Month: November 2015

It should really come as no surprise that Capcom is looking to bring in a fresh crop of fighting game players when Street Fighter V drops next year. A larger audience means more money, but it also means another generation of dedicated fans, much like the enormous influx provided by Street Fighter IV when it released in 2008.

But how exactly are they going about achieving this goal? MCV UK recently caught up with Capcom’s Brian Ayers to discuss just that.

As the developer’s EMEA (that’s Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) brand manager, Ayers is focused on expanding the audience through a variety of means. “The ambitions with Street Fighter V were to make the game approachable and accessible again, but also to make everything with the characters feel a lot more individual and bring out more chances for people to find the right competitor that suits them,” he explained, noting that they are hoping to bring in a newer, younger, and eSports-savvy crowd with this next iteration. “Street Fighter is actually one of the first eSports titles out there, but it’s relatively underground compared to the likes of Dota 2 and League of Legends.”

These goals have also affected the ways in which Capcom will be updating the game. As you’ve likely heard, Street Fighter will forever be Street Fighter V, no Super or Ultra additions here. Instead, small updates will provide the community with new cast members and gameplay changes on a regular basis, extending the game’s life without having to make another huge investment.

Ayers promises that they are hammering out schedules not only for character releases but balance adjustments as well. “Moving to a service-based platform means we can be a lot more reactive to balancing; we don’t have to wait for another disc version. We’ll be making sure we have a dedicated balancing timeframe.”

For more on Capcom’s plans to increase awareness of the Street Fighter brand, be sure to read MCV UK’s full interview here.

Street Fighter V will be available for PlayStation 4 and PC starting February 16.

Source: MCV UK via NeoGAF

As both a former competitive player and the game’s associate producer, Capcom’s Peter “Combofiend” Rosas is arguably the foremost authority on Street Fighter V at the moment. As such, it’s always a treat whenever he takes the its characters out for a spin.

Rosas recently sat down with the folks at IGN to demonstrate what Dhalsim and Zangief, two of the game’s most recently revealed veterans, can pull off with their revised movesets.

Of the two, Dhalsim is the most changed from his previous installments. The removal of his horizontal fireballs in favor of arced ones has left many Dhalsim mains scratching their heads at how to use him properly. In the video below, Combofiend demonstrates how players can properly utilize new tools, like his floaty V-Skill, to control space and dominate opponents from afar.

While Zangief isn’t as radically altered as Dhalsim, the removal of his green hand has caught many off guard, especially players used to Street Fighter IV. Rosas demonstrates how the Russian wrestler can use his current arsenal of tools to get the opponent in grappling range.

Street Fighter V is set to launch for PlayStation 4 and PC on February 16.

Source: IGN (1, 2)