Capcom Reiterates That Street Fighter V Isn’t Free-to-Play

Street Fighter V producer, Yoshinori Ono, has once again reiterated that the upcoming title will not be free-to-play.

[IGiveHugs2NakedWomen]

Free To Play should never be spoken of again in the same sentence as Street Fighter 5.

[Tony-Red-Grave]

What is so wrong with SFV, or FGs in general, having a F2P edition? Just look at KI that's a pretty good example of a full game with a F2P edition. Or even DoA.

[slate91]

Exactly. Those F2P models simply offer different payment options in addition to the traditional purchase option

[Baka-akaB]

Except not everyone actually agreed that it was a good thing and example in the case of KI .

Anyway , straight into the topic , nothing wrong per se with it . But that's not what the SF fanbase clearly want , nor what's intended anyway ...

We are just dealing again with the same BS mined from some old misquote/translation from an exec

[pelida]

I want Street Fighter V to stay being something different to KI, or DoA.
I don't like F2P's (is ok if you do) but if Street Fighter ever use that model, they would probably loose me as a buyer.

But Anyway what I really want and care for is a GREAT GAME, come on Capcom and Sony you can do it!

[Tony-Red-Grave]

I see people don't like the F2P, but I can't understand "why". In KI your allowed to play online for free as long as you want. The only problem is it's only with 2 characters. But you can upgrade to the full $60 game with all the characters and future characters.

Maybe some people don't like that? Though if they don't wouldn't it normally not affect them anyway since there's regular purchase available.

The way "I" see it the F2P version of SFV could be a demo that introduces people to the game with a small cast to choose from. Or maybe you only play online and have been maining, say, Ryu and have 0 interest in other characters. Then a F2P version would let you use Ryu online with no limitations and without spending a dime on SFV.

Like I said that's my take on it based off of KIs model. Of course not every model is the same and capcom could go for something completely different, but at that point we'd be speculating about a whole new F2P model rather than using what works/exists.

It'd also be helpful if rather than phantom disagrees if people actually posted what's wrong with the F2P model in general or by specific examples. It'd help me see the problem with it much better.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Killer Instinct is not Street Fighter, and it never will be. And that has nothing to do with being f2p or not.

[Baka-akaB]

Plenty commented already their thoughts on the matter , and probably dont feel like explaining it , each time . I see it as counter productive to the community .

For starters the last thing i want to meet online , is an endless sea of the same two free characters online . Of course there are popular picks or picks based on balance with every game , and of course the free characters rotates eventually but this take it to a notch i dont stomach .

Also i feel that the initial free version of KI is way too barebone , not just with characters (even less than demos , even if online without limits) , but missing modes .

At least Tekken and DOA provided much more access . DOA free is basically a demo to bait you into the actually full package

I dont like how it restrict and feed you less content in a slower fashion . KI does have a small roster , and provide it at an imo ridiculously slow pace .

You'll tell me that i can buy everything and that it's not more expensive with all cost included , and i'll agree , but i mostly only can have access once it's actually there and released each "season" , and with still less content than many other retail fighting game thus far .

And back to what i said earlier , i dont understand the allure of cherrypicking just one character , and depriving yourself of the chance of at least fighting against all the other ones , except via random encounter online against those owning the missing chars .

That way , unless you go for initial look and appeal , a new player has less chance of trying out a fighter and finding out he actually enjoy the character . Unless he blindly let developer decide for him the flavor of the month

i'm not also convinced by the system when it comes to balance .

Basically , free model aside , i'm not even enthusiast about what i saw in KI as a game .... and till a game that i fancy , can prove me the qualities and use of the same system and distribution model , i'm against it .

[souga_houjou_jin]

thats why nobody isnt even talking about that game anymore,dead game already

[IGiveHugs2NakedWomen]

@Tony-Red-Grave

"What is so wrong with SFV, or FGs in general, having a F2P edition?"

There's nothing wrong with F2P if you don't have to pay for the game itself. Either way, i'm not interested in playing a fighting game that only allows you to use one or two characters, then milks your wallet by making you pay for additional characters, costumes, and additional fighting techniques. Even the thought of having a Street Fighter game being F2P makes me cringe and i'm absolutely certain that i'm not alone in that belief.

Killer Instinct is the very reason why I would never have anything to do with a Street Fighter game that was pay2win. Take a look at the link below to see exactly what F2P + Fighter looks like.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/g...

