what could they do better in your opinion?
they are doing pretty good if you ask me (ips, esl). imho one big mistake they have made everytime so far is that they believe making games easier, from different perspectives such as easier inpouts, is going to bring more players into the game which i dont think so.
the input engine is improved from mk9 but is still not superior like it should be.
new players are willing to grind for execution and all other things but input shortcuts among other stuff have upset tons of players actually, not only nrs players but in particular players coming from other fighting games.. it happens all the time, even with vanilla inj2.
I have no idea what you're talking about. One of the things that make MK and also IJ so successful and give them many sales is because of the easier inputs. That was the case since the very beginning. That's one of the reasons DBFZ was successful as well with their auto combos. Making players grinding execution is the exact opposite of what will attract new players. And it's not that there is no execution in NRS games at all. The Run-Cancel mechanic in MKX, for one, is not an easy thing to do. NRS games are easy to learn, hard to master type of games. So now you wanna take out the "easy to learn" part as well? Fuck outta here.
If grinding execution could attract new players, then Guilty Gear and Blazblue would have tons of sales, and then tons of players, but it's not the case here. And yes, Fantasy Strike tried to be super easy and couldn't had get many players and that's a true niche game, but that's only because they don't have any AAA publisher to help them promote the game in order for may eyeballs to see it. It's an indie game after all.
So no, don't make the execution harder, keep it as it is right now.
And speaking of promoting.....
I honestly think it’s going to be collaborative effort. From the community but also from devs. NRS are on the right track... but they still do a terrible at advertising and promoting the competitive side. It’s hard to say “terrible” since they are definitely improving, but just being honest.
And yes, I firmly believe the “free to play” model is the future of gaming. At least all multiplayer games. It just makes sense.
I have no idea what you're talking either. NRS/WB have promoted their competitive side to huge lengths. IJ2's IPS for one got huge marketing campaigns with associations with the likes of Gamestop and such. Same with thing with MKX ESL Pro League. NRS/WB already do beyond an awesome job. Not to mention all of the marketing they do to promote the games before their release. That's one of the reasons they get the sales. MKX had a GIGANTIC marketing campaign, and that resulted in the highest sales for any NRS/WB game so far, as well as the most sales for any fighting game in the last decades, and from competitive standpoint, the most entreats to any NRS/WB game in the history of EVO. In addition to all of the effort they've put in the games themselves.
The community is the part who do a terrible job, if anything.
@Mr Aquaman for one has done above and beyond with contests like the Kombat Kup and War Of The Gods, but there is so much only one or only a few people can do. Just like Crimson said, we as a community need to do a lot more then just playing the games, we need to encourage people and spread the word. Not making stuff up like "NRS/WB don't market their games properly", that's misinformation in it's ugliest form.
So again, don't take the execution level higher, and keep doing stuff in the same level that NRS/WB do to help the games.
