Get Oiled Up and Ready for Super Street Fighter IV's Final Character Reveal

At last night's exclusive Fight Club in San Francisco, we finally officially revealed Hakan as the final new character in Super Street Fighter IV! We have brand new art, trailer, gameplay video, and screenshots for you all to enjoy after the break!

A newcomer to the Street Fighter universe, Hakan is an oil wrestler hailing from Turkey. Using lubricant to assist in battle, Hakan has some of the most insane moves and Ultra combos in the series.

The follow up to one of Metacritic’s highest-rated games of 2009, Super Street Fighter IV will hit the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on April 27 with 10 new characters, new Ultra combos, new stages, the return of bonus rounds, beefed-up online modes (including the free Tournament Mode DLC after launch) all for a budget price of $39.99.

Secret GDC Street Fighter Action Streaming Tonight!

Unity is oiling up to slide downtown for a secret Street Fighter event in honor of GDC 2010.

Although it's going down in an undisclosed location, we're going to try and stream out some of the action on our ustream channel starting around 6:30pm PST.

They won't let us take direct feed of the action, but there should be some good shots of the room with a few famous Street Fighters and games-industry neer-do-wells cruising around, and I'll try to bust a few shoryuken FADC -> Ultra on the iphone. Plus who knows what could "slip" on there--anything can happen live...

Super Street Fighter IV Dev Blog: Dudley!

The Super SFIV devs are back with a new blog talking about the new king of Super Street Fighter IV: Dudley. They talk about the secret to his charm, his new moves, his Ultras (you're all going to be hit by so many Corkscrew Crosses you'll cry!) and of course throwing the rose! Credit as always to SRK's Azrael, and hit the jump for the full piece.

--

Hello everyone. This is Tsukamoto.

This week I'll be joined by director Okada and the head battle planner Sano, as we talk about the last of the new characters from SF3 - Dudley - and things ranging from how he was chosen and what not.

-- First off, please tell us why Dudley was chosen to be added in the game.

Okada:
He was chosen for SFIV because a lot of the development staff were really passionate fans of him, and he is extremely popular overseas. He is so popular that when producer Ono went to Europe to get opinions about the next installment of SFIV, he was consistently asked or requested for Dudley to be in the game. Also, we had a lot of requests from overseas fans to see the dream match-up of Dudley vs Balrog.

-- Is being a boxer the secret behind his popularity?

Okada:
Dudley's stylish boxing fight style is definitely very popular. We also feel that with his high approval rating in Europe, many Europeans want to support a fellow countryman.

-- What do you think is Dudley's charm?

Okada:
His character charm from SF3 was to read the opponent, get in on his terms, and then take away their life in a flash - good rushdown power. Another part of his charm is that his attacks are very strategic. For example, Dudley has a lot of feint-type moves. He can get in close and counter his opponent's throw attempt with at attack. He's also got moves that are for the sole purpose of getting in close. If you are good at reading your opponent, then he becomes a very strong character.

-- Does Dudley play the same in SSFIV?

Okada:
Yes, we have emulated Dudley's "hit and run" style as well as his fight style of getting into those open spaces from SF3.

Sano:
Yes, his ability to control distance through various movements hasn't changed. For example, with his "Short Swing Blow" he moves back for a moment and evades his opponent's attack before launching his own - if you can use this well you can get in your opponent's face in an instant and really mess with them. Also, we brought back his "Thunder Bolt" from 2nd Impact, which can surprise people up close. Dudley also has plenty of target combos, so finding a way to get in close and utilize them will be one of the keys to victory.

-- How did you bring about the feel of Dudley?

Okada:
As Dudley is Mr. Gentleman, we included some gentlemanly components in his motions. His image is that of an orthodox boxer, who wastes no movements.

Sano:
Even though he's a fighter, he doesn't have that gritty Street Fighter feel, but more like that of a sports athlete. You won't find him fighting in the back alleys - he's got a strong sense of sportsmanship, and he is always polite.

