Capcom is not changing its decision, which was a topic of debate, that the major Street Fighter esports tournaments will be pay-per-view, and the participants are very displeased. The corporation has made the announcement for CAPCOM CUP 12 and Street Fighter League: World Championship 2025, which are negatively the feedback has been.
The standpoint of the company is that the pay-per-view system is the sole means of keeping their esports business “sustainable” for years. They are mentioning making these tournaments international and other good stuff like that. All that sounds lovely, but the players are very doubtful. Not even close.
The initial announcement was made in September, and now they are revealing the pricing details that were supposed to be communicated in late October but are still under discussion. They are “carefully discussing” everything after having received a lot of feedback from… well, basically, the people who are mad about it. They say the coordination is taking a long time. Street Fighter League: Pro-JP Playoffs & Grand Finals pay-per-view tickets are still going on sale on November 12 as planned, though.
Let’s take a look at the people’s reactions which are very strong. The replies to Capcom’s tweet are just highly hostile. One player simply mentioned “Damn that sucks” which is the perfect expression of the general mood. Another player referred to it as “pathetic” and advised Capcom that if they were going to continue with this concept they ought to have just remained silent.
Another player expressed: “Was to be a very sustainable eSports business when no one fck pays for it.” Ouch! But they aren’t wrong? If people do not pay for the pay-per-view, how sustainable is it actually?
Some gamers have even resolved to view illegal streams instead. “I will just watch an illegal stream on a third-party website,” that person wrote. And actually? Same here. Who would pay for this when likely there is a free stream available somewhere?
But there is one who attempted to defend it arguing “People have no problem with the pay-per-view in case of wrestling, boxing, UFC or any other sport that requires a paid subscription to be able to see but somehow FGC is in an uproar about it.” Fair point. Still, it’s not the case with fighting games. The FGC has always been about accessibility and community. It just feels… wrong to put major tournaments behind a paywall.
Another player highlighted the obvious – “The fighting game community is really small compared to games like CSGO, League of Legends or Fortnite and yet they want to charge to watch.” Come on! The number of viewers for fighting game tournaments is not exactly massive compared to other esports. It could be that charging to watch will only make the audience even smaller.
On the other hand, some of the reactions are really amusing. One person labeled Capcom team “Bunch of crackheads cokeheads junkies” which appears… a bit too much? Nevertheless, the frustration can be understood. Another comment called Capcom’s long explanation “A lot of words just to say nothing”.
Simultaneously, we see someone wanting Street Fighter 5 on Xbox before they would even think about buying the PPV? Weird but okay. And then there are people arguing about the costume creation in the game engine? What is the connection between that and the tournaments being pay-per-view? The comments are scattered around but the main point that connects them is clear: no one wants this.
Furthermore, Capcom has declared that from now on, through their website and social media, they are going to provide “clearer and more accessible updates”. But maybe it would be better if they provided clearer and more accessible tournament viewing instead? Just a thought.
The scenario is tough to handle. It is a fact that esports need funding for their growth. The players’ and organizers’ costs have to be covered, and so on. But on the other hand, the issue of pay-per-view? In 2024? For video game tournaments? It seems like a step back rather than a step forward.
It is important to note that Capcom acknowledges “many opinions” received. Translation: everyone hates the idea. But they are still willing to execute it. The Street Fighter League PPV sales start on November 12 and we still don’t have any information about the price. That is, in fact, a very important piece of information if you want the audience to pay for something.
Ultimately, Capcom still states that they “plan to meet your expectations with sincerity.” But the reactions show that what players expect is nothing more than free tournament streams like always. So, good luck with that, Capcom. This entire pay-per-view test can either result in a huge success that will reshape the fighting game esports scene or a loud flop that will burn down magnificently. And judging by the response so far, it is quite obvious on which side I think it’s.
