Capcom's Christian Svensson took on a ton of PC-related questions about Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition's release on the Unity Boards. This starts off with a quick Street Fighter X Tekken bit before moving into heavy PC territory.Based on feedback from people who played the current builds of Street Fighter X Tekken, is it possible to do balance changes with the characters? Also, could there two different versions of the balance changes for people who prefer more broken gameplay and people who don't? — Shinkuu Kikoken
Svensson: Balance changes will definitely happen. A real balance pass has yet to even begin. When it does happen, there will be only one final version (not two as suggested).
Sven would you mind explaining to me how in the world did you manage to have the game already leaked in the internet before it's official release? — Chris
Svensson: Retail... distribution... as soon as it leaves replication on its way to a retailer, leaks are inevitable.
This is one reason I'll be happy when PC retail is dead and buried.
Will I be able to activate my American PC version of SSF4AE (retail) in Europe (Germany) on the 5th of July or do I have to wait until the 8th of July? — Raine
Svensson: If you have the game physically, regardless of where it's from or where you are, you should be able to activate it.
Is there any difference between the retail and digital version of PC SSF4 AE? — Arnault
Svensson: No difference between digital and physical. Buy where you are most comfortable/get the best deal.
What are the retail and digital release dates for PC SSF4 AE? — Treantwuver
Svensson: North and south America digital and retail is July 5. Europe digital is set for the 8th and retail should be around there as well. Australia/New Zealand is July 15 for retail.
When the discount for SSF4 AE on Steam happened, the game was among the top sellers on the Summer Sale. I know it was a mistake, but won't Capcom miss the opportunity for increased sales? — Ricardo Spot
Svensson: With PC and proper digital distribution we have YEARS to do sales promotions down the line. In the near term, we don't gain anything... we only accelerate the revenue curve, likely at the near term expense of revenue/unit. We've already provided incentives for pre-order which is as much discount as we should be doing at launch to maximize the game's revenue.
In other news, Steam's version has been tested now and we've cleared it to launch on Tuesday with everyone else. Down to the wire on that one schedule-wise given the 4th of July weekend. 8)
Will all 103 costumes be available on July 8?
Svensson: The costumes will be on the GFWL Marketplace on July 8 for all customers except those that purchased on Steam. They will come later on Steam (hopefully less than a month later but don't hold me to that... development is ongoing there).
Looks like pirates can play SSF4 AE offline, is online in danger? — Hingis
Svensson: Online remains secure.
Will a pre-load option be enabled on Steam? — DCary
Svensson: We've authorized all partners who have the capability, to enable preloading. Not sure when they'll turn that on though.
Will you guys be restructuring the DLC costumes on console to match what you're doing on PC? — ARXIN
Svensson: For now this structure is only for PC where we had the ability to rethink the DLC structure without fear of breaking the DLC for prior iterations. We have no plans to bring it to consoles.
Are there less people in the U.S. buying games on the PC through retail outlets? — Darknite
Svensson: Very few customers in North America purchase at retail any more. Part of that is due to shrinking retail distribution. Part of it is due to changing consumer behavior. From a publisher standpoint, retail on PC has always had unfavorable returns/reserves issues as compared to the console business in the US (in Europe it's very different than here).
Business models on PC continue to evolve and the most successful models have shifted more to "games as service" instead of "discrete products". That trend is happening on console too but in a slightly different way (for now).
Is SSF4 AE for the PC going to store BP/PP remotely? Or are we going to have to deal with idiots who edited some files to get 999999 BP crapping up the replay channel? — Mike
Svensson: I don't know the answer to that off the top of my head.
I downloaded the pirated version it gave me 3 viruses. lol
anyway iam still going for the original cause of its online..
i must admit i was excited and i played for quite awhile,
but it gets boring, iam like what now? : )
Thats why i think the sales will still go up.
cause of its online capabilities.
About arcade edition.
Iam just curious is there GFWL issues in this game.
