Street Fighter IV ready to brawl

Teaser trailer arrives for long-awaited next installment in flagship Capcom fighting franchise.

For the last week, a countdown timer on Capcom's official Web site has been ticking off the seconds, telling visitors simply to "Prepare yourself." This morning, the countdown ended, and was replaced by a teaser video for a game the Capcom faithful have had a decade to prepare for.

SFIV Trailer

Get the first look at Street Fighter IV.

Today, some 10 years after Street Fighter III: The New Generation made its arcade debut (and a host of remakes, upgrades, and spin-offs later), Capcom revealed that it is finally making Street Fighter IV.

The trailer depicts longtime rivals Ken and Ryu duking it out once more, this time in a moonlit forest. The two friends and frequent rivals exchange, block, and parry blows for about a minute, busting out such familiar moves as the hurricane kick and dragon punch. With neither fighter gaining the advantage, Ryu charges up a fireball that bathes the screen in white before the Street Fighter IV logo appears with a splash of blood, followed by a warning to "Prepare yourself."

The trailer appears to have been rendered in heavily stylized 3D, which calls into question what form the fighting in the next Street Fighter would take. Although the Street Fighter series has traditionally focused on 2D fighting, if Street Fighter IV turns out to be a 3D brawler, it would not be the first time the series has hit the third dimension. Capcom enlisted developer Arika to create the Street Fighter EX arcade spin-off in 1996. It spawned a handful of sequels and decently reviewed PlayStation ports, but has been dormant since Street Fighter EX3 helped pad out the PlayStation 2 launch lineup.

This is the smirk Ryu wants to wipe off Ken's face.

Capcom's own experience with 3D fighting games goes a bit further, given that it has created the Power Stone, Star Gladiator, Tech Romancer, and Rival Schools series. However, not all of its 3D efforts have borne fruit. Capcom Fighting All-Stars was announced in 2002 as a 3D fighting game with characters pulled from a host of the publisher's series (including Street Fighter, Rival Schools, Strider, and Final Fight), but it was cancelled the following year.

As for 2D fighters, Capcom has produced a steady flow of repackaged and compiled Street Fighter games, but the last new 2D fighter from the company was 2004's lukewarmly received Capcom Fighting Evolution. That game was a crossover of multiple Capcom games, including Street Fighter II, Street Fighter III, Street Fighter Alpha, Darkstalkers, and the obscure Red Earth (also known as Warzard).

960 Comments

  • SonyIsh6Fotta

    Posted Feb 23, 2008 1:17 am PT

    Online streetfighter=crazy

  • jahd5000

    Posted Feb 8, 2008 4:55 pm PT

    what console is this for? hope PS3

  • chosencocoa

    Posted Jan 2, 2008 6:46 pm PT

    Oh yeah and Street Fighter 4?1 My girl is getting sex tonight!!!

  • chosencocoa

    Posted Jan 2, 2008 6:43 pm PT

    I don't know who started this "mortal kombat is compitition for street fighter" crap....all I know is I'd rather play KOF than Mortal Kombat. Street Fighter is hands down the best fighter ever!!!

  • Skyline22

    Posted Dec 18, 2007 8:58 am PT

    umm...why?

  • KingDevon23

    Posted Dec 17, 2007 8:14 pm PT

    This game has potential to be the best fighting game on the Xbox 360 game console EVER ! I mean they already have the fan base, and we know the past games are still fun even years after they were produced, but this is just going to be CRAZY !!! IF they stick to the basics and don't try and get TOO fancy for their own good. I think its good they are keeping most of the older players (Hopefully they still have Blanca), but I hope the graphics are just mind blowing and the fighting style is just really, really smooooooth. If they can do this then this game will be an instant classic. Also they must have online, and extra game modes. I will stay updated with this game until it come out ! If the reviews about it are good then I will for sure buy it !

  • yarow12

    Posted Dec 17, 2007 6:38 pm PT

    ...HOLY SH*T! They don't even have to say anythin' about this one. Just play the commercial on television and that's it. No need to even show the name of it. Ryu + Ken + Revolutionized Style = AWESOMENESS 'nuff said.

