"In the same way that character selection was a critical part of designing this game to appeal to our hardcore fans, how the game played was equally, if not more, important," she continued. "Those same fans which I mentioned from Comic-Con that played the game back in the arcades but are now in their 30's, 40's and 50's were a bit nervous about playing the game because they assumed it must play very differently. In just about every case, after assuring them that if they were good back in the day, they would rock at SFIV, players were able to get back on the sticks and pull off their favorite moves in no time. In the same way that we would have turned off the veterans by throwing a whole new cast of characters at them, we would not have been able to get them excited about SFIV if we had made the fighting system too complicated. Our community manager and Street Fighter expert, Seth Killian, spent a lot of time with the dev team making sure that the game was balanced and would appeal to veterans and newbies. In order to have mainstream appeal, the game had to be accessible. This does not mean that the game is easy; one of the great things about Street Fighter is that you can have a lot of fun button mashing or if you are like Seth or Grant Luke (the senior product manager on SFIV), the fun comes in perfecting the moves and how you play with certain characters."

Street Fighter IV, like most fighting games of its ilk, isn't big on the number of game modes it features. One option, however, that had significant impact in the Street Fighter community was full online play, allowing for a wide variety of opponents even if no one local to you plays Street Fighter IV. "For people that grew up playing Street Fighter in the arcades, many will tell you about that guy or girl that used to always kick their butts, but because the experience of playing was so much fun, they would always go back for more," explained Anadu. "Previous home versions of Street Fighter have been able to recreate the fighting but not the feeling and emotion of playing against other people. These opponents could have been people you knew or that random person who just happened to put their quarter up on the machine and ended up paired against you. With the ability to play online, we are not only recreating the fighting but also bringing back the fun that comes with competing against another person. Just as it did in the arcades many years ago, we know that this competition factor will keep people coming back for more."

Super Street Fighter IV: Special Championship Edition Turbo EX Plus
Street Fighter IV's promotional campaign began with a teaser trailer depicting Ryu and Ken fighting, with several calligraphic flourishes added, which hinted at the look of the coming game. Over time, various characters for the game were slowly revealed, showing the varied and popular characters coming to the game. The TV spots also highlighted the action of the in-game fighting, demonstrating the detail of the in-game visuals.

"In terms of promoting SFIV, one of the best things we did was to import 10 of the Japanese arcade machines into the U.S." detailed Anadu. "Having veteran players be able to get their hands on the game in a way that took them back to what it was like to play back in the day was invaluable. Those arcade machines were literally like an 80s rock band on tour. Of course the arcade machines appeared at venues you would have expected them to, like Comic-Con and E3, but the most fun we had with the arcade machines was when we took them to places where you would not have expected them, like Sneaker Pimps, a traveling sneaker aficionado show, and MAGIC, the apparel show in Vegas. It was at places like Sneaker Pimps and MAGIC that we met some of the brand's biggest fans. There were guys who were following the arcade machines from city to city and guys showing off their Street Fighter-themed tattoos."

"The arcade machines were also the inspiration for our underground events, Street Fighter Club," she added. "These events were modeled after the movie Fight Club; we used old warehouses and basements and minimal production value because Street Fighter Clubs were all about the game, not showing people how much money we could spend on an event. Some of the venues we used were so ill equipped to handle us that we had to drill holes in ceilings to run extension cords for power. The Street Fighter Club we hosted in Brooklyn was one of the coolest; the guys from I am 8 bit helped put it together. They found a venue that looked like a bodega from the outside but opened up to a larger room and a basement. When I say that we almost killed ourselves getting the venue ready for the event, I mean that literally. A couple of people from the marketing team had to go to the hospital from breathing in so much dirt and debris. Even with this, when I look back on the last year of SFIV craziness, I wouldn't change a thing."

Street Fighter IV is just the latest entry in Capcom's mission to revive classic beloved franchises, and it's hard to argue with the success they've had. Whether this will lead to a Street Figher 5 or a sequential Street Fighter IV release with more characters is uncertain at this time. Right now, we're too busy practicing our dragon punches for a local tourney to care.