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.

If you look closely at this photo you'll see two mounds mounted over the joysticks. "That will feature a card system, which is a very popular trend in Japan.  You'll be able to do cool things like play to unlock special costumes and save them on your card, track your rank, and compete with your same profile since our Japanese distributor supports this card system for various games already."

Japanese arcades are also going making the best use of the cabinet's Wi-fi features. You can sit down and play against anyone that's on the grid, whether they are sitting on the paired cabinet next to you or across the hall. Here's the kicker: if a local arcade is having a tournament or a special event you'll be able to get alerts and information right from the machine. Who needs a life when you've got this? Note the subtle icon located at the bottom of the screen.

As for the rest of us, well, maybe we'll see something like that come to our consoles soon. Online gaming on Xbox Live is great, but bringing groups of like-minded people together in person to compete makes Street Fighter IV almost feel like a sport.  We hope the plan delivers, as I'm sure the hardcore community that follows the game will get a lot of use from it. 

Check out the gallery for close-ups of some cabinet stickers and photos from the booth!