Been through some forums and articles
regarding some regions not allowed in windows live.
and I have a GFWL key for re5 can i use it on sf4 ae?
That work in vanilla pc version.
i hope gfwl wont screw up like vanilla.
imo the main reason y ssf4ae is going to get pirated alot is because first of all they released the ps3/xbox 360 version of the game which cost 15$ a month before the pc version which costs 40$ if they want people to buy the pc version they should release it at the sametime or at least reduce the price
Svensson : "This is one reason I'll be happy when PC retail is dead and buried."
Well, as an honest PC player that scares me, if the release of PC version is a pain in the butt for capcom I'm afraid we won't get much more capcom on PC ...
I hate those pirates sooo much -_- I don't think they really know what are the consequences of their acts ...
@Yak99 SSFIVAE is only 15$ on Xbox360/PS3 if you own SSFIV already. The PC never received Super Street Fighter IV so of course it is going to cost more.
@gtfopanda WRONG. Dead wrong. http://notch.tumblr.com/post/11215960... <-- minecraft creator discusses piracy. Also as a person who has in the past pirated games/music I can tell you from my own experience, I do buy products I've previously pirated. While it is not the norm for most people to do, it does happen. Here is an example: I pirated the Tales of Monkey Island series. I have since purchased the ENTIRE catalogue of games by Tell Tale on steam during the sale (despite already owning the entire sam and max series as well as a Puzzle Agent.) I also spent 4hours convincing friends I know to do the same thing and purchase the entire collection of games by the company.
Would be nice if you could continue to order physical copies directly from the publisher for those who like to have a box and manual. Perhaps even allow you to play the digitally distributed version in the meantime before your hard copy arrives in the mail.
@ #8
Dude, you don't get it.
Every honest folk buys games he enjoyed, even after pirating it - simply because some software houses don't do demo anymore, and the only way to try games without emptying your wallet is pirating it. And you know, people can't always waste money on pile of trash like Dragon Age 2 and Crysis 2 (ty EA, btw).
That was not the kind of person I was talking about. I was referring to those who pirate every game which come out no matter what, brainlessly try it out and then uninstall it. Those people won't and will never buy the game. The fact that they downloaded it doesn't hurt sales, because they wouldn't have bought the game in the first place.
Note that he said "PC retail." Not as much of an issue with digital I suppose, but I can see where retail can be an annoyance.
Still boggles my mind when people defend piracy or call it a non-issue. It's not something that can be looked over. It definitely hurts sales, even when it's anticipated.
Why is he so much against retail? Just because it produces leaks? But as someone stated above, people will get bored because they can't play online on pirated copies. So eventually, it won't affect the sales much.
Speaking of retail, I'm one of those who love the idea of having a "Physical" game library rather than the digital nonsense.
"I'll be happy when PC retail is dead and buried."
Just to be clear ppl, that doesn't mean he hates games for PC, nor stopping the production of Capcom PC games. What he means is that it's an annoyance, nothing to serious, just a period of time when the games is released.
So every high profile game for console gets leaked a week before release, it happens with the PC version of a console title and suddenly it's a big deal?
Makes perfect sense.
I also think that piracy, in a way urges the developers to work harder and make good games. Because a lot of people want to try before buying, and not all companies release demos and if they do, they're not honest with it. They make the demos shiny to attract buyers whereas the original game isn't always that good.
So there are a huge number of loyal fans who will eventually buy a legit copy to show support and love for the developer.
PC retail, as in physical. He's right though, only a matter of time before PC games stay in a digital format exclusively.
Piracy stumps a bad dent into the market, but far from the crippling blow like they want us to believe prior to release. The reasons they are releasing SFIV and SSFIV AE and not SSFIV (a bit of an inbetween) probably has more to do with the demographic of the average PC gamer than with piracy. You can't look into their books, but the fact they are releasing this new game probably means we already 'proved' that their is plenty of lifeblood for fighting games with the sales of SFIV.
