No SSFIV for PC gamers

By Fred Dutton Published 22 September, 2010

Blame pirates, insists Capcom.

Super Street Fighter IV will not head to PC because too many gamers pirated Street Fighter IV, Capcom has declared.

In an interview with Japanese site 4gamer, kindly translated by Andriasang, producer Yoshinori Ono said that although Street Fighter IV sold well on the platform, it was also heavily pirated. To protect its IP, Capcom is therefore choosing not to release the expansion on the PC, even though a compatible version is 99 per cent complete.

Ono also ruled out a digital-only release through Steam, explaining that it would be unfair on users who had no access to the service.

A rough week for PC gamers then, what with this and Microsoft's claim that nobody is playing shooters on the platform any more.

Super Street Fighter IV was released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in April. Eurogamer's Simon Parkin gave it 10/10.

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About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (37) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • drchocapic #1 2 years ago

    "Ono also ruled out a digital-only release through Steam, explaining that it would be unfair on users who had no access to the service."

    Hi, I'm Japanese and have no idea what I'm talking about.

  • rivuzu #2 2 years ago

    Fair cop to be honest. They wont invest in something where the profit isn't there for, regardless of fan outrage.

  • Mkm73 #3 2 years ago

    Wait, what? Not that I'd be playing it on the PC anyway, but that's an odd response. So it's fairer to exclude all PC players rather than just the ones who have access to Steam/teh internet?

    Having said that, I'm sure those who crack games could just as easily pirate the hell out of a downloadable release anyway?

  • suhawk75 #4 2 years ago

    "Ono also ruled out a digital-only release through Steam, explaining that it would be unfair on users who had no access to the service."

    I don't understand this either.

    So rather than giving some people a chance to play SSFIV on PC (via Steam) which might be "unfair on users who had no access to the service" they are giving no-one the chance to play SSFIV on PC which is unfair on everyone.

    At least it's equally unfair on everyone I suppose

  • JahB #5 2 years ago

    Is steam not available in Japan?

  • ssmulders #6 2 years ago

    @#2 How is having a version 99% complete, not investing? Games like Red Dead choose to ignore PC from the start, Capcom's argument is moot if you ask me. If it's almost done just release it and grab every dollar/yen you can get your hands on, and then don't develop for PC anymore on any upcoming projects. That's a valid business strategy.

  • persus-9 #7 2 years ago

    So what he's essentially saying is they have this thing but they won't be selling it even though a lot of people would buy it because if they did then some other people would not give them money for it? Yeah that makes sense...

    Seriously unless he's hoping a ton of those PC pirates will suddenly become honest console gamers then that makes no damn sense at all.

  • thewool #8 2 years ago

    Something doesn't ring right about this. There must be another reason why they don't release it on Steam.

  • LFace #9 2 years ago

    Well this confirms it, this guy has 100% confirmed that conoles have no piracy otherwise they wouldnt have released it on xbox either. Thank you oh high intellectual type person hoyven mayven

  • tachometer #10 2 years ago

    But it is available for PC gamers, all they have to do is go down to the shops and buy an Xbox like normal people do!

  • persus-9 #11 2 years ago

    @rivuzu: But the profit is there, he reported said SFIV sold well and the game is 99% complete so they've already made the investment. Not making the game if it wouldn't sell would make sense, not releasing a game you have made which would sell is just turning down free money.

  • TheTingler #12 2 years ago

    Um, what?

    I agree with thewool here. I think they made a decision not to go with PC and now they're just finding excuses. If it's not on PC, the pirates will just grab the 360 version just as easily. If it was released digitally, not only could pirates not hack it quite as easily, but then PC players (the majority now) could actually play the damn thing... and Capcom would get 99% of the profits!

    "Why not PC?"
    "Pirates."
    "Okay, so why not just Steam then?"
    "Wouldn't be fair to the minority who won't buy digitally."
    "But now no one can buy it? And you make no profit on a game you've already done?"
    "That's right."
    "Remind me about your sales in the last year."

  • bad09 #13 2 years ago

    So let me get this straight. It sold well but because people did download it they are not doing Super for PC? Absolute madness to walk away from the customers you do have just to spite the customers you don't.

    This move annoys the hell out of me, they are not so bothered on the games they need extra sales from like Dead Rising 2. You said you would support the platform capcom and you have wonderfully but picking and choosing the games you support with pisses people off.

    Consider Dead Rising forgotten about out of spite and a lost SSF4 sale as there is no way I'm paying for live for my girlfriends 360 on just one game!

  • Ryboy #14 2 years ago

    Because it's impossible to pirate games onto consoles isn't it. Knobs.

