Interview With Ono @ Leipzig [Archive]

KiShiDo

08-20-2008, 10:21 AM

^^ Well dunno where you read it.

1UP: How about the new characters for the console version...have you figured them all out yet?

YO: As you know we allowed people to vote on which character they most wanted to see in the console version and Cammy won, so she's definitely in the game. We have a rough version of her already up and running. Akuma came in second or third and we've already included him in the arcade game. Figuring out the right number of characters is a lot like chess. You need to know the rules well, and things need to be balanced properly. We'll see what we ultimately end up with.

CAMMY =D

altergenesis

08-20-2008, 10:25 AM

A lot of it seems double speak for "The game isn't doing as well as we hoped, and the console version is going to be a rush job."

Seriously. That's what I got.

AlcaTraz644

08-20-2008, 10:25 AM

A wii version for the SF4 that'll be the day i have a wii and i hardly see that happening bought to sell that system soon. Now that cammy won the vote and in the game that means it's possible for 3rd strike or alpha characters to make an appereance in Sf4 aswell if there's enough votes for them.

Akutabi Gamma

08-20-2008, 10:31 AM

Wait when did we vote for Gouki?

TaZaR

08-20-2008, 10:35 AM

Did you noticed that?
YO: As you know we allowed people to vote on which character they most wanted to see in the console version and Cammy won, so she's definitely in the game. We have a rough version of her already up and running. Akuma came in second or third and we've already included him in the arcade game
He wasn't even in the vote, so what? :confused:

shoo

08-20-2008, 10:40 AM

spiral arrow!!!!!!!!!

i love cammy

Chocolate Sausage

08-20-2008, 10:40 AM

I like all the new characters, especially Abel...but this segment made me lol.

1UP: What was the thinking behind Rufus by the way? A lot of people say he looks pretty out of place -- which is kind of ironic given that they're talking about a game that also has a crazy green dude with orange hair.

YO: Look, if people are just looking for really cool looking but ultimately bland characters they can go play Tekken or Virtua Fighter, but people like Street Fighter because of its over-the-top characters, and Rufus fits our roster well.

1UP: So who do you think is going to be peoples' favorite new character?

YO: Abel.

Considering Abel is probably the most vanilla of all the newcomers.

ramberk

08-20-2008, 10:49 AM

Popularity has nothing to do with how well a character fits in with the roster or with how unique/eccentric the character is. Ryu is the most popular character in SF and he's the most generic fighting game character of all time.

Grand Viper

08-20-2008, 10:51 AM

A lot of it seems double speak for "The game isn't doing as well as we hoped, and the console version is going to be a rush job."

I kind of got this vibe too, but they seem to be taking their sweet time with the console release, especially now with the talks of it releasing alongside the movie in February.

Grand Viper

08-20-2008, 10:55 AM

I like all the new characters, especially Abel...but this segment made me lol.

Considering Abel is probably the most vanilla of all the newcomers.

Yeah I noticed that too. I think Ono is a little upset that people aren't taking to Viper as well as they'd hoped given all the research they did to come up with a character that targets the western audience. Given that he's normally so talkative, I love how short he is there. He's just like, "Abel." People might play Viper more if they didn't continue to pound her with handicaps every loketest up until the final release.

Pablo_the_Mex

08-20-2008, 11:07 AM

You know, at least Blanka is somewhat cool. Rufus is just ugly.

CaliLifeStyle

08-20-2008, 11:16 AM

Yeah I noticed that too. I think Ono is a little upset that people aren't taking to Viper as well as they'd hoped given all the research they did to come up with a character that targets the western audience. Given that he's normally so talkative, I love how short he is there. He's just like, "Abel." People might play Viper more if they didn't continue to pound her with handicaps every loketest up until the final release.

Yeah Viper was supposed to be the main character of this game. But no one really has taken to her. And I think your right about the hadicaps and nerfs. Word spread quick about her being weak and low tier, and that has hurt her.

pherai

08-20-2008, 11:21 AM

ruthless_nash

08-20-2008, 11:28 AM

what a load of crap, Dudley blatantly won the poll :mad:

Akutabi Gamma

08-20-2008, 12:04 PM

You know, at least Blanka is somewhat cool. Rufus is just ugly.
Well how else do u think Capcom Japan sees fat americans who are obsessed with kung fu...(no offense BTW)

Lvl.3

08-20-2008, 12:09 PM

what a load of crap, Dudley blatantly won the poll :mad:

Yeah, I am sure cammy was already in the planning process even before that poll went up. Shes in the new SF anime, so that was a dead ringer for her bring in the game.

Now that i think about it, I am sure the roster has been finalized. But I really hope Ono's Shen Long comment is a joke. Like the game needs any more shotos.

Pablo_the_Mex

08-20-2008, 12:12 PM

Well how else do u think Capcom Japan sees fat americans who are obsessed with kung fu...(no offense BTW)

I would have preferred a fat American with a cowboy hat. This dude is just gross. He looks like a flamboyantly gay ICP fan.

Akutabi Gamma

08-20-2008, 12:21 PM

I would have preferred a fat American with a cowboy hat. This dude is just gross. He looks like a flamboyantly gay ICP fan.

