The games don't fit nicely into either category. What are people calling games like Smash Bros. and Playstation All Stars and that one xbla one.

Arena fighter

It's a fighting game with up to four players an arena hazards. BioFREAKS, for example, is a fighting game with two players and arena hazards. Just because it has arena hazards doesn't stop it from being a fighting game.

Yeah, it's a fighting game. Because, you know, the object of the game is to beat your opponents by fighting them...

Fighting games.

Does it really matter?

Party game...

Super Party Fighters.

button mashers

Smash Bros-like

Platform fighter.

*sigh*

fighting game

It's a fighting game. There are different types of fighting games with different mechanics, just as there are different types of RPGs with different mechanics, etc.

@JasonR86 said:

Does it really matter?

Nope! Just wondering.

Party game.

@StarvingGamer said:

Arena fighter

This is pretty much what I was going to say. A sub-genre of fighting games, if you will.

2D Platformer

Casual kid's brawler.

I would call it a "fighter" rather than a "brawler," as I've always considered brawlers to be purely PvE.

Fighting game. I don't know of any brawler where the objective is to defeat another human player.