Everyone has a fighting chance
If you didn’t make it out to E3 this year, you still may have heard about the extensive Street Fighter 30th Anniversary retrospective display wall at the Capcom booth. Want a closer look? BornFree filmed the wall so everyone can see this display in detail — it lists and describes every major iteration of the franchise from Street Fighter to Street Fighter V. Check it out in the video below.
Source: BornFree
In the latest episode of FGC Philosophy, The Philocypher chats with YouTuber and Street Fighter V competitor RobTV about the “limiting mindset”: how players may place conscious — or subconscious — limitations on their own game by believing that they can’t improve.
They discuss “tilting” — and the importance of avoiding it — as well as how technique that is difficult to the beginner becomes second nature to the expert, freeing up mental resources; what seems impossible now can become automatic with practice. If you pay attention to your weak areas and work to strengthen your game there, you can always do better!
Check out the full discussion below.
Source: The Philocypher
Street Fighter V has not made the best impression in its first two years. As much as it has in common with prior Street Fighter titles, it’s still a product significantly different than what the fanbase expected, and this is reflected in its low sales and negative press. The approach of releasing a “service” rather than a complete game has created an ongoing sense of dissatisfaction from the community; functions visible but locked off in the CFN system only just started doing something in the latest update, nearly a year-and-a-half since launch. The roster has grown from 16 characters to 25 — but barely any new modes have been added, aside from minimal training content and a divisive cinematic story mode. Calls to overhaul core aspects of the game go unanswered — such as the reads-not-reactions input latency, and the infuriating rollback netcode — but we do regularly get new premium costumes to buy.
With new titles from competing publishers like Injustice 2, Tekken 7, and the Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 update releasing to general acclaim and positive reviews, Capcom is in a tougher spot than ever. Loyalty to the Street Fighter brand can only hold fans so long through months of disappointment and frustration, so what’s there to do? How do you please existing players, while attracting new ones? They could just throw all their eggs into the Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite basket. Or — maybe it’s time for a rebrand.
An old, amorphous leak recrystallized recently, its most recent appearance being on r/Kappa as part of a long post by Rikurikumore. (It’s also being discussed on NeoGAF.) Consisting of supposedly leaked character and mode information for both Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite and Street Fighter V, the popularity of this leak list has grown through the confirmation of a number of its claims. Its MvC:I roster is looking very accurate so far. The section in question here is near the end of the post — after reiterating the older leak that claims Abigail, Menat, and Zeku are the remaining Season 2 DLC fighters for SFV (this has gained credibility through the older leak naming Akuma and Ed before they were announced), the post goes on to drop its “bombshell”: Super Street Fighter V.
The claim: instead of Season 3, Capcom will announce Super Street Fighter V for year three. As to not contradict their original promise — only having to buy the game once — SSFV will be a free update to SFV. It will include a user interface overhaul, and the following:
… and maybe more! But that isn’t even what catches the most attention: the post also names the next six DLC fighters for the first year of SSFV, and it’s all returning characters:
Supposedly, we can expect Capcom to officially announce Super Street Fighter V before the end of the Capcom Pro Tour, possibly at Capcom Cup itself. There is some speculation that Capcom might even drop the news this week at E3 2017.
Is this “leak” reliable? Or is it sheer fiction and/or speculation? There’s no way yet to be sure it’s the latter. There’s no way to rule out that it may be the former, either. The main source of credibility in this instance is the growing accuracy of the Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite character roster leak preceding it, and the likelihood-by-association of the Super Street Fighter V information being coupled with the highly-likely Season 2 character list. The reddit user even jokes that Alex Valle already leaked the next character DLC list for SFV earlier on Twitter, in the form of a joke:
If Capcom announced Sagat, Q, Sakura, Viper, Oro, and Necro for S3, y'all would not be able to contain yourselves.
— Alex Valle (@TheAlexValle) May 9, 2017
Does Valle know something we don’t? Necro is already in a stage background (Spooky Arena), C. Viper, Oro, and Sakura all appear in character story modes, and Sagat and Q are among the most-requested characters to return.
Hmm… maybe DreamHack didn’t make a mistake, and was just ahead of the curve…?
Did anyone catch else catch this ? At the bottom of @PunkDaGod trophy Super street fighter V ? @jchensor @ultradavid @BornFreeTweets . pic.twitter.com/53Sio9bQ59
— Jimmy_Shoegazer (@jimmy_shoegazer) May 1, 2017
Or if you prefer the conspiracy-theory approach, maybe Capcom was planning this all along — based on the photographic evidence from Alex’s license plate in the City in Chaos stage:
From a cynical standpoint, the SSFV rumor seems suspicious simply because it reads like a community wish list. We cried for Arcade Mode (well, I personally didn’t, but that’s another article), we cried for Q, we begged for Sagat to return. Capcom should be taking community feedback into account — but so far, it barely has. It’s hard to believe now that the developers are finally listening.
So, let’s just suppose this rumor is dead-on accurate, and Capcom will be hitting us with a Super upgrade next year. Will it accomplish anything?
Community reaction to a “Super” SFV rebrand along these lines has been generally positive, supporting the idea that a SSFV could be spun into an effective relaunch of a “new,” more complete product. This could result in improved public perception of the Street Fighter brand — provided it is a free upgrade, and it doesn’t fragment the player base. James Chen talks about this at length in an episode of Unchensored (NSFW, as suggested by the title!).