  • b_karate

    Posted Dec 16, 2007 1:21 am PT

    sorry, CrazyRabbi but you are wrong. Mortal Kombat might have been more popular where you live but world wide street fighter was more popular. On a list of best selling video games of all time by console street fighter had 5 games across 3 console(street fighter II, super street fighter II and street fighter II: turbos for super nintendo, Street fighter II: champion edition for sega genisis and street fighter: alpha 3fro PS1). Mortal kombat had 4 games across 2 console (Mortal kombat 2 and 3 for super nintendo and sega genises) and all three street fighter IIs outsold the 2 mortal kombats on the super nintendo and the street fighter II on sega outsold mortal kombat 3 on sega genisis. By genre the original street fighter II is the single best selling fighting game in history. And by series street fighter is the 24th best selling video game series of all time selling roughly 25 million units. On the same list mortal kombat placed 27th and has sold roughly 20 million copies. The numbers speak for them selves, street fighter was and still is superior to mortal kombat and every other fighting game series ever made. For the record on the same list tekken placed 29th and had 3 games on the top selling lists fro 2 consoles: tekken 2 and 3 for ps1 and tekken tag tournament fro ps2. Soul calibur 1 is on the list of best selling sega dreamcast games. No other fighting games were on any consoles best selling list and none were on the best selling franchise list. Also of note the Halo series was ranked 31 on the best selling series list so tekken, mortal kombat and street fighter all have sold more units then halo 1, 2, and 3 combined.

    Note: To be eligible for being placed on the lists for a console's best selling video game. The individual game needed to sell atleast 1 million units. To be eligible for the best selling list by genre was dependant on the single best selling game for any series on any console in the specific genre. To be eligible to be placed on the best selling series list the series as a whole needed to have sold 10 million units.

  • k_a_patel

    Posted Dec 14, 2007 4:07 pm PT

    and THAT's why your name is CRAZYrabbi !!

    If they make this game accessible and easy to pick up, but yet still deep and complex, with good exhaustive training modes, it has A LOT of potential to become the top fighting game of this era..

    because personally, i feel like the fighting genre has been slowly eroding away

  • CrazyRabbi

    Posted Dec 12, 2007 3:05 am PT

    "Someone commented that mortal kombat has competition now, beg to differ. Mortal kombat could never hold a candle to SF. Now that thay are back, EVERYOTHER Fighting game is going to the grave. Glad to see you back capcom."

    Actually no, Mortal Kombat was the one fighting game that surpassed Street Fighter in popularity. I don't know where to look for numbers of sales or anything but I grew up in those times and looking back now I know that Mortal Kombat was superior to Street Fighter.

  • Shadowalker1191

    Posted Dec 11, 2007 8:41 am PT

    Someone commented that mortal kombat has competition now, beg to differ. Mortal kombat could never hold a candle to SF. Now that thay are back, EVERYOTHER Fighting game is going to the grave. Glad to see you back capcom.

  • ShadierFool

    Posted Dec 8, 2007 10:48 pm PT

    can't wait

  • TimDigit

    Posted Dec 7, 2007 10:50 pm PT

    don't care if it's 2d 3d or holo' just want STF back ;...and it is!!!!!!!!!

  • yunatic

    Posted Dec 6, 2007 12:44 pm PT

    i want to see everyone of the original characters and the new ones, its always fun to have more character to play with.

  • dbrownGT

    Posted Nov 18, 2007 8:07 pm PT

    i want this sOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo bad
    O_o ^^ doesnt even come close to describing my lust for this game . . .

  • Fuddley101

    Posted Nov 4, 2007 5:32 pm PT

    One thing is clear, and hinted by the video, the new street fighter will have BLOOD!!! Hence the red splattering at the end of the trailer and cleverly disguised as a kind of artistic sketch ink throughout. Think i'm crazy well Mike Boon (MK creator) always wanted to do a collaboration with Street Fighter, maybe Capcom have decided to show him how its done.

  • XChaosHawKX

    Posted Oct 24, 2007 1:17 pm PT

    ......one word to decribes all this (HOLY SH*T STREET FIGHTER 4) NICE!!!

  • wingchunstudent

    Posted Oct 24, 2007 11:20 am PT

    It's about time. ^^

  • wumpscutnut

    Posted Oct 23, 2007 4:34 pm PT

    I want it. But I want Chrono Trigger II more.

  • oonge

    Posted Oct 23, 2007 7:31 am PT

    somone finally awoke from a long slumber! good to see them make a comeback.hope the game will be something to look forward to

  • DragonMaskD

    Posted Oct 22, 2007 4:55 pm PT

    Great to have Street Fighter back after all these years. Still prefer Virtua Fighter and Super Smash Bros, but this is going to be a must have for everyone.

  • jedijr88

    Posted Oct 22, 2007 1:46 pm PT

    Kage, actually Ken indeed does his shoryuken-- but it's drawn out and easily missed if you're not watching very carefully.

    He actually starts it at about :22 seconds by dragging his hand across the ground.

    At :23 he leaps up into the air.

    The close up at :27 is him actually in the air.

    And you can finally see it come together at :34 when he twists down from the air and lands. It's there!

  • DNOMYTE

    Posted Oct 22, 2007 1:34 pm PT

    Pretty sure Mortal Kombat has been the number one selling fighting game for like 4 years now.

  • NND1

    Posted Oct 22, 2007 11:30 am PT

    Just plain sick!!