Well we can't always get what we want, so we gotta live with it....and speaking of cowboys, who knows maybe Rufus' alt is a cowboy suit....that or a motorcyclist...Jagi maybe?

JED07

08-20-2008, 12:22 PM

Seriously. That's what I got.

Give it time gentlemen, give it time.

TheDarkPhoenix

08-20-2008, 12:28 PM

Rioting Soul

08-20-2008, 12:28 PM

what a load of crap, Dudley blatantly won the poll :mad:

Word.

Lvl.3

08-20-2008, 01:00 PM

Its disappointing to hear that its not doing as well as they'd like. I wonder how there judging that anyway?

Arcades in Japan. Where else, lol.

P.o.t.S.

08-20-2008, 01:07 PM

Its disappointing to hear that its not doing as well as they'd like. I wonder how there judging that anyway?
Yeah, if the arcade numbers can be taken as a hint for the home version sales and SF4 doesn't make it in terms of profit, we're gonna have to wait another ten years for SF5.

Shinkuu Tatsumaki

08-20-2008, 01:12 PM

Yeah, if the arcade numbers can be taken as a hint for the home version sales and SF4 doesn't make it in terms of profit, we're gonna have to wait another ten years for SF5.

Let's hope Alpha 2 HD remix comes out before that. With some balance fixes of course!

makstaks

08-20-2008, 01:18 PM

Yeah I noticed that too. I think Ono is a little upset that people aren't taking to Viper as well as they'd hoped given all the research they did to come up with a character that targets the western audience. Given that he's normally so talkative, I love how short he is there. He's just like, "Abel." People might play Viper more if they didn't continue to pound her with handicaps every loketest up until the final release.

How the heck did their research lead to Viper. The look is completely wrong and thats the biggest killer right there :wonder:

EvilSamurai

08-20-2008, 01:26 PM

I think Rufus is making fun of Yun and Yang similar to how Dan poked fun at SNK. Viper looks like a poorly designed KOF character, not a Street Fighter (not that there haven't been any poorly designed SF characters. Looks at Remy, Makoto, 12, Sakura, Gill, and Urien's thong no homo. Urien would have been pimp if he fought in his suit.)

Grand Viper

08-20-2008, 01:26 PM

How the heck did their research lead to Viper. The look is completely wrong and thats the biggest killer right there :wonder:

I dunno. Her design is actually my favorite of the new characters, but Ono has said a few times that Viper was born out of them polling consumers in western markets or something along those lines. I remember someone posting in one of the threads and laughing about him not understanding why people at ComicCon were gravitating more towards Abel and not Viper.

Dreams-Visions

08-20-2008, 01:41 PM

bah sakura or dudley should have won....

Dan, cammy and fei long....Sounds like they already had these guys worked out and ready for console.

Its disappointing to hear that its not doing as well as they'd like. I wonder how there judging that anyway?Totally agree.

Capcom did not field the most diverse roster that they could have.

But I expect some of these characters to appear via DLC.

For more $$$.

makstaks

08-20-2008, 01:41 PM

jabhadouken

08-20-2008, 01:52 PM

abel makes sense.

I've done a bit of arcade research when i worked in the industry. It really depends on who you ask and how you ask. I've done the same questions asked in a different format and got completely different results :rofl:

^^^^^
I've no doubt about this at all.

But seriously - what questions do you need to ask, and in what format, to get the winning results to come up as:

"Rufus"

I mean besides any and/or every possible negative framework? :rofl:

A furry would invoke less ire.

(If for no other than to give Blanka a semi non-suck "reason" for the cannon-bois.)

Rufus makes Bob look like all win and ownage in comparison.

As for the other nubs, Crimson Viper is pretty bad-ass [looking], Abel is really cool, and Fuerte is a cliche made cool.

JoeMasters

08-20-2008, 01:57 PM

good. I guess that stupid march 09 date was false.

EvilSamurai

08-20-2008, 01:58 PM

I dunno. Her design is actually my favorite of the new characters, but Ono has said a few times that Viper was born out of them polling consumers in western markets or something along those lines. I remember someone posting in one of the threads and laughing about him not understanding why people at ComicCon were gravitating more towards Abel and not Viper.

Viper is a fail KOF chick. She sucks comapred to the newest female KOF character, Elizabeth, whose design was a big success (Hot aristocratic French bitch who fights with a riding crop). Viper is some guidette whore with an oompah loompah guido tan, badly dyed red pompadour, aviator glasses (not shades. glasses), monkey ears, cellphone, and wearing an outfit that looks like it came out of a shitty music video from 2001.

Abel is just a French Fedor with a roll, rekkas, and command throws. No wonder he is popular. If Ono understood the kind of characters the western market liked he would add:

- Chuck Norris clone that is one big joke but doesn't suck. His ultra should be him charging at you while riding on a T Rex as Chuck Norris is some creationist nutjob irl. His plot would be that he came in with Cammy in the Delta Forces or something. Would fight all the way to the end only to get his asskicked by Fei Long and his ending is that he becomes a Texas Ranger defending Texas from the Mexican Triads, stars in a series of stupid action movies, and stars with Dan in tons of cheesy infomercials marketing exercise shit. Special moves would involve roundhouse kicks, beard stroking, headbands, and dual assault rifle wielding.

