Katsuhiro Harada, the producer of Tekken, has explained that he is closely monitoring Capcom’s controversial decision to charge for access to the Street Fighter 6 finals via pay-per-view.
In September, Capcom announced that the Capcom Cup 12 and SFL World Championship finals would be broadcast exclusively via PPV: ¥4,000 ($27) per night, or ¥6,000 ($40) for the full package. Faced with an outcry, the publisher promised to review the price, but said there would still be an entry fee. To date, tickets have still not gone on sale.
In an interview with The Game Business, Harada explains why this model intrigues him: According to him, many streamers and influencers make a lot of money by broadcasting, commenting on, or taking advantage of the visibility of tournaments… while the studios that create the games get almost nothing from this parallel economy.
“When you see all the money that brands put into advertising on these streams, and what some influencers earn, the revenue generated by our game doesn’t reflect any of that. It’s interesting to see how all this could evolve.”
When asked directly about Capcom, Harada played down the issue, saying that it was just one example among many. It should be noted that even at Capcom, the decision came as a surprise. The director of Street Fighter 6, Takayuki Nakayama, recently revealed that he learned about the PPV during the Tokyo Game Show, at the same time as the public. This is further evidence that the decision came from another, more business-oriented department.
