Posted Oct 23rd 2008 11:45AM by Dustin Burg
Filed under: News
In a statement to G4, Street Fighter IV producer Yoshi Ono made mention that the next Street Fighter installment will be storming retailers sometime this Winter.
"At some point you'll be sitting in you winter coat looking at snow out the window ... and right then we'll kind of heat you up a little with some hot street fighter action," said Ono. "We don't want to start rumors that it's this year, but definitely this winter."
So, whether it's late 2008 or early 2009, SFIV is on its way to the 360 when there's snow on the ground. That is, if you live in a colder climate where it actually snows.
There is little doubt that fighting games and arcades go hand-in-hand, so the death of arcades should mean the death of the genre, right? No! Thanks to the advent of online competition, fighting games have been given a new lease on life. One of the many fighting titles still battling for console attention is the upcoming Street Fighter IV from Capcom. Bringing the series back to the quarter-stealing roots of Street Fighter II, SFIV is one of our most anticipated titles of ... whenever Capcom decides to release it!
While the games themselves weren't exactly brimming with story the Street Fighter franchise does have an intricate and developed lore behind it. The latest trailer for Street Fighter IV outlines the where some of our favorite heroes disappeared to after the events in Street Fighter II. Watching the video just gets us more and more excited to play Street Fighter IV and considering it will include cut-scenes of the same caliber we're down-right-fierce with anticipation. That's right, we went there.
The martial arts master known for teaching Ryu and Ken everything they know has been added as a secret character in Street Fighter IV. Gouken, who is often mistakenly referred to as Sheng Long, will be a computer-controlled character only -- meaning he is not set to be a playable character in the upcoming fighter.
Many back stories exist for the fallen master of Ryu and Ken, but we have a few favorites. In one familiar back story, Gouken is challenged by his brother Akuma, who is also the murderer of their master Goutetsu, where Akuma eventually kills his brother in the altercation. Another story, set up as the basis of Ken and Ryu's journey in Street Fighter II, sees Gouken killed by the invading mastermind M. Bison.
Capcom promises the character will require a special unlock procedure but we think it's safe to say that when Gouken is squaring off against you, he will be one tough hombre to wrassle with.
Posted Sep 24th 2008 2:00PM by Dustin Burg
Filed under: News
Recently, Capcom unveiled the box art for a little game known as Street Fighter IV, surprising us with not one but TWO different covers. Yes sir, SFIV will actually sport two separate box art covers, one for the United States and another for Europe. And if you look above, you'll see both covers in all their glory. The left is U.S. The right is Europe. Looks to us like the U.S. got screwed.
Posted Aug 27th 2008 1:45PM by Dustin Burg
Filed under: News
Unlike a certain soulless fighting game, Capcom's Street Fighter 4 will not be doing console specific fighters due to it not being "very fair".
In an interview with videogamer.com, SF4 producer Yoshinori Ono mentioned that they don't "want to give an exclusive character for any particular console," saying that "it's not very fair" to make specific fighters only available on certain platforms. And if your mind is already wandering down the downloadable content path, know that Ono says their decision to not offer console specific SF4 fighters is a rule for DLC as well. So, take that Yoda and SoulCalibur IV ... YEAH!
Earlier last week Famistu confirmed the console versions of Street Fighter IV would feature exclusive online play (shocking, no online for arcades? Joke.) and characters, two of which have been revealed to be Bruce Lee look-a-like Fei Long and SF inside joke, Dan.
This week Capcom has launched a new promotional website for Street Fighter IV. Offering the latest 'Epic' trailer and links to the blog for Street Fighter IV and the upcoming Street Fighter: Legend of Chun-Li movie, the site shows off little in the way of new content. Interestingly enough the site offers two pre-order methods for Street Fighter IV. One allows gamers to order directly from Capcom while the other is linked back to GameStop who is offering a collectible art book with purchase and lists a ship date of February 2, 2009. While the date may change, it give us a general idea of when to expect the anticipated fighter.
We're really intrigued by Street Fighter IV, but not nearly as intrigued as we are by the trailer released by Capcom at Captivate08. Reminiscent of a fan-made YouTube video, the latest trailer for Street Fighter IV plays out as Faith No More's hit-song, "Epic," blasts in the background. We never thought we'd see Street Fighter marketed that way. Either way, the footage looks solid and we can't wait to get some quality time with Capcom's best-selling franchise again. Wait, Jean Claude Van Damme played Guile didn't he? Guess no one knows how Street Fighter should be marketed!
