Xbox Addict

Capcom, Virgin bringing real money wagers to Street Fighter 4 Online

Capcom and Virgin Gaming have partnered to bring cash-backed matches to Super Street Fighter 4 and Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition, the companies announced.

Online money matches are supported in the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of both games. There is currently no word on whether these matches will be available in the Windows PC version. Matches will be one-on-one, or players can form leagues of up to 32 players.

Opponents will be matched up through the Street Fighter 4 lobby on Virgin Gaming’s website; players will have to enter their opponents’ gamertag on their respective consoles or accept the match invitation request once they are paired up. After reporting match results on the company website, Virgin will automatically deposit any winnings into players’ accounts. This cash be kept and deposited into players’ real-world bank or used to keep placing bets.

Virgin Gaming is also providing regional matchmaking for Street Fighter 4 online matches that will help players find nearby opponents and reduce latency. The company is also using a skill rating system that will match players of similar ability level to promote more balanced fights.

Virgin Group launched Virgin Gaming in June 2010. The company doesn’t bill its online money matches as "betting" or "gambling," which would bring the endeavor into question with the law, and on inception stated they would offer skill-based, not chance-based, games. Street Fighter titles are largely skill-based games — and have been featured in numerous eSports events, the most recent being Ultra Street Fighter 4 in the upcoming Evo 2014 tournament — which could keep money-backed matches out of the line of legal fire.