Hecatom

The thing is that SP modes player retention will always be limited, they can drive sales and boost them, but you will always end with most of the playerbase interested on that leaving.
 
If you really want to add more drwa, but also keep more player retention, then SP should focus more into helping people to transition into the multiplayer aspect, while also serving as an stepping stone for the player to learn about the game and be able to apply what they learned into their gameplay on the multiplayer aspect.
 
You can add stuff like what DBFZ added that lets you throw party battles where you have fights where each character is a player, having either matches between 2 teams of 3, or a team of 3 fights a boss battle.
 
Hell, if you could add stuff that GBFVS added, you could have players doing a rush mode beatem up mode where they have  boss battle at the end.
Give them a reason to jump online to play with friends, instead of playing a subpar experience against the cpu.

And Isuka

So, Guilty Gear Judgement then? 

You mean Granblues Story Mode. Cause thats exactly what you did there.

The thing is that SP modes player retention will always be limited, they can drive sales and boost them, but you will always end with most of the playerbase interested on that leaving.
 
If you really want to add more drwa, but also keep more player retention, then SP should focus more into helping people to transition into the multiplayer aspect, while also serving as an stepping stone for the player to learn about the game and be able to apply what they learned into their gameplay on the multiplayer aspect.
 
You can add stuff like what DBFZ added that lets you throw party battles where you have fights where each character is a player, having either matches between 2 teams of 3, or a team of 3 fights a boss battle.
 
Hell, if you could add stuff that GBFVS added, you could have players doing a rush mode beatem up mode where they have  boss battle at the end.
Give them a reason to jump online to play with friends, instead of playing a subpar experience against the cpu.

Your avatar makes it look like Sokka is trying to eat ass.

Player expectation is something that always varies from person to person (just look at the swines that expect every game to be packed with 60+ chars character balance and variety be damned), and on this day and age where you also have to compete with games that try to be a second job forcing you to login every day to play, fgs will always have an uphill battle.
 
 

The thing is that SP modes player retention will always be limited, they can drive sales and boost them, but you will always end with most of the playerbase interested on that leaving.
 
If you really want to add more drwa, but also keep more player retention, then SP should focus more into helping people to transition into the multiplayer aspect, while also serving as an stepping stone for the player to learn about the game and be able to apply what they learned into their gameplay on the multiplayer aspect.
 
You can add stuff like what DBFZ added that lets you throw party battles where you have fights where each character is a player, having either matches between 2 teams of 3, or a team of 3 fights a boss battle.
 
Hell, if you could add stuff that GBFVS added, you could have players doing a rush mode beatem up mode where they have  boss battle at the end.
Give them a reason to jump online to play with friends, instead of playing a subpar experience against the cpu.

Your idea sound nice and all (except some really questionable bullet points) , but is too much effort for something that wouldnt be played much by the vast majority/would end be played just a few times.
Dont believe me? just go to any site that allows you to see agregates of trophies for fgs, fps, etc and see how muuch of the percentage of the playerbase has finished story modes.
 
Unless the story mode is your means for unlocking stuff like in racing games, you will see that most multiplayer games have their campaings/story modes having the lowest percentage of completition.
 
Keep in mind that most games operate under the minimal viable product premise, then building up as means to add value to their games, but said value is always tied to a cost, and companies will always try to keep that in the low spectrum.
Specially when you are dealing with a genre that is niche and dont have the luxury to be a staple name within the genre.
 
You will need to tie some form of progression or unlocks to a mode like that to entice players to use it.
But then, you are on a position where you are taking away players from the core experience that is fighting other people online.
 
We have seen some of your ideas toyed already in single player modes in games like MK and INJ2, and they even tied unlocking mechanics to them, yet, those modes were pretty barren, since those who stayed with the game, are more interested in playing against people than playing against the cpu.
 

Nigga, i am not arguing that they arent, i am saying that i PERSONALLY dont consider them Arena Fighters since there are enough distinctions on how they feel that for me are more like action games than arena fighters.
 
Is something about the gameplay loop, and how you approach them.
They are not just mindless hit attack button and sometimes special button.
 
It is why i said, i personally instead, saying outright they arent.

I understand your desire, but the problem with that kind of mode is that forces and limits even more what the devs can do with an story mode.
If said mode only allows you to lay against other chars in the roster, its story potential is squanded even more, because now you have a glorified arcade mode with just cinematics/pictures/scenes sprinkled between some fights to justify why everyone is fighting.
 
If people want a good story and a well explored world and chars, fgs are not the vehicle for that.
At least not, if you also want to keep the core of the experience tied to just the fgs experience.
 
SoulCalibur has the advantage of having a CAS mode that allows it more freedom to not tie the experience to just the core cast, but even with that advantage, is still reduced to havin a glorified arcade mode with story bits sprinkled beatween each fight.
 
And like i said, while Quest mode was an interesting addition back in the day, on todays context it will be seen as a copout since you can do what it simulates by just playing online.
 
At the end of the day, imo, story modes are just fluff.
And if people really wants a fleshed story, that is why we have side media for.

Maybe with your gen and the previous one, but seeing how Anime and Manga are increasing in popularity those days, i expect more growth with FGS.
Add that there has been a shift in popularity of games, moving away from gritty to a more cartoon aesthetic.
 