I agree with this to a degree; it will likely boost sales somewhat, and positive press may draw back frustrated players that have dropped the game to retry it. A Street Fighter V that has washed away the complaints about poor offline content will undoubtedly be a stronger presence in the fighting game community — and things like an Arcade Mode, and a mode to beat up CPU Illuminati, will help support that elusive “casual” customer. Bringing back fan-favorite characters like Sakura, Q, and especially Sagat will foster even more goodwill (presuming they don’t change too much). New Critical Arts may help add some asked-for variety (although, I believe the call for new V-Skills/V-Triggers has been louder). And it’s hard to complain about a free upgrade. If Super SFV cost an extra $30, that’d be a much different matter.
That casual consumer market might easily jump on and enjoy Super Street Fighter V — if they look past the old Champion Edition/Super/Turbo/Ultra re-release silliness. A “Super” prefix could indeed be just the thing Street Fighter V needs to clean up its stained image — for the more casual gamer. However, unless the things that serious players have voiced issues with loudly and repeatedly — input latency, poor netcode, player 2 rematch control — are not effectively addressed, the improvements offered by a Super upgrade won’t make much difference among the competitive community. A new coat of paint won’t make a lemon run.
For the sake of their fans, for the sake of Street Fighter, and for the sake of Capcom themselves, I want them to get it right.
Additional sources: Rikurikumore (r/Kappa); Tizoc (NeoGAF); Alex Valle (Twitter); Jimmy_Shoegazer (Twitter); UltraChenTV
The newly-announced Dragon Ball 3v3 fighting game from Arc System Works and Bandai Namco, Dragon Ball FighterZ, has set the FGC ablaze as a dream come true for many fans. It’s already being put through its early paces while on display at E3 2017 — but for those not at the show, here’s a look at what we’re missing!
Cross Counter TV recorded some first impressions on the game with Marvel Vs. series expert Clockw0rk:
Xuses uploaded this look at Gohan’s gameplay:
Maximilian was trying the game out at E3, and gives us a closer look at the mechanics and gameplay, as well as some more Gohan:
Here’s some of Bandai Namco’s recent stream on the game, captured by Eastyy:
YogaFlame24 has uploaded some goodies too; here’s an interview with producer Tomoko Hiroki:
Here’s live reactions from fans straight from the reveal. Some of the enthusiasm (unsurprisingly) reaches into NSFW territory!
Sources: Cross Counter TV; XusesGB; Maximilian Dood; Eastyy; YogaFlame24
Japan’s arcades are where the spirit of Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike dwells, and for foreigners to Japan that love the game, living right alongside the Japanese 3rd Strike scene is the best place to be to enjoy this classic game — and to improve their skills.
This mini-documentary by Jamboree features a number of foreign players taking advantage of this proximity, namely Ryan (currently considered the #1 American 3rd Strike player), Nate, Dusty, and Pherai (one of the moderators on SRK’s forums). They all have competed in Cooperation Cup. They talk about what they do in Japan, the arcades, and their love of 3rd Strike — the “red-headed stepchild” of the Street Fighter franchise. Check it out below! (Some language NSFW.)
Want to see these players in action? You can see Ryan take on Nica KO in a FT10 at TFC 2016 here:
Jamboree also appears in this footage from TFC 2016:
Some of them took part in the East-West War event, and can be seen competing here:
Thanks to Dusty for the tips!
Sources: Phil H; Bifuteki; Khang Trinh; Sf3lp
If you’re near Calgary, Alberta, Canada at the end of June — and are ready to Smash — check out the fifth annual Otafest Assault, coming to the TELUS Convention Centre from June 30th to July 2nd, 2017, as a part of the annual Otafest anime convention. This event will feature tournaments for both Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, with a $2000 prize pool bonus split between the singles events for both titles. There’s also a compendium on smash.gg to boost the pot bonus, if you want some Otafest swag.
Registration is open now on smash.gg! You can register in advance or on-site, and a pass to Otafest itself is required to attend. More details can be found on the smash.gg page.
Thanks to David for the tip!
Source: smash.gg
On July 8-9, 2017, the Power Mac Center (also the destination of the upcoming Manila Cup) in Circuit Makati, Philippines, will play host to REV MAJOR, the Asia-Pacific Masters event for the Tekken World Tour, presented by PlayBook Esports. In addition to Tekken 7, it will also feature side tournaments for the following games:
For more event and registration/schedule information, check out the official website and the Facebook event page. You can also follow them on Twitter.
Source: REV MAJOR
E3 is definitely shaking up our favorite games this week, with new announcements for various franchises; if you want to keep tabs on what NetherRealm Studios has planned for Injustice 2, you can catch their E3 panels live on Body Count Fighting’s Twitch channel, or on WB Games. Their E3 panel schedule is as folllows:
Watch live video from bcfighting on www.twitch.tv
Source: Body Count Fighting
Sony and Capcom dropped a bombshell for Marvel Vs. fans last night by firing out a surprise Story Demo for the game, giving PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players their first chance to get their hands directly on the gameplay–albeit via the story mode.
If you’d rather sit back and watch the new demo in action than play — or just want to relive it again and again — a number of players have uploaded video from the demo. Check it out below. (Some commentary NSFW.)
Sources: XusesGB; Eastyy; TheRedGambit; Maximilian Dood
Another day of server maintenance ahead, as has become a regular feature of Street Fighter V. Online functions will not be available tomorrow between 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM PDT.
We will perform server maintenance from 11am to 3pm on 6/13 PDT. Thank you for your patience and support.
— SFV Server (@SFVServer) June 12, 2017
No specific reason for this shutdown is known yet — if Capcom is adding anything, it’s a surprise for now. New incoming content may yet be revealed at E3, much like the Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite Story Mode demo.
Source: SFV Server (Twitter)