Okada:
For boxers, of course we already have Balrog, but Dudley and Balrog's fight styles are completely different. Balrog just charges in like a rampaging bull*, his attacks are straight-forward and he's in your face, while Dudley is more of the "dance like a butterfly, sting like a bee" type, who focuses on footwork and keeps his distance. So Balrog wants to just land powerful single blows, while Dudley wants to use his footwork to hit multiple target combos and eat away at your lifebar.
(*Remember that Balrog's name in Japanese is Bison - so this is sort of in reference to that.)

-- Has he lost any moves?

Okada:
He's got all his moves from the SF3 series. As Sano mentioned before, he also has the "Thunder Bolt". Personally, this is a move I wanted to see come back in this title, so I asked the designers and engineers about it and now its back.

-- What kind of move was the "Thunder Bolt"?

Okada:
If you use it when the opponent least expects it, I think its a fairly useful move. Also, it does pretty good chip damage, so I think it'll be good to finish off near-dead opponents.

Sano:
"Thunder Bolt" is one way to really throw your opponent off-guard. Use it immediately at the start of the round to have your opponent moving at your pace, and then use it with good timing to really throw off your opponent's spacing.

-- As the ultras are selectable this time around, tell us about the features of both of his.

Sano:
First lets talk about the "Corkscrew Cross". The first hit doesn't have a whole lot of reach, but you can use it within combos. It has a lot of various uses - for example, after launching an opponent from EX Machine Gun Blow, or after an anti-air from a high position.

Okada:
We've made this "Corkscrew Cross" in this game as a different version of his "Corkscrew Blow" from SF3. In SF3, the Corkscrew Blow did a lot of chip damage, had a huge hitbox, and had very little startup, so it was a tool with a lot of functionality. However in this title, the Corkscrew Cross is short-range and somewhat more limited in its usage. So that gives it a different feeling from the Corkscrew Blow from SF3.

-- How about his other ultra, "Rolling Thunder"?

Sano:
For "Rolling Thunder", in order for it to be able to pass through projectiles we've given it a fairly long window of invincibility. Since there's no parry in SFIV, this is a way of dealing with fireball characters. So when you're taking on fireball characters, I'd recommend this ultra!

Okada:
When Dudley has the meter for "Rolling Thunder", this increases his mid-range options and makes it harder for fireballers to throw that fireball, so this is an advantage for him. Also, even if the opponent blocks he keeps on punching, so this can also work for chip damage kills.

-- Do you have any moves you would recommend?

Sano:
I'm going to go with his ducking. It lets him evade fireballs and get in close.

Okada:
At the beginning of development, ducking didn't have the ability to avoid projectiles. As Dudley was the first SF3 character we added to the game, at that time we hadn't yet decided on how to fit them into this game. So at that time, he couldn't evade fireballs and he wasn't very SF3-ish.

Sano:
Yes, the first Dudley was one who was based completely on SFIV's system.

Okada:
But then during development we had a lot of people experiment with him, and when we also tried him out we felt that as-is, there was no point in adding him to the game at all. So then we thought about the Dudley that players wanted to use, and how to bring that about, and that's how ended up with the ducking's current function.

-- Why didn't it go through projectiles at first?

Okada:
Ducking doesn't just avoid opponent's attacks, it's also a dash is it not? So at first, we worried that no one would use his regular dashes. And that this would be unbalanced. On that note, ducking is a move that we had to continually adjust right up until the end.

Sano:
If we think about it, Dudley is a SF3 character that we are trying to put into the SFIV series. So we went through a trial and error process with him, and the direction we settled on was to keep as much of the SF3 feel as possible. We also did this for Ibuki and Makoto.

-- Are there any other moves you would recommend?

Sano:
While it's not technically a move, I would recommend his rose throw. Since this was a taunt in SF3, its formal name is "The Rose of Victory". Okada said we absolutely had to have this, so it was added in. Of course, that wasn't the only reason (laughs). In order to add the rose throw we had to add a completely new system, and it took a lot more work than expected.

Okada:
We had proceeded without the rose throw through the middle of the development stage, but it just didn't feel right not to have it. The rose throw is one of the more memorable taunts from the SF3 series, and it's also one of the most trademark aspects of Dudley. I'm glad we were able to get this in as a special move.

