I just honestly don't understand what people actually want out of it. Anyone interested in online play is already playing it. If they just want it to play with friends, there's zero reason to complain about the state the game is in, because Vs mode and Battle Lounges are fine. If they're looking for a disposable game to play in a weekend or whatever, there's enough in the game for that and a cheap enough entry point, consistently $30 or less retail.
It seems that the people that have the most reason to complain right now are the ones who want a single player game that has long-term sustainable content, that can be played in a bubble, and fighting games are probably the worst genre for that kind of thing, anyway. That said, SFV is definitely lacking in that area even compared to fighting games from 20 years ago.
I want to see the game bounce back. It sucks to see a game you genuinely love and believe is one of the best of its genre at a fundamental gameplay level get constantly trashed online. I just want to know if there's an actual endgame to this in most peoples' minds, that's all.
People's big issue with the game is that it offends them. Despite DLC being a common part of gaming for two generations now there's a lot of people who have an axe to grind regarding DLC and Capcom games are a prime target. They don't like the pricing, they don't like that the retail game doesn't contain everything that will ever be created for SFV, and they don't like the F2P style model being attached to a retail game. As these are people who post on GAF a lot of them have overarching concerns with how the industry is ran and Capcom is a company that embodies a lot of the business practices they believe is ruining gaming.
I agree with you a lot of these people don't have interest in Street Fighter V and likely wouldn't have picked it up regardless. They're invested in its success (or specifically its failure) because they see it as a battle. If they win and SFV fails then what they perceive as predatory business practices will be dealt a blow and companies will have to adjust and become more consumer friendly.
I think this thought process is epitomized by any commenter that says "I'll just wait for the complete version." The core fighting game fan doesn't want a Street Fighter or Guilty Gear or Tekken game to just be released and not receive updates for 5 years until the next numbered entry is released. Fighting games rarely ever get it right on the first try and the fans who spend the most time and money on them understand this. What would we have been left with if Street Fighter 3: New Generation or Vanilla SF4 stopped updating after launch? The answer is mediocre games people would have stopped playing after a year or two.
So even if these people who shitpost that they'll wait for Ultra Super SFV are sincere and would buy the game they should not be catered to. And they can't be catered to becsuse the Ultra Super SFV they're waiting to buy for $30 wouldn't exist if the people who spend hundreds of hours playing Street Fighter didn't invest the money and interest needed to continue development. These guys are paying considerably less than us and are complaining about it.
SFV was designed to bring in new players. I would have to imagine that failing at that has an effect on business. A deluxe edition for $80 is not going to help.
New content is useless. New characters without a refreshed release like a Super or Ultra is useless. Hell, they sell new stages and then immediately turn around and ban them from their tournament events! There's idiocy abound, and I see no reason to discredit the criticism.
How much does it cost Capcom to list that digital bundle on the PS store? I'm sure it's not nothing but I can't imagine it's costly for Capcom. It isn't a physical re-release taking up shelf space. It's a bundle that is trying to capture a portion of people who may be interested in SFV but were waiting for more content and/or a cheaper price. And when Capcom thinks they made the most they can at that price point they'll put it on sale. And a year from now it will be replaced by a new bundle including Season 3 that will cost $80 or even less.
There's also the issue that immediately dropping the price of their recently released Season Pass signals to fence sitters that it's better to wait as it'll drop further in price eventually. This does not benefit Capcom.
In regards to your second point, I think SFV's focus on casual players has been a little overstated and I don't believe SFV's success relies on them. I'll break up what I consider Capcom's thoughts on casual players in a few points.
1) Capcom isn't going to leave money on the table. There are definitely people who just want to buy the new Street Fighter and screw around in single player with it. These people aren't the focus of their business model but they do exist and it's idiotic to state that they don't want these players. I think Capcom's appeals to these players are mostly lip service and if their roadmap for SFV prior to launch includes plans through 2020 then they definitely are an afterthought. These players buy the game initially, which is great for Capcom as they pay $60 upfront, but that's where it ends. They drop the game, don't purchase DLC, and all future development relies on core gamers who continually play and purchase DLC.
2) Capcom needs casual players to keep the brand healthy. If SF wants to succeed as a brand they need new blood. So that's why we got some gameplay changes like the 3f buffer as 1 and 2f links were an unnecessary skill check that put a lot of players of intermediate skill off. I'll concede that a few people who bought the game to fuck around in single player may stick with it but most of them won't so the focus on casuals is more that Capcom wants to turn casual players into devoted players, they want more people interested in SF as an eSport, and they likely realize that many of the big names in pro SFV are in their 30s so they have to groom a new generation to replace them. The bigger focus on ease of execution and online play are steps in that direction.
3) Here's where I think Capcom is ultimately going with SFV. SFV was rushed and sold as a full-price game with an F2P model because they wanted to eat their cake and have it, too. What I believe will happen is that SFV will become F2P (or so cheap that the entry point is almost non-existent) and that will draw in casuap players that can turn into devoted players.
I believe these players Capcom wants are of more value to the casual player that wants to spend money on SFV once and then be done with it because they're building a player base that will continually spend money on the series. Street Fighter, and fighting games in general, is very difficult to get into but not impossible. I feel like the consumers from point 1) are typically older and have more money than time whereas the players I'm talking about now are young, teenage or college aged, who have much more free time than money. If SFV is F2P then the only barrier to entry is the time it takes to get good. Which is fine because if you get hundreds of thousands of people to just "try" your difficult game then a percentage will stick around. The ease in execution and focus on online play is targeted to these players.
So my belief is SFV will get cheaper and cheaper, picking up more players as it goes, until it's free and a lot more people get invested into it.
