Joystiq

Capcom: Ono dreams of revitalizing Darkstalkers, 'wants Darkstalkers 4'

Jordan Mallory — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 19:15:00 EST

Darkstalkers Resurrection may have only existed officially for a few minutes, but Capcom's fighting game guru Yoshinori Ono has bigger hopes for the franchise as a whole, which until today remained one of the few dormant forces in the modern fighting game renaissance.

"Ono has a dream of revitalizing the Darkstalkers franchise, and this is the first step to get there," Capcom producer Derek Neal of Capcom told Joystiq at the New York Comic Con. "[Ono] wants Darkstalkers 4."

Capcom is using the release of Darkstalkers Resurrection as a litmus test to gauge the strength and fervor of the Darkstalkers community, says Neal. In the past, Ono has taken it upon himself to poll audiences directly, asking for attendees interested in a new Darkstalkers to hold up cash as proof of their commitment.

Capcom: Ono dreams of revitalizing Darkstalkers, 'wants Darkstalkers 4' originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Heard@ Tokyo Game Show 2012: Harada and Ono can never work together due to 'animal turds'

Jordan Mallory — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 16:30:00 EST

The friendly rivalry between Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada and former Street Fighter mastermind Yoshinori Ono is a long and storied one, though we've always suspected that, were their powers to ever truly combine, the fighting world would never be the same.

As it turns out, it'd likely be the carpet in the Namco Bandai offices that never recovered: "I think he would be a positive asset to the company and on that front we definitely would want to hire him," Harada told us during a pre-Tokyo Game Show event earlier this week, after we asked if Ono would have a future at Namco Bandai, should the need ever arise.

"But personally working with him, I don't think we'd get very far in our jobs because we'd be too busy playing pranks on each other and putting animal turds around each other's desks. I think work would slow down a great deal if we worked together."

Heard@ Tokyo Game Show 2012: Harada and Ono can never work together due to 'animal turds' originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 22 Sep 2012 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Street Fighter's Yoshinori Ono consulting on Remember Me

Jessica Conditt — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 17:00:00 EST

Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono is helping out Dontnod Entertainment with the development of Remember Me, the cyberpunk action game Capcom announced at Gamescom last week.

Ono has visited the Dontnod studio in Paris to offer his advice, Capcom senior producer Mat Hart tells Eurogamer. "He's my boss and he and I speak very regularly about the game, and he's come out with me to Paris," Hart says. "He knows the team and knows the game very well. I always benefit from his wisdom when I'm chatting to him about how we're progressing."

Hart compares Capcom's relationship with Dontnod to the one it has with DmC: Devil May Cry developer Ninja Theory, describing it as a "collaboration," rather than the "old-fashioned approach of being adversarial."

Remember Me uses combo-based combat with finishing moves and dodges, and special moves that are unlocked by progressing through the game, activated with a power wheel. "On top of that will come much more depth, as well," Hart says. "That we'll talk about later."

Street Fighter's Yoshinori Ono consulting on Remember Me originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 20 Aug 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seen@Gamescom: Ono! Blanka crashes Capcom press conference

Jessica Conditt — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 05:49:00 EST

Yoshinori Ono really is the face (and hair, and skin) of the Street Fighter franchise. Ono showed up at Capcom's Gamescom conference dressed as Blanka and carrying a cake celebrating Street Fighter's 25th anniversary.

Throughout his appearance, Ono joked that he wanted to show off Street Fighter 5, pointing at the screen excitedly but getting shot down by less colorful Capcom gatekeepers.

Continue reading Seen@Gamescom: Ono! Blanka crashes Capcom press conference

Seen@Gamescom: Ono! Blanka crashes Capcom press conference originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 14 Aug 2012 05:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yoshinori Ono on resurrecting Street Fighter, says 'there's no mercy' at Capcom

David Hinkle — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 19:00:00 EST

Yoshinori Ono is more than the Blanka-toting, smiling face of the Street Fighter series - he's its savior. After Street Fighter III: Third Strike in 1999, Capcom was all too happy to abandon the series, which had seen flagging sales. And Ono always felt responsible for having some hand in its demise, having worked on the last game in the series.

He held onto that guilt for years, and after being promoted to the role of producer, pitched a design document for Street Fighter IV. "I was working on Onimusha 4 and during that time I repeatedly submitted my proposal for a new Street Fighter," he told Eurogamer. "The company kept telling me: 'It's a dead franchise. It doesn't make any money. We have series that make money like Resident Evil and Onimusha. Why bother with a dead franchise?'"