Sano:
This was also touched upon on Ms. Shiozawa's blog, but after throwing the rose Dudley can close the distance on his opponent. So its not something you can really exploit, but its not useless either. Also, the rose homes in on the opponent's head without fait.

Okada:
Yes, it even homes in on them during a jump.

Sano:
If you're in close and you time it carefully against your opponent's jump, you can whack them pretty good. So this can keep your opponents grounded, which is where Dudley likes them.

Tsukamoto:
The rose only makes contact with the opponent, it doesn't take away damage right?

Okada:
Right, it doesn't do damage. We thought about making it do 1 point's worth of damage, but we figured anyone who got KO'ed from the rose throw would be pretty pissed off so we gave up on that (laughs).

-- Who out of the existing SFIV characters would you say is similar to Dudley?

Sano:
That's a really hard question. A SFIV character who plays like Dudley...I don't think there is one. Balrog is also a boxer, but their playstyle is completely different. So for fighting style, maybe the closest would be...Dhalsim?

Okada:
Yeah, Dhalsim's stretching arms control the distance, and with his Yoga Teleport he can get in close and attack you, so in that regard maybe they're kinda close.

-- What is Dudley's best distance?

Okada:
For options, that would be mid-range. For doing damage, up close.

-- Is Dudley a difficult character to use?

Okada:
His actual controls aren't that hard. However, his playstyle really requires a psychological warfare, so in that sense he may be suited better for tactical players. If you are the type who likes to do what you want to do and hit a good combo to decide it all, maybe he's not for you, but if you like to think "Well, in this situation he'll do this move" or "if I do this I can irritate him and bait out this move" - the type who really likes to read your opponent, then I believe Dudley is right up your alley.

Tsukamoto:
For games as well as real fights, good players are able to utilize these mind games. If you can get caught up in that aspect of Dudley then he'll be an interesting character to use.

-- Last week you also said that reading your opponent was necessary for Makoto's gameplay - does that mean that they are similar characters?

Okada:
Well, both characters require reading your opponent, but how that plays out differs between then. For Makoto, more than countering she's more about reading in order to land her moves. For Dudley, if you make a mistake in reading your opponent's options then they will evade your attack and Dudley gets countered, so he has to think about about which move he wants to make the opponent do, or how he's going to pressure. He matches up with his opponent's moves and then decides his, so that point is different.

-- Do you feel Dudley is suited towards beginner, intermediate, or expert players?

Okada:
I'd say from intermediate to expert. I think he's harder to use than fireball characters, but as for the feeling of play itself I think he's quite normal.

-- Which matchup would be the most interesting for Dudley in this game?

Okada:
Of course, that would be Balrog!

-- Based on what we've just taked about, Dudley seems like he'd have the advantage over the straightforward rushing Balrog.

Okada:
Nah, they both have their distinctive flavors, so I think it would make for a pretty good matchup. Dudley with his light footwork and target combos seems like he'd have the advantage, but once Balrog starts pressuring he brings a lot of power. So its hard to say which is better, and I think it'll make for a good fight. If nothing else, seeing two boxers duke it out is just cool (laughs).

Tsukamoto:
Ducking the opponent's attack and trading blows looks really cool, and if you see your opponent is Balrog you can think "Okay, let's settle this!" and get really into it.

-- Do you have any final words for the players looking forward to Dudley?

Okada:
For Dudley, same as with the other SF3 characters, while there may be some differences here and there, we've done our best to preserve his feel from that time, as well as add a SFIV playstyle as well, so please look forward to that. I'd like to new players to try out SFIV Dudley, and even for those players from SF3 I think you'll find a new way to play him. It'll be pretty interesting.

Sano:
As Okada said, we've done out best not to disturb how it feels to control him, so I think you can play him with the same sense you did in SF3. And of course, there's the revived "Thunder Bolt"! If you can find cool ways to use this, I'll be really happy!

Tsukamoto:
Including the new move, train up and polish your moves as well as your individual playstyle! Then take it to the ring to develop your fighting spirit and guts. I'll also give it my best!

Well then, we've covered the SF3 characters over these past three weeks, and I hope you enjoyed it. As we've been hearing a lot of opinions about this, I think we'd better cover some of the existing characters as well. We're just getting started with preparations, so please look forward to it!

