Quite alot actually. Apparently most everyone at Capcom had given up on another SF game or specifically SF4 after SF3: Third Strike feeling that another SF would no longer be very viable due to the decline of the American arcade market and the overall decline of popularity in fighting games, but fan desire and the sales of Hyper SF2 on XBLA allowed Ono to convince his boss (Keiji Inafune) to put SF4 in production.
How long as SF4 been in production?
Keiji Inafune gave the project the greenlight in 2005, though it's unknown as to what aspects of the game's development started back in 2005, or if the game was given the green light to start production at a later point and time (2006-2007)
What platforms will SF4 be on?
Arcade, PS3, 360, and PC have been the only announced platforms at the moment.
Will there be a Wii version?
Currently there is no Wii version of the game in production, but that doesn't mean there never will be one. As it stands now the current version(s) of the game needs to be finished before Capcom can start properly downgrading a Wii version. In order to produce the best Wii version possible, it's better to wait and have a final build of the game in it's current state, rather then trying to port/downgrade a game that's still being worked on, tweaked, and touched up. It's also better that the current SFIV development team do the Wii port rather then outsourcing it to someone else, but in order to that the team first has to finish the version(s) already in development.
Is the game running on the same engine that powers Dead Rising, Lost Planet, Devil May Cry 4, and Resident Evil 5?
While a majority of Capcom’s new next-gen titles are being developed with the same engine, SF4 is being developed on the Taito Type X2 arcade board.
What is the storyline?
This is a rough translation of the story description on the SF4 flyer at AOU...
The year after the legendary World Warrior Championship (SF2) it silently begins. Suspicious incidents occur, and behind it a mystic organization is on the move in the shadows. Those chasing and being chased in the complicated middle of frienship and betrayal. Now, the curtain rises and a new fight begins.
When is SF4 set in the timeline?
Between SF2 and SF3.
If this game takes place between SF2 and SF3 then why call it SF4?
In the modern era of video games the numbering of a series is no longer defined by chronological order, and a number of developers feel that the gameplay is what should have a sequel and not necessarily the storyline. It's for this reason that games like Devil May Cry 3 and Metal Gear Solid 3 are given a numbered sequel instead of a prequel title, because the gameplay in #3 has evolved past that of #2 and that's what developers are trying to tell people with the title basically saying "We feel that this game is superior to the previous game's gameplay and a worthy successor" which is why game series like Resident Evil and Grand Theft Auto had so many titles between their third and fourth entries in those series, because the developers (Capcom and Rockstar) did not feel that any of those inbetweeners were worthy enough to be what they considered #4. With SF4 it follows a similar suit in that Capcom feels that Street Fighter 4 is the successor to Street Fighter 3 gameplay wise, and that's what the title is meant to imply, not where it takes place chronologicaly in the series, as in this day and age game series like Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Grand Theft Auto, Castlevania, Samurai Shodown, Tenchu, and various others are not defined by chronological story progression when it comes to giving a game a title or number, but rather instead it's become more about gameplay evolution then story evolution. You also have to take into account those consumers who care nothing of the story in video games (which represent a large demographic) and want to know just from the title what the next big follow up in terms of gameplay is, rather then trying to figure out the chronolgy of a game series through non numbered games or titles that don't imply gameplay evolution.
How much of an impact do fans have on the game?
Sven]Let me say this... What SF4 is today is in a huge way in direct response to the fan conversations that have been happening about it for close to 10 years. The characters requested, features, even the 2.5D approach, is in direct response to a whole slew of forum conversations, posts on our boards, a massive market research project (which had input from Europe, US and Japan) and email requests. Is everything in the design today "baked"? At the top most level, yes. So for example, no it's not ever going to be 2D sprite based, game mechanics have been being tested for a long time too so a lot of those are fairly fixed as well(balance of course can be changed, but what the systems are, are fairly locked down at this point). The character list is "fairly" set for now but there are aspects that eventually we'll be asking for community feedback on/let the community tell us what they want. I can't get into details on that yet. Are there still things that can be affected? Sure. And we and others folks involved with the project are watching hawklike the results of every new asset we release and snippet of information that we let out. That said, there exists no scenario that 100% pleases every Street Fighter fan (be they SRK/Evo players or more mass fighting game fans or the guys who pick up every new major title). We'll have aspects of the game that hopefully are pleasing to all three types of players. Even internally we have had a lot of debates about aspects of this project and that's due to the passion that everyone has about the brand. It's a good thing, really. I realize the temptation is to compare SF4 to every other Street Fighter that has come before it, but make no mistake, this game will bring some "new" things for everyone. As such, it needs to be looked at on its own terms... the bigger picture, won't be apparent for a good long time. The EGM/1up features will be great and have loads of new information and most of you will think they have told you everything there is to know about SF4 after you read it) but there is a lot more information held back, than what we've divulged.
