Super Street Fighter IV wasn't always super.
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.