When one thinks of "fighting games," they already have some images in mind. Most, if not all, of these images come from one game: Street Fighter. Who wouldn't recognize the iconic "Hadouken" (fireball) and "Shoryuken" (rising uppercut)? Many kids from a particular generation have also shouted "Tatsumaki Senpukyaku" (hurricane kick) despite not knowing the actual words.
But fighting games have a steep learning curve. Sure, mashing buttons has some effect. However, knowing how to play these games has been a challenge for new players, and this challenge kept prospective players from improving.
This would change throughout the years when major tournaments like Evolution Championship Series ("Evo") and Red Bull Kumite gained immense popularity. The immediate impact is the community effort to establish a rapport between new players and professional players in the fighting game community.
click to enlargeOne such effort is the Sajam Slam Tournament hosted by American fighting game player, content creator, and commentator Stephen "Sajam" Lyon. Inspired by the Japanese tournament Crazy Raccoon Cup (CRC) where production value and accessibility were lauded by the community, Sajam Slam (SS) was intended to be the American equivalent.
The unique feature of the CRC is that it includes teams of players from different backgrounds, from VTubers to professional players. This was fully adopted by SS and became its selling point.
Now in its first year, SS is starting to become one of the most anticipated events in the fighting game community.
Last March 16, one of the SS events brought players from the United States and Japan in collaboration with the professional organization REJECT Gaming. I have taken a particular interest in this because I have been following the Japanese gaming scene for the longest time. Seeing players from other games and communities brought a fresh take on bridging the gap between them and the more established professional fighting game players.
The road to joining a Sajam Slam event is arduous but rewarding. Those without fighting game experience like streamers, content creators, and VTubers are assigned a professional player to be their coach in preparation for the event. This would often be streamed live or uploaded as featured content on YouTube. For instance, Sykkuno's journey to become a good Street Fighter player, or the streams of popular VTubers like Tachibana Hinano and Pururu having been coached by the likes of Tokido and Daigo Umehara, among many others.
Seeing how these players opt against mashing buttons and instead implement mind games to their matches was a breath of fresh air. Those who do not know what is happening in the matches have been asking the chatroom why certain decisions are made. Most importantly, it gave the community its exposure through views and engagement. Sajam's Twitch channel had around 72,000 viewers during the Grand Finals of the REJECT x Sajam Slam Tournament. For comparison, a normal day for Street Fighter 6 on Twitch would only reach about 7,000 views. The numbers would spike when popular streamers and content creators play the game.
What the pro players provided to the less-experienced players was not just the basics of fighting games. It was something that transcended boundaries between gamers. Sajam Slam truly bridged this gap by being engaging, educational, and fun.
For more articles like this, take a look at our Street Fighter 6 and Esports page.