Super Street Fighter IV Won't Battle On PCs

[vansau]

Super Street Fighter IV Won't Battle On PCs

Apparently, Street Fighter IV was so pirated that Capcom doesn't feel comfortable releasing the next version for the PC.

Sorry, PC gamers, it looks like you're going to have to play Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition on something other than your computers. Capcom has revealed that it won't be putting the game out on computers because of (fairly legitimate) concerns about user piracy.

Producer Yoshinori Ono, in an interview with 4Gamer.net, explained that while <a href=http://www.amazon.com/Super-Street-Fighter-IV-Xbox-360/dp/B002TDIEE0/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1285176652&sr=8-4>Street Fighter IV's sales were strong on the PC, the platform was also "number one in piracy."

Ono also explained that the piracy rate helped the game earn a high profile with PC gamers. However, in spite of this, Capcom needs to protect the the Street Fighter IV IP, which means the company feels that it can't let the game be considered "free" on any platform. Ono did reveal that Capcom might revisit the possibility of releasing the game for PCs, provided it can come up with a "powerful copy protection solution."

I understand where Capcom is coming from, but I'm not sure this is the best solution. However, If the only option to play the game on PC is to use some ham-fisted DRM software, perhaps it's for the best if the game just doesn't come out on that platform.

Source: <a href=http://gamasutra.com/view/news/30552/Piracy_Rules_Out_PC_Version_Of_Super_Street_Fighter_IV.php>Gamasutra

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[Deofuta]

That is to bad, less people for me to crush with Seth!

"Become One With Me..."

 

[Xan Krieger]

Oh well at least you can eventually get the characters on MUGEN.

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

I knew they wouldn't be too happy about the whole piracy thing. It was pretty obvious SF IV was going to get pirated hard.

Bad news, indeed, sorry, PC gamers.

 

[uppitycracker]

wait... it was successful on the PC, but because it was pirated more ont he PC than the xbox or PS3 (ya, go figure.. that's going to happen capcom, have you ever developed for all platforms before?) they aren't gonna release the next one? Have to "protect the IP?" Pretty retarded thought process in my eyes....

 

[Rad Party God]

They need to scrap Games For Windows Live completely and embrace Steamworks.
I hope they don't to the Ubi way, I really do want it on PC.

 

[xavierxenon]

Congratulations PC gamers.

I can see where Capcom is coming from though.

 

[Azrael the Cat]

Given the number of titles where the pirated version has DEBUTED on CONSOLES, i.e. pirated on consoles before pirated copies were available on PCs, this is just an ongoing source of hilariousness. It's like watching a room full of clones made from the autistic lead in Rainman, and waiting to see which one realises 'console games can be pirated too' first.

Console pirating isn't even NEW anymore! There's absolutely no knowledge gap protecting them, and anyone who wanted to pirate their console games can do so with a minimum of internet searching. It's just a bunch of publishers all hit with the idiot bat who seem to think that if they repeat something often enough it is magically the truth.

 

[tahrey]

street fighter has had versions that were available on PC?
news to me...
the idea of playing a beat 'em up with the keyboard, that's sooo appealing...

 

[Baby Tea]

wait... it was successful on the PC, but because it was pirated more ont he PC than the xbox or PS3 (ya, go figure.. that's going to happen capcom, have you ever developed for all platforms before?) they aren't gonna release the next one? Have to "protect the IP?" Pretty retarded thought process in my eyes....

Not really.
If they sold, hypothetically, 200,000 copies on the PC, but it was downloaded 200,000 times?
That's as much as they sold in potential revenue gone. Even if only 10% of those who downloaded it would have bought it if it wasn't available via piracy, that's an extra 20,000 in units sold.

So, rather then allow people to get a game for free that they don't deserve, they'd just pull it.
That's the effect of piracy. Eventually big companies are just going to get tired of wasting money on DRM, and just say 'screw it' and give up on the platform. PC Gaming will never die, of course, that's silly. PC gaming is huge, undeniably. But here is a perfect example of the effect of piracy. It's not all DRM and Securom.
Sometimes it's simply no game.

 

[Sebenko]

SFIV was on PC? Didn't know that.

Ah well, it's not like I was planning to buy it anyway.

What are they trying to do? Spite PC players?

That's the effect of piracy. Eventually big companies are just going to get tired of wasting money on DRM, and just say 'screw it' and give up on the platform.

I won't miss them. all these big budget "triple A" games leave me feeling dissapointed if I get more excited than "I'll buy it when it goes cheap".

 

[Pandora92]

Ugh this is so silly, they already stated somewhere else that the game was "essentially 99% finished" on the PC, so not releasing it now makes no sense, sure piracy might theoretically loose them a lot of their possible income from it, but by not releasing it they make NO income at all.

Oh and they were also asked if they would consider releasing it exclusively on Steam as a DRM platform if they were worried about piracy, and they said "No because that wouldn't be fair to people without access to Steam", so I guess it's more "fair" for NO-ONE to get to play it on PC?...

/facepalm

 

[cerebus23]

call me when they release virtual fighter on pc, one of the few fighting games to bother with.

street fighter i could not care any less if i tried, hell i would not even pirate it to play it .

 

[Samurai Goomba]

Sigh. I was specifically waiting for Super SF4 for PC because I don't currently have a system capable of playing it.

 

[dududf]

You do realize that will change anything, correct?

If they want to pirate it, download a 360 emulator, and emulate the game on 360.

You've really changed nothing at all, except make it only accessible on PC for pirates.

Good job retards.

 

[vanthebaron]

so just becasue people pirate the game you won't release it for the computer?

 

[RikSharp]

Ugh this is so silly, they already stated somewhere else that the game was "essentially 99% finished" on the PC, so not releasing it now makes no sense, sure piracy might theoretically loose them a lot of their possible income from it, but by not releasing it they make NO income at all.

Oh and they were also asked if they would consider releasing it exclusively on Steam as a DRM platform if they were worried about piracy, and they said "No because that wouldn't be fair to people without access to Steam", so I guess it's more "fair" for NO-ONE to get to play it on PC?...

/facepalm

also, steam is free to anyone that wants it, so, the people that don't have steam have only themselves to blame...

i got them on the xbox, know a couple people that got it on pc tho.

 

[Serenegoose]

When are they going to realise that people who pirate games wouldn't have bought them anyway! It's basically just people who see free media and snaffle it, and have absolutely nowhere NEAR the amount of disposable income required to buy even a tiny fraction of the stuff they routinely obtain for free. You know how ubisoft complained about how massively pirated it was, and then they released that DRM that, for a while, stopped piracy of their games?

Did anybody notice ubisofts PC games sales launching up several hundred percent?

No?

Maybe because those pirates were never really all that interested to begin with, just opportunistic?

To not release a game on the PC because people who had no intention of ever buying it continue to NOT BUY IT is stupid. But you know, I hope they enjoy dismantling their own customer base in the name of FIGHTING PIRACY - that menace that puts megacorps out of business EVERY DAY.