You'll be able to get Arcade Edition as a $15 download if you already own a copy of Super Street Fighter IV, which is the right way to distribute what, in the grand scheme of things, isn't as large of a leap as the one from regular Street Fighter IV to last year's Super update. If, for whatever reason, you don't own Super but want to get involved now, the game will also be released on a new standalone disc. The DLC version of the content will hit on June 7, while the standalone disc will be available on June 28. The standalone version of the game will be the only version released on the PC, so don't expect a downloadable update to turn your existing PC copy of SFIV into SSFIVAE.
The biggest updates in Arcade Edition are four new characters. Yun and Yang--series veterans who first appeared in Street Fighter III--are joined by Evil Ryu and Oni, a glowing, even more demonic version of Akuma. Yeah, I'm not that crazy about it, either. The game already has its fill of characters that can throw out shoryukens and raging demons, and I'm not sure that it really needs two more. That said, the four characters get the same treatment as the existing roster, with lightly animated intro videos, voice in English or Japanese, and so on. New titles and icons will also be added to the game to further support these new fighters.
The replay channel, which lets users watch other fights, is getting an update, as well. A new "Elite" channel that showcases players with more than 3,000 PP will be added to give more players an easier way to find good fights. Replays can be shared from player to player in this new update, and you can also designate up to five players that you wish to follow, and replays from those players will be delivered to you. Assuming that the world's top players are still out there, slugging it out online instead of holing up in Japanese arcades or other offline locations, this could be a really cool way to watch some of the best fights possible.
The game will also offer support for additional downloadable costumes, so it seems safe to expect more packs of clothes for the various fighters after AE's release in June. It's also great to see the game returning to the PC. While it wasn't always a dramatic difference, running original SFIV on the PC in a higher resolution with some extra graphical effects enabled has always been the best-looking version of the game. But with other fighting games like Street Fighter X Tekken on their way, it's hard to get that excited about this final (?) update to the Street Fighter IV line.
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