Over the past couple of weeks, I have found myself becoming particularly enamored with The King of Fighters XIII.  I have never been a huge fan of SNK's fighting games, but some combination of the visuals, characters, and music has enhanced my anticipation of the game.  I have been reading up on Orochinagi about the game and watching replays from tournaments at Japanese arcades.  I even pre-ordered the game to get the 4-CD set collecting music from the older games.  I never pre-order games, but the bonus and the game were just too good to not show my support.
 
My enthusiasm aside, I am really wondering if this game can develop a solid community.  The game arrives in late October, which is a short while before a ton of great games are released.  That list of great games includes another fighting game, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.  I have no problem with the game and I am sure it will succeed, but it will likely do so at the expense of KOF XIII.  The deluge of games and the competition from another strong fighting game make it appear that KOF XIII won't be able to maintain a stable community following its release.  Am I being too pessimistic or is the "scene" for this game dead on arrival? 

The only real reasons XII didn't catch on, even a little, were because A) 0 single-player content. And I mean ZERO. There was an arcade mode with no boss fight and everyone got the same ending, there wasn't any kind of training (there was practice, I believe, but not an actual training mode), and B) The online was BUSTED at launch. I mean beyond Mortal Kombat busted (which MK survived mostly by virtue of a high install base) and it's the kind of busted a small-ish game can't afford. So I think if they fix those two problems, XIII could definitely catch on.

well it has an arcade community already so lets hope it can.

The only real reasons XII didn't catch on, even a little, were because A) 0 single-player content. And I mean ZERO. There was an arcade mode with no boss fight and everyone got the same ending, there wasn't any kind of training (there was practice, I believe, but not an actual training mode), and B) The online was BUSTED at launch. I mean beyond Mortal Kombat busted (which MK survived mostly by virtue of a high install base) and it's the kind of busted a small-ish game can't afford. So I think if they fix those two problems, XIII could definitely catch on.

From what I've seen of the game, each team has a ending (just like KOF XI as an example). The modes that have been announced and shown look promising, especially the story mode since the stories are supposed to be different and have a unique path for each. The key thing will be the online for this game. Even if the online isn't the best, as long as it isn't as bad as KOF XII, there's a fair amount or offline content to keep players busy. I'm looking forward to messing around with the colour customization for the characters.

If they can have it catch on like 98,99 and 2K did then absolutely. Those were some of the best fighting games ever produced imo.

Does it have a Capcom logo on the box? No.

Is it super easy to play? No.

So the answer, unfortunately, is no, it won't.

Its a damn shame too.

Does it have a Capcom logo on the box? No.

Is it super easy to play? No.

So the answer, unfortunately, is no, it won't.

Its a damn shame too.

@ricetopher said:

Does it have a Capcom logo on the box? No.

Is it super easy to play? No.

So the answer, unfortunately, is no, it won't.

Its a damn shame too.

Some combination of Atlus promoting the game, the game being good, and word of mouth could help the game sustain a community.   As you noted, it'll never be the size of a Capcom fighter though.  I am heartened by the responses here and in the live stream thread.  Heck, I've seen some mention of Giant Bomb on the IPLAYWINNER stream chat, so at least some people from this site have an interest.  A small community is still a community.