Street Fighter IV - is this the year?

[BabyfaceGlasses]

A few issues back, EGM magazine the rumor mill section points to a possible 2007 release of the next chapter in the Street Fighter series...Street Fighter IV. This is apparently information is based off of trusted industry insiders. As much as I want to see SF4, I just dont know if Capcom will get it right. From what I understand the franchise is in the hand of Capcom of America, and we all know how Final Fight Street Wise turned out.

With a new US live action movie in the early stages of production (that centers around Chun LI!??!) should we keep our heads held high, or hope for the worst?

[The Mutericator]

In before /r/ of Chun-Li shower scene.

Whether it's good or bad, you know tourneyfags are going to be complaining about minor imbalances for years to come.

[MrBogus]

I would love to see an SF4, but I just don't see it happening. The last SF game that Capcom actually tried to do a good job on was CvS2. I've never played them, but the consensus among hardcore SF fans seems to be that SVC Chaos and Capcom Fighting Evolution both sucked.

In addition, the arcade scene has been in decline for over a decade and the trend likely will not change. The capital Capcom needs to invest in order to develop a completely new game -- in particular, drawing characters from scratch rather than rehash old sprites -- probably won't be justified given the diminished arcade marketplace, especially after the commercial failures of SVC:C and CFE.

SF has always been about the game play. Depending on your playing style, it's a selection among SSF2T, SFA3, MvC2, or SF3:3S as the greatest SF game of all time. Personally, I consider 3S to be the pinnacle of fighting game perfection and I don't think it will ever be dethroned. Capcom will have a very daunting job of following up on any of these series.

[EdgeCrusher]

Mmmmmmmmm, chun li.

[Martin Penwald]

I would love to see an SF4, but I just don't see it happening. The last SF game that Capcom actually tried to do a good job on was CvS2. I've never played them, but the consensus among hardcore SF fans seems to be that SVC Chaos and Capcom Fighting Evolution both sucked.

In addition, the arcade scene has been in decline for over a decade and the trend likely will not change. The capital Capcom needs to invest in order to develop a completely new game -- in particular, drawing characters from scratch rather than rehash old sprites -- probably won't be justified given the diminished arcade marketplace, especially after the commercial failures of SVC:C and CFE.

SF has always been about the game play. Depending on your playing style, it's a selection among SSF2T, SFA3, MvC2, or SF3:3S as the greatest SF game of all time. Personally, I consider 3S to be the pinnacle of fighting game perfection and I don't think it will ever be dethroned. Capcom will have a very daunting job of following up on any of these series.

SvC Chaos was developed by SNK, not Capcom.

[Bobwillis]

?

[SetzerGabbiani]

YOU WIN! *points tally up sound effect*

[ILLiterate]

\\a new US live action movie in the early stages of production (that centers around Chun LI!??!)

Chun-Li is the main female character in Street Fighter, it makes complete sense. She's also one of the best characters in SF2 & 3s, and widely liked. I don't know ANYONE that HATES Chun-Li

Anyways, SF4 would probably use rehash and upgrade 3s graphics, which I can't really complain about, they're fantastic and I never want the main series to go in 3D.

Pzy: A minor tweak in the game can change EVERYTHING. It can be something as small as, this gives 2 more block stun frames to this attack no longer goes through projectiles. Something like how Chun can (almost and sometimes) instantly recover from most attacks in 3s is a great example

[Dyne]

I'd like to say I believe there will be a Street Fighter IV, but I seriously doubt it, and if there is, it certainly won't be a 2D fighter. Honestly, the developers have lost focus and touch with the community they're making games for. I would suspect that's why Final Fight Street Wise had some weak reviews.

If Capcom wants to make an SFIV, then they need to get back to the roots of the game. Old school game play, 2D graphics (at the very most that cell shading thing that some developers love to do). That's it. Make the games fun again, and it doesn't have to be technologically innovative to make everyone happy.

What's wrong with making a classic game these days?

[ILLiterate]

Um...have you seen the Asian community? The next SF would HAVE TO BE 2D. If they made it 3D, no units would sell. It would also have to be arcade, if only for Asia. Have you played the newest SF games? They're almost all 2D, and most are great (those developed by Capcom) and the shitty ones you can spot from a mile away

[Raziellink]

I'd love to see a new 2-d SF game. Maybe something more like the graphics from Guilty Gear?

[dsx100]

I would be really great if Capcom released or at least announced Street Fighter IV but I honestlt don't see it happening.

First Off if Capcom of American does currently hold the license to Street Fighter, I only see 2 possibilities. One they will only release another collection set or They will completely screw up on Street Fighter IV.

