Street Fighter 5 kicking off Season 2 with Akuma
Ho ho ho!
Continuing plans to update Street Fighter 5 [official site] for yonks without releasing separate new Ultra Turbo Mega Editions, Capcom have announced 'Season 2' of big content updates will kick off this month with returning pugilist Akuma and a sleighload of festive fare. Punchfans will remember Akuma as a sort of Infowars Ryu. Five brand new fighters are due to follow across 2017, though they're under wraps for now. But far more important than that is everyone's wacky Christmas premium costumes.
The Crimbo festivities include a snowy version of the New York stage and six costumes. Juri, Karin, and Laura are in their Mean Girls costumes, Zangief is chanelling the holiday's pagan roots, R. Mika is dressed as Mary Christmas called out of bed to answer the door at 4am, and Ken is some sort of Nashville Santa. Billy Ray Christmas. Garth Booktokens. Dolly Carton Of Egg Nog. Johnny Just Give Cash In A Card. Tammy Mulled Winette. Willie Noel, Noelson. Hohohank Williams Junior. Glen Campbeltown Single Malt For Uncle Steve. It's good to know I can go on holiday for a week then return still at full steam.
The six Crimbo costumes cost $4 a pop while the festive stage makeover is $2 or 40k in imaginary Fight Money. Or you can get the whole lot for $20. I suppose it's cheaper than a novelty Christmas jumper.
The Christmas fun will arrive alongside Akuma in an update on December 20th. As for the angry boy, this Capcom blog post explains his abilities in this latest game. What's more Christmassy than an angry man coming round to shout at everyone? Cool your jets, Uncle Steve.
Capcom have also written about their plans for Street Fighter 5 in 2017. A snippet:
"What we noticed in the 2016 season of Street Fighter V was that although each character has the tools to allow for a distinct experience, there were a few things, which were quite strong in general, resulting in players using them more than the unique attacks each character possesses.
"This led players, both the attacker and the one being attacked, to have a similar experience regardless of which characters were being used. We think that by reducing each character’s similarities, we can allow players to fully express themselves through their favorite characters, further providing the Street Fighter experience players have come to know and love."
Follow the link for hints at how they plan to fix that.