"Eventually I was given a small budget to create a prototype," Ono revealed. But it wasn't a result of his "pestering" the management that eventually brought the game to fruition - the journalists and fans "started making a lot of noise and pressuring Capcom," even though Ono admitted he told them to do that. "Journalists and fans have the power to move Capcom - not producers. With so many voices crying out for a Street Fighter game Capcom could no longer ignore it any more and so they gave the green light for a prototype and they asked me to create it. It's a miracle that happened after a decade..."

But as romantic as all of this is, Ono's account of work-life at Capcom is anything but. After taking a step back from the Street Fighter spotlight following a health scare, Ono spoke candidly about his employer - one he accuses of overworking him and failing to recognize his health woes related to overworking.

"Nobody told me to take a rest. When I returned to work, Capcom didn't even acknowledge that I had been in hospital. There was no change in my schedule. I was at home for an entire week before the doctors allowed me to return to work. When I returned to my desk there was a ticket to Rome waiting for me. There's no mercy. Everyone in the company says: 'Ono-san we've been so worried about you.' Then they hand me a timetable and it's completely filled with things to do."

Ono recalled a previous project in his first days at Capcom, when he had a short timetable to retrofit the soundtrack for Street Fighter Alpha to be compatible with a less advanced arcade chipset. "Capcom was very good at squeezing people to the last drop of their blood to get work done."

In regards to what's next, Ono isn't talking - but there's no way he'll leave fighting games behind. "There have been rumours saying Ono is dead or retiring. None of that's true. I want to support the next generation of fighting game. It's my job. It's my calling."

Yoshinori Ono on resurrecting Street Fighter, says 'there's no mercy' at Capcom originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 11 Jun 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ono taking a break from Street Fighter to recuperate after illness

JC Fletcher — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:00:00 EST

Following a hospital stay for a sudden illness, Street Fighter series producer Yoshinori Ono is temporarily stepping away from his duties. "I'll refrain from work for current job for a while," he said on Twitter. "Another person in charge of SF series for a while." He added that he will still offer "constant support."

The rest of the Street Fighter team is "working wholeheartedly on patches for [Street Fighter X Tekken]," he said. "[Please] wait just a little longer." We wish Ono a speedy recovery and hope he gets a chance to relax. "Relaxed" is not a state we can remember ever having seen him in.

Ono taking a break from Street Fighter to recuperate after illness originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumor: Darkstalkers 4 in the works, Yoshinori Ono presiding

Richard Mitchell — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 16:30:00 EST

Capcom is reviving, revamping and repackaging fighting games almost faster than we can keep track of them but, if the latest rumor is correct, yet another series is set for a comeback. Specifically, DarkStalkers 4 is allegedly in the works, with Capcom's fighting guru Yoshinori Ono heading up the proceedings, according to a source at GamesBeat. The game will reportedly run on a modified version of the Street Fighter X Tekken engine.

Capcom has been quietly pushing the Darkstalkers series back into the public consciousness recently, having released the original Darkstalkers on PSN late last year, and a recent ESRB rating points to the possible PSN release of Darkstalkers 3 as well. The company also recently registered a new Darkstalkers trademark in Europe. For what it's worth, Capcom has been teasing the possibility of a return to Darkstalkers for several years now.

Rumor: Darkstalkers 4 in the works, Yoshinori Ono presiding originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 04 Mar 2012 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Street Fighter: The Movie: The Yoshinori Ono Re-enactment

JC Fletcher — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:00:00 EST

We're going to start your weekend off the right way: with Yoshinori Ono phonetically reciting Raul Julia's iconic lines from Street Fighter: The Movie. As good as you think this is going to be, we promise it's better.

Street Fighter: The Movie: The Yoshinori Ono Re-enactment originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Street Fighter X Tekken's Mega Man has Inafune's blessing

JC Fletcher — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:30:00 EST

You might be wondering why Capcom decided to go with an outlandish, embarrassing caricature of the Mega Man 1 box art Mega Man as a Street Fighter X Tekken bonus character for PS3 and Vita. According to a tweet from producer Yoshinori Ono, the decision was made with input from Capcom executive emeritus Keiji Inafune.

"I consulted with Mr.Megaman (his name is Mr.I...) about it 1 year ago," Ono said. This iteration was the "result" of that consultation. A previous Mega Man game developed under Inafune's command, the cancelled Mega Man Universe, also featured "Bad Box Art Mega Man." So maybe Inafune just thinks it's really funny.

Now, as for why Mega Man and Pac-Man are Sony-exclusive characters despite not having anything to do with Sony or the PlayStation platforms ... we aren't sure who was consulted on that decision.

[Thanks, Alex!]

Street Fighter X Tekken's Mega Man has Inafune's blessing originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ono: Fighting games should have more customization, user creation

Jordan Mallory — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:00:00 EST

Yoshinori Ono is the Grand Poobah of all things Street Fighter these days, and it would be hard to pinpoint a single person who currently has more of an impact on the direction of the fighting game genre than he does. That direction, it turns out, looks an awful lot like some of the changes implemented in Street Fighter X Tekken, namely the Gem system and everything it stands for.

