Capcom's Street Fighter V just can't catch a break. The latest entry in the iconic fighting game franchise stumbled out of the gate after being heavily criticized for online issues and an overall lack of content, and now, even Capcom has now admitted that the game needed more time in development.
Now comes the salt in the wound, as it's being reported that Nintendo's Wii U exclusive Pokken Tournament outsold the physical PS4 version Street Fighter V at retail stores in the United States.
It's honestly more than a little surprising. Despite Street Fighter V's poor reception at launch, it's still the next entry in one of the longest-running fighting game franchises of all time. Many assumed the name of the game alone would push the title to strong sales, but that doesn't appear to have been the case.
The details come from video game insider ZhugeEX, who tweeted the news based on an upcoming NPD sales report. Though ZhugeEX doesn't dive into specific numbers, NPD reports don't factor in digital game sales. If digital sales on PS4 and PC for Street Fighter V were factored into the numbers, one might assume Capcom's title would come out on top. That's not the case, according to ZhugeEX, who, in a reply on Twitter says that, "based on the physical numbers, it won't make much of a difference."
If those details do turn out to be accurate, it's a huge embarrassment for Capcom. Nintendo's Wii U hasn't sold well by any stretch of the imagination, while Sony's PS4 has continued to fly off store shelves. Sony has sold more than 35 million PS4 consoles compared with Nintendo's roughly 10 million Wii U consoles sold.
That gives the PS4 a much larger install base, but despite that fact, Pokken Tournament still managed to outsell Street Fighter V. Sure, Pokemon is a huge franchise, but Pokken Tournament is a fighting game spin-off that didn't get great reviews upon release. For the game to outsell the new entry in what is largely considered to be the king of fighting game franchises is a major blow for Capcom.
It's not the first time something like this has happened, either. The base version of the latest Naruto fighting game on PS4, Naruto Shipudden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, also outsold the core version of Street Fighter V on PS4, though when factoring in collector's editions, Street Fighter manages to come out on top. However, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 also released on both PC and Xbox One, which means the game's final numbers are probably much closer to that of Street Fighter than Capcom would like to see.
Capcom says it sought to sell roughly two million copies of Street Fighter V in fiscal years 2016. As of March 2016, roughly 1.4 million copies of the game have been sold.
