An interesting thread has been a-brewin’ on the SRK message boards recently. One that I’ve taken pleasure in participating. The question posed is whether Capcom should package Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix along with the upcoming Street Fighter IV as a bundle. The significance being that it would be a way for SSF2THDR to be published on tangible media, rather than being exclusively available through a download service like XBLA or PSN.

Of course, I’d be in favor of that idea. As I’ve said before, I as a consumer would much prefer tangible media over digital distribution.

If you would humor me, I’d like to explore a theory… Now, let’s assume that Street Fighter IV‘s price tag upon release will be the usual $50. The way I would further envision it, Capcom could still release SSF2THDR online for the (again, assumed) price of $20. Meanwhile, Capcom could add it as a bonus to SF4, raising its price to around $60. To me, this would be an awesome deal. People who only want SSF2THDR could still buy it digitally for only $20. Those who want SF4 would only have to suffer an additional $10, but they’d be getting two full-sized games for that price. I believe that in the long run, Capcom would profit more by that arrangement and consumers like me would get the physical copy of the game that they’ve been pining over.

Alas, I understand that this is not to be. For nigh upon each game’s release, those gears are already in motion. However, I do propose a compromise: I would suggest that after a year or two of both games’ release, Capcom could re-issue SF4 in the form of a “special edition”, which includes SSF2THDR as a bonus. This is something that we’ve seen precedent and proved successful. (Resident Evil: Director’s Cut, Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+, etc.) By then the price may even drop to a comfortable $30-40.

That would provide the product the extra value to draw in people who passed on it the first time and give the hardcore fans an excuse to buy the same product again. My feelings won’t be hurt if they don’t adopt my plan, but I think it would be a solid idea that both Capcom and their consumers can benefit from.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 30th, 2008 at 2:20 pm and is filed under Games, Street Fighter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.