I say this because America is just to mainstream interest wise to see a good 2D Street Fighter. If Capcom of America does decide to make Street Fighter IV the first thing they will do is make it 3D. Whether it is fully 3D or 3D with 2D gameplay. Lets face it, Americans don't buy 2D games anymore. Second they will make it much easier and simpler. Just look at Mortal Kombat and DOA. Those games suck compared to Tekken and Soul Calibur but they sell better. Real fighting game fans won't even touch those games because they have such sloppy and broken fighting systems, but your average person won't care. It is all abouit money these days and that is what Capcom will think of first. If Street Fighter IV does come out don't expect it to be a classic.

[EpicPoster]

I say this because America is just to mainstream interest wise to see a good 2D Street Fighter. If Capcom of America does decide to make Street Fighter IV the first thing they will do is make it 3D. Whether it is fully 3D or 3D with 2D gameplay. Lets face it, Americans don't buy 2D games anymore.

Second they will make it much easier and simpler.Just look at Mortal Kombat and DOA. Those games suck compared to Tekken and Soul Calibur but they sell better. Real fighting game fans won't even touch those games because they have such sloppy and broken fighting systems, but your average person won't care.

First, I just want to say that Soul Caliber is a terrible series with sloppy and broken gamplay and that Dead or Alive 4 was at EVO this year and has been accepted as a tournament worthy game. SC3 was terrible, although I've heard the Japanese arcade version fixed a lot of the problems with the American version. I guess we'll see at Super Battle Opera this year, I think SC3 Arcade edition is in the lineup.

Secondly, if they made a Street Fighter 4 (Which they probably won't) it would be in 2d and come out in the arcades in Japan. 2d fighting is dead here but Capcom is a japanese company. 2d fighters sell well in Japan, and the arcades are still kicking ass and taking names over there.

[Hector]

Every fighter game breaks a little bit when it gets to the elite tournament level.

[Raziellink]

First, I just want to say that Soul Caliber is a terrible series with sloppy and broken gamplay and that Dead or Alive 4 was at EVO this year and has been accepted as a tournament worthy game. SC3 was terrible, although I've heard the Japanese arcade version fixed a lot of the problems with the American version. I guess we'll see at Super Battle Opera this year, I think SC3 Arcade edition is in the lineup.

Secondly, if they made a Street Fighter 4 (Which they probably won't) it would be in 2d and come out in the arcades in Japan. 2d fighting is dead here but Capcom is a japanese company. 2d fighters sell well in Japan, and the arcades are still kicking ass and taking names over there.

As stated before, Capcom of America holds the license. I doubt an American company would make a game, just to release it in the Japanese arcades.

[Culturekoi]

I say this because America is just to mainstream interest wise to see a good 2D Street Fighter. If Capcom of America does decide to make Street Fighter IV the first thing they will do is make it 3D. Whether it is fully 3D or 3D with 2D gameplay. Lets face it, Americans don't buy 2D games anymore.

I'm American and I buy every good 2D game I can get my grubby mitts on. I think that the publishers have more than enough fans of 2D fighters that they'd be able to make a nice profit. If they WERE going to make SF in 3D, then it would almost certainly be a spinoff of the main series and we'd still have 2D style to fall back on with the main series.

And I can guaruntee if they made a 3D Street Fighter for the main series from here on, Capcom would lose so much money and so much respect with the gamers and the hardcore fans who buy everything from them that they'd utterly screw themselves. I have faith that Capcom, of all companies, is smarter than that. And I can't say that for many companies. I thought I could for SNK but they went and made Maximum Impact and jammed a knife in the fans' collective back.

[Hector]

Street Fighter as a series has missed the bandwagon where suddenly jumping into 3d is appeciated. Certainly they could make a 3d Street Fighter IV, but it will be far more of an uphill battle to get it accepted. Street Fighter should stick to its number-one advantage, and that is love of the 2d series. Hell, I'm of the opinion that Capcom should name it Street Fighter 2 regardless of how new or altered it is.

[djpretzel]

I don't think Capcom would lose respect for making SF4 3D... I think they'd lose respect for making it both 3D and shitty.

Best-case scenario for me would be that somehow, through some divine miracle of cosmic proportions, their devs finally find a way to encapsulate all that is good and just and wholesome about SF, in three-dimensional form. It's got to be possible, it's just damn difficult. If they managed to pull it off, I think most people that appreciate solid gameplay would recognize it for what it was, after they got past their initial doubts.

[ILLiterate]

Every fighter game breaks a little bit when it gets to the elite tournament level.