Let me say this... What SF4 is today is in a huge way in direct response to the fan conversations that have been happening about it for close to 10 years. The characters requested, features, even the 2.5D approach, is in direct response to a whole slew of forum conversations, posts on our boards, a massive market research project (which had input from Europe, US and Japan) and email requests. Is everything in the design today "baked"? At the top most level, yes. So for example, no it's not ever going to be 2D sprite based, game mechanics have been being tested for a long time too so a lot of those are fairly fixed as well(balance of course can be changed, but what the systems are, are fairly locked down at this point). The character list is "fairly" set for now but there are aspects that eventually we'll be asking for community feedback on/let the community tell us what they want. I can't get into details on that yet. Are there still things that can be affected? Sure. And we and others folks involved with the project are watching hawklike the results of every new asset we release and snippet of information that we let out. That said, there exists no scenario that 100% pleases every Street Fighter fan (be they SRK/Evo players or more mass fighting game fans or the guys who pick up every new major title). We'll have aspects of the game that hopefully are pleasing to all three types of players. Even internally we have had a lot of debates about aspects of this project and that's due to the passion that everyone has about the brand. It's a good thing, really. I realize the temptation is to compare SF4 to every other Street Fighter that has come before it, but make no mistake, this game will bring some "new" things for everyone. As such, it needs to be looked at on its own terms... the bigger picture, won't be apparent for a good long time. The EGM/1up features will be great and have loads of new information and most of you will think they have told you everything there is to know about SF4 after you read it) but there is a lot more information held back, than what we've divulged.[/quote] [/quote]
PRESENTATION
Why 3D Models instead of 2D sprites?
According to the Ono they at Capcom felt they had done as much as they possibly could in SF in 2D. In other words Capcom felt that they couldn't go above and beyond what they did in Third Strike when it came to a 2D SF game in terms of both graphics and gameplay. Ono went on to mention that while they could do could've done HD sprites that it would'nt have effected the gameplay much and that is was something that SF2HD pretty much already had covered.
Does the ink brush effect in the trailer show up in the gameplay?
Originally it was planned to only be used in the menu system, however more recent builds of the game have included brush stroke effects in certain key moments in a fight.
Why isn't the game exactly like what was in the trailer?
According to Ono it would've been impratical and too hard to play if done exactly like the trailer, and as far as the graphical look goes, just ask yourself how many pre-rendered video game trailers you've seen where the same look/graphics carry over to the final game.
Will the American version feature English voice acting?
Yes, it will.
It's also been stated that Capcom is working on the ability to allow players to toggle individual character voices between Japanese or English, so for instance let's say you don't like Ryu's English voice, but like Ken's English voice, well you could go into the options menu and change Ryu's specific voice from English to Japanese, without switching the rest of the characters voices to Japanese, thus you'd be able to keep Ken's English voice on if that's what you prefer.
To try and clear up some general confusion about SF I decided to make this mini Generel SF FAQ...
STREET FIGHTER GENERAL FAQ
What is Canon?
Canon (not Cannon - A Giant Weapon) is the official storyline or "say so" of a company/creator/rights holder when refrencing a specific storyline/universe.
All movies, cartoons, anime, comics, manga, or other media adaptions outside the games are considered non-canon. For example the events of SF2: The Animated Movie and SFA: The Animation are non-canon and do not fit with and/or contradict the official Capcom SF storyline. It should also be noted that all the SF animes (and American cartoon) all contradict one another as well, ie they don't fit together. The VS games (Marvel, SNK, Namco, etc) are also non-canon.
