Fans of Street Fighter were given a surprise at EVO 2013 as Capcom announced Ultra Street Fighter IV, an expansion to Street Fighter IV. In order to appease people who already own the previous versions, players can simply pay fifteen dollars to access the new content. For those who don’t own a copy of a previous game, Ultra Street Fighter IV can also be purchased as a standalone game at full retail price, which includes all DLC released for all previous Street Fighter IV titles. The new version of the iconic fighting game includes five new characters, six levels and a large number of tweaks to existing characters.
Capcom’s Press Release:
Over the weekend at EVO 2013, Capcom officially announced that the most popular fighting game franchise in history is returning, better and badder than ever with Ultra Street Fighter IV for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. Continuing the tradition of excellence the Street Fighter IV series is known for, five new characters and six new stages have been added for even more fighting mayhem, with rebalanced gameplay and original modes topping off this ultimate offering.
In Ultra Street Fighter IV, Poison, Hugo, Elena, Rolento and a secret all-new playable character join the fight, complete with new animations and their own unique play styles, bringing the current roster count to a massive 44 characters. Six new battle environments (including Pitstop 109, Cosmic Elevator, Half Pipe and more) provide a thrilling and colorful backdrop to the action. Direct fan feedback was gathered on all of Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition’s original 39 characters and core system mechanics in order to achieve the most balanced Street Fighter ever. Further details on the exciting new modes and gameplay features will be announced in the coming months.
Owners of Super Street Fighter IV or Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition will be able to download the title as a $14.99/€14.99 digital upgrade. Users who purchase the retail or full download version of the game for $39.99/€39.99 will receive all previous costume DLC released for the series (a $40/€40 value), making this the definitive version of Street Fighter IV to check out!
As great as it is to see Capcom listening to fan feedback to help improve their game, it appears as if a large amount of the assets used in this update were taken directly from Street Fighter X Tekken, which runs on a similar engine. The four returning characters from previous Street Fighters along with the levels listed were all featured in Capcom’s collaboration game with Bandai Namco.
In addition, this also marks the third major update to Street Fighter IV in which players have to pay to get access to the game tweaks or purchase a new game outright. Even though I am a big Street Fighter fan, I can’t help but feel ripped off that the last three versions of the same basic game I bought are now obsolete. Capcom has a tremendous following in the fighting game scene and shouldn’t be exploiting their long-time fans like this.
In any case, Ultra Street Fighter IV will be releasing in early 2014 for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC.