My thumb is sore, from fighting in the streets.

No I don’t live on the wrong side of the tracks where turf wars are settled like real men, via thumb wrestling. (I wish) I’m talking about Capcom’s latest, and fans would say overdue update to its fighting game franchise with Street Fighter 4. I think it’s awesomeness is unanimous. If you enjoyed the Street Fighters of past, this one is a no-brainer. And if you didn’t enjoy them, the hype surrounding this release will probably change your mind about the franchise.

I’ll let your favourite game review site break the game down – I recommend this review. I’d like to spend this entry focusing on the response to the game.

Stock (or lack of it)

The game is nowhere to be found in Toronto. I had a back and forth debate with a friend regarding how difficult it would be to find the game on launch. His argument, it shouldn’t be a problem, its market is pretty niche. My argument, niche market yes, but the game is still coming from Japan. Capcom isn’t Nintendo, but if the Wii and Wii Fit have taught me anything, its that the Japanese know how to create a panicked demand by short stocking supply. Nearing release I knew this wasn’t going to be another GTAIV where I could walk into a videogame retailer on its launch date and find a wall of copies at my disposal. I mean, the Street Fighter Tournament Edition arcade sticks were already sold out weeks before the game was to be released.

It launched a week ago, and either stores haven’t got their restocks, or people have been rushing stock boys. Initially I put in an early pre-order online at Amazon. I knew I would probably receive the game a week after launch, but it didn’t bother me too much. But given my proximity to a number of video game retailers on launch date, I figured a casual check at each store would be interesting. For some reason Best Buy and Future Shop had the game slated for a late release, a day after everyone else. I stopped by a trusty EB Games, only to be asked if I was on the pre-order list. I knew stock was a problem when I heard that line. It brought back flashes of trying to hunt down a Wii Fit (now catching dust beside the Wii). Surprisingly, a random customer at EB gave me a tip, “check HMV”. So to HMV I went, and Street Fighter 4 there was. Sitting behind the cash register was a pile of XBOX360 and PS3 versions, and what appeared to be one or two 360 CEs. Inquired about a copy, and was with a disappointed tone, told that they were out of the PS3 CEs. I didn’t ask for it, but I guess I wasn’t the first Street Fighter check of the morning. So I left the store with a copy, as employees wondered what Street Fighter was, and why it was selling so fast. That turned out to be a smart purchase, since some pre-orders from Amazon have yet to ship. Not to mention the lists Best Buy, Future Shop, and EB have failed to supply a copy to.

I’ve had a number of interesting moments this past week where I overheard a Future Shop employee talk about how he himself was hunting down a copy, and a random person at a Hero Burger doing a Street Fighter stock check over the phone.

Capcom has claimed to have shipped over two million copies worldwide, but I’d be curious at the “unbelievable” number a Capcom rep stated regarding North American first week sales. I also wonder what that number could have been, if everyone who wanted a copy got one.

Seth

The forums are abuzz regarding the final boss character, with many hating him. Add me to that bunch. It seemed that Capcom gave up on trying to create a compelling final boss, and decided to just mix everyone’s fighting moves into a single character. Oh, not only that, but give them priority over almost every other move in the game. I’ve had a number of frustrating cycles of continues trying to squeak my way to a victory. I’m far from a Street Fighter connoisseur, but there’s something wrong when fights on the easiest difficulty are problematic. With a repertoire of teleports and throws, it seems that every fight with him is a toss up (unless you Lariat your way through him).

With that said, he doesn’t kill the Arcade experience for me. Sure it’s frustrating, but there’s nothing more fulfilling than beating him after 20 or so continues. What Seth almost certainly does kill is any shot I have in achieving a platinum trophy (in concert with my trial mode illiteracy).

To Arcade Stick or not to Arcade Stick?

Popular consensus seems to point to the fact that you can’t play this game (well) or truly experience the game on anything but an arcade stick. I don’t dispute that. I guess a good player on a controller is against the odds, when facing another good player on an arcade stick. But what people seem to miss is the fact that an arcade stick doesn’t automatically make you a better at the game. Money, It’s not the shoes. I can only imagine the number of arcade sticks that will end up catching dust, or being returned because it didn’t “work right”. Prior to launch I was pretty gung ho on getting on an arcade stick, not the Street Fighter branded ones exactly, but anything affordable was in my radar. This was until I actually tried playing on one (albeit Mortal Kombat) and realizing how the arcade stick itself introduces a completely new learning curve. Not to mention the necessity of a table to put it on. Growing up experiencing Street Fighter on a controller, and lacking a table top killed the appeal. I could see the fun in having a pair of them, and duking it out cabinet style with your friends. Other than that, a controller seems sufficient.

But the PS3 and XBOX 360 controllers are undoubtedly d-pad handicapped. The 360 d-pad acts like they put it over an analog stick interface. And the PS3 controller seems to be missing the oh so vital diagonal inputs. (I know it’s not necessary to have them, but it sure does help)  So not wanting to spend the $60 on the Street Fighter branded fighting pads, with the almost zero chance of finding one in stores, I decided to take a risk on eBay with forum recommended Sega Saturn USB controllers. Prices seem to have gone up slightly since I was able to pick up a controller for $30 with shipping prior the Street Fighter release. I know it’s a rebranded “SEGA” controller, but it does its job well. Much like the Mad Catz offering it touts 6 face buttons, 2 shoulders, and most important, a decent d-pad. I’ve been using it exclusively with the game, and the only problem I’ve had was the initial button mapping. I’d also like to note that my 40GB 2xUSB PS3 seems to lack the juice to power the controller, running it through a powered hub fixed everything though.  Admittedly I’m still unable to competently pull of Zangief’s Super Combo, but it’s something I’ve been equally inept at on an analog stick. Opting for a different controller didn’t make me a better a better player, but it sure made the game more comfortable/natural to play.

Looking at the big picture, Street Fighter follows the recent (and solid) Mortal Kombat offering from Midway. Forget the return of the musical, with the hype, and apparent sales to back it up, Street Fighter 4 seems to herald the return of the fighting game. Now get on that Marvel vs. Capcom 3!