A few days ago we reported a rumor that cited Street Fighter IV as an upcoming Xbox 360, PS3 and PC release--well they are rumors-no-more. Last night Capcom confirmed [via IGN] that the 2/3D fighter hybrid will land on next generation consoles as well as Windows-based PCs, continuing the company's recent support of the platform (as in Devil May Cry4 and Lost Planet PC releases). More details regarding the title is expected at the upcoming Captivate08 event in Las Vegas. Press email after the jump.
Rumor has it that Capcom accidentally revealed the release schedule and platforms for the upcoming, official, fourth installment of Street Fighter. According to a story on French gaming site Jeuxvideo, Capcom inadvertently let the information slip on a press site that scheduled the 2/3D fighter hybrid for a winter release on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
While the general consensus is that Street Fighter IV would make its way to next-gen platforms, a PC release is a surprise. While we could speculate that the rumor has weight due to Capcom's recent admiration for the PC platform (with Devil May Cry 4 and Lost Planet releases), the well-known similarities in development for Xbox 360 and PC titles and USB being the primary input on all next-gen controllers, we're going to remind everything this one is just a rumor for now.
On a side note, with the popularity of the Cybercafé in the Eastern market a PC release would make sense. Just saying!
A few days ago Capcom shot out these fresh screens of El Fuerte, one of the newest characters in the upcoming Street Fighter 4. Included in the screens, that guest star an unfortunate Zangief getting taken to town, are the Guile and Blanka environments which mighty pretty, in a heavy UDON ink kinda way. Some of the shots look interesting and while we're optimistic for the fighter, we wonder how hardcore fans are taking the over-the-top antics of the characters (ie. Zangief's expression in the above image.) Hardcore? Let us know what you think about these shots and your overall impression of the upcoming fourth installment.
Employing an art style similar to that seen in the original trailer for the game, the newest bit of Street Fighter IV media to be released is another cinematic trailer, this time showing off Chun-Li and the new character C.Viper. The inky stylized quality to the video makes for a fun little teaser trailer, and sharp-eyed players will be able to spot a signature move or two hidden in all the fluff. Despite the fact that this video in no way represents the final gameplay, it does give a bit of a feel for the flavor that Capcom is shooting for with the series return. And for a game shrouded in mystery, Capcom's media release schedule seems to be rather consistent, possibly hinting that the game is farther long than anyone knows. If we find some more videos such as this one, it could be a sign that we could see that fighting game revival sooner than we thought.
For a game that has no announced platforms or release date, Capcom certainly is beingliberal with the Street Fighter IV exposure. The game was available to play in the Taito center in Akihabara and we were lucky enough that at least one person who was there was sporting a camera. These here videos are not direct-feed, so they're a bit shaky and low-quality, but they're still good enough that the action can still be clearly seen. Which is good, because these vids showcase the first looks at two confirmed characters, Sagat and M. Bison. With the return of these well-known characters, the total fighter list for the is now at 12. With the game having only 16 fighters, how will we see the last fighter spaces filled? Will Akuma be coming back? Will we see more than just two original characters? We'll have to wait and see, as this year seems to be the one that heralds the rebirth of the fighter genre.
With multiple good fighters coming out in 2008, will Street Fighter IV's name be enough to have it succeed? (Assuming it's released in 08, as it has no official date.) It depends. The game does have a rabid fanbase, and now that all their favorites are confirmed, we're starting to wonder who the new characters are. To placate us, Capcom released screens featuring a new character, Abel. Abel appears to be kick-boxing inspired, though just that of course that tells us nothing about how he will play (which is the important part). The semi-controversial, over-the-top facial animations are here in full form as well, and the graphics, though again not loved by all, are nevertheless very well done and have a very close feel to that of the old 2D hand-animated games. With all these reveals regarding the game, here's to hoping that it hits shelves before the year is out.
Abel's character bio and concept shot after the break.
With the revelation that the playable cast of Street Fighter II would be returning for Street Fighter IV came one burning question: where are the damned pictures? Of course, the story originated from Japanese gaming mag Famitsu, so the answer is pretty simple. Famitsu has now been so gracious as to put the screens on their website for all to see. All told we have in-game shots of Chun-Li, Blanka, Zangief, Guile, E. Honda, Dhalsim, and newcomer Crimson Viper (how come everyone else gets normal names?). The article also contains shots of some of Ryu's super move as well as the new Saving Attack system. In the Saving Attack sequence of images, Ryu blocks Ken's fireball and then quickly counter attacks, knocking Ken to the ground. Good stuff, and reason for Street Fighter fans to take notice.
The martial arts master known for teaching Ryu and Ken everything they know has been added as a secret character in 
