Proof that all players just want an ego bust rather than having fun playing the game. If aimed just for winning I would also pick Ryu always right from the start, but if I did that instead of using some other characters before, it would get boring for both players.

Some people like to cheese it, some are just 'haters'. I think the 'middle of the road' characters are the shotos with there fire balls and quarter circle moves. I don't know, I like all the characters to be honest even the ones I don't play.  People just want to not like something too if its something they have trouble overcoming. That could be it.  ^_^

Mar 9, 2009 -- 10:44AM, Tobias Reaper wrote:

The Ryu/Ken usage isn't as bad as it sounds, but there are 25 characters in this game. What's the point of having them all there if you're only gonna play two of them?

And it's really annoying when they're cycling through the select screen as if they're not sure who to pick, then when there's ten seconds left on the timer, they just pick Ryu/Ken anyway. For ****s sake.

ROFL! That reminds me of people that go to McDonalds and spend 2-3 minutes looking at the menu only to end up buying a Big Mac combo...

Ryu/Ken hold the most popular spot for a myriad of reasons: Because they were in it since the beginning, they are the characters on the front of the box, they are pretty easy to get your hands on, they hold serious nostalgia for old SF fans, they have recognizable and easy to remember special moves, they are balanced and effective characters, I could go on and on.

Essentially they are well known/made characters and hold a serious following.

Though I guess that is the logical opposite of the post, as it was asking why people *hate* Ryu/Ken, which isn't true at all. It's kind of the same phenomenon as Halo, WoW or so on so forth. Though it isn't necessarily the best choice, it is the most recognized and most celebrated choice, and so people go with it, it works well for the majority and they stick with it. The reason some people get frustrated (the vocal minority) is because it makes things more bland to those willing to go outside the box.

For instance, say I want to play an MMO, and what the hey, I think I'll get my friends to come along, so I have people to play with... They all say "Well Game X has decent reviews and I keep hearing people talk about it." and you, with previous experience with said Game X know it isn't anything special say "I'd prefer to try something new, like say Game Y!" The problem ocurrs in the general populaces fear of change and when someone offers something new, the general populace will try to find either a median, or more likely will go to what they know as a sure bet, rather then risking it with a new, possibly superior, experience.

So in the case of SF4, Ryu and Ken are the X choice. They are the one everyone knows to be safe, and the people who have already gotten their hands on them know, sure they are safe, but there may be better choices out there. There has always been a clash in history in the matter of a change, almost all wars come with some kind of major change, or the fear of a major change. Though this is more of a minor change it still causes the majority to prefer to not change and stick with what they know, and those that prefer to change to try new characters, will get frustrated at having to deal with the majority rules situation.

And here comes plenty of TL:DR posts.

I agree that Ono went overboard with the Shotos this time, but i personally dont care who someone else chooses. The will either win or lose bottom line. I like to see people use characters that arent common but I wont get mad if I dont see them.