We have a very clear memory of watching the video we've linked to during Captivate 08 and wishing only that we could bring it to you, the masses. Why? Well, for starters, it's lifted from Street Fighter IV, which we hear you, the masses, are pretty excited about. Second? It's absolutely gorgeous. Today we're able to share the clip with you, so you may now "feel the drama," as they say, between Ryu and Akuma.
What's better is that we heard that the home version of the game would be chock-full of anime clips like these, one for each character, which may be enough to pique the interest of even the non-fighting faithful.
Capcom's Seth Killian has posted a friendly note for fighting fans on the official Capcom blog, reminding us that Street Fighter IV begins hitting Japanese arcades the week of July 21. Not all that helpful for those of stuck in the States. Thankfully, "S-KILL" also has the lowdown on where and when the general public can experience the game for themselves on this side of the Pacific.
The final coin-op version of SFIV will be playable July 24-27 at San Diego Comic-Con and at the Evolution 2008 fighting game competition finals in Las Vegas from August 8-10. As an added bonus for EVO 2008 attendees, Capcom will have the latest build of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix on hand as well.
Seth "S-KILL" Killian of Capcom just shot us some news fireball-style that should sendStreet Fighter fans into a frenzy. Capcom-Unity, the official Capcom community blog, is offering a yet-to-be-determined number of fans a chance to have their likenesses included in the console version of Street Fighter IV. Specifically, the game's producer, Yoshinori Ono, has agreed to pop fans' faces onto background characters. For real.
Capcom is asking anyone who'd like to be considered to send in "pictures, video, dissertations, limericks, daguerreotypes, singing telegrams" by next Wednesday, June 18. So, if you want your short at immortality – at least in a "video game extra" form – you'd better get on it. Full details, including the email address for submissions can be found in Seth's blog post.
We've got a Street Fighter IV media dump from Captivate 08 and it's coming in two delicious flavors. For those who like your promotional materials a little bit artier, we've got the above trailer featuring a battle between Guile and Abel captured in moving, painted sand.
If you like things to be a bit more "you are there," we've got some shaky-cam videos of real people really playing real SF IV cabinets just after the break. Check both of them totally out.
The font of incredible trailers continues to pour from the bounteous spigot of CAPtivate '08 -- the above trailer for Street Fighter IV went live rather subtly last night, only to deliver a patented E. Honda "thousand hand bitch slap" to our unprepared senses this Sunday morning. It even includes one of our favorite songs to sing from Rock Band: Faith No More's "Epic". We don't know why seeing Blanka go all sparky to the disjointed vocals of Mike Patton gets us so hyped, but our excitement for the revivification of what many would argue is the greatest arcade fighting series ever has just increased tenfold.
However, it should be noted that depending on your feelings towards Gamestop and their pre-order policies, you may view the last seven seconds of this righteous trailer as being decidedly un-epic.
Following this morning's news that the recently announced home versions of Street Fighter IVwould come packing the extra punch of online play and an expanded cast, a new report confirms two familiar fighters who will be added to the game's hurricane kick beyond the arcade.
According to IGN, Japanese publication Famitsu Xbox released concept art illustrating Bruce Lee-inspired Fei Long and Alpha vet Dan Hibiki, adding that both fighters will be home version exclusives. While Fei Long certainly makes sense, the laughably weak Dan has always served more as comic relief, though we look forward to the hilariously drawn out Dan vs. Dan online throw downs to come when the game is eventually released.
Gone are the days when arcades represented the superior video game experience. While a part of us may cry coin operated tears at this realization, Capcom is quick to remind us that there is even more fun to be had at home, or at least there will be when the recently announced domesticated flavor of Street Fighter IV is released for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. Speaking in an interview with Japan's Weekly Famitsu, producer Yoshinori Ono revealed that the home version of the upcoming fighter will include features not found in the arcade original, among them online play and exclusive characters.
As we've come to expect from our Street Fighter IV news, Ono offered few specifics, saying only that the team is "watching the overall balance" in designing additions to the home version's roster. He added that the devs "won't be adding unnecessary stuff" to the online experience, dashing our dreams of an internet thumb war between Blanka and Chun Li.
The rumor is as true as Hadouken: Street Fighter IVis indeed coming to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and – surprisingly – the PC later this year. Capcom confirmed the news (via IGN), which was first reported over the weekend on French blog Jeuxvideo. We're hoping to hear more about the game at the upcoming Captivate08 event. In the meantime, check out our hands-on of the fighter from GDC 08.
Since announcing Street Fighter IV, Capcom has given us a number of things to ponder about the upcoming sequel, from 3D graphics to giant thumbs, but one thing the company hasn't given us is a release date, not to mention where exactly we'll be able to play the game once it finally makes its way to retail. However this may be about to change, as according to French blog Jeuxvideo, Capcom recently made mention on a press site that the fighter is headed to the PS3, Xbox 360, and -- surprisingly -- the PC as well, with all three versions slated to hurricane kick retail shelves this winter.
