First 3D fighting videogame

The first 3D fighting game was SEGA’s Virtua Fighter, released in Japanese arcades in November 1993. The game employed polygon graphics to create its characters, as opposed to the animated "sprites" of 2D fighting games. Virtua Fighter featured hardware developed jointly with aerospace company Lockheed Martin.

The game was also notable for its incorporation of a three-button layout (punch, kick and guard), at a time when other fighting games had four- or six-button configurations. It featured 3D arenas and a camera that roamed freely in 3D space. However, the nine characters rendered in 3D were forced to constantly face each other while moving forwards and backwards. They were not able to step out of their opponent's path.