"For future titles I want to keep having this concept of, my character is different than your character," Ono said during an interview with Eurogamer. "In fighting games, the only difference between me and you is how good I am. But what I want to do with fighting games from now on is add in that element of customisation [sic], where I can have a Ryu that's different than your Ryu, so we can compete on a different level than just our execution."

Ono envisions a future where players can modify their characters on a deeper level than SFxT's Gem system allows for. "It would be like, the Ryu that Yoshinori Ono made is the best, or the Ryu that other guy made sucks." Ono did not go into any specifics regarding future titles, but it's clear that he wants to steer the Street Fighter series away from the character selection screen and toward the stat tree.

Ono: Fighting games should have more customization, user creation originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Street Fighter X Tekken getting post-launch tournament patch

David Hinkle — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:20:00 EST

Like the game that shares half its name, Street Fighter X Tekken will receive a free post-launch update aimed at the tournament crowd. Capcom hopes this patch will alleviate the concerns around the controversial gem system. In Street Fighter IV, it was a free update that added replays and other matchmaking features, but the exact nature of the free DLC in Street Fighter X Tekken is still mostly unknown.

"A lot of players were saying, 'I have to do button checks. Do I have to do a gem check now before a match?' With regards to that we plan to release a free post-launch tournament support mode," producer Yoshinori Ono told Eurogamer. "Hopefully from that we'll get feedback from the community, and then we'll have a better direction of exactly what we should do with this mode." Just so we're clear: The free mode will be released, and then based on how the mode is received, the mode will be changed? Crystal.

Ono also says that players shouldn't expect DLC gems at launch. Instead, Capcom is adopting a wait-and-see approach, gauging community reaction before plotting its next move. "In terms of DLC gems, we don't have any set plans on selling gems like this or like that," Ono said. "We're waiting to see what the user reaction is first, because we think a lot of users still don't understand the gem system completely. They're not power-up items. That's not how we see them. We put gems into the game which are default. As long as you have these default ones you'll be fine. If you want to get more gems down the road from the pre-order bonuses, you can definitely do that, but it doesn't make you stronger, it doesn't make you a better player, it doesn't mean you'll have an advantage."

Street Fighter X Tekken getting post-launch tournament patch originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No exclusive fighters in Xbox Street Fighter X Tekken

Richard Mitchell — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:30:00 EST

While the PlayStation 3 and Vita versions of Street Fighter X Tekken are seemingly jam-packed with platform-exclusive characters, it looks like the Xbox version will be stuck with the original roster, reports Xbox 360 Achievements. Street Fighter guru Yoshinori Ono recently told the site that while Capcom was "in discussions" with Microsoft regarding the possibility of special characters, "we weren't able to decide on a character because of differences in timing and things like that."

Had a deal been reached, Ono said he would have liked to include either Marcus Fenix from Gears of War or Master Chief from the Halo series. Personally, our vote would have gone to "banana guy" from Kinect Sports.

No exclusive fighters in Xbox Street Fighter X Tekken originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ono: SFxTekken uses new netcode, don't expect a 'Super' version on disc

Jordan Mallory — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 14:30:00 EST

We recommend filing this one under "Things to take with a grain of salt" in your PR filing cabinet, but Capcom veteran and long-time Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono has told Gematsu that there will be no boxed versions of any future Street Fighter X Tekken updates: "I would say that you don't really need to worry about a new version of the game coming out. If we choose to update the game, it will be done in the same fashion as Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition."

"The same fashion," as you'll recall, involves releasing an updated version of the game as DLC rather than at retail, and for a discounted price. It sounds great, and we certainly hope Capcom goes that route from now on, but Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3's existence isn't the most reassuring thing.

Ono also said that Street Fighter X Tekken will make use of brand-new netcode, rather than the code used in SSF4:AE or UMvC3. He didn't go into specifics as to what differences or improvements they're hoping to make, but decreasing latency and improving match-up algorithms usually take front and center when improving netcode.

We're optimistic that Ono's words will ring true, but we also know that we can't always get what we want.

Ono: SFxTekken uses new netcode, don't expect a 'Super' version on disc originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 12 Nov 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ono on why Namco and Capcom are keeping separate while collaborating

JC Fletcher — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 01:00:00 EST

In a Capcom developer interview, Street Fighter X Tekken producer Yoshinori Ono said that he isn't interested in checking up on Namco's work on the collaborative project -- and they aren't checking up on his. "Basically, there's no point in developing a game separately if you're constantly getting in each person's way," Ono said.

