Capcom head honcho Yoshinori Ono was interviewed by 4Gamer just last Comic Con to address concerns related to the future of the Street Fighter and Darkstalkers series.
As we had covered before, there is cause for concern on both fronts. The company had to scale back on earlier promises of a new installment of Darkstalkers after the anthology Darkstalkers Resurrection did not perform as well financially as hoped. Likewise, the announcement of Ultra Street Fighter IV, which obviously showed the addition of characters recently used in Street Fighter x Tekken, was a sign that they were scaling back on fighting game development. Really, though, the cause of concern was not so much that they're making this game, but that the game is coming to current gen, and that it isn't Street Fighter V. At the moment, Capcom has not announced any fighting games for the next-gen consoles.
Ono himself agrees that he does not want Street Fighter to end at number four. However, he directed attention to the investment required to make a new game in the series for next gen consoles, which would involve both a lot of money and much of the Capcom staff. Similarly, it would be an investment for the players, who would have to pay for a next-gen console, the game and new controllers.
Regarding Darkstalkers, Ono implores that fans wait a little longer. He does say that Capcom appreciates the passion the players have for the game. They just updated Darkstalkers Resurrection and are looking forward to see that continued support.
On another end, Ono was asked about using the free to play model for fighting games, pointing out Dead or Alive 5, Tekken Revolution, and upcoming Killer Instinct as examples. He points out Capcom in fact dallied in microtransactions with the Gems in Street Fighter X Tekken. He basically says free to play is actually a still untested delivery model for fighting games, with both DOA and Tekken not really fully fledged sequels to the series. For now, he is content in observing how his colleagues will perform.
All things considered, it's a shame we're not getting Street Fighter V or a new Darkstalkers soon, but given Capcom's financial troubles, and the general riskiness of next gen, discretion may be the better half of valor in this case. There will be a point in the near future when making those games won't be as expensive for Capcom, and it will also make sense for gamers to finally invest in next-gen to play them.
