Street Fighter IV’s certainly a contender for fighting game of the year, but it won’t be if it’s online play is hampered by the same kind of lag that the Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix beta has been. That game’s not pushing netcode nearly as hard as SFIV will, presumably, and it’s been decidedly problem-ridden. But, according to SFIV executive producer Yoshinori Ono, Capcom is “working on it”.

In order to prevent the lag we’re thinking about trying to balance it up at user interface level and input timing by using joystick or something like that. We still haven’t got a complete plan as yet. We’re still working on it. That’s all we can say at the moment.

Getting fighting games working online seems to be a precise game of deterrence; there’s no way to get rid of lag, just ways of fighting it off, through backdoor shenanigans and programming tricks. Hopefully Capcom can get the job done, because I’m itching to put the hurt on foes worldwide.

Source: OXM via Game|Life

Long time fans of Super Street Fighter II Turbo (and the Street Fighter Alpha series) will be pleased to know that today, Capcom announced that cult fan favorite Akuma and his dragon fists of fury will indeed be returning to Street Fighter IV.

Complete with the images that Capcom put on the Japanese blog this morning, a video leaked onto YouTube that shows Akuma’s introductory cutscene as well as actual gameplay, in which Akuma promptly kicks some Abel ass. Hit the jump for the video and gallery of screenshots.
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There was a point in time (college) when I absolutely loved watching anime. I haven’t really gone out in search of it lately, and the SF4 anime intro, released by Capcom today, didn’t do much to rekindle my interest. Have at the video after the jump. Read more…

Bison wants your face!

Capcom is offering fans a way to appear in the much-anticipated Street Fighter IV. Calm down, you won’t be hurling Hadukens, but you can get yourself in there as a background character. Hit the jump to find out how. Read more…

Rufus, one of SFIV’s new characters.

Speaking with Famitsu Magazine, SFIV producer Yoshinori Ono revealed that the home versions of the game would feature online play and new characters not in the arcade version. Read more…

In the process of searching for an image for our previous report covering the announcement of Sagat and Balrog in SFIV, I stumbled upon the portfolio of one Chris Turcotte. Inside were several images depicting various stages of a detailed Sagat 3D model. Read more…

The tenth floor of the St. Regis hotel offered up a Street Fighter IV journalist-only tournament, complete with an open bar and enough pizza to satisfy the great E-Honda.

Upon entering the hotel room you are greeted by a loop of Street Fighter II playing on a large wall mounted plasma, two linked arcade units, and plenty of journalists trying to cram in as much practice as they can before the tournament officially kicked off. Read more…

The undeniable force that is the internet has struck again, with a little help from what appears to be a video recording enabled cell phone.

AUO 08 Footage of the Street Fighter IV game has made it to the web despite Capcom’s best effort to keep things under wraps. No telling how long these two videos will be available before Capcom requests their removal, but you can view them after the jump. Read more…

We hit you with some initial info and screens of Abel, the most recently announced Street Fighter IV Character just a few short hours ago thanks to some Famitsu scans — but wait there’s more.

Capcom just sent us a grab bag of additional content for this giant man in blue, and we feel like sharing. Have at the official bio, art, and several new in game screens after the jump. Read more…

Capcom has announced that Street Fighter IV will be a playable demo at this years GDC. I must admit that this news is right up there with the end of the writers strike.

As someone who is pushing thirty, I grew up playing Street Fighter in the arcades, and can’t wait to get my hands on this bad boy. A tournament will be held on Thursday night and I will be getting in some much needed practice before then. Read more…

The Famitsu website has released over 60 amazing screenshots of Street Fighter IV in action—and these are much better than the blurry scans that leaked onto the net this week. Read more…

New scans of Street Fighter IV from Japanese print publication Famitsu were just made available and confirm the existence of Blanka, Chun-Li, Dhalsim, E. Honda, Guile, and Zangief in the best way possible.

So, what we have is essentially the original Street Fighter II cast along with a new character. Surely, we’ll see more faces, both new and old. Personal opinion and hi-res screens after the break. Read more…