"For example, if we checked the work Namco had done on Ryu, we definitely want to tweak things ourselves. The same is true for Namco. There's no point in mutually checking each other's work, for it would diminish the individuality of each party. It has to be 'Capcom does Tekken' and Namco does Street Fighter.'"

Ono went on to say that the cross-company project is meant to "build a foundation for the next ten years of fighting games" by inspiring these two major players to make their best work.

Ono on why Namco and Capcom are keeping separate while collaborating originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 26 Oct 2011 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rufus taking a bite out of Street Fighter X Tekken

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:19:00 EST

Everyone's favorite pot-bellied pugilist is heading to Street Fighter X Tekken, as revealed by Capcom producer Yoshinori Ono during a panel tonight at the New York Comic Con (and teased just last month). Despite being comically overweight and rocking an extra long rat tail, the rotund reveal was met with mixed reaction from a raucous crowd of hardcore Street Fighter players. The ever jubilant Yoshinori Ono, however, was all smiles, happily noting that plenty more character reveals are on the way.

Gallery: Street Fighter X Tekken (NYCC 2011)

Rufus taking a bite out of Street Fighter X Tekken originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How Street Fighter X Tekken's 'Pandora Mode' bridges the fighters' styles

JC Fletcher — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 18:30:00 EST

During TGS, Capcom revealed Street Fighter X Tekken's "Pandora Mode," which allows players to sacrifice a character in order to give the tag partner infinite EX meter before also dying, allowing for last-ditch comeback efforts. Curious about the motivation for this kind of crazy mode, I asked producer Yoshinori Ono, who then proceeded to take me to school about the differences in flow between Street Fighter and Tekken games.

Continue reading How Street Fighter X Tekken's 'Pandora Mode' bridges the fighters' styles

How Street Fighter X Tekken's 'Pandora Mode' bridges the fighters' styles originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 18 Sep 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ono: Porting Street Fighter X Tekken to Vita isn't hard, but integrating rear touch panel might be

JC Fletcher — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 15:30:00 EST

Street Fighter X Tekken producer Yoshinori Ono told me that he hasn't had much trouble in technical terms porting the game over to PlayStation Vita ("When I say 'I' of course I mean the programmers," he clarified, "because I'm not doing this myself.")

"A lot of people, when they're porting to new hardware, especially a handheld, they'll talk about how it's difficult because of memory restrictions or speed or things like that, and I haven't found that to be the case." His team has been able to confer with the team working on the Vita version of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, as well, further streamlining the process. The difficulty isn't in the technical stuff, it's in making smart use of the Vita's features. "We've been putting less energy into the porting process itself and more energy into adding additional features, because we don't want to do a straight-up port -- that's silly and meaningless."

Continue reading Ono: Porting Street Fighter X Tekken to Vita isn't hard, but integrating rear touch panel might be

Ono: Porting Street Fighter X Tekken to Vita isn't hard, but integrating rear touch panel might be originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 18 Sep 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vita Street Fighter X Tekken will share DLC with PS3 version, may have tiny arcade stick

JC Fletcher — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 11:20:00 EST

Given recent Capcom fighters, it should come as no surprise that Street Fighter X Tekken will have DLC. Producer Yoshinori Ono told Joystiq today, "Post-launch for an allotted period of time there will be free DLC and paid DLC, and it will keep going for a while."

But that's not the cool part. Capcom is also planning to make the DLC cross-compatible between the PS3 and PlayStation Vita versions. "With the PS3 and the Vita," Ono said, "yes, they're different hardware, but they're part of the same Playstation family, so to speak, so we're already talking with Sony about ways to sync things together. As long as you're using the same PSN account, things you've purchased on the Vita version will work on PS3 and vice versa."

Capcom was a pioneer on 3DS with Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition, adding things like online play and significant StreetPass functionality well before other 3DS games, and it looks like Capcom is keeping that forward-thinking attitude for this Vita game.

I asked Ono on a lark about the possibility of a tiny arcade stick for the Vita -- maybe something like the 3DS slidepad thingy, but with arcade hardware.

"We're actually talking to Mad Catz about doing something like that," Ono told us. "You can't replicate the experience entirely on a portable, but I think if we made a small joystick that you could just keep in your bag, and maybe even if you're in economy class, whip it out during a flight, put your Vita in there, and replicate to some degree the arcade experience, it would be really awesome." It's in keeping with Ono's view of portable fighters as practice tools for competitive console/arcade versions.

Capcom emphasized that this is just in talks, and nothing has been decided. But tiny arcade stick!

Vita Street Fighter X Tekken will share DLC with PS3 version, may have tiny arcade stick originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Street Fighter X Tekken inspires another Ono vs. Harada battle

JC Fletcher — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 01:00:00 EST

After an already weird competition at Comic-Con, Street Fighter and Tekken reps Yoshinori Ono and Katsuhiro Harada, joined by fans, faced off in another set of challenges. This time, it was even weirder thanks to added German-ness.

