Arcade Edition will be released on PC, with the caveat of internet connection-based DRM that depends on the status of your Games for Windows Live account. Playing the game is best done with an active connection at all times, otherwise 24 of the game's 39 characters will be locked out (as opposed to the entire game). This is ostensibly a measure to reduce pirating with this game, especially given how badly the first one was. If you have a better idea to avoid repeating what happened with the last PC release of a Street Fighter game, Capcom is all ears: They have a thread on their forums asking for alternatives. But they aren't going to put up with self-righteous "DRM is a waste of time and is eventually cracked" speeches; they want real solutions and they aren't taking no for an answer.

Quote:

Svensson: I understand there's some very strong opinions here and around the net. Let me ask a few questions of the users here and perhaps we can come to a better solution for all folks involved. What I'm proposing is a constructive dialog and I'll take this feedback back to the team. But first some ground rules for this discussion to be constructive: • Any posts dealing with complaints about GFWL will be summarily ignored and/or deleted depending upon the language used. That is a non-negotiable point at this point in development and it's not constructive to make that an issue. We have used GFWL with no problems on several releases and it works great on SSFIV:AE. • Any posts outright dismissing the need for DRM of some form are also not feasible, especially given the history with SFIV. Sorry, but that's another reality in which we live. Blizzard and Valve both use DRM in their games... and when they do have offline forms, they have reduced functionality/features. This is not new or exclusive in any way to Capcom. Now, that said, it is in no way our intention to punish legitimate users. That's definitely not the purpose here. It is to attempt to ensure that our content is only enjoyed fully by legitimate users. Question 1: Without using a secure network authentication mechanism of some kind (SSA, Steam CEG, Impulse GOO, SecuROM, etc.) how can we validate that a copy is legitimate versus pirated? Question 2: If it isn't what we've proposed, what form of limitations would be acceptable in the event that there in a "non trusted" mode, assuming that it can be secured? Question 3: If there were a network validated install and we put in an offline mode that would allow you to have functionality for some period of time, but require revalidation on a frequent interval, would that be acceptable? Question 4: There seems to be a lot of supposition that the pirates will instantly crack whatever protections we put in place. One never knows, that could well be true. Personally, I'm not quite as defeatist. One at least has to try. Now, if we promised to "sunset" those protections in the event of a crack being created so that legitimate users don't have a substandard experience to pirates, is that an acceptable solution? Happy to hear any other proposed solutions that could work and I'll see what we can do with the team.

At least they're giving us a chance to debate what sounds on the surface like yet more draconian anti-piracy that may not work as intended, unlike some other companies that just don't get it. Personally, I don't have a problem with this, as long as authentication is only needed once ever. I didn't like Games for Windows Live at first, but since I got my Xbox Live account and noticed how seamlessly they interact, I don't mind its existence as much. But that may just be because the only game I've ever used with it was the original Street Fighter IV, and I didn't bother with the online there due to how broken it was. I just got it while it was on sale for the hilarious mods available for it.

Tell that to the Eventhubs commenters. Then again, I haven't played enough games to have a snag with DRM, so I'm just biased.

Turns out the fans have spoken. No character lockouts for those who can't be online at all times.

Quote:

The argument that legitimate users would have a worse experience than pirates was the loudest and most convincing. We certainly don’t want that to be the case and that was never our intention. So we’ve heard you loud and clear and here’s what we’re going to do about it: Shortly after launch (it might even be at launch, but we’ll see how submission timing and approval goes) we will roll out a small title update that will completely remove the character limitations for offline mode. That is to say, once you’ve updated, you will be able to use all 39 characters when not connected to the Internet to practice your combo timings, have some fun with a friend on a laptop, or whatever while offline. As one would logically expect, to get any of the benefits of the online services (online multiplayer, replay sharing/watching, achievements, etc.) you must be online and logged in. With that hurdle hopefully now cleared, I hope that we can make Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition the most successful fighting game ever on PC. I’d certainly like to continue to grow our audience on the largest platform in the world.

Please don't foul this up for the rest of us. Thanks,