Imagine SFIV producer Yoshinori Ono in a bathrobe, drink in hand, watching SSFIV replays. That somewhat ridiculous image is apparently the inspiration behind Super Street Fighter IV's new Replay Channel mode. The SSFIV dev blog has again been updated, and this week gives us a closer look at this new feature.

The Replay Channels were something Ono himself requested, and the staff talks about their feelings on when replays were first made available in SFIV. They note that it was not only fun to watch top tier players duke it out, but that it could be just as entertaining to watch the worst of the worst. Additionally, you might learn a thing or two either way, picking up tricks from the good and being reminded what not to do from the bad.

Only a few of the channels were discussed today, one being the "Battle Log" channel, which will automatically log your online match replays. The "New Replay" channel logs only the latest from players who've won a certain number of consecutive ranked matches, so this will be where you'll want to tune in to watch high level players do their thing.

The Battle Log channel only holds a certain number of replays, with the older ones eventually being dropped to make room for new vids. However, you can still save your favorites as you like in "My List." This ties in with the "My Channel" option, which showcases the "My List" replay collection of everyone on your friends list.

Voice chat is enabled here, and Shoizaki suggests that players use the Replay Channels as an opportunity for "snack time." That sounds about right to me, and it'll be a great way to keep the party alive between matches or after everyone's thumbs and stick fingers are tired. This is looking to be a pretty awesome addition, and next week we'll get some further info on the new bonus stages to go along with it.

[Via Andriasang]