What’s next for Street Fighter?

Capcom's latest fighting game effort, Street Fighter X Tekken, has landed, and while it's not exactly the hottest game in the genre, there's no denying that it does some really cool things. The game manages to capture the magic of Tekken and puts it in a Street Fighter game. And as far as local multiplayer is concerned, this is another great example of why fighting games are best played against people you actually know.

Now that Street Fight X Tekken is making its rounds, we can look forward to Tekken X Street Fighter from Namco Bandai next year. But what will Capcom be doing? What does the Japanese publisher and developer need to do to make its next entry in the famed Street Fighter franchise feel fresh once more? Here are a few suggestions I think Capcom should keep in mind.

Get rid of the single-player stuff

Seriously, who plays fighting games alone? Losers, that's who! Why not take away these gamers' ability to play on their own by requiring a second controller to be connected at all times. After all, it's not like Street Fighter is really known for its compelling story mode. And yes, I'm aware that this alienates individuals who want to practice or need to get acquainted with the series, but if you're just now getting into Street Fighter, then you're probably going to be looked down on as a fragile newcomer.

This actually kind of sucks for me, because I only have one Xbox 360 controller and one PlayStation 3 controller. Meh. I'm a loser anyway.

Actually, screw controllers and stick to FightSticks

Not only do losers play fighting games alone, but they're also the ones who use controllers. Capcom, don't let those jerks near your next Street Fighter game. If they want to play, make them buy a FightStick … or two, actually. Not only does this work to alienate impoverished gamers, but it also lets those individuals who do shell out the cash for the peripheral to look all cool with their FightSticks sitting on their laps as they mash away at buttons super arcade-like.

Capcom, I'll make it easy for you: Bundle the damn FightStick with the game and make people pay more for the bundle. And I'm not saying there should be two bundles. No, every copy of the game should be priced extra just to include the FightStick. If you want, you can even throw in two of the damn things. Because you can never have too many arcade FightSticks.

Release a better version of the game the next day

The next Street Fighter game is bound to be remade, like, 16 times. How awesome would it be if Capcom released Super Street Fighter V: Hyper Turbo HD 3D Edition the next day… without telling anyone until that day? Not only would that be a brilliant way for gamers to get the modified version of the game right away (since they're going to buy it multiple times anyway), but it would also piss a lot of gamers off, which Capcom doesn't seem very opposed to lately.

Introduce an all-new cast

I don't know about you people, but I'm getting tired of seeing Ryu and Ken as the two go-to characters for beginners. And Cammy is ugly, so we don't need to see her dumb mug anymore. Capcom should introduce a new cast of Street Fighter characters. This will help to breathe new life into the game, and hell, it's the perfect way to do a reboot of the series. And we all know how popular reboots are these days. As a matter of fact, if the next Street Fighter isn't called The Ultimate Street Fighter Zero, I'm not even bothering with the game.

Bring back the gems system how it was in Street Fighter X Tekken

Because we all know how much fun it is to go through menu after menu, dealing with lengthy load times along the way, just to assign different abilities to each character. And no, Capcom, we don't want to be able to have a universal preset. We love the monotony of having to go into the gems menu and assigning different gems to each character every single time we want to try someone new. I mean, that was so much fun, wasn't it? Wasn't it?