Not every fighter. Sure some characters have strengths over others, but hey that happens in every game. 3s is a great example of where everyone in the top tier can just cancel each other out, so it really does come down to skill, unlike MvC2 where most of the time it comes down to who can infinity combo first

[EdgeCrusher]

Americans don't buy 2d games anymore? Shit, better tell konami that so they won't make any more portable CV games.

[Doctor Shaft]

Street Fighter 4? Nah, it'll never happen. I just don't believe it. I've read about those rumors before, but as some others have said, Capcom would just be fighting a tremendous uphill battle in designing a fourth title, especially in today's video climate where:

- America shows little interest in the arcade scene

- Japan, despite still thriving, has plenty of 2D fighters that are played and released (Guilty Gear is quite successful, and frequently updated on top of that, SNK at least tries to keep on the scene)

- Capcom would literally be competing with itself (Super Turbo, 3rd Strike are both not dead. Marvel wasn't really that popular across the ocean, and we hardly play it now with arcades being dead. Still, ST and 3S are still kicking, so-to-speak, at least at tourney's)

Even if they could encapsulate everything that was good about Street Fighter, how would it benefit them at this point? They'd need something that beats games that are either a decade old or nearing a decade and still kicking, and they'd need something innovative to match Guilty Gear (in terms of uniqueness, not whether it's good or not... not everyone enjoys Guilty Gear obviously).

Even if it is being planned, I wouldn't "recommend" it if they asked me. But I know they aren't.

[Broken]

First, I just want to say that Soul Caliber is a terrible series with sloppy and broken gamplay and that Dead or Alive 4 was at EVO this year and has been accepted as a tournament worthy game. SC3 was terrible, although I've heard the Japanese arcade version fixed a lot of the problems with the American version. I guess we'll see at Super Battle Opera this year, I think SC3 Arcade edition is in the lineup.

Secondly, if they made a Street Fighter 4 (Which they probably won't) it would be in 2d and come out in the arcades in Japan. 2d fighting is dead here but Capcom is a japanese company. 2d fighters sell well in Japan, and the arcades are still kicking ass and taking names over there.

Just being at EVO doesn't make a game good or deep. Dead or Alive 4 was introduced into the game line-up for the same reason that Mario Kart DS was; to reach a little more into the main stream. Now I'm not going to compare fighting games on merits because frankly I don't know enough about each individual game they choose to host, but I wil say that things change.

And for your information SCII was part of EVO's line-up only a few years ago, so that game can't be that broken (so please don't bash an entire series just because SC3.1 is broken beyond repair.)

Now about SF 4.....3D would be cool, but like others have said the fighting game scene is very saturated with competent contenders already. Now of course there will always be people who try to argue why one game or another is unbalanced or whatever, but the fact of the matter is, if you want to be good and you enjoy a game, you'll adapt to the environment.

I mean it just seems to be asking to much of Capcomt to come out with a new SF that's just going to knock our socks off, AND revive arcades in America, AND sell well on consoles, AND be popular in Japan. And if it can't acomplish at least a couple of those goals, then it will just be mediocre in my eyes at best.

Better to just make sure the SF movie doesn't suck.

[chfuji]

I think that Capcom will go ahead and bring out a number four. However, contrary to what a lot of folks are supposing here, I don't think it'll be an arcade game. In my opinion, one of the big causes for the decline of the American arcade was the escalating power of home consoles. With the current level of power available to home console developers and the lowering costs of HDtv sets, why invest money into a dedicated arcade cabinet? It'd be a better approach (whether the game is 2D, 2.5D, or 3D) to produce a home console release with online play. Heck, why not spice it up and make it cross-platform online? And then, rather than stop there, why not international cross-platform online?

[Evilhead]

Didn't you guys hear about Capcom of Japan selling all of the rights to the Street Fighter series to Capcom of America a few years back? Which means if there is a SF4, it will be developed by an American company, I.E. it will blow donkey. Most likely it will be another failed attempt to bring SF into 3D, although they nearly had it with Project Justice. Great Capcom fighter gameplay made into 3D. If you don't own this game you are missing a lot!

And why would they even bother when they went ahead and made the greatest 2D fighter ever, which has yet to be topped, and it is largely ignored outside the hardcore 2D fighter crowd? I'm talking about SF3:TS of course. It's still played here at most arcades (I actually beat some Japanese butt with my Ibuki the day before yesterday) but it just didn't seem to get the reception Alpha 3 did. Too deep? Too many new characters? Who knows.

[Broken]

^ Project Justice and Rival Schools were awesome. There's just something deeply enjoyable about busting heads with baseball bats, volleyballs, and akido sticks.

Yeah, that was a pretty well done SF-esque game done in 3-d.