Street Fighter X Tekken inspires another Ono vs. Harada battle originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ono: Mortal Kombat vs. Street Fighter 'easier said than done'

David Hinkle — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 20:00:00 EST

Speaking with Street Fighter head honcho Yoshinori Ono, PlayStation Blog inquired about the highly sought after, and totally theoretical, fighting game crossover between Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. As hopeful as fans may be, it's not likely to happen until some significant issues are solved (and until Street Fighter x Tekken is complete).

"I understand why people want it, but it's easier said than done," Ono said. "Having Chun Li getting her spine ripped out, or Ryu's head bouncing off the floor ... it doesn't necessarily match."

We'd like to say there's a happy middle ground that can be attained to make this crossover possible, but we've seen what compromise has done in the past. The world can ill afford another Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, after all.

Ono: Mortal Kombat vs. Street Fighter 'easier said than done' originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 05 Aug 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition 'Ver. 2012' patch fixes balance this fall/winter

JC Fletcher — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 10:25:00 EST

Capcom fighting game ambassador Seth Killian brought news out of the EVO tournament that Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition will be rebalanced. A patch for the notoriously uneven game will be released in fall or winter, for free. That means that all the people who just competed in EVO are going to have to learn the game again!

The official website is now updated to show the title: Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition Ver. 2012. During a panel at EVO, producer Yoshinoro Ono said that the new game would be location tested in Japan this summer. Later, in a tweet, he confirmed that "Version 2012" refers just to the updated game and not an entirely new one. So right now it doesn't seem like you'll have to buy SF4 again.

Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition 'Ver. 2012' patch fixes balance this fall/winter originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 01 Aug 2011 10:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tekken lead cannot withstand Street Fighter lead's furious flurry of shoryukens

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:40:00 EST

Tekken project lead Katsuhiro Harada clearly hasn't been studying the finer points of the Street Fighter series he's currently collaborating on, as Street Fighter creative lead Yoshinori Ono surprises him with a flurry of shoryukens at multiple points in this bizarre SDCC short, promoting Street Fighter X Tekken (and vice versa, of course).

Tekken lead cannot withstand Street Fighter lead's furious flurry of shoryukens originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yoshinori Ono on the 'violent' and 'friendly' rivalries in Street Fighter X Tekken

JC Fletcher — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 16:00:00 EST

Capcom was showing a playable build of its latest, and weirdest, crossover fighter, Street Fighter X Tekken at E3. So I'm sure producer Yoshinori Ono had dealt with his share of dazed, sputtering journalists in interviews, all fresh from having their minds scrambled by a mix of Tekken speed, Street Fighter controls (mostly) and unfamiliar rules from both sides. But Ono himself was energetic as usual, sitting in a meeting room within Capcom's E3 booth, Blanka figure, as ever, nearby.

He helped make sense of the mishmash of new rules, the X (cross) in the name -- and of the addition of a new element, Infamous's Cole McGrath.

Continue reading Yoshinori Ono on the 'violent' and 'friendly' rivalries in Street Fighter X Tekken

Yoshinori Ono on the 'violent' and 'friendly' rivalries in Street Fighter X Tekken originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 20 Jun 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ono teases more Capcom/Namco collaborations, more crossovers

JC Fletcher — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:20:00 EST

With Infamous's Cole McGrath now in Street Fighter X Tekken -- and representing neither of those series -- we commented to SF X Tekken producer Yoshinori Ono that the door was now open for pretty much anybody to appear in the game. "That's an interesting comment," Ono responded, "and if I tell you too much, we'll have no reason to meet later this year."

He didn't specify whether he meant additional outside characters in Street Fighter X Tekken or more crossover games. But he did suggest that more collaboration between Namco and Capcom was in the offing, beyond the two announced Street Fighter/Tekken crossovers. "We have these two giant companies, Capcom and Namco, working together. It would be kind of wasteful to limit it to just Street Fighter and just Tekken, and that's all I'll say."

This is just speculation, but we wouldn't be surprised to see some Soulcalibur V characters in SF X Tekken, at least. It would be effective cross-promotion. And X-promotion.

Ono teases more Capcom/Namco collaborations, more crossovers originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BBFC rating suggests Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition coming in June

Alexander Sliwinski — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 11:36:00 EST

Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition will apparently make its way to the UK in some form this June. Eurogamer has taken note of the British Board of Film Classification rating, which has the latest version of the fighter dated for June 24.

