It seems like the FGC’s goal of feeling more inclusive and inviting to new players has been working quite well. Thirteen-year-old Japanese Street Fighter 6 player, Seichi, was signed to a team in March.
Most recently, 17-year-old Haitei Raoyue has been placing well in a handful of tournaments, including 9th place at Evo Las Vegas 2026, and is now asking for sponsors.
おはようございます。
昨日のスポンサー募集の投稿についてたくさんの応援の声をいただきました。ありがとうございます。まだ至らない点についてのアドバイス全て目を通しています。実力だけでなく、立ち振る舞いも見られていることを意識して、学業と共にこれからも頑張ります！— 海底撈月/HAITEI RAOYUE (@TANA55156) September 23, 2026
While a lot of the feedback was positive, the situation also started a lot of discourse on X within the Japanese FGC scene regarding the use of Modern controls.
Haitei is a Modern Zangief main.
One of the more interesting responses to Haitei Raoyue’s sponsor search was an eSports team manager who criticized the teenager’s use of Modern Controls. The main argument was that Modern Controls may not even be in Street Fighter 7 (whenever that comes), putting Haitei at a disadvantage.
This got the Japanese FGC debating about Modern versus Classic Controls (a debate since before Street Fighter 6 was released). While there has definitely been very mixed feelings about the addition of Modern Controls in Street Fighter 6, it doesn’t seem likely it’d be removed after just one game. However, it’s even more likely that Classic would remain, which means Haitei would always be compared to the pros using the Classic Control scheme.
Haitei Raoyue @TANA55156 (16 Y/O Modern Zangief) run to 9th place.
As mentioned by HiFight, he won an under-22 tournament hosted by Haitani and REJECT earlier in the year, which gave him the support to attend EVO 2026 pic.twitter.com/ELpx8Ftne2
— incross (@crossknockout) June 28, 2026
Haitei Raoyue, 16 years old Modern Zangief, won Haitani’s 3rd Touryumon tournament pic.twitter.com/bDaDeHrEA4
— HiFight(ハイファイト) (@HiFightTH) March 8, 2026
Ultimately, it’s that same old discourse we see in the FGC coming out once more: when things are harder, they are respected more.
The competitive fighting game scene dates back to the old days where you had to leave your house to play video games at an arcade. Back in the day, you had to really get your hands dirty to improve at a game. Skill was earned by playing against one another, discovering combos, special moves, and interesting strategies without heavy documentation or YouTube guides.
“Resources to get better were so limited, it became a part of what’s considered the ‘grind.’ That mindset has evolved in some ways, but the greats referenced like ‘they had to go through it, they had to do that.’ So the struggle has to exist!” Tekken veteran Jeannail “Cuddle_Core” Carter explained to me one time.
“I think being able to recognize that someone can do something with their hands that you can’t… That elevates the respect. There’s an aspect of being technically good at something that boggles your mind. How difficult it is. Something you can never do,” added Super Smash Bros. 64 pro Hunter “Huntsman” Cummings.
This old-school mindset is still very much alive in the FGC. No surprise there, since so many top players have been around for decades.
Fighting games can definitely be intimidating due to the gatekeeping and high skill ceiling.
However, there has been an interesting clash between new-gen players and OGs the past few years as fighting game developers started looking for ways to attract new players. This has included new button schemes and training modes, as well as making matches feel more satisfying for beginners.
“The fun part of fighting games isn’t the complicated inputs. It’s the mind reading and the back-and-forth with your opponent, seeing how they react. If we are able to level that and make it easier, the gameplay is more dynamic,” Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves Director Hayato Konya told me at Evo 2026.
Enter: Modern Controls.
To put it simply, Modern simplifies the control scheme. It requires way fewer inputs to execute Special and Super moves, allowing new players to have more satisfying moments in early matches while learning the basics.
This immediately sounds like a huge advantage. OG players are quick to shun Modern Controls since you don’t need to memorize long button strings or have as fast reactions and finger movements. Like I said before, it’s like you took away that old-school grinding mentality. It’s like you found a bunch of cheats.
There’s also plenty of debate over the use of Modern Controls for specific characters. Some see more benefit than others. Modern Zangief is an ongoing discussion, since this new control scheme allows players to pull off tricky yet powerful throws. There has been plenty of discourse regarding Modern Zangief in the competitive space for this reason.
So far I got Manon, Jamie, Cammy, Chun Li to master.
Now I’m playing Modern Zangief and he is at Diamond 5…. LOL pic.twitter.com/MDj34fJdgs
— Justin Wong (@JWonggg) June 17, 2023
However, Modern Controls don’t necessarily mean instant W’s. There are actually some very real disadvantages if you forgo Classic Controls.
First, you lose access to some tools in a character’s moveset, giving Modern Control users a more limited way to deal with neutral, approach an opponent, or respond to incoming attacks. For example, a Modern Zangief player doesn’t have Crouching Medium Kick, a solid-range poke used in neutral, or Standing Heavy Kick. With no access to certain attacks, you can’t perform every available combo for a character as well.
The second disadvantage is that you’ll deal a lot less damage with Modern Controls: 20% less to be exact. If you don’t want your Special moves and Super Arts penalized, you’ll need to put in the Classic button inputs.
So, there’s a bit of a trade-off.
It’s unfair to really say that Haitei Raoyue has less skill or is taking the easy way out. In some ways, he’s actually at a disadvantage. The real issue is that most pro players use Classic Controls, giving them a larger variety of moves for every situation. Modern Controls, meanwhile, can start to feel a bit repetitive since the moves are more limited. At a very high level, Modern Controls could be a massive downfall.
Most fighting games have beginner-friendly things now, sure. But the goal is usually to use those tools to get familiar with the game and work past that initial intimidation, then start digging into the meat and potatoes to discover the game’s true depth and uncover a more masterful skillset.
