Street Fighter IV has four new characters: sexy American spy Crimson Viper, the mysterious Abel, luchador and chef El Fuerte and the round Rufus — there's also a new boss character, Seth. Four new fighters is totally fitting! And which new character do Americans seem to respond to the most? French martial arts dude Abel. According to SFIV producer Yoshinori Ono:
With all due to respect to him, he's a great character, but honestly we thought Crimson Viper would be a big hit here... We got a lot of marketing data and a lot of advice from our US branch in creating that character. She was kind of custom tailored for the States and we thought people would like her... What we need to do now is find out what his [Abel's] deal is, why they like him and use that information going forward.
Just when you thought Americans would like a sunglasses wearing female spy in a tight suit, they go and fall in love with a large blond Frenchman. Gotta love Americans. They keep ya guessing.
‘Street Fighter IV' Producer Perplexed By America's Choice For Favorite New Character [Multiplayer]