It’s still a bit mundane but hopefully a step in the right direction
For basically the first time ever in their actual fighting games, Capcom has been trying to build a more social ecosystem into Street Fighter 6 though most players would probably admit at this point things have been a bit lacking in that regard.
That could be starting to change some, however, with an actually good in-game event to celebrate A.K.I.’s birthday today, November 11.
The bare minimum would have been to just post on their social media with a piece of art and maybe an in-game notification, but they put in some effort this time.
Capcom did still release a nice piece of new artwork (that you can see in the banner) depicting A.K.I. with her birthday cake adorned with chains, black ooze and a chibi F.A.N.G though that’s not all of course.
Players can get 1,000 free Drive Tickets for just logging in during the event and earn an exclusive sticker by purchasing anything in the Goods Shop.
Probably the most interesting thing though is the special Battle Hub tournaments specifically for A.K.I.’s birthday where she is the only selectable character.
It might be too late to sign up by the time you’re reading this, but they’re giving out 500 Drive Tickets for participating and 3,500 to the tournament winners.
Finally, they’re giving A.K.I. a boost to earning kudos with her specifically receiving a 50% bonus on her birthday (and 10% on the other days it’s active).
The birthday event is scheduled to last until tonight at midnight PST.
In the notifications today, there’s also a message from the latest DLC fighter about the date where she may be insinuating today isn’t actually her birthday, but rather when she was reborn as A.K.I. after surviving her master’s first poison treatments.
“A birthday…? Mine, you say? I see. That reminds me, I belieive it’s also the date that I first survived the master’s poison training, Yes, it was then that I was reborn as A.K.I., the person you see before you. It is something of a birthday, I suppose. Heeheehee…”
Now, these are not earth shattering events or rewards by any stretch, could be a sign that things could be improving and add a bit more substance to the underutilized online facets of SF6.
It would have been cool to see Capcom go the extra mile and make some limited missions surrounding doing things with A.K.I. herself or perhaps giving her a certain present in World Tour mode for some unique birthday dialogue or something.
The Battle Hub still seems poised to be redecorated for special occassions as well, but we’re still waiting for that as well as pretty much anything at this point that isn’t just expensive avatar costume pieces.
Hopefully, we’ll see Capcom experiment and try out new things that wouldn’t have been possible in their previous fighting game releases which give players more reason to keep coming back and rewarding them in fun ways.
Also, we’re wondering about the significance of A.K.I.’s birthdate.
F.A.N.G is of course obssessed with the number 2 (with his own birthday being February 2 or 2/2), so perhaps 11/11 is meant to represent two pairs of two 1s to further reference their master.
Let’s see if Ed gets anything special after he drops in the coming months or any holiday events.