If you aren’t keyed into the Japanese arcade scene, Arcadia Magazine is like the New York Times of arcade games—it’s THE place to go in Japan for amazingly in-depth and expert coverage of a large amount of titles (and no, I don’t write for them anymore!).  They also sponsor the awesome Super Battle Opera tournament, so it's safe to say that these guys know what's up. 

SFIV wasn’t really in the running for any Game of the Year awards in the West, since it’s "merely" an arcade game right now, but in the one place on earth where the game is in wide distribution, it’s blowing everybody away. 

Street Fighter IV won: 

-GAME OF THE YEAR

-Best Graphics
-Best Production
-Best Character (Ryu)

I’m not sure a single game has ever been so dominant.

And just in case you thought SFIV was only popular with the Arcadia editors, here is where I tell you it also won the write-in Reader’s Choice voting for best game of the year.  Beastly!

Thanks MarkMan and Reno for the translations!

For anybody who has kept their head buried in the sand through the New Year, you might want to hear about a little game called Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix.  It's kind of a big deal.

This Gametrailers review is a good run-through for a casual audience. HD Remix is an amazing package for anybody that already likes Street Fighter, but it's also a great intro to what it really feels like to play head-to-head for anyone new to the series.  Give it a shot and see what it is that's created so many Street Fighter nuts across the world and got everybody all excited again this year.

Over at the mighty Shoryuken, Azrael has posted up a nice end-of-2008 translation of the current Street Fighter IV arcade rankings, and Daigo is back on top with a VENGANCE:

1. ウメハラ (Umehara)
Character: Ryu
Battle Points: 130,915
Match/Win Ratio: 5,204/4,488 86.24%

Hit the jump for the rest of the top 20 players, but apart from the terrifying skills on display, what I'm most excited about is the nice spread of characters on this list.  A fighting game is geared for greatness when, if you got the skills, you can beat anybody, no matter what the character matchup might be.  

Also, just FYI, the point totals on this list is truly crazy.  From Azrael himself:

To give you a frame of reference, anyone in the 20,000's is a solid player at least - 30-40,000's is good enough to win tournaments and be the champ of an arcade with good comp, and 50,000 is enough for most people to say they have one of the best (insert character here) in the country, excepting the top 20 above of course. 

2.　おじさんボーイ (Ojisan Boy)
Character: Sagat
Battle Points: 110,390
Match/Win Ratio: 4,352/3,516 80.79%

3.　マゴ (Mago)
Character: Sagat
Battle Points: 100,431
Match/Win Ratio: 4,091/3,202 78.27%

4.　あーるえふ (Aaruefu)
Character: Sagat
Battle Points: 89,309
Match/Win Ratio: 3,410 Matches (win ratio not public)

5.　志郎 (Shiro)
Character: Abel
Battle Points: 82,903
Match/Win Ratio: 3,654/2,845 77.86%

6.　時の扉 (Toki no Tobira)
Character: Balrog (Boxer)
Battle Points: 76,678
Match/Win Ratio: 3,094/2,574 83.19%

7.　ときどきヌキンクス (Tokidoki Nukinkusu)
Character: Chun-Li
Battle Points: 76,397
Match/Win Ratio: 3,484/2,233 64.09%

8.　ネモ (Nemo)
Character: Chun-Li
Battle Points: 76,507
Match/Win Ratio: 4,351/3,514 80.76%

9.　じょえ (Joe)
Character: C.Viper
Battle Points: 74,757
Match/Win Ratio: 2,293/1,812 79.02%

10.　☆カツオ☆ (Katsuo)
Character: Sagat
Battle Points: 74,521
Match/Win Ratio: 3,858/3,148 81.6%

11.　ボウヤ☆★☆ (Bouya)
Character: Zangief
Battle Points: 74,440
Match/Win Ratio: 4,664/3,575 76.65%

12.　ドラゴンボーイ (Dragon Boy)
Character: Ken
Battle Points: 72,874
Match/Win Ratio: 1,783/1,432 80.31%

13.　伊予 (Iyo)
Character: Dhalsim
Battle Points: 71,880
Match/Win Ratio: 2,924/2,197 75.14%

14.　くま (Kuma)
Character: M.Bison (Dictator)
Battle Points: 69,449
Match/Win Ratio: 4,817/3,886 80.67%

15.　Radiowave
Character: Sagat
Battle Points: 68,838
Match/Win Ratio: 1,992/1,621 81.38%

16.　ももち (Momochi)
Character: Akuma
Battle Points: 65,987
Match/Win Ratio: 1,373/1,026 74.73%

17.　AOI
Character: Sagat
Battle Points: 65,586
Match/Win Ratio: 5,040/4,194 83.21%

18.　静岡最強 (Shizuoka Saikyou)
Character: Blanka
Battle Points: 65,084
Match/Win Ratio: 4,194/3,211 76.56%

19.　まぁクン (Maakun)
Character: Sagat
Battle Points: 65,020
Match/Win Ratio: 4,052/3,119 76.97%

20.　だしお (Dashio)
Character: C.Viper
Battle Points: 65,286
Match/Win Ratio: 2,738/2,058 75.16%

If you want to say "Happy Hannukah" this year with a winged, lightning-bolty skull, Triumvir's Shadaloo collection has you covered. 

With everything from hats to shirts to the coveted M-65 jacket, you supply the drawers, socks, and shoes, and Triumvir will do the rest!

Check out the full lineup here.

Because nothing says "Happy Holidays" like a Raging Demon, here's some beautiful Street Fighter IV action, featuring Momochi (Akuma) versus the legendary Daigo (as Ryu--always Ryu!). 

Enjoy, and thanks Nabil!