If everyone who bought SSFIVAE bought 2 copies, then while being a very profitable venture for Capcom the data would be insignificant when compared to the number of "hits" on torrent sites, if they choose the rather ignorant view that 1 hit = 1 lost sale rather than taking into account that figure is comprised of:
- People who could and would buy, but choose to steal.
- People who could not afford the game at release, but will buy it on sale later on.
- People who are demo'ing the game, like it and buy it.
- People who are demo'ing the game, dislike it and won't buy it.
- People who are downloading it because they can and have no real interest in the game.
And until they change their own business strategy to make those hits work for them as a potential sale rather than a hard line lost sale then there is nothing that we can do besides buy a copy for ourselves, play it, enjoy, tell our friends and hope that at some point, Capcom is going to stop treating the PC market like a manic depressive lover.
If u luv it u buy it, I own the original copy of vanilla after waiting 1 year. Besides any fan of the series will buy it.
I would like to add that piracy might cause many people who for e.g. don't like fighting games to think, "Okay, lets download the pirated version and give it a try". And after playing, they might convert to a fighting game lover and buy that game and also become a loyal follower of the developer. So imo, piracy can do more wonders than damages.
I'd like to see an AE trollface demo. Two playable characters - Yun and Dhalsim.
Where in the world are you guys finding this rosy set of pirates that say "you know what? Imma' buy the game even though I already got it for free to show my support!!"?
That is likely the absolute *rarest* scenario.
Let's be honest here... the crowd that sits and waits for torrents of games as soon as they're announced (PC or console) FAR outweighs the people that just want to "try before they buy."
"Piracy - The unauthorized use or reproduction of another's work."
So people are trying to defend theft?
@24
I am a walking example of "pirate it as a demo, buy it if you want to support it". Recently, i pirated Alice: Madness returns , i loved the game's art style then purchased it because that's how you make good games come forward and split them from the lesser ones. I have a couple friends that did the same thing i did with different games. I'm sure normal pirates outnumber us, but people like me is more than a few.
So people actually think that
"Piracy - The unauthorized use or reproduction of another's work."
EQUALS
"Theft - A criminal act in which property belonging to another is taken without that person's consent."
?
Wow I hate you #29.
Maybe you're trolling, so 7/10 for that.
Svensson: This is one reason I'll be happy when PC retail is dead and buried.
OMG is this how Capcom really feals? Ugh... You know what? If you have to do that DRM thing so we can play more games in the future, just do what you have to do.
I'm very glad to hear costume packs will be purchasable via steamworks online store. Now I'm sure I'll buy it on steam, and cancel my preorder on retail version.
This is how it works: make an excellent game only a bit different (technically) for PC users, and we are happy. PC works different than consoles and I'm glad CAPCOM finally admitted this, and we won't get a simple console port.
"roknin, BUT THEY WERENT GONNA BUY IT ANYWAY... so no lost sale..."
If there was an alternate universe where buying it was the only way to obtain it, how could you tell what you would or wouldn't buy? You'd have to make your purchases with greater consideration for your budget and what you are most likely to enjoy, and whether you got to try it in advance through a demo. How can you know how that would eventually work out? It's besides the point in any case.
@32: Look at it this way--if you illegally download something, and paid absolutely nothing for it, by what fact can you be called the moral owner of it?
Do you think that just because you took the trouble of copying it into your harddrive that ownership transfers to you, or starts with you in the first place as if no further effort came before it to bring it into existence?
The copy sitting on your computer belongs to the copyright holder.
To call it theft is to change the definition from:
"A criminal act in which property belonging to another is taken without that person's consent."
to
"A criminal act in which the offender willfully comes into posession of property that is not theirs."
Do you have an issue with the second definition?
The dictionary definition (though it would depend on which dictionary you open) is merely outdated and doesn't take intellectual property into consideration.
Copyright is:
"A way of regarding all instances of intellectual property as belonging to the copyright-holder, unless the posession of a copy by another is sanctioned by the copyright-holder."
