Capcom pulls PS4 Ultra Street Fighter 4 from its own tournament
UPDATE: Now Evo organisers decide on Xbox 360 version instead.
UPDATE 01/06/15: The organisers of Evo, the biggest fighting game tournament in the world, have decided to go with the Xbox 360 version of Ultra Street Fighter 4 instead of the embattled PlayStation 4 version.
It's a further embarrassment for Capcom and Ultra Street Fighter 4 on PS4, which launched last week amid a raft of bugs, but it will be welcome news to competition players who had expressed nervousness at the prospect of having to use the shoddy port at events.
Capcom had already pulled the PS4 version of Ultra Street Fighter 4 from its own tournament series, the Capcom Pro Tour, as it works to fix the game. Last week Capcom told tournament organisers they were no longer obliged to use the PS4 version of the game at their events.
Joey Cuellar, founding member of the Evo Championship series, made the announcement on Twitter:
Ultra Street Fighter 4 publisher Sony is working on a patch, which will hopefully squash the game's bugs. Digital Foundry took a look at Ultra Street Fighter 4 on PS4 over the weekend.
"Ultimately, this release left us rather baffled," Digital Foundry wrote. "Aside from the increase in resolution, every other version of the game remains superior in various ways."
ORIGINAL STORY 28/05/15: Capcom has pulled the PlayStation 4 version of Ultra Street Fighter 4 from its own tournament after the game launched with a raft of issues.
The PS4 port of USF4 has suffered an embarrassing launch, with audio glitches, visual problems, menu slowdown and input lag all reported by players. Guile has been found to have invisible Sonic Booms.
Tournament players had expressed concern about the prospect of having to play the PS4 version of USF4 during the Capcom Pro Tour, Capcom's official Street Fighter league, and Evo - the world's largest fighting and most high-profile game tournament.
The organisers of Evo are currently discussing which version of the game to use at the tournament. But Capcom took the step of pulling the PS4 version for the rest of the 2015 Pro Tour.
Here's Capcom's statement, posted first on Capcom Unity:
"A lot of our more competitive players have wondered how the USF4 version of PS4 will affect them and the tour. To that we'd like to advise that the integrity of the Capcom Pro Tour is a top priority for us and we will continue to work with tournament organisers worldwide to ensure that the highest quality event will be run. Each region will maintain its current hardware standard for the remainder of the 2015 Capcom Pro Tour until otherwise announced. We will keep you updated as to when the PS4 version of USF4 will be integrated into the Pro Tour."
Meanwhile, players are demanding a patch that fixes the many problems associated with USF4. Capcom said it was looking into the issues.
"For those experiencing issues and wondering about a patch, we are aware that you are experiencing problems with the PS4 version of USF4, which was published and developed by SCEA's Third Party Production group," Capcom said.
"SCEA and Capcom are currently looking into the issues that some users may be experiencing and are working to resolve them as quickly as possible. We will continue to provide updates on our progress.
"Thank you for your patience and understanding. Stay tuned for future information."
Capcom's mention of SCEA's Third Party Production group relates to the division of Sony Computer Entertainment America that works with external developers to make games for PlayStation platforms.
For the PS4 version of USF4, Sony contracted Idarb maker Other Ocean for development duties. Gio Corsi, the boss of the division, took to Twitter to address the issue, as did Capcom producer Yoshinori Ono.
Both Sony and Capcom will be keen to right the wrongs of the USF4 PS4 launch as soon as possible in a bid to avoid any potential brand damage that may be suffered ahead of the launch of Street Fighter 5, due out on PC and PlayStation 4.