If the classification is for consoles, it goes against previous statements made by Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono, but would play into cryptic tweets he's made about Arcade Edition DLC. The new version would likely include the four new playable characters: Yun, Yang, Oni and Evil Ryu.

We've contacted Capcom to clarify exactly what's going on here. If the BBFC also classifies arcade machines, the DLC hints and classification could be two separate stories on parallel lines. However, if the classification is for consoles, it's still unclear if the new game will be a DLC code in a new retail box, or if current SSF4 owners will be able to buy it as a DLC expansion. Ono keeps using the term "DLC," so we'd lean toward it being the latter.

Update: Official statement: "Capcom has not made any announcements."

BBFC rating suggests Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition coming in June originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 11:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ono: Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition won't come to consoles

JC Fletcher — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 01:15:00 EST

If you were looking forward to one day buying the "Arcade Edition" of Super Street Fighter IV on a PS3 or Xbox 360 disc (or even 3DS cartridge), you can go ahead and put that money toward something else. (Marvel vs. Capcom 3, maybe?) Producer Yoshinori Ono told Famitsu (via Andriasang) that Capcom has no plan to release the Arcade Edition for home consoles.

The reason lies in the game balance. The Arcade Edition includes characters who are deliberately unbalanced -- we're thinking Oni and Evil Ryu here -- in order to build "competitive spirit" among the people who hang out at arcades and play in short sessions. The home version of Super Street Fighter IV has been designed to better equalize the characters.

Of course, the absence of a standalone console release of the arcade version of the game doesn't preclude the release of Evil Ryu, Oni, Yun and Yang as Super Street Fighter IV DLC -- something Ono has proposed before.

Update: Ono has made several statements on Twitter suggesting that an Arcade Edition DLC announcement will be forthcoming after the release of Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition. Thanks, Kreg.

Ono: Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition won't come to consoles originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 01:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumor: Possible Super Street Fighter IV DLC Achievements show Yun and Yang

David Hinkle — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 16:40:00 EST

EventHubs has posted alleged screens of eight new Super Street Fighter IV Achievements supposedly tied to an unannounced DLC add-on. While the images do reflect updates to the game featured in this month's Arcade Edition release for Japanese arcades, they remain unverified by Capcom -- even if the new content is expected as DLC for the console version.

SSFIV producer Yoshinori Ono responded to tweets about the possible leak without authenticating the images, though he offered a "wink" in one tweet and a seemingly joking reference to checking with the R&D department in another. We've put in word to Capcom and will let you know what we hear back. In the meantime, anybody know a good way to counter Seiei Enbu?

Rumor: Possible Super Street Fighter IV DLC Achievements show Yun and Yang originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 29 Nov 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ono proposing Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition content as DLC

JC Fletcher — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 12:06:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Even before the official December release of Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, producer Yoshinori Ono is teasing a console release of all the new content. Of course.

Ono casually mentioned on Twitter yesterday that he was headed to Capcom USA to present "written proposal about DLC for [Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition]'s PSN, XBL." That would mean two new characters, Yun and Yang, could be released for consoles, alongside possible balance alterations. For some reason, we can't imagine Capcom USA declining Ono's proposal for more Street Fighter income, so look forward to some new characters.

[Thanks, Drew!]

Ono proposing Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition content as DLC originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 12:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Only 995,000 more requests before Capcom's Inafune considers a new Darkstalkers game

Andrew Yoon — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Fighting games have made a strong resurgence over the years, bringing back classic franchises like Marvel vs Capcom, Street Fighter and Tekken. But, what about Darkstalkers, Capcom's long-dormant 2D fighting series? While Capcom's Christian Svensson never dismissed the possibility, it seems as though the chances of a new iteration in the franchise are rather low. Capcom producer Yoshinori Ono told Eurogamer that making another game in the series would be his "ultimate dream." However, he says that only fan demand will cause it to happen.

"This is all up to the readers," Ono said. "They have to create the buzz. They have to tell us. They have to write the condition. They have to send in all these letters of plead. That is the only thing that will make Inafune-san nod." According to Ono, it will take one million requests before Inafune says yes. Unfortunately, not much progress has been made. When asked how many requests they've received so far, he said "we've got 5000."

You all have work to do.

Only 995,000 more requests before Capcom's Inafune considers a new Darkstalkers game originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 02 Oct 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Super Street Fighter IV skips PC release thanks to piracy

Griffin McElroy — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Sorry, PC gaming Hadouken enthusiasts -- if you ever want a chance to play Capcom's updated version of the latest Street Fighter, you're going to have to do so on a console or in an arcade. In a recent interview with 4Gamer.net (via Gamasutra), producer Yoshinori Ono confirmed that while the PC version of Street Fighter IV was a big seller worldwide, the publisher has no plans to put the new and improved Super iteration on home computers due to the platform's high rate of piracy.

