Since the beginning of this console generation, broadband internet and the various console stores have been ushering in the Age of DLC. We’ve witnessed many game genres throw their DLC attempts at consumers to see what sticks. In this bold new frontier we’ve seen utter failures and shining beacons that light the way forward. Racing games, RPGs, platformers, FPSs…seemingly all genres have tried; all except the major arcade fighting games.

And I’m not talking about costumes and extra color palettes. Since the heady days of Oblivion’s horse armor, Cosmetic DLC has been a no-brainer for companies looking to make a quick buck. Street Fighter 4 and BlazBlue have been no different. No, I’m talking about more substantial updates. Through the years, arcade fighters frequently rerelease themselves with roster rebalances and new characters. For example, during last generation, Capcom released three editions of Street Fighter 3. Arc System Works released Guilty Gear XX as full-priced discs no less than five times under the subtitles #Reload, Slash, Accent Core, and Accent Core Plus. Now, you might have said the developers were out to get our money with all these full-priced releases. But you have to realize, without internet and the DLC infrastructure we have now, there was really no other way to get updates out to people.

Fighting games, for better or for worse, can be much like sports games. Madden updates its rosters every year to keep its audience interested. Similarly, in order to keep fighting games competitive on tournament scenes, developers must constantly rebalance their cast. Unfortunately, sports games haven’t quite embraced DLC this generation. Rather than releasing downloadable roster updates, EA seems content to charge Madden fans $60 for a new disc every year.

Now all eyes are on Capcom and Arc System Works to set the standard for arcade fighters. Initially, I was disappointed to hear Super Street Fighter 4 was going to be a disc. After all, Street Fighter 4 had been released only six months ago. “No! Don’t turn into Madden! Look at the glorious Utopia of downloadable distribution! Think of the consumer, for chrissake!”

But then I looked at the feature list. Eight new characters, a rebalance of every old character, the possibility of lobbies, and who knows what else? I’m not going to presume I know how big an update with all these features might be, but maybe it’s too big to fit into a DLC download. Besides, Capcom is releasing the game at “less than full price” and will offer some sort of bonus to owners of the original. Clearly, they are thinking about the consumer, for chrissake. However, selling a full game at a discount creates a little conundrum for Capcom. Not only does it devalue all the old SF4 discs, it provides even less incentive for people to buy SF4 before Super comes out.

Last generation in Japan, Arc System Works released Accent Core Plus for the PS2 as an “Append Edition” to Accent Core. Instead of forcing everyone to buy another full version of the games, giving consumers the option to upgrade at a discounted price—through a disc—might be the answer.

I want to repeat: an update this large for arcade fighters has yet to happen in our Age of DLC. I’m willing to give Capcom and Arc System Works the benefit of the doubt as they pioneer forward.