Capcom to prohibit use of leverless controllers that don't follow new directional input rule for upcoming Street Fighter 6 Capcom Pro Tour

Capcom is gearing up to run their next Capcom Pro Tour (CPT) with the debut of Street Fighter 6 this Summer, bringing with it a mind-blowing prize pool of 2 million dollars. This morning, the company released a statement detailing a new rule for leverless controllers that users must comply with for CPT sanctioned events.

Leverless controllers have been a point of discussion in the fighting game community for some time now, with many wondering if some of the benefits provided by them might be too much for a competitive setting. This new rule for the Capcom Pro Tour specifically targets how these controllers behave when two directional inputs are performed at the same time.

“In anticipation of the 2023 season Capcom has made the decision to update the Capcom Pro Tour rules in relation to leverless controllers,” Capcom’s statement begins. “This was done to address consistency and fairness concerns.”

With their tweet, Capcom linked to a new blog entry on the official Capcom Pro Tour website that talks specifically about the following rule:

“If up and down directions are input at the same time, both inputs must be maintained or both inputs must be rejected.”

They go on to explain that if two opposite directions are input at the same time, these inputs should cancel out and not have the in-game character perform an action.

“To clarify, if up and down inputs are made simultaneously, the character must not perform a jump or crouch action, and if the left and right inputs are made simultaneously, the character must not perform a forward or backward movement action,” writes Capcom.

One of the most common tactics that is likely being addressed here with the up and down inputs is the “crouch Flash Kick” for Guile. With leverless controllers like the Hitbox, users can hold the down input, then without releasing it hit up and a kick button to perform the special move making for an easier way to pull it off.

The company also clarified that this new rule does not prohibit the use of leverless controllers as a whole, but solely those that do not comply with this new regulation. Capcom and the tournament organizers reserve the right to check a player’s controller at any time during an event, and if it is proven to be a violation of the rules, the player may be punished and will be instructed to use an alternate controller to continue their tournament run.

https://t.co/S0q64GhW0P pic.twitter.com/cge5yzrQBq

— Capcom Fighters (@CapcomFighters) March 30, 2023

The most prominent and popular of the leverless controllers in the fighting game community is Hitbox, and the company’s official Twitter weighed in in response to Capcom’s statement.

“Please know that we empathize with all of these new concerns and uncertainty for our existing and new customers,” wrote Hitbox. “This is still a developing situation, which we assure you has our full attention. We are confident that we will be able to provide a solution to our customers that will comply with any changes to rulesets.

“While Capcom and Street Fighter are an important part of the fighting game community, they do not represent the community as a whole. The larger tournament community and its leadership have already ruled many times over that the current SOCD Resolutions in our controllers are appropriate for tournament play. We stand firmly by and believe in this standard — a standard that was set more than a decade ago and that is still implemented to this day:

“UP + DOWN = UP”

https://t.co/ScjdmxAXE2 pic.twitter.com/aX5oqYKUsr

— Hit Box (@Hit_Box) March 30, 2023

While Hitbox appears fairly firm in their stance, JunkFood Custom Arcades — the creators of the Snackbox line of leverless controllers — appears to be ready to comply with the new CPT standard. They have also released the following statement in regards to the new rule:

“Cool! People play multiple games – each with different SODC rules. We will allow you to be in compliance with your micro in all conditions through an upcoming (already in progress) firmware update. We will also have a visual indicator of compliance.”

Cool!

People play multiple games – each with different socd rules.

We will allow you to be in compliance with your micro in all conditions through an upcoming (already in progress) firmware update.

We will also have a visual indicator of compliance. https://t.co/V62ttQukK4

— JunkFood Custom Arcades (@junkfoodarcades) March 30, 2023

Capcom noted that this rule was put into place and handed down to the community ahead of the Capcom Pro Tour’s full rules and regulations being released due to its importance and the widespread effect it’ll have on the FGC. The full rule set for the upcoming season will be released at a later time.