Yeah, we know 'em, played 'em, loved 'em, hated 'em.









The question is, are they necessary?

Many have said "Hell no!" as an answer to that question. Many have vocally protested against Capcom's presumed money-hungry schemes of multiple Street Fighter releases. Others have deemed Mortal Kombat Gold a mistake that should have never happened. I'd like to use this thread to state a different view, though not quite a polar view.

I've never really been against the idea of releasing updates or ports of fighting games. Mortal Kombat Tournament Edition happens to be one of my favorite fighting games (sucks I no longer have a GameBoy Advance). To be honest, I see consistent updates as sort of a campaign for the initial release. Yes, nowadays we have DLC, and the content that can be packaged into an update can now be downloaded for a (sometimes) cheaper fee. However, I've never really took that in as a good campaign, rather than as the ultimate waiting line, going weeks to months to receive pieces of content that could have been released much sooner, and all in one bundle.

Take, for example, Injustice: Gods Among Us - Ultimate Edition, the most recent of fighting game updates.

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The game includes many previously released DLC, with a few new things. Within the additions are six extra characters, one of which is a guest character from an iconic fighting game series. I find this to be a fine alternative to the constant downloading of content, much like Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition. While I am not necessarily against DLC, I prefer new releases with updated graphics and new characters, even if only a few new characters. I treated the updates as, sort of, part of saga, a long journey deep into the depths of one principle installment.

My idea on updates is really how I've always seen the Street Fighter series. As a kid and growing up, I've simply took the the many updates and ports as how the franchise works. It did not surprise me to see Super and Alpha and Turbo. I merely accepted it all as part of a campaign for the initial release. Furthermore, I found it fun to venture through that campaign and see the new characters, arenas, and mechanics. Whenever such campaign would end, I'd look back and think "What a find journey." As a diehard MK fan, I've always kinda regretted not seeing this in the franchise. The only similar campaign within Mortal Kombat is the MK3 trilogy, which I very much adore.

I do understand the many gripes of others. Releasing an update of a game can seem pointless, especially when there aren't a lot of new additions to the game. I myself find Vampire Hunter 2 and Savior 2 to be pretty unnecessary updates. Nevertheless, a long, fruitful campaign of updates is something I find very interesting, and I don't think I'll lose such interest, at least not any time soon.

So, with that, I throw the mic over to you guys. What do you all think of fighting game updates and ports? Are they great? Do they suck? Is Beyoncé more of a screamer than a singer (lulz)? Please feel free to discuss!