See you next week!

Hoboken!

No it's not real. Just awesome.

[Jalopnik via Kotaku]

Seth talks Street Fighter (or "How Unity Ruined my Sunny Sunday Afternoon")

So... last week Snow posted a random interview with me blabbing about SSFIV.

That's par for the course, but he also decided to ask you guys "what would you ask Seth if you could ask him something?" Well, many of you are already doing exactly that in the "Ask Capcom" forum, but a lot of people chimed in with some good questions in the comments.

I wanted to try and answer least a few of those questions, but then I realized I didn't have a good way to choose which ones to tackle, and before I knew it, I had spent my Sunday answering all of them. They range from potentially useful info to the downright useless, but hey--they were Unity's questions, so I did my best. If not everything is your cup of tea, don't say I didn't warn you!

--What aspect of Super Street Fighter 4 has (or will) prove to be THE innovation for the Street Fighter 4 series and the fighting game genre in general?

@Ryan: Honestly I think it will be the match recordings and the way they feed back into the community. There are lots of changes to the SSFIV mechanics, but the biggest innovation will be the chance to easily build up a library of your own matches (and those of others) while you're just playing like you normally would. So often something quirky will happen in a match and I'll think "hrm..." but then mentally skip over it because too much else is going on, or I just want to play the next match. With SSFIV, however, you can really see your strengths and weaknesses quickly if you choose to look back.

--Didn't Dudley have that goofy move where he goes across the top of the screen in the SFIII games before 3rd strike?

@Andy: Yep, he did.

--How much for the CE? :P

@Yama: No price point or other details yet on CE, but they're working on it.

--Who, out of the new characters in SSFIV, is the easiest to use, and who is the hardest to use?

@Gunslinger: Ibuki is probably the most technically intensive, but you can still mess around with her and have fun. Adon is probably the most straightforward IMO.

--I noticed you have two right hands, from the photo, do you have two left feet to balance it?

@Gerardo: You've obviously seen me on the dancefloor =(

--Seth, what makes Street Fighter the best fighting game franchise on the market since it first hit arcades in 1987?

@DiosX: I don't think SF was truly legendary until SF2, but since then it's the character's style, amazing control, and fireballs (I have a long dissertation on why fireballs are so important, but that's for another day). Beyond the game it has one of the best communities in all of gaming, which feeds back into the game in all kinds of great ways--it makes the whole thing matter.

--Please convince Capcom to release Super SF4 for PC.

Want to enjoy the game with the best possible graphics that the consoles just cannot handle. SF4 at 1080p with maxed out settings is just a thing of beauty.

@megapixel3d: I'd love to see SSFIV on as many platforms as I could, but still no action on the PC front right now. Also this was not a question =)

--Can we install the game on ps3 so we can get shorter load times? (like sf4) and will there be another soundtack available via itunes?

@cjmoney: yes. As for soundtrack, I don't know what the plans for it in the West are yet, but itunes seems likely.

--I just got done reading the interview & those were some really well thought out questions that were asked. Every interview Seth does is nothing short of the word "awesome"! The wait is literally eating away at every fiber of my body! Come on April 27th!!! The wait seems like it won't ever come!

As for my question to Seth about Street Fighter.....hmm. How about this:

How does it feel to be the go-to man for anything Street Fighter related at Capcom U.S.A? I've heard people call you the "Mr. Street Fighter" of Capcom.
How did your background with fighting games in general come to be? Also, what makes Street Fighter your favorite fighting game in the entire industry? (Besides the fact that you work at Capcom U.S.A as the Community Manager)

@HeavenlyGamer: I'm actually shocked at how much work there is, but I love Street Fighter, so IMO it's one of the best jobs in the world. As for my background, too long a story, but I started just like a lot of people--playing SF in the arcades cause I thought it looked cool and then I got hooked. There are a few years at school in between that and Capcom, but I started the same way millions of other people did. See my response to DiosX for a few of the reasons SF is tops in my book.

--My Question:
Do Ryu's, Ken's, and Akuma's new Ultra's combo from an Uppercut FADC?

Comments:
Thanks for doing so many Interviews Seth, I listen to em all and you get asked the same questions over and over again, it's just those few unique reveals in each one that makes them interesting.
Thank you and please continue your hard work.