[Mankey]

No lie. I breathed a huge sign of relief.

[BabyObama]

Free and capcom
Like that would ever happen

[telekineticmantis]

When is Capcom Cup?

[Vengeance1138]

Right now

[Eonjay]

Its on now.
http://www.twitch.tv/capcom...

[telekineticmantis]

Thanks, bub+ did they show SFV yet?

[Eonjay]

No not yet. The Championship is airing now.

[yarbie1000]

I didn't realize there was even a rumor it was F2P

[Tony-Red-Grave]

It all stems from a comment that Ono made in regards to F2P fighters. I believe that this was around the time either KI launched or DoA launched. It's pretty old i'll link it if I find it.

Edit: http://www.playstationlifes...

[yarbie1000]

Thanks!

[Baka-akaB]

wasnt from Ono . He is asked about it because of some unfortunate comments from someone else at Capcom not even involved with the franchise

[Tony-Red-Grave]

The quote in the link is from Ono himself. The quote/rumor that might've started everything is linked in the link above.

[Baka-akaB]

The quote from the article yes , but the rumors didnt start with him .

if anything he kept denying the plan , be it vaguely or quite straightforwardly

[No_Limit]

I wouldn't mind if SFV adapt the same strategy as killer instinct in that you can buy what you want and it comes in season. How many edition of the SFIV was there that Capcom is famous for and charge us another $30-$40 for each updated version. But knowing Capcom, don't count on it

[KwietStorm_BLM]

That's Street Fighter. That's ALWAYS been Street Fighter. It's only these new gamers talking about milking Street Fighter IV. Yea there's multiple versions, but they're not without very big adjustments and new characters. So with Street Fighter to this day being at the top of the fighter chain after all these years, I don't see any reason it should adapt anything from Killer Instinct.

[No_Limit]

Any gameplay and adjustment can come in the form of an update online so I don't see the point of milking another $40 bucks 6 months down the road on a retail copy. They can always sell a new character and stage for $5 and keep releasing them periodically..that is my wish but people disagrees and don't mind getting rip off and getting multiple editions..but whatever.

[kingPoS]

Go and and play FTP DoA 5... enjoy that.. and KI as well, I however intend to play a fighting game that has a full roster from the start.

Gateway MT6706 2008

[InTheZoneAC]

capcom would never do a free to play with street fighter because they couldn't get away with releasing 5 editions of the same game.

People would limit their character purchases and capcom would take a hit every time they spend the money to invest in another iteration...

if it weren't for capcom's greedy structure I doubt they'd be hesitant to do this.

[silvacrest]

was this a rumor or something? i dont recall anyone saying it was

[Redempteur]

Something stupid that was said more than 9 months ago ( before they even started planning for SF5 ) that snowballed into a ridiculous rumour.

[IGiveHugs2NakedWomen]

It was a rumor started by stories like this.

Yoshinori Ono: Street Fighter F2P Model a “Possibility,” But Not in the Near Future

http://www.playstationlifes...

[XtraTrstrL]

I don't like that they even felt they needed to reiterate that.

[mhunterjr]

After watching my college roommate spend hundreds of dollars to keep up with SF4, I find it CRAZY that a SF fan would be opposed to the KI model after the bullshit Capcom pulled last gen.

As is the case with KI, I'd much rather be able get any DLC characters in bulk, and not have to re-but the game just to get balancing tweaks. And If I don't want to play as any of the new characters, I should be able to spar against them for free.

Honestly, anyone who is against KI's model must not understand how it works.

[Spotie]

As a fighting game fan who isn't a fighting game fan, I think the f2p model is absolutely stupid for fighting games.

Unless you're not really that interested in the game, you'd want to play WITH all the other characters. There's no better way to learn how to play AGAINST other characters than to use them yourself.

That makes buying a character here or there counterproductive for becoming good.

Now, I don't necessarily agree with Capcom's way of "updating" the game with a new retail release six months to a year later; I think they screwed up in a couple of ways. But to think Killer Instinct's model is good for fighting games is pretty silly.

[mhunterjr]

Like I said, those who bash KI's model don't understand it. First of all, it isn't F2p. The 'demo' allows you to play the full game with a single character, and that character rotates weekly.