Also, I know that by west you mean usa mostly, because let me tell you, anime has always been huge in latin america, since it was cheaper for tv stations to import.
90% of the animation i watched while i was a kid was anime.
Hence fgs and anime games being popular around those places.

I am not really sure if is because they are western or not.
After all, KI is also a fg made by a western studio and is a western ip and that one didnt manage to make an impact, despite being the better game (KI>>>>>>>>Any NRS MK), granted, KI had the disgrace of being MS exclussive, and we will never know if it were a multiplatform would have helped.
 
But, is clear that one of the factors that make it appealing is the violence on it and the fact that MK as a brand has a really big appeal mostly due the cross media during the 90's and starting 00's, despite having really terrible entries until recently (although they offered extra game options on those bad games, so there is that).
 
You know how there is this false pretense that because is violent is more mature. So you have a game that appeals to dudebros that only play insert sports game here and inserts fps here, is easy to see it will sell.
And now that they have WB money they can amp the appeal by introducing mindless spectacle to boost sales.
 
Like i said on SRK, i am more interested in seeing how a new ip would fare, beause so far, NRS had the advantage to attach their games behind 2 big brands.
And seeing how little retention they manage to have when it comes to its playerbase, i am almost sure that NRS and WB know it would be really risky move, hence why they have been tied to just rotating their input between MK and INJ.

A good sp mode that could work is like what GG Isuka, GG Judgement and GBFVS  have, a beatem up/rpg, where you have side stories and can have fun beating npcs created for the mode. 
 
Even better if you can play it online. 
You could even have some degree of customization where you improve sp moves and even select which ones fir the char to have. 
 
Like you can only equip some some of the moves. 

The debate over story modes isn't one. NRS games curb stomp the competition sales and its not due to an appeal to the hardcore market. Given the tournament participation, it's obvious what most of the people buying the games purchase them for. What the hardcore FGC needs to realize is that casuals fund their games. Those modes keep the proverbial lights on.  Just do what the bulk FPS players do and ignore single player content. Go straight into multiplayer.

Every game loses its casual player base. 
It is why they are casuals. 
They buy the game, play it for a while and move on. 
 
The problem with player retention in fgs is not exclussive to it, neither the percentages. 
 
Take Destiny 2 for example. 
Is a game that moved plenty of millions of units , but its active player base is between 200k to 400k.
 
It only seems as a problem because fgs are a niche genre due the intrinsic nature of the genre. 
 
The core of the experience is fighting against other players, and since you dont have teammates to carry you, every lose is either internalized into your own abbilities and willingness to improve ir just leave the game, or externalize that the game sucks, or only tryhards or cheaters and other scrubby shit. 
 
Eithet way, if they dont really have the interest on the genre, they will leave. 
 
Single player content cant change that fact, no matter how much they invest into having multitude of modes. 
 
Look at MK and Inj for example, they sell millions, yet have the worst player retention ratio than most because most people buy it, play the story, some single player modes, maybe some online matches and then leave to their preferd day to day fps. 
 
I have many friends that do that. 
And is freaking hilarious because they say they love MK, but never want to play onlibe because they are on Overwatch, Cod, Destiny, etc. 
 
 
 

Every game loses its casual player base. 
It is why they are casuals. 
They buy the game, play it for a while and move on. 
 
The problem with player retention in fgs is not exclussive to it, neither the percentages. 
 
Take Destiny 2 for example. 
Is a game that moved plenty of millions of units , but its active player base is between 200k to 400k.
 
It only seems as a problem because fgs are a niche genre due the intrinsic nature of the genre. 
 
The core of the experience is fighting against other players, and since you dont have teammates to carry you, every lose is either internalized into your own abbilities and willingness to improve ir just leave the game, or externalize that the game sucks, or only tryhards or cheaters and other scrubby shit. 
 
Eithet way, if they dont really have the interest on the genre, they will leave. 
 
Single player content cant change that fact, no matter how much they invest into having multitude of modes. 
 
Look at MK and Inj for example, they sell millions, yet have the worst player retention ratio than most because most people buy it, play the story, some single player modes, maybe some online matches and then leave to their preferd day to day fps. 
 
I have many friends that do that. 
And is freaking hilarious because they say they love MK, but never want to play onlibe because they are on Overwatch, Cod, Destiny, etc. 
 
 
 

Whooping asses is a fine tradition that kept humans civilized.
Now contrast that with the gen that grew up being cuddled and not having thei ass whopped.
 
I say bring ass whoopings back.

I am not really sure what you meant about that.
I actually liked Overture, and think that with some refinement the game culd end being a great vehicle for the franchise to breach into a moba like type of game.
 
I actually think the gameplay was kind of ahead of its time, and also was held by being a 360 exclussive.
It has aged kind of bad in certain areas like graphics and some animations, but its core gameplay is interesting and fun, imo.

Nigga, people call overwatch a dead game. 
 
By their definition even the bigger fgs are dead

Whooping asses is a fine tradition that kept humans civilized.
Now contrast that with the gen that grew up being cuddled and not having thei ass whopped.
 
I say bring ass whoopings back.

Need this figure in my collection
 

 

Whooping asses is a fine tradition that kept humans civilized.
Now contrast that with the gen that grew up being cuddled and not having thei ass whopped.
 
I say bring ass whoopings back.

He's just more talented then you XP