Capcom has announced that a free title update for Street Fighter IV will hit Xbox Live and PlayStation Network next Friday, April 24th.

The Championship Mode update, which was first announced back in February, adds a variety of new features to the five star fighter, including a replay mode and a new points system with which to measure your skill.

Capcom says that the update “also offers you the chance to compete in five 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 (CP). CPs are like “prize money” up for grabs in the tournament. The higher the GP skill of the players in a particular tournament, the bigger the CP prize!”

However, while the new replay mode was originally supposed to allow users to download and save other player’s replays, it appears that the feature has only made its way into the Xbox 360 version:

“Replay Mode allows you to select and watch the best Championship Mode tournament matches,” says Capcom. “On the PlayStation Network, you can rate matches while you watch according to characteristics such as “awesome” or “funny.” Replays are then ranked based on these vote ratings.”

“On Xbox Live, instead of rating the matches, you can choose to download and save your favourite 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.”

Shame, that.

Still, the update’s as good an excuse as any to fire up Street Fighter IV again. Not that we need one, of course. Be sure to check it out next Friday.

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