Are Fighting Game Re-Releases Necessary When Fightcade Exists?

With Fightcade already being available for nearly a decade, are re-releases such as the Capcom Fighting Collection necessary?

What is Fightcade?

Fightcade is an emulator that allows players to play some of the most popular fighting games in history.

Games from popular franchises like Street Fighter and King of Fighters, plus many more are playable via Fightcade.

The main benefit of Fightcade is the ability to play retro arcade games for free online with GGPO rollback netcode. Additionally, Fightcade offers near-perfect arcade performance, which many ports or console versions

Capcom as well as other fighting game companies, such as SNK and Arc System Works have been re-releasing their retro fighting games on modern platforms and Steam. These usually come with a rollback netcode. 

Difference between Fightcade and Offical Releases

Capcom previously released the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection. The collection contained all major Street Fighter titles from the original, to Street Fighter III: Third Strike. However, after its 2018 release, there aren’t that many people still playing online. 

This is due to issues with the netcode, and mandated input lag. Input lag means the number of frames between the players’ inputs and the action in-game.

Whereas Fightcade still has hundreds of players every day playing against each other. With better connection and less input lag that changes to better suit the players connected to each other.

With modern ports, some issues may pertain to the original releases on consoles from the early ports done in the 90s or 2000s. This isn’t always the case, as some ports have improvements such as for Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R. 

The recent port on Steam has not only implemented rollback netcode but also lobby, and gameplay changes to make the game slightly easier via more lenient controls.

Fightcade Is Important For Preservation

The Capcom Fighting Collection allows players to revisit classic games in fighting game history, filled with multiple versions of fan-favorite games, new artwork, and concept art. This may be enough for hardcore fans that wish to support this kind of re-releases in the future.

Although fans may start to wonder if Capcom decides to create another bundle. Whether it will contain other popular licensed Capcom fighters, such as the Marvel Vs Capcom series, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Heritage For The Future, and the Capcom Vs SNK series.

While Capcom has been fairly silent in regards to their popular crossovers and licensed games. Rumors have been circling around as fans have been campaigning for a re-release of fan favorites like Marvel Vs. Capcom 2.

The two games were previously re-released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, however, were pulled off the online stores due to the license being expired with no renegotiation. 

People can still enjoy these games on Fightcade however, playable online with a good connection and rollback netcode. Including Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 and Capcom Vs SNK. Games that have been missing from re-releases for over a decade. 

Why People Support Official Releases

The benefit that official releases provide is the convenience of having them all seamlessly play on the platform of your choice. Fightcade is exclusive to PC hardware or devices that rely on PC architecture such as the new Steam Deck. Not everyone plays on PC and would prefer to use their consoles to play these titles.

People who wish to use Fightcade must also find the game files themselves. They aren’t automatically provided for them by Fightcade.

People will continue to support official releases to let the developers know that they’d like to see more like it. Some players who use Fightcade as their main way to play these games still purchase collections like to show support.

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