The FGC and modern fighting games forgot how much the scene and culture actually determine popularity
Relevance and entries for Tekken 7 continuously broke records up until 2023 based on the game's scene
Marvel 3’s legendary history, combined with TNS’s consistency during its post 2020 revival, lead to a 1,300 entry EVO
Melee is brutal... basically impossible for newcomers, yet it survives purely on community momentum
Street Fighter and Smash seem to be the only IP's with enough legacy culture to practically guarantee popularity
You can't fake it. You can’t patch it in.
Try to remember what pulled you into the FGC in the first place. It was the scene