  • towelie123

    Posted Oct 21, 2007 11:01 pm PT

    looks pretty damn good! hope they include the old street figthers in the game just to add a bit of extra fun!

  • bukkookkub

    Posted Oct 21, 2007 10:57 pm PT

    one of the best trailers i've seen in a long time!

  • da_phatman01

    Posted Oct 21, 2007 9:54 pm PT

    man I think it'll be hot, knowing the way capcom does with this franchise they just keep improving...SF II was great , i remember when i was in grammer school i just go to the arcade to play against anyone and beat them. SF III was sicker cause it make you improved your tactical skills ( just not mashing button in the VS. series), so i think SF IV will be great, i think the best way to enjoy it is not over hype and see what happens so we won't get majorly disappointed cough***spiderman 3***cough

  • kage_53

    Posted Oct 21, 2007 3:47 pm PT

    d3r7y I dont know? Street Fighter is at its best as a 2D fighter. Look what happened with the EX version, it was horrible!
    -----
    Capcom didn't make EX SF games. Arika did. Capcom of Japan is making SF4 and they made good 3D fighters before like Rival Schools/ Project Justice and the 2 Power Stone games.

    The only thing that sucks about the trailer is it shows Ryu doing his hadouken but Ken not doing his shoryuken. Other than that it was perfect.

  • ninjasam

    Posted Oct 21, 2007 12:58 pm PT

    what? Mortal kombat has competition? Mortal kombat sucks. Its not like sales have been good either. And besides, it isn't coming out for a long time. It is probably going to be delayed after they give us a day to expect it on anyway.

  • compaq345682

    Posted Oct 21, 2007 10:24 am PT

    Mortal Kombat actually has competition now

  • peeweeshift

    Posted Oct 21, 2007 6:27 am PT

    so far away. i'm to scared for a 3d makeover. third strike kept me happy though.

  • marqo

    Posted Oct 21, 2007 5:22 am PT

    The thumb UP;D

  • Wakey652

    Posted Oct 21, 2007 4:33 am PT

    WANT

  • Amdi2004

    Posted Oct 21, 2007 3:52 am PT

    It sucks that we have to wait over a year for it to come out!
    Why can't they just do it sooner ?

  • thk123

    Posted Oct 21, 2007 2:42 am PT

    Any one know what console(s) this is going to be on? Apart from that, sounds cool!

  • Arab-man666

    Posted Oct 20, 2007 4:56 pm PT

    I'm a Master Assassin in Palestine, n3ck. Let's do this *Hides among other gamespotters*

  • n3ck

    Posted Oct 20, 2007 7:47 am PT

    This trailers amazing, gets me fired up to fight for real LOL, lucky for me i,m a 1st dan at chinese boxing.

  • raexn

    Posted Oct 20, 2007 6:59 am PT

    Don't rain on our parade. SF is a pretty awesome fighting series. Eagerly awaiting more info!

  • leem2k1 posted Oct 20, 2007 2:53 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    leem2k1

    Posted Oct 20, 2007 2:53 am PT (hide)

    Fighting games. Yawn.
    Since when was memorizing button combos fun?

  • prowler666

    Posted Oct 20, 2007 1:41 am PT

    that's propably the coolest trailer ever made :]

  • majestikk

    Posted Oct 19, 2007 8:59 pm PT

    Ok, just saw the trailer, and it looks HOT lol! But I'd still love to see Marvel vs Capcom 3 lol!

  • majestikk

    Posted Oct 19, 2007 8:55 pm PT

    Forget Street Fighter IV. I want MARVEL VS CAPCOM 3!!!!

  • sniper2k0

    Posted Oct 19, 2007 6:14 pm PT

    Awesome trailer! Can't wait to beat "someone" up

  • 1407

    Posted Oct 19, 2007 4:56 pm PT

    totally agree with d3r7y, the EX version was a mistake..sow slow. you cant make it feel better on 3D,just improve the graphics, thats all, the classic form is the best !!

  • krisryuvaldez

    Posted Oct 19, 2007 4:00 pm PT

    HELL YEAH!!!!!!!! new street fighter who hoooooo!!!!!

  • d3r7y

    Posted Oct 19, 2007 2:39 pm PT

    I dont know? Street Fighter is at its best as a 2D fighter. Look what happened with the EX version, it was horrible!

  • johnwillfindit

    Posted Oct 19, 2007 2:37 pm PT

    sweet, its high time we get a nex gen fighter, thats better than that under whelming mortal combat Armageddon

  • Sony110

    Posted Oct 19, 2007 2:02 pm PT

    Whooo! Man that looks sick! Can't wait for this to come out

  • lilhed1

    Posted Oct 19, 2007 1:59 pm PT

    HADOKEN

  • CyberKillerZ

    Posted Oct 19, 2007 1:30 pm PT

    OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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