@8ighty 6ix: Ryu: Yes, Akuma: no, and Ken: no (at least not under normal circumstances). As for the interviews, it's my pleasure--I am happy to do anything I can to make SF as big a deal with the rest of the world as it is to me.

--Will he actually read these questions?...damn! Did I just waste my question? If you'd be so kind as to ignore the first two blatant cries for help and a laugh, what I would ask him is well, Do you think it'll ever be possible to have a Street Fighter game where they include all the fighters from every Street Fighter, up to that point, to have an all out brawl to see who really is the best? I guess it'd be like a King of Fighters '98 Ultimate match or King of Fighters 2002 unlimited match.

Just wondering. I mean, that way there can't be any real complaints from people concerning their favorite character missing and such.

@Adam: No, I won't actually read these questions =)

--Seth, who is your favorite character from any capcom fighter?

@Kevin: Very tough question. If I had to pick just one, it would be hard not to go with Ryu--he has such a great mix of basic tools, and he's the archetype of all fighting game characters--the yardstick used to measure everyone else.

--Seth if you could put yourself in a Street Fighter game, what would your fighting style consist of? (Not counting Seth from SFIV I mean actual you)

Would you rather be in a Street Fighter game or a vs. Capcom game?

If you were on a desert island and could take ONE game what game would that be?

@Saje: If it was based on the real me, my fighting style would probably be a mixture of long, boring lectures on philosophy and game balance used to get timeouts or lull the opponent to sleep, plus a lot of sucker punches. If it was based on how I wish I could fight, I would probably like to be a big brawler and throw people around.

I'm already in a Street Fighter game, so I guess I'd go with a Versus game next :) I've always wanted to superjump.

Desert island fighter? It might have to be MVC2. There's just limitless possibilites there.

--after all this time wat makes u come back to sf? is it the competition? the characters? come on seth, wats the secret ingredient?

@agentorange82: Probably a mix of the characters and great basic mechanics. It just feels GOOD to play, and like other classic games, that sweet-spot feeling doesn't get old: A perfect drive down the fairway in golf, a perfect b-run jump in SMB, and a perfect four-fierce Guile combo--timeless.

--To Seth: "As a special adviser to Capcom, what is the one biggest thing you've done that altered the course of SSF4 development or gave its mechanics an overhaul?"

@SuckaB: looking at one thing... that would probably be going back to the drawing boards on the collision during SFIV development. Going from 3D hitboxes back to the 2D hitboxes really made the game feel like a true Street Fighter game--maybe someone else who played very early versions of SFIV could tell you what it used to be like, but it was much "softer."

--This question might be too ahead of itself, and I'm also not sure how much Seth pours into himself when it comes to the story, because it's all about gameplay, which it is, but...

...should Street Fighter ever make it to the number 5, would he like to see the series based after the events of SFIII, or still lean right on the edge before SFIII happens?

Basically, what's the future of the SF series that he envisions happening once the IV series has reached it's peak?

@Truest Strike: I'd like to see the story go past the SFIII storyline and into some uncharted waters. There's always time to fill in back history later :)

--Who did you main in World Warriors? lol

@Yama: I'd play Guile if I could get him (remember you couldn't play same char vs same char), otherwise Blanka or Dhalsim.

--Not SF in general, but this refers to Hakan(or any other joke characters)

-If Juri was a total kick"butt" being a member of SIN and all. Why is Hakan not related to SIN too? If he's an oil wrestler couldn't he be releasing oil at will? And his power from his right eye or something. [That doesn't sound nasty, specially if your an oil wrestler] Are there surprises that we don't know of him or is he another Dan?

@AkaRed35: Still too early to talk about oiling up =P

--Where's Sean?????

@star-killa: Sean is still living it up in SF3.

--What would I ask Seth about Street Fighter? What are his theories on the identity of Q?

@Chard: I always thought maybe Q could be another of Bison's experiments sort of gone wrong, kind of like a golem maybe? I thought it would be fun if he was based on Vega (claw) DNA, except while he got Vega's power, it came out all wrong, so he is a hard-hitting, slow brute, instead of high-flying and stylish, and he wears a mask to hide his ugliness, rather than to protect his beauty.

