Initially, franchise producer Yoshinori Ono thought the next iteration of Street Fighter, landing just a year after the release of Street Fighter IV, should get a new number. Maybe not five, but perhaps 4.9.

But Capcom thought that might be too confusing and instead slapped the game with a Super, leap-frogging over Championship and Hyper Fighting editions, said Capcom Community Manager Seth Killian.

While the new game, due out early next year, will include a host of back-end improvements, about eight new characters, new stages, moves and gameplay modes, Capcom is still debating whether to sell the game for the traditional price of console titles or a lower price, Killian said.

Like its inevitable price, the changes and upgrades brought with Super Street Fighter IV are very fan driven.

"This is the most fan-responsive game in Capcom's history," Killian said.

Changes to the game will include balancing tweaks, but at least one famously irritating character won't be made easier to take on, he'll be made harder.

"Seth will be even cheaper and more irritating," Killian said.

And end-boss Seth won't be the only one to get some tweaks, some of the existing characters will get new moves. Killian mentioned Ken as one character who will have something new in Super, though he said it wouldn't be as radical as introducing new techniques like parries.

While Killian wouldn't go into the details of the new online modes that will be introduced with Super Street Fighter IV, he did say that Capcom is very aware of the complaint gamers have about not being able to hang-out in online rooms watching people play one another online.

"That is one of the things we will try to address," he said.

Super will also include a new set of stories for each of the characters, both the original 25 and the eight new characters. This time round the animation will not be done by Studio 4°C, he said.

Capcom declined to let me play the game, though I was able to watch Killian play and he showed off some of the signature moves of the new characters, including returning fighter T. Hawk.

From what I saw the character's animation, including their focus attacks, blended nicely with the existing game's aesthetic.

"So, unfortunately, I'm sorry to say to arcade fans out there: there won't be an arcade version of this," Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono told website GamesReactor. I think a lot of people were kind of requesting an arcade update. I know that, in some parts of the world, it doesn't really matter if there's an arcade version or not," he told GamesReactor.

"But certainly in Japan and the rest of Asia and some parts of the Oceania, there's still a lot of people playing in arcades. So, I'm sorry to disappoint them but this time its going to be Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 only affair."

That's a shame. A damn shame.

Ono Interview [GamesReactor via http://www.examiner.com/x-6894-SF-Console-Game-Examiner~y2009m9d29-No-arcade-version-for-Super-Street-Fighter-IV">Examiner via Gamer Center]

The home console versions brings characters like Cammy, Sakura, Fei-Long and even "joke" character Dan. The game doesn't get Super Street Fighter II characters T. Hawk and Dee Jay. Or does it?

Regarding T. Hawk or Dee Jay, SFIV producer Yoshinori Ono told Famitsu, "The development team said, "We want them in!" Honestly, we did the modeling up to the pre-texturing. We made the fight settings for T. Hawk in Street Fighter IV... If user's make their voices know, this prep work is something we can revive at anytime."

Capcom's always prepared. It's like a big blue and yellow boy scout. Ono also says he'd like to make Street Fighter IV: Championship Edition. Once again, this depends on the reaction from gamers.

『ストリートファイターIV』開発者インタビュー [Famitsu]

Das Interview: Street Fighter IV Producer Yoshinori Ono, Part 1 [Das Gamer]

Obviously lag will be a huge problem for online play. We're working on it. Compared to other games such as Virtua Fighter and Soul Calibur, they've got replay functions and so forth. It's quite difficult for 3D Street Fighter at the moment.

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.

Here's hoping they figure something out.

Street Fighter IV interview [OXM via Joystiq]

That means it won't be coming home with console-exclusive fighters a la Yoda and Darth Vader (or Link, Spawn and Heihachi). Instead, each version is planned to include the same roster, the arcade line-up plus whatever new additions the SFIV team sees fit. We have a fairly good idea that Cammy is one of those new additions, but hope we'll get much more than just her.

Any requests?

Ono seems to like it better, too. Just look at how happy he is!

「メインポスター完成！」　プロジェクトマネージャー：塩沢夏希 [SFIV Publicity Blog via Kramez's Blog]

As Ono and crew already specified, the Street Fighter IV home conversion with feature characters not seen in the arcade version as well as online internet play. Ono stressed that the two characters not in the final arcade version who showed up in preliminary art form, Dan Hibiki and Fei Long, are not yet confirmed to appear in the console version. He told us that the team simply hasn't decided yet who will be added to the roster and that SFIV artist Daigo Ikeno "is still working on many designs."

As for what features we can expect, Ono often mentioned the SNES version of Street Fighter II, in its multiple incarnations, as something the team was striving to match. Maybe not in terms of feature set, but that they're hoping Street Fighter IV's home version will be as popular amongst console gamers as its '90s predecessor was.

Ono revealed that the home versions of Street Fighter IV may see the return of bonus levels, the kind that led to much car and barrel destruction in SFII. As for the arcade version, Ono says don't count on it. He chalks it up to capitalism, noting that due to the high cost of the SFIV arcade set up, time spent kicking steel drums or smashing in headlights is money out of arcade operators' pockets.

One other goody that the console and PC ports are expected to get are fully animated endings for each character. While the arcade version of Street Fighter IV features simple still frames—something Ono chalks up to budget limitations—the console follow ups will be packed with more cinematic endings, said to be produced by an unnamed, but famous anime studio.

Ono showed off one animated sequence early in the day, one that featured Ryu, Akuma, Ken and a man who appears to be Gouken in a dramatic battle rife with flashbacks and over the top attacks. The SFIV producer mentioned that this particular sequence was not going to be included in the final version, but was limited to media events, possibly to give us an understanding of how the final product will look.

Those anime-style port-exclusive clips will help flesh out the Street Fighter storyline, according to Ono, giving us insight into plot points such as the return of M. Bison.

Arcade purists will be happy to learn that Capcom plans to ship an "arcade perfect" controller in time with the console and PC versions. Ono revealed that they're already in talks with a peripheral maker in the U.S. to release an arcade accurate stick with a steel base plate, steel shaft and arcade style buttons, possibly bundled with a copy of the game.

For a look at the animation sequence we saw at Captivate 08, check out a few stills in the gallery below.

Ono tells Chris "Chun-Li Lighting Leg Spam" Kohler that SFIV home ports could see appearances from Sakura from Street Fighter Alpha or Ibuki from Street Fighter III, for example, and that the team is listening to fan requests with regard to the character roster.

According to the piece, sounds like Ono is taking the perception that Street Fighter III was limited to an "exclusive club" of fighting fans seriously.

Inside Street Fighter IV's Nostalgic Allure [Game|Life]