Media Influence
There are certain elements from various media works that have been incorporated into the official SF canon, but for the most part they have been changed for either legal reasons or to fit the existing storyline better. The most notable examples of such are the SF2 Animated Movie (meant to be a prequel to SF2 the game) which inspired Capcom to make the SFA series, which is a prequel to the SF2 series. Various elements from the Animated Movie were incorporated into the games, such as...
- Ken's longer hair (shown during the flashbacks in the movie) - The more muscular version of Bison. - Ken and Ryu's fist tap intro + Ryu and Ken's intro in which Ryu throws Ken over his shoulder (both come from flashbacks) - The grassy area from the movie's opening was made into a special Ryu Vs Sagat boss stage in SFA2. - The red coat Cammy wears during the beggining of the movie. - Ken giving Ryu the red headband (Ken's SFA2 ending) - The Dramatic Battle mode was inspired by the Ryu & Ken Vs Bison fight from the movie.
A number of other elements of also come from the SF mangas done by Nakahira Masahiko which include...
- Karin Kazuki, Sakura's rival first appeared in Sakura Ganbaru and was designed by Nakahira Masahiko. Virtualy every aspect of her was carried over to SFA3 with very little changes. She is the only official SF character not designed by a Capcom staff member, not counting other character forms (Evil Ryu, etc)
- Sakura's relationship with Karin and Dan was inspired by the events in Sakura Ganbaru.
- Evil Ryu was a plot device created by Nakahira Masahiko for the STREET FIGHTER ZERO manga which inspired Capcom to include Evil Ryu in SFA2, the character's first appearence.
- A powerful straight forward punch that uses the power of the wind shown in the RYU FINAL manga appeared as a new move for Ryu in the canceled Capcom Fighting All Stars game.
Why haven't the SFEX characters been seen outside the EX series?
The SFEX games were developed by ARIKA and published by Capcom (this is why the Capcom logo appears on the packaging and at the beggining of the game) and as such the EX characters are the property of ARIKA, and not that of Capcom, however ARIKA can not use the characters either as they're legaly "Street Fighter" characters by trademark, but not SF characters that Capcom owns, much like the original characters created for the SF Movie game.
Allen Snider and Blair Dame were legaly removed from the SF trademark before SFEX2, which is why they appeared in Fighting Layer, but also why they didn't appear in EX2 or EX3.
The storyline of the EX series is non-canon and does not fit with that of the Capcom SF series with the major point of divergence being that Kairi killed Akuma in the EX series (which is why Akuma isn't in EX2 and EX3) and this was intentionaly done to let people know that the two were not part of the same universe as Akuma is very much alive in the Capcom universe.
Fun Fact - The character designer/artist for the SFEX series is Edayan who also did the designs/art for the Rival Schools series, as well as the Phoenix Wright series.
I'm confused I thought this, this, and that..
There's alot of confusion when it comes to the official SF storyline and what happend and what didn't, and what was/is just from the movies, comics, etc, so here are couple of things to help people clear up certain mis-info....
SFA1 and SF3: A New Generation were essentialy unfinished games at the second versions that came along (SFA2 and SF3:SI) were kind of like remakes, ie what Capcom wanted to put out to begin with so SFA2 replaces SFA1, and SF3:SI replaces SF3:ANG.
With SF2 the most current version of the game is what the canon currently follows, with the exception of Hyper SF2, so technicaly the most current version of the SF2 storyline is in SF2 Revival (GBA) though that all may change when SF2HD is released.
SF4 would have to take place in 1994/1995 since Ken's SF4 bio states that Eliza is pregnant (with Mel) during SF4, and in SF3: Second Impact Mel is 3 years old.
- Akuma is not Ryu's father.
- Ryu and Ken's master is Gouken, who is the brother of Akuma. Gouken and Akuma were both taught by Goutetsu who created their fighting style as well as the art of the Hadou.
- There is no Shen Long character in SF, who is generaly thought of as the Grand Master and creator of the fighting style which Ryu and Ken use, however according to the canon Goutetsu created Hadou and the fighting style that they use, so in a way one could view Goutetsu as Shen Long.
