Examples of Damage Control in Gaming: Street Fighter V EX Plus Alpha
In the last few years, I’ve posted about a plethora of botched video game launches in my “Examples of Damage Control in Gaming” entries. There’s no shortage of them, as you’ll see upon clicking its tag. With the rise in development costs and resources has come an increase in games whose publishers feel the need to release some games as soon as possible, for several complicated reasons that would take an entire post to delve into. This goes double if they’re big budget AAA games, and if the publisher needs to start making its budget back before their fiscal quarter closes.
But this post will be slightly unique: It’s the first time I’ve partaken in one. Cynics could have told you Street Fighter V would have a rocky launch around a month ago, but I decided to approach it with optimism. There had to be some reason why they held all those beta sessions, as Capcom was determined to have its online system working adequately when it launched this past Tuesday. While the first couple of beta sessions last year came with crippling issues, the fourth session from late-January went mostly according to plan. Unfortunately, this has been far from the case with its official release.
This started when I had serious issues connecting to the Capcom Fighters Network, the hub where players’ stats will be stored, immediately after its midnight launch. And all it took was a quick glance around the internet to see I was far from alone in experiencing the issue. Anyone who managed to get in was also booted out within minutes. Worse, the online problems improved only marginally throughout Tuesday, as Capcom was scrambling to fix the issues before complaints flooded social media, and the “Reviews” sections on sites like Steam, Amazon, and Metacritic. Sadly for them, they were too late.
It was tough to fight others online due to frequent disconnections, as Capcom’s servers were apparently bearing a higher-than-expected load for the entire day. This left their social media teams scrambling to address frustrated fans at every step of the way. Reviews from critics Monday suggested this game wasn’t quite ready for prime time, thanks to lacking of fighting game prerequisites like multiplayer lobbies and its missing in-game shop. But even some of the aforementioned cynics didn’t expect its initial problems to be quite this severe.
What makes this worse is how the player needs to be logged into CFN to obtain Fight Money (in-game money you’ll spend on the in-game shop), even while tackling single-player modes. That’s understandable ostensibly, since some would exploit ways to obtain FM if they weren’t online, but it’s frustrating when Capcom’s servers aren’t working as intended. The player will be booted back to the menu if they’re disconnected from CFN, regardless of what mode they’re in. That’s not much of an issue while playing the Character Stories, which are incredibly brief, but it’s a serious problem while in the game’s prolonged and intensely frustrating Survival Mode to unlock more character colors. Peculiarly enough, it will also kick you out of the local versus and Training modes, despite how no FM can be earned through them. This game has some…peculiarities.
In fairness, the experience is slowly getting better, and I’m sure Capcom’s techs are working around the clock to make its online experience optimal. But people aren’t wrong to lose patience, especially since the Street Fighter IV games launched with minimal hitches, and with more features. As of today, there are still moments when the game takes up to ten minutes to match you with another player, regardless of time of day. That’s considerably slower than the beta, and it’s strange (and hilarious) that I can find matches in niche “anime” fighters with 1/5 of the audience faster than in SFV. Matchmaking is also an issue when Rookies are matched against Bronze or even Silver League players, and vice versa. This can make for some Rocky-esque stories of a neophyte toppling a veteran, but it often results in a tragic one-sided battle.
These issues are a crying shame, because the core game is great, and online connections between other players handle better than SFIV during matches. But the surrounding problems are holding the package back from being as great as it could — or should, really. It was slowly improving throughout the week, but the arrival of the weekend crew sent the network back into its death spiral. That this is a free PlayStation Network weekend (one where people can play online without a PlayStation Plus subscription) isn’t helping matters.
Capcom will likely maintain their commitment to support Street Fighter V for the entire generation, so expect it to receive a heavy dose of new features and fixes in the near and distant future. I don’t expect most of the more casual fanbase to remain patient enough to stick around for the long haul, so I hope they’re currently making big plans to lure them back — preferably around the time the Cinematic Story Expansion arrives in June.
About The Author
Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Yes, Capcom truly shines in this day and age. Like a well-polished turd. I’m surprised so many bought this on day one thinking anything less would occur. That first impression is SO important and developers just keep pissing all over it. At least you have no shortage of material for this blog.
You know, I only recently remembered that I even had IV on Steam. Derp. Perhaps I should enjoy it now that I’m certain it functions properly. I oughta wait until VI arrives, then purchase V when I’m sure it is playable.
I wanted to be optimistic and take a chance this time, and it cost me…$60. That’ll learn me. It hurts, because it’s such a good game with so much potential.
I was going to say that there may not be much of a player base left on IV with V out, but the latter’s release is such a mess that they could have gone back to it. I think you should give it a shot, though the competition might be good.