E3 08: Street Fighter IV arcade cabinets will be better than sex (in Japan)

If you're a Street Fighter fanboy, you're going to want to consider residency in Tokyo after reading this article. Seth Killian, Capcom's Senior Community Manager ushered us into one of the coolest suites at E3: The Street Fighter IV room. Dimly lit and decorated with a giant red carpet bearing the new logo, the booth kind of felt like a holy place for fans for the house that Ryu built.

"There's a lot of joy here", Seth smiled proudly. "Everyone that loves the game is really happy for us. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive ... I mean, just look at it!  I often just pause the game to see the animation (which was sped up from original builds to improve game play fluidity) just to see the detail. I always see something new." 

While I've certainly been one of the more outspoken critics on the character model proportions (Ryu's man-potato, Chun Li's man hands, etc) I must admit that I'm quickly developing a hard-on for this game. Even the fussiest purists are going to have a lot of fun with it; despite its 3D looks the control scheme has a very similar mechanical feel of the 2D classic.

That said, let's talk about something you'll probably never experience because American arcades are long dead: Plans for a top-loading card slot that will allow Japanese gamers to compete and connect in ways we would have killed for in the 90's.

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