Strangely enough it seems like SF and KoF with these new games are heading in about the same route. In interviews both producers basically said they want to get rid of all the things that complicated gameplay and return to form with the original titles in the series along with next gen graphical updates. I mean so far with SF4 they have managed to get the whole Turbo cast, not even touching any of the alpha, 3 and new challengers and a lot of the revolutions in those games have been taken out. In KoF XII they are getting rid of a bunch of stuff that 11 added including tag play, not to mention everyone seems to be in original costumes. It maybe premature to say but its almost like they are rebooting these series from scratch to try to rebring in their audience. (If they don't have one good Sax song in XII I am going to go apeshit on SNK)
As far as Real Bout goes I hope you snag one soon. Only $15 bucks and well worth it, I've been playing a lot of that lately smashing people with Franco, Bob, and Billy of course. The only real annoying thing is that there is no versus mode so you have to stick with your character you won with to fight your challenger and I don't always wanna use the same guy every time. I haven't played much of World Heroes, but I might just pick it up because I liked Fuma so much in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum.
Guilty Gear AC is a fun time but I am pissed off at Arc System Works. I would have waited a year to get Accent Core Plus which adds Kliff and Justice with a new story mode thats allegedly the true sequel to XX. Sigh
I noticed a lot of DS games pull this enhanced sound bullcrap too instead of releasing a live instrument proper album
This year does look like to be the year of fighting games though.
Street Fighter 4 I am confident is coming out this year, maybe even a simultaneous PS3/360 release
KoFXII wont be ready until Q3-Q4 next year I think
Q4 this year we get
(maybe) Street Fighter 2 HD
KoF Orochi Collection which adds 94 & 98 I am told for the US release
Samurai Showdown Collection which has 1-6 along with 5 Special
and KoF 98 UM
so we fighting gamers have a good amount of stuff to look forward to. Btw if you guys live in the suburbs of Philly every Saturday my friends and I go to a comic shop in Doylestown called Cyborg 1 to play fighting games.