COLUMN: Capcom, Namco's first collaboration 'Street Fighter X Tekken' may be gem if fans' concerns are heard
Capcom and Namco are some of the biggest names in the fighting game genre of video games, owning the Street Fighter and Tekken licenses respectively.
Their current projects are massive in scale as each company is creating a crossover game in their own style, using characters from both series. With Capcom’s project, "Street Fighter X Tekken," leading the charge, there have been a couple of speed bumps on the way to release.
Specifically, one speed bump named the gem system.
"Street Fighter X Tekken" (pronounced Street Fighter Cross Tekken), has implemented a system where before each fight the player picks up to three status-boosting gems that activate during specific conditions. These gems come with the game., but some packs are pre-order bonuses and DLC.
This system caused uproar from the hardcore fans who voiced concern over the offline ramifications this system may cause.
Article writer for shoryuken.com, Keits made a post back in November outlining many problems, such as two players being forced to play on unfair terms or how local tournaments will suffer with added gem selection time per match, and the exclusiveness of pre-order and DLC gems.
At the time, the gem system was a forced mechanic; there was no way to play without it. But in the months since its initial announcement, "SFxT" producer Yoshiniro Ono has announced a post-launch patch called Tournament Mode, and while the details are currently not finalized, it was made with the intention of solving the concerns the tournament fighters have with the gem system.
While the news itself is wonderful music to the ears of anyone who found the gem system to be problematic, there is actually a more important aspect to this announcement; Capcom is listening to fan feedback and is aware how much the tournament scene means to their business.
While the casualization of many fighting games has shown that these companies are looking for a larger market, the fact that dedicated tournament players are large in numbers is completely undeniable.
Last year, the Evolution Championship Series 2011 (basically the Super Bowl of fighting games), was reported to have more than 2,400 entrants, thousands more of fans in attendance, 2 million unique viewers watching through ustream.tv, and four of the top players trended in the top 10 worldwide trending topics on Twitter.
Companies like Capcom are proving they honestly listen to their fans. "Hopefully we can start to build a closer relationship with the fans, and we can hear their concerns and implement any support or tools," Ono said to Eurogamer.com. "It'll be the start of a really close relationship, we hope, with the community."
Every company wants to make money, but Ono and his gang have not forgotten who their followers are, and while pleasing everyone may be impossible, it is highly refreshing that the feedback of the fans has not fallen on deaf ears.
