Today Capcom announced the details to the upcoming Street Fighter 4 Championship Mode downloadable content for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. For starters, the DLC is free….free….free, and will become available for download via Xbox Live and PlayStation Network on April 24, 2009.

Next, Championship Mode offers gamers the chance to compete in 5 different grades of tournaments, creating the right challenge for players of every skill level. You’ll score Grade Points (GP) for tournament wins, and as your GP total grows, you’ll become eligible to enter into more exclusive tournaments. Winning tournaments will also net you Championship Points which acts as tournament “prize money”. The higher the GP skill of the players in a particular tournament, the bigger the CP prize!

While the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Street Fighter 4 are almost identical, the additional features of Championship Mode options differ dramatically.



On the PlayStation Network side, while you watch, you can rate matches according to characteristics such like “awesome” or “ funny.” Then, these replays are then ranked based on the voter’s ratings.

On Xbox Live side, instead of rating the matches, you can choose to download and save your favorite replays to study the players’ techniques. You’ll also be able to turn on the input commands from both players to be able to review their button and joystick motions in precise detail.

While I do own both versions of Street Fighter 4, the additional features for the Xbox 360 seem a lot more useful than the PS3’s “awesome” ratings system. Either way, next Friday, I’ll be looking forward to grabbing both downloads.