Ono added that a PC port is still possible, if Capcom can find a reasonable DRM solution for the title. We think there are other ways around the problem -- for instance, you could just donate some of the proceeds of the game to charity, as that might discourage oh no wait.

Super Street Fighter IV skips PC release thanks to piracy originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ono reveals even more Super Street Fighter IV DLC costumes

Griffin McElroy — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 18:40:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Super Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono's Twitter feed has been positively blowing up with new concept art for the game's upcoming DLC costumes. Check out the latest batch, including Rufus, Rose, C. Viper, Ibuki, Hakan, Abel, El Fuerte and Makoto's new duds in the gallery.

Continue reading Ono reveals even more Super Street Fighter IV DLC costumes

Ono reveals even more Super Street Fighter IV DLC costumes originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 14 Sep 2010 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Street Fighter X Tekken screens, Street Fighter producer taunts

JC Fletcher — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

For most of us, recent tweets from Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono have been good news, because they feature new screenshots of Capcom's Street Fighter X Tekken. All of these screens, depicting the same four characters we've seen in other Street Fighter X Tekken media, curiously seem to show the Tekken characters being beaten up by Ryu and Chun-Li. Ono also tweeted an "invitation" to a GamesCom presentation during which he and Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada will both appear and show off the game.

Which brings us to the one person for whom these tweets aren't great news. Ono entreated fans to "gather with me to rid of Harada's annoying beard off his baby face once and for all."

Gallery: Street Fighter X Tekken (8/13/10)

New Street Fighter X Tekken screens, Street Fighter producer taunts originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ono: Super Street Fighter IV for 3DS won't alter gameplay

JC Fletcher — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

According to producer Yoshinori Ono, Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition on the Nintendo 3DS won't offer radically different gameplay. In a Famitsu interview summarized by Andriasang, Ono assured fans that, among other things, the 3D visuals won't lead to 3D gameplay (turn to Tekken X Street Fighter for that.) "The gameplay will be the same as Super Street Fighter IV," he said.

There might be some additional control options, however. The article states that the team is considering mapping special attacks to the slide pad or touch screen. He also suggested that Capcom wants to use the system's wireless connectivity for both communication and gameplay, though he didn't specify whether he meant online or local wireless.

According to Famitsu, the game will have all 35 Super Street Fighter IV characters, and is currently 10 percent complete.

Gallery: Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition (3DS)

Ono: Super Street Fighter IV for 3DS won't alter gameplay originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Japanese devs sound off about 3DS

JC Fletcher — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Famitsu recently rounded up some high-profile Japanese developers to gauge their reactions to Nintendo's 3DS hardware. According to a translation by Andriasang, the responses ran from business-minded declarations of intent to somewhat philosophical thinking-out-loud.

Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono seemed to be most able to keep his excitement in check. He was collected and business-minded when he said, "We'd like to put in some ideas that make effective use of the portability." Hideo Kojima was happy that he wouldn't have to change glasses to use 3DS and mused about the implementation of CO-OPs, the multiuplayer mode featured in Peace Walker, "and other things -- elements fitting of a 3D and portable game machine." Super Monkey Ball (and Yakuza) creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, already working on a 3DS Monkey Ball game, said that he would "like to make a variety of proposals" for games that use the Wi-Fi and 3D aspects of the system. Shinji Mikami and Tomonobu Itagaki were on their way to a meeting in which they planned to talk about the system (and eat yakiniku).

Others developers got more ... philosophical. Suda 51, for example, wants to make "The Next Game," in the same sense that he sees 3DS as "The Next Hardware." Bayonetta producer Hideki Kamiya hopes to make "a 3D game where you can enjoy the feeling of existence given by portable 3D." Kamiya's Platinum Games partner Atsushi Inaba, "experienced a strong jolt of the feeling 'I want to make something.'" He added, "Since the start of the game industry, there's never been a system that better fit the words 'dream' and 'next generation.'"

Japanese devs sound off about 3DS originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Super Street Fighter IV Arcade changes could hit consoles via patch

David Hinkle — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Capcom's Yoshinori Ono has been doing the press rounds talking about Super Street Fighter IV lately. The developer is planning to port the game to arcades and Ono implied during a Famitsu interview (via IGN) that any changes for the game's arcade release could make its way back into the console game. "If it's a tuning update similar to the June 15 update, I believe we'd be able to offer it for free," Ono said. "However, if it's the kind of update that adds new moves, it's possible that it could be paid."

Ono said something similar in an interview with the PlayStation community. "If we do make some changes to the arcade version, it is not impossible to apply the same changes to the PS3 version. However, as I can't get down to it yet, I have to ask you to wait for a while." What kind of things would you guys want to see in a patch?

