Now I was an avid fan of SF back in its heyday when it dominated arcades and home consoles. Capcom milked the franchise for everything it was worth with countless "updates" that included adding SUPER and TURBO to the SF franchise. By the time a real sequel came out in SFIII, the ship (and most fans) had sailed, no doubt drowned out by numerous ‘updates’.
So when news started circulating about a new SF4 game was coming so soon after the release of the original SF4, it brought back a lot of those old memories & frustrations. Now, with the official word coming from Capcom, I’ve changed my opinion……slightly.
My two biggest gripes concerning SUPER SF4 were that it would split the SF4 community and cost us another $60. The Capcom announcement addressed both of these issues with some good and bad news. Capcom has promised that SUPER SF4 will not cost as much as a full, new game. So, we won’t have to pay another $60, which is good, but they also didn’t elaborate what the final price will be. I’d prefer $30, but it will most likely be $40 or $50. Also, Capcom promised owners of the original SF4 will be rewarded if they purchase the new SUPER SF4. No details on the reward have been released, but it probably will be some form of DLC like costumes that new gamers have to pay for.
My other gripe about splitting the SF4 community has come to reality, but at least has a good reason if you take Capcom at their word. I would have preferred DLC or update if the new game were simply adding locations, costumes, or characters. But instead, Capcom has "rebalanced characters". This ‘rebalancing’ is significant enough that SUPER SF4 and the original SF4 would not be compatible. Now time will tell if the "rebalancing" was significant enough to warrant a whole new disc. While most agree that SF4 is the most balanced game between all the characters, there are some fighters that are clearly more powerful than others, like RYU and SAGAT. So I am looking forward to some of the characters being tweaked so that the balance is more unilateral.
Capcom confirmed 8 new characters will be added to SUPER SF4, including old favorites like T. HAWK and DEE JAY. One new character confirmed is a Tai-Kwan-Doe female fighter named JURI. The other 5 fighters have yet to be announced and most likely will be a mixture of old & new characters.
The promise of "improved online features" is another aspect I look forward to. The official announcement hinted at some form of a lobby system for online play. This feature could really help the SFCCL in organizing certain events and league matches. No details have been released yet.
And finally, to answer your burning question, the SFCCL will move to SUPER SF4 when it is released. While I don’t like asking/demanding members buy a new game to stay in the League, it makes logical sense that the community embrace the new game, rebalanced characters, online features, and new characters. As with any out-dated game, the potential to grow the SFCCL is limited on the old SF4 game compared to the new SUPER SF4 game. That is if the SFCCL is still going by next spring 2010 (and that is a big "IF"). Once the game is released, we will re-start the League at that time. It will be a great opportunity to make mass changes and possibly have a massive tournament to re-rank everybody in the various divisions. But this all up in the air for now. So start saving your money now!
Good luck in your WEEK 14 matches.