Yoshinori Ono, the Producer of Capcom’s forthcoming Street Fighter IV, has hinted that the console versions of the highly anticipated brawler will feature more characters than its arcade counterpart.
"If and when there are console versions, we could see someone like Sakura-chan [Street Fighter Alpha] or Ibuki [Street Fighter III]," said Ono, speaking to Wired.
"For a home version, you can sit and practice the characters as long as you want to before you take them online. So there will probably be a move to add even more characters.”
"Of course we know that there are people who want Alpha characters, who want [Street Fighter] III characters, or who want all-new characters," he added. "We get emails, we read the message boards. We’re listening to all of those voices. We have to respect those users as well, they’re terribly important."
Capcom has yet to commit to releasing the game onto home consoles following its arcade release, although fans are unanimous in their belief that it will happen regardless of the fact an official announcement has yet to be made.
Ono also pledged how he wishes to make Street Fighter IV more inviting for new-comers to the genre, unlike its predecessor, which he felt was more targeted to hardcore audiences.
"Street Fighter III was kind of an exclusive club where if you didn’t know what you were doing, there was no reason to even try and play it," said Ono. This time, we’re trying to re-open the fighting genre to people who haven’t played it in a while."
“It’s going to be a lot like chess," he continued. There are grand master chess players who play on ESPN2, but you could also have a grandfather and his granddaughter playing chess. You’re in charge of playing at whatever level you’re capable of. We give you the board and some pieces and rules."