- The fighting style that Ryu, Ken, Akuma, etc, all used is Ansatsuken and not Shotokan. Shotokan is what Capcom USA mistakenly labeled it. The style used by the characters is in reality a fictitious style that incorporates moves from various martial art styles, and has does include Shotokan moves, however the overall style resembles Shotokan very little. A more accurate depiction of Shotokan would be what Sub-Zero uses in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. It should also be noted that Ansatsuken isn't so much a style as a application of a style as Ansatsuken loosely translates to "Style With The Killing Intent" which can be applied to any fighting style really. Ansatsuken is what is listed as Gen's official style even though he uses Mantis + Crane Kung Fu with his style having no similiarities to Ryu's even though sharing the same name, so in essence one could view Gen's style as Ansatsuken Kung Fu and/or Ryu's as Ansatsuken Karate, however according to the canon Gouken taught Ryu and Ken a version of his own style with no leathel moves thus Ansatsuken is contradictive to Ryu and Ken even though that's what Capcom Japan lists as their style. An alternative solution to the name problem (if viewed as a problem) would be something like Hadou-Ken Karate as Ryu/Ken studied/use the art of Hadou (created by Goutetsu) while using a base fighting style similar of that to Karate. This is merely my own personal opinion, though it does fit with what's been stated in the canon and/or isn't contradictive like Ansatsuken. It also works with Akuma in that his version could be labeled Dark Haou-Ken Karate.
- Bison was killed by Akuma at the end of SF2. Akuma performed the Shun Goku Satsu on Bison which sent his soul to hell where it is constantly attacked by demons.
- Gill, even though the final boss of SF3, is not a bad guy/villian. He does not seek to conquer the world or hurt anybody the way most boss characters tend to. His goals are to lead the world's chosen few to the promised land. He's meant to be a Messiah like figure modeled after Jesus and Moses in the role that he plays or in what he's trying to do.
- Even though it's stated above that media adaptions are not canon, it seems like I have to point out that Shun from the SFA anime is not a Capcom owned character and as such not part of the official storyline, nor does Ryu have any biological family that we're aware of.
- Makoto was at one time meant to be Ryu's long lost sister, but Capcom later decided to drop this feeling that it didn't fit with Ryu's character and/or the overall storyline. Makoto does share similarities with that of Shun though, but that isn't all that surprising given that Third Strike and the SFA anime were in production at the sametime, and especialy since Makoto was meant to be Ryu's long lost sister at one point.
- 99% of the names used in the live action SF movies are non-canon, ie Ryu's last name is not Hoshi, Guile's first name is not William, etc, etc.
- The Rival Schools games may or may not take place within the SF universe. While Sakura appeared in the first Rival Schools game, she was removed by the second game and no refrences were made to her, where as virtualy every other character from the first game either returned or was refrenced, including the minor background characters. The first RS game takes place in 1999 with the sequel (Project Justice) set in 2000, so it makes since that Sakura was removed in that she was 16 in 1989 and couldn't still be in high school (and looking the exact same) in 1999, however the date of RS may have only been something that gave credit to why Sakura was removed, as there could've been another reason behind the scenes as to why she was, and aside from the whole Sakura thing it's known that the development teams behind the GBA and PSP versions of SFA3 were not allowed to include Kyosuke and specifically told not to include him even though he was originaly planned to appear in them, so it's quite possible that someone at Capcom does not want to see the two series crossover in the canon.
SF4 producer Ono explains that Poison was always meant to be a man and that in the Japanese version of Final Fight Poison is man that simply tucks his “business” away, while in the US version Poison is officially a post op transsexual.
Are Eagle and Zangief gay?
Eagle is infact gay and meant to be a tribute Freddy Mercury (lead singer of Queen) who was actually gay. Eagle makes various references to Queen songs like “We Are The Champions” in Capcom Vs SNK 2 while also commenting on how attractive Rock Howard is and that Morrigan’s succubus powers won’t work on a man like him.
As far as Zangief goes it’s unclear as to if he’s gay or not, with only little things like him admiring Vega, not liking beautiful women, and spinning around with Eagle in their special CvS2 intro pointing to the fact that he could possibly be gay.
The “Y” in Ryu makes an “E” sound instead of a “Y” sound. Confusing but true.
Even though most people (including those who know better) pronounce Zangief’s name like “Zan-Geef” due to the “I” proceeding the “E” the “I” is actually supposed to be silent to give the name a more Russian sound. Example pronounce the name Zan-Geef versus Zon-Geff and ask yourself which one sounds more Russian.
Urien’s name is meant to be pronounced like the name Julian, but without the “J” at the beginning.
