In a recent interview with Game Informer, Street Fighter V Producer Yoshinori Ono addressed the lack of an Arcade mode and other single-player content at launch, saying they underestimated their popularity:
I think it’s safe to say that we underestimated the popularity of some of the single-player features. That said, we are excited about the two all-new single-player modes – character story and survival – and we have plans to continue to refine and expand onto those experiences.
To help expand the single-player offerings, Capcom will be adding the Cinematic Story Expansion as a free update in June 2016, with five more DLC characters releasing by the end of September 2016.
Because Street Fighter V released without an Arcade mode, some believed the launch was pushed ahead of schedule so they could make it in time for the Capcom Pro Tour. According to Ono, the Pro Tour played a part in the February launch, but there were other factors:
The Capcom Pro Tour wasn’t the only reason for why the game was released when it was. We understand that if we had more features ready at launch, it probably would’ve been better received by some of our more casual fans who tend to enjoy Street Fighter more via single-player content, as opposed to competitive play.
Elsewhere in the interview, Ono reiterated that Street Fighter V is “an evolving platform that will continue to get more refined and built upon over time,” and they plan on supporting it for years to come, just as they did Street Fighter IV.
As for the online issues in the game, he confirmed that work is still ongoing to smooth out server issues and address rage quitters, but he stopped short of saying when the fixes would arrive. “Once we are able to implement all the fixes we have in store,” he added, “I’m confident fans will enjoy the online experience that much more.”
[Source: Game Informer via GameSpot, Eurogamer]
