Capcom just sent us a lovely little email detailing some of the contents in the new update to “Street Fighter IV”; “Street Fighter IV – Championship Edition.” The name size increase in the title is geared towards “serious players”. I am puzzled by that statement because many would agree that those trial and challenge mode challenges aren’t meant for scrubs. The new mode will expand the game by offering players the chance to compete in tournaments and to watch replays of the best tournament matches. That’s awesome, now we can see worldwide beat downs and share it with friends. No word on how the sharing of said beat downs may occur though but expect to see rampant video postings of “look I can do this combo” and such on the internet.

I know what you’re saying, “damn, another add-on!” Well fret not Wondering Warrior, it comes at no cost. The Championship Mode update will be available for both PS3 and Xbox 360 owners on Friday, April 24 (times TBD) for free. There will be 5 different grades of tournaments – “creating the right challenge for players of every skill level”. You will score points for tournament wins, and as your total points grow you’ll get the chance to enter into bigger tournaments.

This was something that should have been in the game but I’m guessing since this is all network harmony stuff, it takes time to be developed. The good thing is, as we’ve mentioned before, users with great connections can have a wonderful time online with SFIV when two users have a good connection. It will be interesting to see how Capcom maintains this trend. Winning tournaments will also net you Championship Points (CP). CP is like “prize money” up for grabs in the tournament. “The higher the GP skill of the players in a particular tournament, the bigger the CP prize” notes Capcom. Each network will have some unique features though (PSN and XBOX LIVE):

• On the PlayStation Network, you can rate matches while you watch according to characteristics such as “awesome” or “funny.” Replays are then ranked based on these vote ratings.
• On Xbox Live, instead of rating the matches, you can choose to download and save your favorite replays to study the players’ techniques. You’ll also be able to turn on the input commands from both players to be able to review their button and joystick motions in precise detail.

Add a few new characters while you’re at it, and also provide those costumes in a bundle pack with an overall discount and several users will be playing this title for some time. Perhaps what’s missing from the game are Custom Unranked Matches. I say custom because it would be interested if we could re-create those funky Time Trial and Survival Challenges for play online; no supers, no ultras, auto-charge, auto-heal, and invisibility. That only proves that there’s room for improvement for this still classic brawler.

TAGS: capcom, ps3, Street Fighter IV, xbox 360

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