--If you could go back in time and tell your younger self one thing about Street Fighter (the game, the community...etc), what would it be?

@Phillies64: I actually thought about that a few months after I started working at Capcom (and on SFIV). I was like "wow, my 15-yr old self would be totally blown away!" I would also tell myself that all those pointless internet arguments where we reverse-engineered the entire SF engine WEREN'T actually gonna be pointless, and would be happy to tell little me that I'd still be able to hang out with all the amazing friends I've met over the last decade of Street Fighting.

--Hello, you guys are doing a great job. My question is. With all the sweet stuff planned for release in Europe and Asia how is it the Capcom/Retailers came up with finger puppets for USA?

It's nice and all, but compared to tourney vids, movies, promo DVD, sound track, t shirts, iPhone covers, and dlc it's kinda a SF fans worst nightmare to not have access. Why?

@BiginitalP: different strokes for different folks, but I know people in the US want access to the other promo items. Not sure where the "finger fighters" came from, exactly--they are a program that comes out of our channel marketing dept.

--How many girls do you have asking you out daily?

@Crazed Spartan Hadouken: Day-to-day, that average would be pretty close to zero. I did meet some very special girls indirectly through SF though--I can't complain.

--If I could ask Seth one question, it would be, "How does he prepare for a tournament?" He's always talking about Street Fighter development, but we barely know him as the player.

That's an awesome picture. Props to the photographer.

@Evan: IMO the best tips are usually the simplest (though most people forget them!):

1) stay hydrated. Drink as much as you can--even more than you think you want. It really helps with the stress and maintaining a good physical balance. I'd suggest resting up, but that can be really hard, while you can always drink some more water. You should eat something, but keep it light. You don't want to be lightheaded, but hungry > full.

2) practice your core stuff. You basically need your mechanics to be at the place where you don't need to think about them, and they are automatic. If you haven't done that, you create a huge amount of extra stress when you're in the match, and it prevents you from playing the best mind-games you can if your attention is split. Being confident in your mechanics also really helps overall with motivation--I could always mentally deal with losing or being outplayed, but it was devastating to me to know that I could have won, or actually outplayed someone, but I beat myself by not playing to my ability.

3) stay in the moment. Practice ahead of the tournament, but be focused on your current match--don't think about who you have to face next in the bracket before you've beaten your current opponent. Give them that respect and you won't get caught sleeping.

--To Street or not to Street Fight?
@Supwichu: Street Fight.

--What is your all-time favorite sf quote or taunt?

@Blaze1: Guy has a "lose quote" in Super SFIV where he actually says "Profound... sadness" as he gets KO'd that always cracks me up. For win quotes, I was always a fan of Dhalsim's "I will meditate and then destroy you."


--My 1st question for Mr.Killian is....when are we going to see the U.S. collectors packages??? I've seen at least two different packages, limited and collectors. I want the best available package pre-ordered as soon as possible. I definitely Will buy it,gotta have that art book. Finger puppets aren't as good as the collectors package. But if they come with it I will gladly take them lol. [other questions omitted for space]

@tomotombo: as I said above, they're still working out the details of the CE, hopefully we'll have news soon. As for the anime, I'm hoping the info about it's fate in the West becomes clear at the same time as the CE details emerge. On costumes, there are currently only plans for 95 total (35 defaults, 35 alt costumes, plus a 3rd costume for the 25 fighters returning from SFIV)--I think that math is right. 3 questions max for you--we'll do more later!

--I have a question for Seth.

Talk of all the new online modes and replays is fine and all, but what about the actual netcode? In vanilla SFIV it was rather terrible (with 5-bar connections being nearly mythical), has it been improved to be more along the lines of Super SFII HDR and the MvC2 re-release? Or should gamers hoping for solid internet gameplay just pass on Super SFIV altogether?

@Rock: The netcode has been reworked for the new online modes, but still functions along the same principles. It does have new features that help you sort matches to get ideal connections more easily (those fabled 5-bar green connections), so I think it's a better experience, and early reports from the press seem to agree.

