I didn't really acknowledge DOA for a long time like most fighting games, but I recently spoke to the guy who organised the qualifiers for WCG in Aus the last time they did it, and he kinda explained why DOA makes sense. The game works in that environment with spectators of other games because it's very easy to understand, and those other games do not have quite as much personality as fighters do, because of the nature of the 1v1 competition.
All fighters are capable of doing this of course, it's just that if they need to be taken seriously competitively again, they need to move out of dying arcades and into competitive environments like that one, and they need to work on this 1v1 strength to play to an audience. DOA does it to a crowd that only needs a marginal understanding of the game and a crapload of hype. Active audience = people who end up aspiring to learn more about the game and get to that level themselves. DOA in that sense is a step in the right direction, and a pretty good gateway drug for the un-initiated.
All fighters are capable of doing this of course, it's just that if they need to be taken seriously competitively again, they need to move out of dying arcades and into competitive environments like that one, and they need to work on this 1v1 strength to play to an audience. DOA does it to a crowd that only needs a marginal understanding of the game and a crapload of hype. Active audience = people who end up aspiring to learn more about the game and get to that level themselves. DOA in that sense is a step in the right direction, and a pretty good gateway drug for the un-initiated.