Super Street Fighter IV Arcade changes could hit consoles via patch originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Capcom: Super Street Fighter IV will be the last Street Fighter IV

Griffin McElroy — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 19:30:00 EST

If your overactive imagination is already calling up fantasies of the next, next iteration of Street Fighter IV, you should reign that in right now. Producer Yoshinori Ono told Official Xbox Magazine (via CVG) he's "aware of the mistakes Capcom has made in the past" in relation to the numerous special editions past Street Fighter installments have received. He added, "Super Street Fighter IV should be the distinctive end" of the franchise's fourth chapter.

Capcom's not abandoning the title, though -- Ono said the company could ostensibly "upload a patch for Super Street Fighter IV 2011 edition that would have tuning and balancing." But as far as ever seeing Hyper Ultra Super Street Fighter 4: Turbo Tournament Edition EX: The New Challengers hit store shelves, Ono claims that "as a packaged product, I think this is the last."

Capcom: Super Street Fighter IV will be the last Street Fighter IV originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 09 Apr 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Super Street Fighter IV getting an arcade release in Japan

Griffin McElroy — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 14:30:00 EST

Event Hubs reports that a recent Japanese Street Fighter IV tournament ended with an announcement about the upcoming, Super iteration of the game. Once the titles had been distributed to the winning 3-person team, producer Yoshinori Ono announced SSFIV would be making its way to arcades. If you don't believe us, you can check out a video of Ono's big news here.

The only indication of whether Super cabinets will come stateside comes in the form of a Tweet from Arcade Infinity, who expects the game to arrive "July/August." We've contacted Capcom for more official details, though we'll probably have to wait until it's not Easter Sunday before we hear back from them.

[Via VG247]

Super Street Fighter IV getting an arcade release in Japan originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 04 Apr 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Super Street Fighter IV's final boss being made even tougher to beat

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EST

We're not sure how to break this to you, so we're just going to say it straight up: Super Street Fighter IV is going to have an even tougher (read: cheaper) Seth than Street Fighter IV. But we've got good news alongside that: You won't be forced to fight him over and over until you unlock that last playable character, as they'll all be unlocked right from the get go!

After Capcom's Seth Killian spoke with Kotaku earlier today regarding the unbelievably cheap final boss (can you tell we're bitter?), we shot an email to him to make sure he hadn't misspoke when he said, "Seth will be even cheaper and more irritating." Killian clarified his statement for us, saying, "[SSFIV producer Yoshinori] Ono himself promised that Seth would be even more challenging ... 'cheaper' and 'more irritating' are premature since the AI isn't finished but he isn't going to be a pushover."

When we wrote back, terrified that we'd never get to play the game's entire cast of characters, he reassured us that, "All characters are unlocked to start." We'll be getting our hands on SSFIV later this week and hopefully we'll get to find out just how much more difficult Seth is becoming.

Super Street Fighter IV's final boss being made even tougher to beat originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Super Street Fighter IV producer wants to expand online mode, add more original characters

JC Fletcher — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST

In an interview with Famitsu, Super Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono did a lot of hinting, but didn't really offer any specifics about the new Street Fighter IV update. For example, he declined to explain what's going on with the changed Ultra Combo gauge, though Famitsu speculates the mark in the middle is a Roman numeral I, to denote the first of multiple meters filling. However, there's still enough information to be interesting in Andriasang's translated synopsis.

Ono said he wanted to expand online play, to more closely approximate the excitement of being at a tournament. Online match viewing is something Ono hopes to add to the game, making Street Fighter more of a spectator sport. He also said he wanted to augment the Replay Viewer feature in some way.

As for the most noticeable new addition to Super -- the new characters -- don't expect Juri to be the only original character among a bunch of old Street Fighter series also-rans. Ono said he wanted to add more original characters who, like C. Viper, are at "the borderline of what fans might accept" using unusual fighting styles.

Super Street Fighter IV producer wants to expand online mode, add more original characters originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Street Fighter IV producer teases future inclusion of Dee Jay, T. Hawk

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:45:00 EST

Street Fighter IV Producer Yoshinori Ono has teased the inclusion of Dee Jay and T. Hawk in the fighter to Famitsu, reports IGN. Ono apparently stated that incomplete 3D models were created of the characters, and the staff even planned out T. Hawk's combat, but no explanation was given for why the pair didn't make the four-quel. The characters are the only two fighters from Super Street Fighter II Turbo missing in SF IV.

Ono expressed that if there's enough support from the fans, the characters will be added at a later date. It's not clear if that would be DLC for the current game, or if they'd be added in a later iteration, like, Super Alpha Street Fighter IV Turbo Remix Deluxe.

Street Fighter IV producer teases future inclusion of Dee Jay, T. Hawk originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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