--do you think the new global release stratagy will be the new norm,will sf4 be the last arcade sfer?
@happybunny: Still too soon to draw conclusions from SFIV--have faith!

--My Question: What is the greatest moment you've experienced in playing a Street Fighter/Capcom vs. game?
@Leon: probably those "zen" flow moment you hear some atheletes or yoga gurus talk about, where it's as if you don't even have to think about anything and it's almost as if the game almost plays itself. You're doing everything just right, and against a great opponent, it's like a perfectly choreographed dance. They're rare, but I wouldn't trade those moments for anything.

--The thing I'd like to know: both Ono and Killian have been talking about a 'special something' for the people that already own SFIV, but never gave any hint/clue what that might be. I'd like to know what it is! Or, at least some material so that I can guess what it is. :-)

@KPLee: Ono-san still has that info under wraps, but he'll have to share it with you guys soon enough.

--One thing eh? Well I've had the pleasure of meeting Seth a number of times. Once I even told him as I said good bye "Long live SF" (comic con '08) I guess I would have to ask; How do you begin to explain to someone what makes SF more than a game we all play? Street Fighter means a lot of things to everyone, and there are some out there who don't get that. I've tried explaining this to some of my younger friends, and even a few of the older ones. They get that I'm passionate about SF but they can't grasp why. How do you put into words your love for something like SF?

Keep up the amazing work guys!

@B. Revolver: Hey man, nice to hear from you again. Anyway, my advice would be take them to a tournament, or a live event (or at least show them some exciting video). The passion and dedication are infectious. How could you explain what makes soccer's World Cup so exciting to billions of people? They're just kicking a little ball around the field, in one sense, but when you can see all the passion and dedication first-hand, you want to know more and understand all the amazing depth behind the game. The same thing is true of SF IMO--anything can seem silly on the surface, but when you see the kind of commitment and passion in the players, plus a little explanation, you can instantly tell there's something special happening.

--Currently, now being a busy adult, how much do play Street Fighter? If less than your younger years, do you feel that your current skills have wavered a little?

@Salamandr: I still get to play a lot of Street Fighter (and other fighting games), but a lot of that time is on pre-release versions of the games. That's incredibly fun for someone like me, but it's not so good for my competitive abilities, since I'm playing to try and think about things from a design side, in terms of what works how, whether it's fun, interesting, etc. It's also true that getting older has taken the edge off my already dodgy reflexes. That said, I'll still smoke you using only one hand =)

--Like our ultras in SSFIV, choose one: Asahi, Kirin or Sapporo?
@XxSITHappensxX: Sapporo for me. Yebisu.

--1st question: do you have any plans on bringing Q back as a usable character

2nd question: WHEN IS STREET FIGHTER 3 GOING TO BE DOWNLOADABLE ON PSN
@nerio: no plans for Q right now, or news on SF3 on PS3.

--What is the process for choosing which characters are included in the games? Also, how do you determine how many characters to include? :]

@Raits: Returning characters are chosen through a combination of popularity contest and the effort to keep diverse fighting styles. As for how many to include, that's usually determined by project time and budget (same thing, really).

--As fun as SF is, do you think that some matches devolve from "let me just pick my favorite character and have some fun" into "let me pick an easy-to-use character that can deal with this projectile spammer"?

@NadaNuff: I don't think that's an issue very often--if you watch dedicated players of a certain character, you'll see they have interesting options for almost every situation. It's also true that sometimes underdog fights can be the most fun--I tend to play less fireball characters, and I love "threading the needle" to try and dance through the FBs and get inside to destroy them. Switching characters is fine if that works for you, but if you're running into trouble, head to youtube for inspiration on what you can do to counter a FB spammer.

--Where's Waldo? Seriously though... Who's your favorite Street Fighter character in terms of design/backstory/personality (not gameplay)?

@Inphinite: probably Oro. Almost everybody in Street Fighter is so worked up about something (I gotta take over the world, avenge my so-and-so, earn respect, save my people, etc.), but Oro has seen it all, and sort of rises above the noise with an edge of humor. As a long-time veteran of the SF scene, I think I sympathize with his attitude, plus he shares my one-handed style.

--What exactly is it about Street Fighter that you love so much? Is it actually playing it?

