Capcom’s Exclusive SFV Deal; Good or Bad for the Franchise?

The PlayStation Experience this past weekend was a big hit for Sony. Not only gave back to the fans, they were able to garner more hype for the PS4. And while I won’t go too far into what was shown*, I did want to touch on a few things here and there.

One of the big things that was announced (or officially confirmed, seeing as it was leaked earlier) was that Street Fighter V will be a PS4 and PC exclusive title. What was interesting about this reveal was the fact that the word “never” was used…as in, SFV will never come to any other console.

I assume that Capcom will release a Street Fighter V Ultra or Super a year or two from the original game’s release in order to bring it to the Xbox One. Whether that happens or not, one has to wonder why Capcom chose to sign an exclusive deal. Fighters are back but still aren’t super popular; SFIV sold well but through multiple platforms and versions. This is especially odd when you consider Matt Dahlgren, Capcom’s Associate Director of Brand Marketing and eSports, push for the growth of SF and the fighting genre as a whole – can you grow while cutting out a decent portion of your fan base? We’ll have to wait and see I guess.

The game certainly looks good, though I was hoping for a more unique feel; normally numbers SF titles feature a drastic change in visuals and mechanics. That said, the first real gameplay demonstration of SFV will take place at the Capcom Cup grand finals tournament next Saturday, December 13th. Gamers can tune in live via Twitch to check out what all the fuss is about that day.

The final game will feature cross-platform play between the PS4 and PC. Hopefully this means the PC version will be released alongside the console one. We’ll be sure to let you know once we’ve heard from Capcom!

*We cover a lot of the PlayStation Experience via the Between Two Sites podcast.