Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition Requires Internet Connection

Some of our readers lamented the fact that, unlike it's baby brother, the Super version of Street Fighter IV never made it onto their platform of choice - the PC. The explanation for that apparent oversight has been revealed in a new blog from Christian "Sven" Svensson, Capcom Vice President, along with new details about the upcoming Arcade Edition - which is coming to PCs.

Kinda.

Piracy is of paramount concern for Capcom, which is why SSFIV was never released. In particular, Sven stated that "SFIV unfortunately was plagued by pirates and hackers that messed up leaderboards." Whatever your thoughts on how piracy does or does not affect the industry, one thing we can all agree on is that scumbags screwing up leaderboards is frustrating for all concerned.

So what to do about that? Capcom has the answer - a persistent online connection will be required for the game to behave like a full game; without one, what you've got is basically a demo.

"SSFIV:AE will be making use of what is called SSA technology (similar to what we used in Dead Rising 2)", he wrote. "Like Xbox Live, players will sign in when they launch the game. You must have a Games for Windows Live account (which is free) in order to get full access to the title."

"If you aren’t signed in to an online GFWL profile, the offline mode has limited functionality. Obviously there’s no online play, access to replay channels or other online-centric features (and this is the part that keeps the online play secure from hackers or pirates). Additionally, you won’t be able to save any progress in challenges or settings, won’t have access to any DLC you’ve purchased and all local play will be restricted to 15 of the 39 characters."

He did also go on to add what will likely be good news for some fans - "All of the costume packs from the console versions, going back to the original SFIV, will be made available via Games for Windows Live Marketplace." How Steam users will access this content (which he referred to as a "wrinkle") is yet to be revealed.

So there you have it - how do you feel about that, PC faithful? A fair reaction to the wild-west situation on your beloved platform? Let us know in the comments!