The 15 most significant new fighting-game characters from this generation

This is part of our ongoing series about games and trends of one of the most longest-lived eras in gaming’s history — the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 generation.

We have seen a lot of KO screens since 2005. Fighting games have attained a popularity not seen since the arcade years thanks to the revival of famous franchises, the rise of online play and patching, and the growth of tournaments in terms of both participants and online viewership. With the Wii U already out and the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 launching in weeks, it’s time to observe what new characters and ideas prevailed in the past generation.