If you are not playing a fighting game at the competitive level, then simpler controller schemes are okay. Simplifying the control scheme, button presses, is literally changing the game Like making baseball diamonds smaller so more players can't hit home runs, or lowering the basket ball hoop so more players can dunk, or changing adding vertical movement to pawns, and diagonal movements to knights in chess so anyone can win. So if Street Fighter 6, or the next release of Virtua Fighter removes the skill required to pull off combos in high pressured situations, or removes the skill required to pull off the more challenging combos, or if they significantly reduce the skill required by introducing simplified control schemes then those companies will have changed the nature of a Virtua Fighter or Street Fighter competition. That physicality is part of the measurement of who is the best. Yes there are a lot of mind games, there is a lot of intellectual sparring taking place, but there is also is a battle of who has the best mastery of the stick, controller, joystick the controller scheme. In this regard I'm speaking only about competition, ranked competition, and e-sports competition. Its not just using the combo or move, its the ability and skill that it takes to pull off the combo or move.
The hand eye coordination, the speed, agility and ability to actually successfully enter the commands for a combo, and evade, etc are a fundamental part of the competitiveness in fighting games. This holds more for fighting games than most other video games.
The controller, control scheme, joystick button presses, physicality of the sticks are integral part of playing fighting games. If you can't hang with VF then go play Guilt Gear, KOF, Blaze Blue, or Tekken or some other fighting game that requires less skill. If you're to short to play basket ball, maybe golf or bowling might be a better game for you. If you don't have the skill, or the capability to get the skill to play VF then pick another game. No I don't want the game watered down so that any wannabe can play it, just like I wouldn't want the game of chess to add diagonal moves to a knight, or 3-square horizontal moves to a pawn in order for chess to be more accessible to the masses But some folks just won't be able to cut it at chess, and some folks won't be able to cut it at VF. Sure anybody can sit down in front of a chess board, and anybody can pickup a stick to play VF. In the same way chess is not for everyone, neither is VF (nor should it be). We could make baseball diamonds smaller so that everyone can hit grand slams, or we could lower basketball hoops so that it would be easier for any one to dunk the ball. The Virtua Fighter concept cannot survive arbitrary changes just to make the game easier so that every one can play. But those changes would result in chess not being chess. There are wannabe chess players that would like knights to also be able to move diagonally to make the game simpler. In fact every version of Virtua Fighter that's ever been released ( except VF5US) brought new innovations and evolution to 3D arcade fighting There are wannabe chess players that would like the pawn to be able to move 3 squares horizontally and vertically under certain circumstances. However, copying off of Tekken, digressing to Tekken Style Red, Blue, Purple, and Yellow Hit Sparks, retreating to a Tekken UI, and Tekken skins, or kow-towing to Street Fighting 6 Modern Style Controls that's not evolution, or positive change, that's nothing but Seiji Aoki and RGG's lazy pandering attempt to cash in on Tekken's perceived popularity, or the up and coming popularity of Street Fighter 6 trend and the dumbing down of fighting games
I've been for VF evolving from its inception. When Virtua Fighter added the first real time announcer to a 3D arcade fighting game that was positive change and positive evolution.When Virtua Fighter added the first trainable AI to 3D arcade fighting game that was good positive evolution.When VF4 EVO added the first advanced training mode to a 3D arcade fighting game that was good evolution.When VF added the concept of a quest mode to 3D fighting games that was good change.When VF added the concept of ring outs to 3D fighting games that was a good change.When VF added customization to a Fighting Game for the first time that was good change.Yes fighting games should adapt to the times but not all change is good.