If that was too long to read and made your head spin, here's the short version: If you download music, video games, or anything else, who does it belong to and why?
Feel free to argue the point.
Yeah I do have problem with second definition. There's no word about stealing anything from another person. Just coming into posession of something that's not mine does not make me a thief. When I buy a car that wasn't mine .. it is obviously mine after.. eh
Ignoring definitions though: When you copy someone else's work you don't steal it because he did not lose possesion of the original work. Who the copied work belongs to does not really matter, because I did not take anything away from anyone.
"When you copy someone else's work you don't steal it because he did not lose possesion of the original work. Who the copied work belongs to does not really matter, because I did not take anything away from anyone."
You keep applying the rules of physical property to intellectual property, as if they follow the same set of rules. They don't.
Yes, he didn't lose anything. If you copy someone's work, it went from that copy not existing to that copy existing in your posession (duh), _but belonging to him_.
What remains the same is that you have something that belongs to him. Unlike physical property, he will be happy if you destroy it, which just goes further to demonstrate that different rules apply and that you shouldn't be applying the rules of physical property to intellectual property.
If enough people cling to the notions of property and theft that pre-date patents and copyright, They will help bring about a return to that era. Intellectual property as a practice can't exist if people don't believe in it, and people will have no choice but to abandon markets that entail it. It hasn't happened yet, but it can always happen, and anyone who embraces that attitude isn't helping.
There will soon be (or maybe already is) a crack to play online just like every other PC game that shuts down online play when pirated, so the argument of "why would they keep the pirated game if they can't play online" is completely invalid.
Why the hell would people who have downloaded the COMPLETE & FULL GAME want to go & buy it afterwards? They already have it. Pirates are pirates, the only reason you have of downloading a game illegally is to play it without paying for it. It's that simple. The people who download it just to demo it & then actually purchase would make up about 2% of the people who pirate, the rest are just simply stealing it.
Yeah well, I don't "believe" in "intellectual property".. when you create something that's this easily copiable you should be happy, that more people can enjoy your work. There are other ways to make profit off of this other than tagging everyone who copies your work a thief and forcing everyone to pay for the COPY of your work. I'm obviously not saying that creator shouldn't benefit from his work.
Sven and Capcom hate producing retail physical copies. That's because Wal-Mart sent them back a ton of unsold SF4 vanilla for PC. All those unsold packages represent an investment loss.
Capcom seem to have a hard time calculating the correct demand for physical copies in the US market, since that demand fluctuates a lot. Because every year download stores like Steam and Gamersgate increase sales while Wal-Mart sells less and less PC games.
When you sell games by downloads, no waste. If they sell physical copies directly through the Capcom store, they can package more physical boxes as the orders come in... they don't have to ship 50k copies to Wal-Mart in advance and pray that they sell.
Plus selling download copies gives Capcom more profits, because the money that would have gone to printing DvDs and boxes stays in their pockets.
"Also, could there two different versions of the balance changes for people who prefer more broken gameplay and people who don't?"
What weird questions they have been asked. What does this even mean? Who would "prefer" something that is, by his own definition, "broken?" Who would seriously argue that development time be taken away from the intensive process of balancing and spent on crafting deliberately broken systems?
"There are other ways to make profit off of this other than tagging everyone who copies your work a thief and forcing everyone to pay for the COPY of your work. I'm obviously not saying that creator shouldn't benefit from his work."
That's hard to see. I believe in the profit motive. Do you? You can't earn your bread from "happy thoughts" of being someone elses benefactor. And I see no reason why some people should be 'special' and not have to pay, while others do.
#38
No, there won't be. There has never been and will never be a 'crack' that allows you to play on services like Battle.net or Games For Windows Live. Pirated SF4 was playable online because of a mistake that Microsoft made, not because of a crack. You still had to buy something to enable online play, even if it was another cheaper GFWL game.
"Svensson: Retail... distribution... as soon as it leaves replication on its way to a retailer, leaks are inevitable.
This is one reason I'll be happy when PC retail is dead and buried."
