't really give you much input there. Looked like there were a lot of new modes to ease people into the game.

And Tekken 6 seems to be the only 3D fighter you've listed, I didn't really get to grips with it.

Lucky for you they're all pretty cheap now. (MK 9 is still dropping in price I think). Here's a few more suggestions though!

Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Tatsunoko vs. Capom (if you have a Wii)
Guilty Gear Accent Core Plus (if you have a Wii)
Arcana Heart 3
Maybe even Soul Calibur 4 if you're more interested in learning 3D
Should probably keep an eye out for Skull Girls too should it ever hit XBL/PSN.

Finally! Here's a link to the GB fight club youtube channel, so you can get a better idea of how good/bad we all are. Or how some of the games work at a more beginner level.

I dunno, out of all the fighting games I've played MK9 is the easiest, at least with a controller.

BlazBlue was my introductory game into the fighting genre and its really helped me pick up on other fighters a lot quicker thanks to its mechanics and tutorial mode. The game is not mash friendly though.

New Mortal Kombat has that slow classic gameplay that just teaches new gamers what fighting games are about, I also think SSF4 does this rather well.....  Either way you go stay away from Marvel vs Capcom 3, that game is so fast and the gamers we'll be throwing you in the air and hitting huge combos with you clueless to know how to stop it.  I mean the game is a good game its just a very advance fighting game IMO.

MK9 has done a good job of making me feel like I'm not completely terrible at fighting games and is a lot of fun. Very simple controls and easy to understand mechanics, but enough depth to make it feel like there is always something new to learn and ways improve.

MK game are the only fighting games I've ever liked.  I tried Street Fighter 4, but just couldn't get into it for some reason.

If you want to just press buttons, I guess MK9 and Street Fighter are good for that. I'm not too sure how many new players there are in BBCS and you might just get wrecked every game without understanding what's going on.

If you want to just press buttons, I guess MK9 and Street Fighter are good for that. I'm not too sure how many new players there are in BBCS and you might just get wrecked every game without understanding what's going on.

Thanks for the great input guys!

Mmmm, not really sure. So is this poll for people want to become good at fighting games or just mess around. Because if you want to become good at fighting games in general Street Fighter 2 on XBLA would probably be a good place to start. If you just want to mess around, I would say Tekken 6 or Soul Calibur 4.