  • darkmorgado #15 2 years ago

    Ono also ruled out a digital-only release through Steam, explaining that it would be unfair on users who had no access to the service

    What, people without an internet connection? Who wouldn't buy the game anyway because of it's multiplayer nature?

    Is it me or are Capcom seriously f*cking losing the ability to make common sense decisions recently?

  • thesombrerokid #16 2 years ago

    If a game ever needed a new payment model it's Street Fighter.

    Capcom are going to die with their fist clenched around the old world Game Console Model. When that happens I'll laugh. They could sell Street Fighter by the bucket load if they made it more relevant, but as with the rest of their games they'll do what everyone else is doing but slightly shitter, including complaining about piracy, until they drown.

  • bad09 #17 2 years ago

    Also someone should tell him the arcade version will be emulated at some point, better forget that to....

    Mind you I guess that means we DO get SSFIV eventually, just a shame Capcom don't want to sell it to us I'd much prefer to give them my money.

  • Cronan #18 2 years ago

    See what happens when you behave like scummy free-loaders. Yaaargh!

  • kalinichenko #19 2 years ago

    noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!
    I hate u Capcom.

  • ghiest #20 2 years ago

    Although it sold well they are not going to make the new one because of pirates ... that makes zero sense. Lets not make any money at all just because some jerk offs will be getting it for free.

  • yellowParrot #21 2 years ago

    As SFIV was GFWL maybe they have taken the decision that it's better not to release a game at all rather than on GFWL. In which case I applaud them, I just wish they were honest about it :)

  • rivuzu #22 2 years ago

    @ssmulders
    It's probably 99% complete because it was built on PCs? All they'd then need to do is translate the code over for 360/PS3, and the game's done. That's how it can be 99%, and uninvested.

    @persus-9
    Mm, perhaps my first impressions were out. As people've pointed out though, Capcom aren't the most financially sensible recently!

    Perhaps this is all just a stunt, making people treasure their console versions more. Might boost sales a little for those PC gamers who were holding out.

  • apoc_reg #23 2 years ago

    This sucks

  • Farstarbuck #24 2 years ago

    Reap what you Sow PC Pirates!!!!

    It's a common sense decision made by a company angry at the revenue they lost from the last game in the series.

    Let's say you make a game and 10,000 people pay for it? You then find out over 50,000 are playing it, meaning you lost a lot of money! Let's see how happy you'd be minus that kind of revenue.

  • LFace #25 2 years ago

    @Farstarbuck , how dumb can you actually be to think that every pirated copy is one sale loss. Its rubbish and fabricated bullshit.

    Lets say Timmy walks into Game/Gamestation/Grandma-Hopes-Games-Shop and sees SF4 on the shelf for pc "Whats this game, never heard of it before.. £30 !!! You must be joking im not paying that for a game ive never heard of" so off Timmy goes home and he googles SF4 to see what it is and first link is "Download SF4 for free here" so he downloads it for free.

    By your reckoning, Capcom have lost out on £30 because he downloaded it. How so, he saw it on the shelf for £30 and DID NOT BUY IT. He chose not to fork out money so by downloading it, Capcom are none the poorer as it is not a lost sale due to piracy.

    Agreed this is a long shot and an extreme example but it is still valid and you could replace the game SF4 with any game.

    One pirated copy does not mean one loss of RRP to the publisher/dev.

  • Machetazo #26 2 years ago

    Same excuse as the one for Resi 5 (Gold/contents thereof, not for PC). Well, at least they're being consistent.

  • Morgawr #27 2 years ago

    "Producer Yoshinori Ono said that although Street Fighter IV sold well on the platform, it was also heavily pirated. To protect its IP, Capcom is therefore choosing not to release the expansion on the PC, even though a compatible version is 99 per cent complete"

    This is one of the most illogical statements ever. You don't base a business decision on how many people stole your product, you base it on how many people paid for it and how much money you made. The number of pirated copies should not be taken into account at all. If it had sold poorly I would understand this decision, but as it sold well, this is just sheer stupidity. It's like they're trying to punish the pirates by not releasing SSFIV on PC, but all they're doing is reducing their own profits. Ignore pirates, focus on your customers.

  • dacicus #28 2 years ago

    So, despite a shoddy port SF4 sold well on PC, but it didn't reach the high numbers that Capcom wanted. Instead of looking at how their PC ports in the last years were done and correct the issue, Capcom chooses to blame the pirates (RE4 and RE5, DMC 3 and 4 were poorly ported on PC, though the people bought them as they were, adding money for unpolished products). But, hey, it's easier to blame pirates, right?!

  • arcam #29 2 years ago

    As far as I can see this isn't really a simple profit/loss issue. If the game is virtually finished, then they could certainly make money by selling it, particularly digitally, but they have other concerns.

