Is Street Fighter 5 Approaching its Final Version?

Released back in February of 2016, Street Fighter 5 has had a contentious life. Rushed to release and missing some features that players expected as standard, as well as poor quality netcode, the first couple of years for the title were rough. Over time, SF5 managed to prove itself, with a constant influx of features and characters helping the game reach its full potential.

As with all Street Fighter games since SF2, this new entry was eventually released in packs that included more characters as standard, rather than as separate purchases. With the Arcade and the Champion Editions, the popularity and critical reception of the game continued to grow, leading to the eventual announcement of the final Season 5 character pack.

For players on older versions, the upcoming All Character Pack is aimed to include all current characters into the mix, removing the annoyance and confusion of individual unlocks. Having already sold over 5.8 million copies, the popularity of SF5 in the series legacy is guaranteed, but there are some questions about what could come next.

Success Like Few Others

In total, the different versions of Street Fighter 4 sold a combined total of over nine million units, considerably more than the fifth entry in the series. Street Fighter III, while a fighting game revelation, never managed to sell more than a million copies in any of its releases. These numbers illustrate a consistently strong performer but don’t give much of an indication of any definite growth or decline.

Perhaps more indicative of the game’s success is the competitive scene, which for SF5 has a more active online community than ever before. Part of this is due to improving online infrastructure, though thanks also has to go to SF5 offering considerably higher tournament prizes than any prior game.

Thanks to Street Fighter 2

As for what keeps the games popular, there are several contributing factors, the first of which is a generally high level of quality. From this point, the most major credit has to go to Street Fighter 2, which was essentially the grandfather of all modern fighting games. Selling over 20 million copies since 1991, SF2 was a touchstone, even for non-gamers.

No matter how the other games perform, all six main versions of SF2 have been incredibly popular, regardless of the system. No major console since the mid-90s has been without a Street Fighter 2 port of some kind, either as a stand-alone release or as part of a larger Street Fighter collection.

What few arcades remain in the west still often include these cabinets, and yet these games are just the beginning of SF2’s legacy. Outside of the fighting titles, merchandising has also been broadly popular.

Collectables and media based on Street Fighter have remained in high demand, with no signs of slowing down. The popularity of the franchise can also be seen in the online casino industry as a Street Fighter 2 slot can be found at some of the best online casinos in USA such as Borgata Casino.

This game leans heavily on the original style and graphics, leading to its continued success. The expansion of the Street Fighter franchise hasn’t always been so successful though as the film of the same name in 1994 was a commercial flop.

With rumors persisting of Street Fighter 6 being caught in development hell, there’s no telling when the next title in the series could appear. If it takes too long, SF5 players might be treated to yet another season and even more features, as Capcom fights to keep the game in the public eye.

While this leaves some room for doubt as to the series’ future, the overall popularity and importance of Street Fighter mean it should have a better chance than any new fighting game ever could. Even if the new title does eventually launch in an underwhelming state, Capcom has proven that given the time, it can turn a lackluster experience into something great.