SFII is the fastest sellng XBLA game ever
by Richard Mitchell 
{ Aug 7th 2006 at 9:30AM }
Timeout problems, E. Honda spammers, impossible d-pads, lag, all of these things combined could do nothing to stop the momentum of the Live Arcade juggernaut known as Street Fighter II. Within the first 24 hours of its release, SFII became the fastest selling Arcade title ever. Behold:
"Capcom® today [Aug 4th] announced that Street Fighter® II' Hyper Fighting, the company's first title for Xbox Live® Arcade for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, has seen a phenomenal record of downloads since it's debut on August 2. Within the first 24 hours of it's unveiling, Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting has become the fastest selling Xbox Live Arcade title to date with hundreds of matches being played every hour."
Great news for Capcom sure, but it also means that we can pretty much kiss five dollar XBLA games goodbye. 360 Fanboy would love to complain, but then we'd have to stop playing. (And by the way, since you've all gotten your Street Fighter fix, give Cloning Clyde a try.)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
georgel @ Aug 7th 2006 9:40AM
Like this is really a shock. Although i might have more fun with cloning clyde since its original.
beardsly43 @ Aug 7th 2006 9:46AM
i played the demo of cloning clyde and plan to purchase the full game whenever i have some extra points...
castle crashers and small arms please....
SuiXide @ Aug 7th 2006 10:13AM
Cloning Clyde is an amazing game. Kills SFII any day, in my opinion.
Rex Longwind @ Aug 7th 2006 10:32AM
How perfect does this fit? The fastest selling XBLA arcade game isn't an original Microsoft property, but an old arcade game from 1991.
Todd H. @ Aug 7th 2006 10:45AM
SF II isn't that bad, it's just people love something to complain about.
Todd
http://www.proxbox360.com
David Wright @ Aug 7th 2006 10:46AM
I'm not suprised, and E.Honda rocks (i only use the thousand hand slap when the opponent is backed into a corner, too risky with fireball whores otherwise)
One problem though, I think I've yet to have a game where someone uses a character other than Ryu or Ken. HaaDooken, HaaDooken, HaaDooken, HaaDooken, HaaDooken, (repeat till dead)
I purchased the game without the trial, I mean, cumon, Its SF!
And anyway, use the thumb stick its way better.
SuicideNinja @ Aug 7th 2006 11:28AM
I'm still adjusting myself. I've been using the DOA4 joystick. I just wish they didn't use that stupid "square" movement in it.
Talk about one of the rare occasions I actually wish I could use a PS2 controller. Great for old games; bad for new games.
Chris @ Aug 7th 2006 12:00PM
I've seen more Chun Li spammers than anything else. Her kicks are far superior to E. Honda's slaps. Then again, I'm biased, because I use E. Honda; but anybody who plays me knows I don't cheese-out with then hand-slaps. . .I use all E. Honda's tricks to my advantage.
Having said that, I wanted to comment on the pricing scheme. I think it's clear that MOST retro games are going to cost 400 points, with most new or updated games costing 800 points. And for the most part I feel like that's more than fair. The only whole that will be dug with that scheme is that we'll all have to be more selective by what we buy. . .
Michael @ Aug 7th 2006 12:17PM
I like how they don't actually tell how many people have bought it.
Richard Mitchell @ Aug 7th 2006 12:21PM
"I like how they don't actually tell how many people have bought it."
I was thinking the same thing. Keep in mind that it's the "fastest selling" game, not necessarily the "highest" selling. Not yet at least.
Jules @ Aug 7th 2006 1:25PM
Big woop.....considering what else there is to play on X-box live (frogger, joust, hectix) etc i'm not suprised that SF2 is the fastest selling....i mean common - joust?!, frogger?! what crap are those!!
the only XBLA game i like is geometry wars cos even though it's simple it can be quite addictive. XBLA need much better games than they have though.
epobirs @ Aug 7th 2006 2:47PM
I don't think the price of other games will be affected much. SFII has an audience whose attachment verges on the insane. I'd bet that the average XBLA purchaser of the game has previously purchased the game at least twice on other platforms, and possibly shoveled enough quarters into the arcade version to have bought at least another home version at full price.
A game like that doesn't come along every day. Other games, esepcially original products with no existing audience, will have to be priced to be competitive with heavily discounted older games at retail.
aragorn @ Aug 7th 2006 7:54PM
Jules - Heh, well there was Geometry wars... a game that I very simply can't get enough of. I haven't had such an intense score war since my family tetris tournaments.
I'm not entirely sure what the big deal was with SFII. Yeah, there're a lot of complaints about the game, and a lot of them are leveled at the AI... but honestly... I don't remember the game being THAT good. Or, rather, it was kind of the breakaway hit in an adolescent genre. I just don't think it really holds up these days, especially after the improved SF games (alpha, III).
In the end, I am glad that this game is selling well, even though everyone is pissed at how it turned out... because capcom now has tested the waters of XBLA, and that means that we can look forward to more classic games being ported. Alpha, MMX, and the like.