Capcom president Haruhiro Tsujimoto created some intense debate earlier this year when, during a discussion on hypothetical Street Fighter V features, he mentioned wanting to implement some sort of pay model to alleviate the widening gap between high-level and beginning players. As you can imagine, the reaction was severe, causing producer Yoshinori Ono to step in soon after to dispel the information.
Now that Street Fighter V has been officially announced, those old talking points have come back to the surface. In an effort to quell this thinking, Ono made his position on the matter very blunt in a recent interview with Famitsu. “Let me set this straight: Street Fighter V is a packaged game,” he stated, according to Japanator’s Elliot Gay. “Not [free-to-play].”
This is certainly good news for players who were worried about Capcom continuing policies introduced in Street Fighter x Tekken, where certain fighter-enhancing gems were only available through separate purchases. Some may argue, however, that a free-to-play model could help introduce new players to the game much in the same Killer Instinct and Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate Core Fighters.
In any case, it’s good to have a clear answer.
Gay mentioned that this was just one piece of a larger interview, so it’s possible we’ll hear more Street Fighter V information in the near future. The game’s first live match is scheduled for this weekend’s Capcom Cup.
Street Fighter V is scheduled to launch on PlayStation 4 and PC. A release date has yet to be announced.
Source: Famitsu via Elliot Gay