Perhaps seeing peoples faces as they win and lose? Maybe promoting the game and instigating excitement and debate in all the fans world wide? Or is it just the overall love of games and how big this game is?

@Absolute Zero: Honestly it's all of those things, and more. I love playing, experimenting, and winning--hell, even losing can be pretty epic. Obviously watching great matches with a deep understanding of everything that's happening is also fantastic--I've watched more SF than I have TV or movies easily, and I always enjoy analyzing what the great players are doing. Overall, however, it's the community and the people in it that keeps me coming back. Having seen it from its very beginnings, I have to say that I'm extremely proud of the SF community, not only as great players, but as a family that takes care of and supports one another (while also dishing out beatings). There's nothing like it anywhere in the world, and it's very special to me. I hope it can maintain that feeling of inclusiveness, respect for its roots, and brotherhood as it goes forward.

--Who's the final character?
@Brandon: ask me again later this week :)

--Hello Seth, greetings for Argentina.
My questions is: ¿What aspects do you take on count at time to choose the new characters for a new title?. And when I said new characters I’m referring like super street fighter 4 has happened, into the old ones choosed. Because for what I seen constantly on forums people always are not fully happy with the results, I mean someone says I would prefer this one , another one thinks that the list is garbage, and others thinks that its ok or its perfect. ¿So what do you take a count at the hour of make the list?, ¿maybe the ones most used in past games?, the most that you think that are beloved for the fans?. I hope you would answer my questions. Thanks and cheers.

@Joel: see the answer I gave @Raits. As for someone being unhappy about the choices--I know it, but that's unfortunately the nature of a choice. We do try to give people what they want where we can.

Street Fighter IV on PC 50% Off this Weekend

It's selling for 50% off (that's only $19.99) starting today on both Microsoft's Games on Demand and Stardock's Impulse!

This is a deal way too good to pass up if you haven't played the game yet, or even if you have it on console, you can crank all your settings and get some truly amazing details, not to mention the special graphical filters (oh and also you can actually use it to play Street Fighter IV, if that's your cup of tea).

Sale ends Monday in both places, so get it NOW. Please :)

Seth Talks SSFIV with Gamers Daily News

As this amazing picture of Seth clearly shows, he rocks. And when he's not rockin', he's usually talking about Street Fighter. He recently talked to Gamers Daily News about SSFIV. This new interview with Seth can be read by clicking here. They talk about everything from selectable ultras, new characters, and all new tricks for Super.

And remember, Super hits on April 27th for $39.99.

Seth does a lot of interviews with others asking him questions. But we have a little contest for you... If you could ask Seth one thing about Street Fighter, what would you ask? Tell us in the comments!

Daigo's Street Fighter Challenge the World: No More Excuses

With the release of Super SFIV coming up in April and no news of any arcade release for the game, a lot of players have been left wondering what will become of the superstars from Japanese arcades. Will they still play? Will they still compete?

Street Fighter grand master and EVO2009 champion Daigo Umehara recorded a little video to set the record straight.

In a nutshell, Daigo says "You better believe I'm playing Super SFIV, and I'm coming even harder at EVO2010!"

Update: It looks like Daigo is out kicking butts and taking names right now--in France, at the World Game Cup. Looks like a great event, and the winner of their Masters Series" event gets a free trip to EVO2010. Thanks to IPW for the heads-up.

Super Street Fighter IV Dev Blog: Makoto Notes

Those wacky SSFIV devs are blogging it up again, this time on the subject of Makoto. She may dress like Ryu, but any SF3: Third Strike fan can tell you, she couldn't be more different.

The devs get into their love for the character, her transition to the Super SFIV universe, plus some of her matchup strengths and weaknesses. All I can add is that she's been an absolute BLAST to play so far, with some of the most brutal combos in the game starting with the turtle's worst nightmare: the Karakusa :)

Head over to SRK for their always-timely translations.

Cool Fan-Made Interactive Youtube for Super SFIV Ultras

Youtube user onebyonetv made up their own homebrewed Street Fighter select screen to create an interactive vid that allows you to click on a character to see a vid featuring both of their Ultra combos. Fun stuff!