Super SFIV has new 8-player lobbies

By Robert Purchese Published 11 November, 2009

Capcom fulfilling online MP this time.

Super Street Fighter IV, unlike SFIV, will have online multiplayer lobbies that house eight people who can chat and fight.

The game's technical director Masahiro Taguchi explained the changes on the SSFIV development blog (translated by Andriasang).

Super Street Fighter IV uses a beefed-up version of SFIV's Fight Request system. Here Team Battles can be set to Fight Request, enabling Arcade battles to be fought while the lobby fills and teams are set. Once everything is in place, a "Match Start" option appears. Only two of you can fight during Team Battle mode, however, but the rest can watch and chat.

Endless Battle is another new addition in Super Street Fighter IV. This sounds like a winner-stays-on affair and allows challengers to watch and study their upcoming opponent before the fight. Battle Points and Player Points are not affected here, making this a perfect practice option.

Fans also asked that Capcom hide character selection during online bouts. So be it. Capcom has even muted menu sounds as apparently some fans can guess character picks purely by noise.

Super Street Fighter IV will be released in spring next year at less than full price. Other inclusions are new characters, moves, bonus rounds and bigger breasts.

Our SSFIV gamepage below has more.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (22) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • nickthegun #1 2 years ago

    Im hoping they wont be emulating namcos brilliant decision to instantly destroy the lobby and the game in progress when the host decides he cant be arsed to wait his turn and quits.

  • M4RV #2 2 years ago

    I find it laughable really... SFIV revealed itself to be, a huge clusterfuck when it comes to online playing and yet, instead of focusing their resources in improving it, they decide to expand it. Still, it hardly matter, since this one will not warrant a purchase. At all.

  • sshaikh #3 2 years ago

    Whatever lobby options they do have online, I hope they offer them for offline play too. I've been waiting 20 years for a decent SF matchup system for people in the same room. Something that keeps button-sets and even multiple controllers would be even better. It can't be that difficult.

  • Vice.Destroyer #4 2 years ago

    @sshaikh
    That is a funny image. I can imagine that since the very first japanese cartridge of SFII on the SNES, you have been patiently waiting for Capcom to code an MP experience which makes the playing awesome. And for about 16 years, you have been bitterly disappointed. From SFII to the various iterations up to SFIV, including the alphas, the movie version, the Super SFs, the turbo versions, SFIII and potentially even the different fighting games. Each proud release got a sad shake of the head from you.

    Don't worry, brother. I feel the same way. +1 to you in sympathy.

  • muscleblade #5 2 years ago

    @shaikh

    +1 sympathy vote from me too.

  • The_Inquisitor #6 2 years ago

    Ha, funny they've muted the selection sound. I always wondered who was being picked (normally it was one move away to get to Ryu). I used sometimes scroll the other way just to surprise them (though It was probably only me thinking that way :)
    Edited by 1 at 11/11/09 @ 10:07

  • alimokrane #7 2 years ago

    In other words things DOA4 had back in 2005!

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #8 2 years ago

    I have to say me and my fellow gamers are quite annoyed by this. We all hoped that when SFIV was released that it would have (or be patched with) a winner stays on style mode that even SFII HD has. It hasn't. I have no problem with them justifying a new release for the new characters and bonus stages but I really do think that the lobby stuff and balance tweaks should have been a patch or even DLC for the original!

    So as it stands Capcom can frankly fuck off.

    A quick straw poll of my SF4 owning mates showed that if SSFIV was available as £10 DLC we would ALL be buying it. However none of us are buying the Disc version.

    So they'd be £50 up straight away!

    Releasing it in both forms would appear to be the best bet for Capcom as they would gain from existing owners and newcomers.

  • giant_frying_pan #9 2 years ago

    Capcom has even muted menu sounds as apparently some fans can guess character picks purely by noise.

    Is it Ken?

  • JahB #10 2 years ago

    @M4RV

    what clusterfuck do you speak of? the challenge system was great, as was the entirely free tournament DLC. i've logged over 500 fights in SFIV and had no problem in a single one of them (besides those akuma fireball whores).

  • Sonic_D #11 2 years ago

    This should have been in SFIV, but what hey I am going to be buying SSFIV too.

  • sshaikh #12 2 years ago

    @Vice.Destroyer

    Actually now that I think of it SSF2 on the SNES kinda got it right. 8 players with 8 control sets IIRC. Shame you could only play a tournament mode though.

    Nontheless, thanks for the sympathy. I suspect I'll need a bit more once we find out this is actually online only.

  • Quint2020 #13 2 years ago

    I don't know why but I never picked up SFIV, I think I'll be getting this one on launch though.

  • Mooglepies #14 2 years ago

    @ Frying Pan: Once you hit G2 people start paying attention. I main Zangief and I've had to twiddle my stick around multiple times at character selection recently otherwise I start seeing Seth every fucking time.

    My friends and I are pretty excited for Super. We do love our fighters though. I'm quietly hoping for a budget price point.

  • penhalion #15 2 years ago

    So what do I need to do? Send them my old copy of SFIV and they send me this expansion pack for a fiver?

    Otherwise capcom are just wasting my time. I don't pay for the same game twice in a row just because it's got some stuff they forgot to add before!

  • Velios #16 2 years ago

    I think that the reason that this is not DLC is because they have had to completely re-write the net code for this game. I'll be getting it anyway as I'm sure it will be top and I can't wait to see who the remaining 5 or so characters will be.

    It's gonna be good!

  • cherryuk #17 2 years ago

    They need to put an option / room where people can play against non dragon punch fireball folks. As these people are single minded, boring and not open minded to using other characters. To be a REAL street fighter you need use all the characters!!

    Also get rid of that annoying music from SF4, and make it the classic SF music or something not annoying!

  • TONYgr #18 2 years ago

    M4RV
    what do you mean by the word clusterfuck?that it was laggy?all you had to do was to play with players with 3 bars minimum.i consider it not perfect,but very damn good!

  • patchbox360 #19 2 years ago

    apparently some fans can guess character picks purely by noise.

    haha i did that for a while

  • MrsPacMan #20 2 years ago

    @cherry

    But you need to learn how fight these peeps, surely? That's if you're any good with all the characters!!

    I usually play Ken, Ryu or Akuma
    Edited by 1 at 11/11/09 @ 21:01

  • cherryuk #21 2 years ago

    @MrsPacMan

    Could be a harsh thing to say, but fighting is boring/predictable with Ken, Ryu, Akuma. My fave characters are Vega and Blanka and believe me I love whipping those old skool cheaters with these characters and I laugh when I choose Dhalsim and give 'em hell! Oh yeah and I didn't think women play beat 'em ups! :D

  • Ryze #22 2 years ago

    Oh, man - this is becoming even more unmissable!