    The phrase "to protect its IP" is telling. They are more concerned with the image of the game and the long-term implications of people thinking the game is available for free, and this is more important to Capcom than short-term profit. For a long-lasting IP like Street Fighter, this is more important than it would be with other games (like Lost Planet for example).

    Whether their decision is a good one is up for debate, but don't be naive and call them stupid for not recognising there's easy money to be made. They know that already, but have made a business decision to sacrifice that easy money for the greater good of the IP.
    Edited by arcam at 22/09/10 @ 11:58

  • metalangel #30 2 years ago

    Pfff, he's Japanese. It cannot be his fault, to admit that would be unthinkable.

  • Sunyavadin #31 2 years ago

    In related news, Saudi Arabia ceases all oil exports to the west "Because of Somali pirates"...


    IF profitfrompurchasedcopies > 0
    AND
    Game = finished
    THEN
    releasethefuckinggamealready
    ELSE
    Losemoney

  • dingo75 #32 2 years ago

    Isn't the main draw of beat-em ups online matches these days?
    If so how can a pirate copy that usually can't go online hurt their business?

    I also saw SF IV pretty cheap on Steam at least twice (50% weekend deal and Steam Summer Sale).

  • Nithron #33 2 years ago

    This is just bizarre. If they're making a profit and there's piracy going on, is the piracy not really hurting their profits? Are some of the pirates buying it? Are there just not enough pirates to damage their sales?

    Either way what the bloody hell are Capcom doing?

  • xenoss #34 2 years ago

    I saw lots of pirate XBox copies on the net.

    Explain to me why 360 is the most popular console, and developers love it so much again?

    And PS2... and PS1. The pirate discs that were being sold, I still remember those.

    Explain again to me why PS1 and PS2 were so popular? And how those propelled the gaming industry forward into the mainstream entertainment industry it is now?

    Oh.. was that a Wii pirate copy I just saw? Oh yea, there it is...

    The only system that doesnt have piracy is PS3. It is not loved by developers; Capcom included.

    So...

    piracy eh?

  • dacicus #35 2 years ago

    Let me see: XBox, PS1, PS2, XBox 360, NDS, PSP, Wii and now PS3. And with PS3 finally moddable they'll see piracy rising on Sony's darling console. XBox 360 games are already out long before their PC counterparts. I remember Fallout 3 coming out in pirate version with around 3 weeks before the PC pirate copy and the list could go on. So the piracy it's pretty much the same on consoles (only PS3 wasn't hackable at the time, but now i expect to see the same level of piracy on PS3 as it's on XBox 360).

    So Capcom blaming PC pirate, despite the sales, it's just a smokescreen to mask their incompetence. Releasing a good PC port it's not in their cards. I just feel that the japanese industry learned the lines from their western counterparts: blame the pirates to mask your own incompetence, instead of fixing the problems and treating your legit customers as valued clients and not as potential criminals. I make sacrifices to buy my favorite games, living in a country were 350 euros it's the average salary. So I have to wait quite a few months until i get the games that are of interest to me. Due to Steam offers, Gamersgate, Impulse and Play.com I've got myself quite a few deals. Yet Capcom won't even considering such services that bring money to both devs and publishers. Why?! Because they don't understand that the era of exclusives it's long gone. Add to that the fact that japanese were never big on PC. In PC terms, the japanese gaming industry it's light years behind West and Russia. And the western PC crowd it's unforgiving when it comes to bad games, bad ports from console to PC and such. I own four consoles now: 2 portables (PSP and NDS) plus two next gen (XBox360 and PS3). I get only the games that I know that won't be released on PC. But even those games are chosen carefully. None of those consoles are modded, though i could do that. It's easy to find modders in pretty much every corner of the world. I have an XBox 360 controller for PC, bought for certain games, which was helpful at Sf IV, RE 4-5 and DMC games. Yet, Capcom decides to force me to buy the game on their chosen consoles, choosing to ignore the fact that the same amount of piracy exists now on consoles, as it's on PC.

    Thank you, Capcom! I'll vote with my small wallet from now on. As I've gave up on certain companies when those treated me as a possible criminal, I'll add Capcom on that list.

  • Pinky_Floyd #36 2 years ago

    Wow Capcom, good job on alienating those of us who DID buy SF on PC with what has to be the oddest excuse ever.

    Did the nasty pirates touch you in a bad place? Ohhhhh those nassssty pirates!

  • the_mtfr #37 2 years ago

    Capcom, if you sell you gain money. If people pirate your games, you don't lose money. By selling, you can only make some money.

    Unbelievable how stupid they can be.