And everyone told me I was "paranoid" to think that in the future "services" like Steam and D2D will have us by the balls as the only way to get games anymore. Apparently Sven thinks it'll happen too. What a bunch of short-sighted, greedy... do they not even realize that a huge amount of the world suffers under brutal bandwidth per month caps that make downloading games not only painful (download time) and humiliating (to rely on some distant server for access) but *impossible*? Personally, I bet they just don't care.
I have pirated PC games that are on consoles, because this lets me demo the game, and if I like it I will buy it for PS3 or 360. I don't game very often on my PC, so trying it before buying it is how I roll. Now I've purchased everything SF4 save the 3D edition (don't have a 3DS) I even have the iPhone games. People will buy what they love. It's fact.
Now that Gears of War 3 was leaked (Campaign and system link only) you can't say that it's only PC that gets hit.
Jesus people SFxT isn't even out of development and you're already calling for balance changes? It's called a work in progress and it's nowhere near completion yet so quit complaining like it's the final product. I'm sure when Sven thinks about this community all that runs through his head is "whine whine balance changes, complain complain new characters, bitch bitch everything else". Give it a rest guys, it's beyond tired and old.
I've read somewhere that used games hurt sales more than piracy, dunno if that's true or not, but I do find it interesting.
I don't mind pirating a game, but if I like it, I'll always buy it. I'm perhaps a minority because of that, but I do enjoy supporting industries so they can produce more content. I guess kids with lesser understanding just grab everything they can without a second though.
DRMs can be removed and many people do opt for them when they are in a game, so you have to keep in mind it can easily backfire.
Does anyone know if the requirements for SSF4 AE are the same as SF4? I could barely run SF4 on my laptop. If it is the same, I don't have to buy a new computer. If not, then I better do it now: The 4th of July sale end on the 4th, but the game is out on the 5th.
#50
The reqs are the same.
2 more days till we are rockin online!
PC FTW
@49 - "I've read somewhere that used games hurt sales more than piracy, dunno if that's true or not, but I do find it interesting."
I wouldn't be surprised. Someone has full intention of purchasing a product and yet the developer will receive no money from it. It all goes to Gamestop or Ebay seller who listed the product. Even if piracy numbers are in the millions, the number of people who would have actually purchased the product is probably less than the number of people who purchase the game used. That's just a guess btw.
That is another reason why Sven and probably every other developer would much rather have digital only releases. This is also the same reason why MK created the Kombat Pass.
Ok, I'm gonna hate a bit...
Honestly, I could care less about bootleg copies on PC cause as far as I'm concerned its not like theres any real competition on PC in the first place. Using a keyboard or mods to alter gameplay or editing BP doesn't make me think otherwise either. (if you're using a stick on PC, yet you own a PS3 or XBOX, you're just plain retarded unless you just plain suck and hate losing on the console..)
Capcom should just charge about 20 bucks and if there is still pirates out there, it just proves that y'all are just cheap punks that would just rather live up to that name and hack your way through life and never actually earn anything without bootlegs, hook-ups, hand-outs, or parents to keep you afloat..THEN Capcom should just scrap the PC retail, and only make it DLC off subscription based applicants that HAVE to pay up front to Capcom's website before they can even play the game..that will put the nail in the coffin.
...sigh....ok, im done hating. I don't care really, but I feel the pain of the honest ones out there that actually want to play this game on PC and having pirates just ruin the SF community just because "they can".
honestly guys, just buy the console version....more the 360 version since punks already trying to hack the PS3. Trust me, There's better professional competition that will make you a better player, and you don't have to worry about hacks, ram or video card requirements, viruses or mods to ruin the fun.
(Don't listen to the guy who said to make broken games, SFIIIO and MVC2 are already on PSN/XBL!)
Will you guys shut up and leave pc gamers alone.
Everyone deserves to play these game.
I own an xbox360 but iam not bashing on pc gaming.
There are Many reasons why sometimes i prefer playing on pc.
