by Capcom Cup returns with a change in hardware, something the pros welcome.
The Capcom Cup is back for the first time since 2019, and the world’s professional Street Fighter 5 players will meet to duel. Practice and preparation will be on the cards as the pros will battle it out for a $300,000 prize pool. It’s a big competition, so the decision to change the hardware the players will be using is a significant one.
The official account for Capcom fighters and pro tour tweeted that Capcom Cup should be played on PC with screens set to 144 Hz (via The Verge). Although no more details have been given for the specifications of these PCs, we can assume that they will be powerful enough to handle the game while 144 Hz should help reduce input lag (the time it takes for a button press to appear on the screen).
Low input lag is important for professional players, and in the fighting game scene it can mean a millisecond difference between a block or counter that they don’t want to see delayed by the hardware. While Street Fighter 5 may be a 60 fps game, Street Fighter esports commentator and fighting game enthusiast James Chen pointed out that it has been demonstrated that Street Fighter 5 benefits from higher Hz even being a 60 fps title.
The Verge quoted Street Figher pro Arman Hanjani – Phenom in tourneys – as saying that the community has been playing the most on PC in recent years, saying that’s where the game is “most responsive”. It’s a marked change since the PlayStation 4 was often the hardware of choice for tournaments before the Covid-19 pandemic. While the faster response of PCs is where the pros feel it’s at, it can be difficult for event organizers to ensure that every competitor’s PC is consistent, with the same drivers and updates installed, and input lag is consistent across the board. With consoles, the playing field can be equal and is much easier to maintain and acquire.
The upcoming Street Fighter 6 is said to be faster than ever with the Input Delay Reduction feature on PS5 and Xbox Series X. But the pros will be sharpening their reflexes for one of the last major tournaments for Street Fighter 5. The Capcom Cup begins at February 12.
