The intrepid Ryan Scott over at 1Up sits down with Mega Man 9 producer Hironobu Takeshita.  

They talk about the challenges on the path to retro glory, the Robot Masters' wacky weaknesses, and the role of YOU in the series' future! 

1UP: Will we ever be lucky enough to get a Mega Man X9 -- but with Super NES era graphics and music?

HT: It all depends on fans' demand! We might see that day, as long as there is passion!

Check it out here.

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.

Awesome? Maybe. A little scary? Maybe. Cute? Definitely.

She nails Mega Man and Dante, but it was her Pikachu that sent my cute-o-meter dangerously into the red.

Are you in Vegas on January 9th, 2009?  You should be. 

We're opening the doors to at least 25 of you and a guest (more, if space allows), so if you'll be in the neighborhood, drop this guy a note and come party with Capcom at Planet Hollywood. 

In addition to thrilling finger food and drinks, we'll be showing off a brand new Dark Void demo, Street Fighter IV, Bionic Commando, and you can play Resident Evil 5... on a seven-story screen.  Yes, you read that right:  seven stories high.

As always, if you don't get a confirmation (or aren't 21), don't just show up--there's a list, and if you're not on it, scary bouncer types will beat you within an inch of your life.  Well maybe not, but they won't let you in, which is almost as bad. 

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%