Uploading while playing a game.
downloading while playing a game.
access the net using your favorite browser.
isnt it convenient,, Stop hating.
#50
Windows XP or later
2.0 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or 2.0 GHz Dual Core Processor
1 GB of RAM or higher
4.5 GB hard disk space
DirectX 9 graphics card with 256 MB RAM
Sound card DirectX 9.0c compatible
I must say its better than vanilla.
my laptop can handle this game very well
and i tested it on a pentium 4 3ghz 6600gs.
it works great. unlike before.
The No background display is still in this game,
"This is one reason I'll be happy when PC retail is dead and buried."
Maybe he should take a look at some popular torrent sites at all the PIRATE VERSIONS OF CONSOLE GAMES before he says such ignorant statements.
Jackass.
#54: there is one reason why someone may be interested into pirating a game: testing if it works on his computer/laptop. On the other hand, I think most people pirate just to save money and they don't care about the developers.
In my case, I bought only few games in recent memory:
- Guild Wars 1 (played it for 2-3 years like crazy)
- SF4 on PC (6-7 months full time)
- Blazeblue (didn't like it. Uninstall).
- Darksiders1 (hate it after a few sec. Uninstall).
- Mount & Blade (playing once a week for the past 2 months)
No torrent game download for me. I don't have time to install crappy games. I either get the full version and find out if I truly like it, or not get it at all all together.
@55
You're comment shows how little you know about PC gaming in general.
The best players might play on consoles but that doesn't make it less competitive. Id even say PC can be more competitive because of the simple fact that it is much easier to communicate on PC. You get in touch with the players in a different way when you can type on a keyboard so its more likely to get "sparring" partners who you can compare your skill against. So instead of just aiming to get more BP/PP I often aim to beat a player that used to be or still is better than me. That would never happen on consoles because you rarely communicate.
And that's just one of many reasons why i prefer playing games on my PC compared to my PS3. Which is why I will buy my copy of AE to PC even though its a bit more expensive (I do have a copy of SSF4 for PS3).
PS.
I hope you are a troll because it pains me to know that there are people as retarded as you out there...
@55
I remember a game that the dev released for like, 1$ or more. Meaning you could buy the game at whatever price you think you could spend. It was a game that could easily be sold 10-15$ on Steam or whatever. Sorry I don't remember the game's name.
Basically there was more people who pirated the game than bought it.
@60
Someone doesn't know how to read.
@62 Do you realize how easy it is to communicate on Console and especially 360? Are you trolling?
@60 - I'd wager he's well aware of how many console games are pirated.
It's... kinda' part of his job.
Anyway, I don't think anyone is trying to say that PC gamers are somehow "less honorable" and less worthy of getting releases. But it's a bit more difficult to actually play pirated games on a console - which is relatively closed unless you go through the trouble of modding/hacking - and than it is on a PC.
And honestly, I'd imagine that at this point PC RETAIL games are kind of a nuisance. Hell, if the console manufacturers and devs/pubs could, they'd probably go completely digital right now and pretty much kill off physical media completely.
Should probably mention that I'm not for that myself... I think having a physical copy is an important option, particularly for a pack-rat like me who loves to collect boxes/books/etc. ;p
Bought it on the ps3 the night it came out. If I end up with a new laptop, I'd buy it for the pc as well so I can look up strats, vids, alt tab to try them out on the game instead of going from sites and videos in one room to ps3 in the other.
Plus for playing it on the pc...and easier communication still(and yeah, I've got a headset for the ps3)
Why does everyone like physical copies of the game so much?
It was great back in the day when you could just install the game and run it and you got a nice thick manual to read through, but these days you still have to update/patch the game and most of the time you have to activate it somehow, and you'll be lucky if you get a quick reference card or a tiny 4 page booklet in the box.
There's no point in owning retail copies of the game these days. They're only good for getting lost/damaged and taking up space. Why not buy the digital copy that you'll have for life?
"Balance changes will definitely happen."
Glad to hear it.