You don't HAVE to buy them player by player. You can buy them all outright, for a fair price.

If you CHOOSE to get them individually, you 1) still get to SPAR against all new characters at no additional cost and 2) buying any 4 characters in a season unlocks all the rest anyway...

The real benefit to KIs model is that you never have to pay a dime to get access to gameplay tweaks, and the game isn't fragmented by DLC.

The idea that KIs model in anyway hinders someone's ability to 'get good' is simply flawed. The biggest fans will just pay the $20 and get all characters at once. All this model does is allow access to the games content in a way that is far more consumer friendly than any of its closest competitors.

[Baka-akaB]

Just a precision , rebalances arent always something you pay for .

Plenty of those for most franchise have just been free patches .

The sequels and repackage in those cases added far more than just rebalances . it also added more stories (actually very important and followed in stuff like Persona and Blazblue , new modes and lots of characters , be they new and/or from previous dlc options .

And for a while now the capcom repackage have always been cheaper and not sold at full retail price . It's nothing to be awed by or thankful for , but it's still that .

"The biggest fans will just pay the $20 and get all characters at once"

No it wont , some of it is just pre-paid. I'll have each's season default roster , but even with early access it means that i'm waiting for unlocks and addition when they decide to add it . Like Riptor .

Anyway i can't agree with your stance that whoever disagree "doesnt get it" and can't have concerns .

I'll just say that time will tell if the model is an actual boon and success and if it gains an actually big following AND most of all if said following is any different from the usual FGC community , and actually added a real influx of new gamers ... as opposed to passerby and people just following the franchise .

[MeliMel]

I dont understand some of these comments. If Street Fighter 5 offered a full retail/digital and F2P option, whats the problem with that? It gives a consumer the option to do whatever it is they feel is right for them.

[Inception]

I think they, including me, didn't agree if SF V became a full F2P like Killer Instinct.

But personally i also don't mind if Ono tried it like DoA 5 where KT released the full package retail game first and than release the F2P ver later just to attract newcomer who never play the series.

[Tony-Red-Grave]

That's the point i'm trying to make =). Instead of C&Ping KIs model it'd be a little of DoA as well essentially this:

SFV Full retail- All Characters, All modes, free characters added(if/when they add new ones.)
SFV F2P- Arcade, Training, and Online modes, Small cast of characters(Ryu, Ken, Chun Li, etc the OGs basically), and same free updates.

They'd be the same game but the F2P version would be a demo of sorts to get your feet wet.

@BakaB
I hope this gives you a better idea of what I ment. KI has it's problems but i'm not proposing copying it completely simply the F2P model it and DoA use. By use it I mean launch a F2P version alongside a full retail version.

To counter lack of variety online capcom would just need to make it more than 2 characters are playable in the F2P version.

A F2P version might sound like it's too barebones but keep in mind that things like this are normally targeted to people who are on the fence about a game/genre. As to if it works, well look at DoA,TR (to some extent i'll explain why), KI, and even SC:LS.

TR: Tekken Rev can get away with some of it's rip offs because it's a F2P spin off. Even then the game plays and feels different from Tag 2 so it might as well be a spin off of a spin off.

[Baka-akaB]

Well like i said i'm ok with a model like DOA , when its essentially a demo for the full game .

Instead of drip feeding content as if it was a moba/league of legends .

[Gohadouken]

The already mentioned success of those , is something to relativise . In that sense i agree with some of the stuff said in the thread .

Soul LS and Tekken Rev are essentially spin off with enough changes to made everyone take a peek . But we dunno yet if it truly got any staying power , or if tons of people arent just moving on quickly then replaced .
And i feel that KI isnt a strong enough franchise yet to judge the impact . In the FGC it's not currently a major player , as much as saying so might sting its fans . Once i see a truly big franchise truly go p2p , and display a fanbase with actually new players sticking around ... then i'll call it a success and a way to inject new blood .

Right now all we see is people claiming it's better for newbies and a better way to attract them . Show me the results , before stating that the LOL model works for fighting games.

[Razjin]

I think the Tekken Revolution concept would be a great if they wanted to do it because I remember You had the option of purchasing but also you could play until you could get gifts which would unlock other characters and stuff.

[Elda]

Who thought that in the first place?...when was any SF game free?

[Saito]

Hmm.. Full package or quarter of a package? Quit being cheap peasants