Unfortunately, the site neglected to link to the press site in question, and Joystiq ninjas have since returned from Capcom's press tower with nothing to show for their trouble, leaving us to flag this particular morsel of information as a rumor, albeit one we'd very much like to come true.
If there's one thing we enjoy as much as playing games, it's collecting various odds and ends that reflect our passion for the hobby. Whether it's a Lunar Ghaleon puppet on the mantel or the Varia Suit statue on the coffee table, there is never any question where our loyalties lie. Now UDON Entertainment has added another collectible to our radar in the form of a limited edition art book dedicated to the numerous brawlers who have thrown down in Capcom's storied Street Fighter franchise. The hardcover will feature the artistic styling of such artists as Penny Arcade's Gabe and pin-up style comic cover artist Adam Hughes, among several others. The book is available for pre-order now, with orders placed today dropping you in the running for Capcom's IGN-brandedOkami for the Wii. At $80, the book isn't cheap, but really, when it comes to the things we adore, what price can do love justice?
And while we have Street Fighter on the brain, we'd be remiss not to mention an interesting blog post over at Camp Capcom, as the company is apparently entertaining the idea of creating a collection of figurines based on the upcoming Street Fighter IV, and as such are looking for input on which characters deserve to make the cut. So, of the faces we know, both old and new, who would we most like to see make the leap from polygons to plastic? E. Honda? Vega? El Fuerte? Hit up the poll on Capcom's blog and let your voice, albeit anonymously, be heard.
While Capcom's Street Fighter IV wowed us in February with its new fangled graphics and animation, it was the game's decidedly retro feel that grabbed us by the neck and assaulted our head like a barrage of Yoga Noogies. As it turned out, for all its 3D charm the fighter played like a sexed up Street Fighter II, which to be fair is just fine by us.
Now Capcom has released screenshots of Street Fighter II's bad guy quartet, Balrog, Bison, Sagat and Vega, all of whom make a return in the upcoming sequel. We can hardly wait to face down Vega's (or M. Bison for those of you with a name hang up) ever-annoying Psycho Crusher, something judging by the above pic has Ryu equally enthused.
Criticisms of the visual style of Street Fighter IV are a dime a dozen, ranging from gripes about exaggerated facial expressions to attacks on the, erm, girth of Chun-Li's thigh muscles. Now, it seems that the poor Chinese Interpol agent is once again under attack, though this time for the bizarre proportions of her hands.
A few new art shots on Capcom's official Street Fighter IV website have caught the attention of 1UP's Kris Pigna, who's become mono-maniacally focused on the portrayal of Chun-Li's appendages. We have to admit, the above image has given us pause as well. Not only is her one hand abnormally large -- and featuring a bizarre growth between her thumb and forefinger -- but her other hand is downright monstrous, with thick calloused digits and yellowed fingernails. Let's just hope this is an artistic snafu, and not some crazy new backstory about Chun-Li's mutant transformation.
If you read our hands-on impressions of Street Fighter IV from GDC, you know the game bears more than a passing resemblance to Capcom's classic Street Fighter II (with admittedly updated graphics). Well, the folks at GamesRadar wanted to see just how far that similarity went, and found that many classic combos from the original game work exactly the same way in the new one.
The video evidence (also available below the jump) highlights the cosmetic differences in the two games while at the same time showing how seemingly identical the basic gameplay is. We can't say this is necessarily a bad thing -- Street Fighter II is a classic for a reason -- but that classic is already available as a Virtual Console download, an upcoming HD remix, and even a PS2 Anniversary collection. Why are we supposed to trudge out to the arcade for a dressed up version of a 15-year-old experience that we can get at home?
As you probably already guessed from the illustration, El Fuerte is a luchador in the lucha libre style of Mexican wrestling. But now, he's trading the glitz and glamor of the ring for the newly-3D world of Street Fighter IV, as the third character to be announced for the game.
But El Fuerte isn't just another bag of muscles, he's a sensitive aesthete, who "divides his professional life between Lucha Libre wrestling and gourmet cooking." So, he's like Alton Brown, if Alton Brown could crack your skull open like a walnut? ... Color us petrified.
Currently in the wilds of Japan there are Street Fighter IV arcade machines available for public consumption. The Capcom Blog posted video of the game's newest build featuring Sagat and Balrog as bosses, but neither shows up on the character select screen. There are also three new battle locations.
North America: Drive-In at Night
South Asia: Beautiful Bay
South America: Inland Jungle
Capcom emphasizes that even if you hop on a plane right now to hunt down one of these machines in Japan that these are not the final build of the game. They are merely another iteration of SFIVfound at various conventions so far. But, if you happen to be over in Japan right now ... happy hunting!
