Zevox
2015-07-20, 01:03 AM
So, Evo has come and gone, and with it perhaps the first really interesting news about Street Fighter 5. There was a new character announced (http://shoryuken.com/2015/07/19/new-character-necalli-joins-the-cast-of-street-fighter-v/), but even though he's an actual newcomer, that's not what I'm talking about. The interesting news is their new approach to post-launch content (http://www.gamespot.com/articles/all-street-fighter-5-dlc-will-be-free-if-youre-wil/1100-6429002/?utm_source=gamefaqs&utm_medium=partner&utm_content=news_module&utm_campaign=homepage).
Basically, they're adapting a free-to-play-ish approach. They're promising only one disk, ever, and all balance updates will be free. Additional characters and other add-on content will be DLC, but can also be purchased with in-game currency you get just from playing. And they'll supposedly be putting out new characters on a regular basis, not in spurts as they've done in the past with big game updates, to keep people playing the game over longer periods of time. It's quite the surprising shift for Capcom, given they've always been the sort to milk updates to their popular games for all they were worth. (Street Fighter 4 is on what, its fourth or fifth version now, none of which were free?)
The other bit of news is about the starting roster. It will apparently be 16 characters, with four being brand new. That's... kinda low, but on the flip side, looking it up I find it's actually only one less than SF4 started with, and more than 2 or 3 did, so I guess it's nothing new for Capcom. This also means there are only five unannounced veterans left, since we currently know 8 characters, only one of them a newcomer: Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, M. Bison, Cammy, Nash, Birdie, and Necalli. Which kinda leaves me wondering if anyone I played in SF4 will end up on the starting roster at all, personally (those being Sakura, Juri, and to a lesser extent Makoto and Rose). If not, I might have to hope one of the newcomers turns out to be someone I'll like (Necalli doesn't look like he will be, at least not at first glance), or else I may just not have anyone to play in SF5 when it releases.
Basically, they're adapting a free-to-play-ish approach. They're promising only one disk, ever, and all balance updates will be free. Additional characters and other add-on content will be DLC, but can also be purchased with in-game currency you get just from playing. And they'll supposedly be putting out new characters on a regular basis, not in spurts as they've done in the past with big game updates, to keep people playing the game over longer periods of time. It's quite the surprising shift for Capcom, given they've always been the sort to milk updates to their popular games for all they were worth. (Street Fighter 4 is on what, its fourth or fifth version now, none of which were free?)
The other bit of news is about the starting roster. It will apparently be 16 characters, with four being brand new. That's... kinda low, but on the flip side, looking it up I find it's actually only one less than SF4 started with, and more than 2 or 3 did, so I guess it's nothing new for Capcom. This also means there are only five unannounced veterans left, since we currently know 8 characters, only one of them a newcomer: Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, M. Bison, Cammy, Nash, Birdie, and Necalli. Which kinda leaves me wondering if anyone I played in SF4 will end up on the starting roster at all, personally (those being Sakura, Juri, and to a lesser extent Makoto and Rose). If not, I might have to hope one of the newcomers turns out to be someone I'll like (Necalli doesn't look like he will be, at least not at first glance), or else I may just not have anyone to play in SF5 when it releases.