Ultra Street Fighter IV only exists because of fan engagement

Street Fighting Mans

The reveal of Ultra Street Fighter IV took many by surprise, as Capcom had previously indicated that Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition would be the last major update to the five-year-old game. Why did Capcom decide it needed another iteration, with five new characters and a slew of changes? We recently talked to two of the producers--Matt Dahlgren and Peter "Combofiend" Rosas--who explained that you're to blame/thank.

Matt told us that despite intending for AE to be the end, the continued fan engagement for SFIV at fighting game events like last weeks EVO made them answer the fan's call for more content. When it came to choosing characters to add, Capcom took a similar fan-based approach, bringing in Hugo, Poison, Elena, and Rolento. One of the recurring things we saw were people wanting to add the characters from Street Fighter X Tekken to Super Street Fighter IV.

Dont expect the characters to get dropped straight from SFXT into Ultra, though. The devs are working hard on listening to community feedback on balance, tweaking moves in subtle and not-so-subtle ways to make the new additions fit in the delicate fighting ecosystem of Street Fighter. After acknowledging that SFXTs gameplay tweaks werent wholly embraced by fighting fans, the team seems much more open to suggestions with Ultra.

Dahlgren and Rosas were pretty tight-lipped on the final mystery character, other than reconfirming that the newcomer had never been in a Street Fighter game before. When we pressed if it would be a more zany character, like the numerous guests in the Vs. games, they explained that character would fit within the Street Fighter cast. Dont expect Bad Box Art Mega Man, Matt said. Good to know.

Check out the following slides for additional images and more information.

Elena's nimble Capoeira style looks as gorgeous in SF4 as it did in Street Fighter III: Third Strike.

At the moment, it's unclear if Elena's "Beats in--beats in-beats in--beats in my headddd" theme will make a triumphant return for Ultra.

Besides Chun-Li, Elena is probably the most leg-focused fighter in the Street Fighter roster.

Hugo's iconic normals are back, and they're just as effective as ever.

Expect to see plenty of Palm Breakers woven into big-damage combos.

BOOT TO THE HEAD!

Poison's use of a riding crop doesn't quite seem fair, but we love her just the same.

C. Viper doesn't take kindly to scantily clad women running amok.

Rolento's killer baton combos are sure to infuriate any unprepared players.

So, yeah--we're pretty sure Rolento just shattered E. Honda's nose.