- a character that is a combination of Mr T and Kimbo Slice. His ultra should do hardly any damage and should consist of Mr T going into A team mode, jumping on back of a jeap and firing various weapons for a period of time. It would have like super armor or invincibilty or mad dizzy potential or something to make up for lack of damage. His taunt would be to pull out a machine gun and randomly fire everywhere hitting nothing.

- Irish bareknuckle boxer modeled after Jackie Chan in Drunken Master + Dolph Lundgren as Ivan Drago + various stereotypes. His ultra should be something he says "I will crush you" and then chugs a bottle of vodka/whiskey thus entering a kind of MAX mode w/ super armor. For his super, he takes a swig from a flash and punches you in the face at the same time.

haunts

08-20-2008, 02:13 PM

A lot of it seems double speak for "The game isn't doing as well as we hoped, and the console version is going to be a rush job."

I think its more like how well can a game do in an arcade these days compared to a console port? Im sure no matter how well its doing in the arcades, there is tremendous pressure to get a console release out because they will make so much more money over all.

CCero

08-20-2008, 02:29 PM

Did you noticed that?

[Akuma comment]

He wasn't even in the vote, so what? :confused:

Yeah. I did notice that. We all know Dudley won the first one. Ono needs to quick being a douchebag.

Daemos

08-20-2008, 03:31 PM

That interview is a fucking joke. Dudley won the vote and Ono planned to put Cammy and Akuma in regardless of them allegedly being democratically voted into the game. I like the new SF characters but to say that this is the best they could come up with is appalling. I'm not too keen on the return of more SF2 characters either. We've heard this record before so I'm gonna stop, however Ono didn't come off right in this interview and you guys know it.

Sagatryu

08-20-2008, 03:50 PM

wait wasn't there two polls? cause i am pretty sure there was two and Dudely was only on one of them.

ChopperMan

08-20-2008, 04:09 PM

I like how the majority of the characters are the world warriors, and the console characters will probably end up being the new warriors + Dan

I really wish they made more than just 4 new faces. Especially with how similar I heard the SF2 characters play to their SF2 selves

RagingStormX

08-20-2008, 04:10 PM

Did japanese fans vote on a diff poll or some shit?

Kajiki

08-20-2008, 04:11 PM

Yeah. I did notice that. We all know Dudley won the first one. Ono needs to quick being a douchebag.

Im pretty sure the first vote had nothing to do with capcom japan (who are in control of the game). It seems like the first poll was just some stupid unofficial BS that was posted on the capcom blog for fun. Then, a while later, they posted the real poll that was actually somehow initiated by the developers, which if i recall correctly dudley wasnt even included in...

I would love to see dudley in SF4. Hes a cool character with a good moveset and a funny/awesome persona. I know that capcom had planned akuma since the beginning (i remember seeing concept art of him) and im willing to bet that fei, dan and cammy had been planned out for a while too. Unfortunately i kinda doubt that capcom took either of those polls from the capcom-unity blog too seriously.

That being said. Gimmie dudley.

ChopperMan

08-20-2008, 04:13 PM

but the 2nd one had Dan and Feilong on it

and I'm pretty fucking sure they wouldn't win anything with Sakura and Cammy as other options

Glad to see Dan is in it though. Only console character I care about.

Projectjustice

08-20-2008, 04:45 PM

Why do these fucking idiots keep calling him Sheng Long. God that shit pisses me off.

DaDesiCanadian

08-20-2008, 05:04 PM

I think its more like how well can a game do in an arcade these days compared to a console port? Im sure no matter how well its doing in the arcades, there is tremendous pressure to get a console release out because they will make so much more money over all.

That's true, but the whole interview just seemed mad shady. It might have been translation bias, but Ono sounded like an indecisive idiot most of the time.

The inflexibility and stereotyping of the West is also pretty fucking horrible. "We made the characters all big and muscly, because that's what Western people liked! Why are people saying they don't like it, I don't understand!"

The Lone Dragon

08-20-2008, 05:12 PM

Its disappointing to hear that its not doing as well as they'd like. I wonder how there judging that anyway?

I don't think Ono ever really said that it wasn't doing as well as hoped. People in this thread have been trying to "read between the lines"...which is tough to do in a translated interview...

Ubersaurus

08-20-2008, 05:13 PM

Why do these fucking idiots keep calling him Sheng Long. God that shit pisses me off.

Well, it's EGM. They came up with the Sheng Long character idea, and that's always been the name of this nonexistant character in their jokes, their magazine, and almost SF the movie. You call him Gouken, you'll get a lot of people wondering who the hell that is.

I'd love it if they translated his name as Sheng Long in the game :rofl:

Projectjustice

08-20-2008, 05:23 PM

Well, it's EGM. They came up with the Sheng Long character idea, and that's always been the name of this nonexistant character in their jokes, their magazine, and almost SF the movie. You call him Gouken, you'll get a lot of people wondering who the hell that is.

I'd love it if they translated his name as Sheng Long in the game :rofl:

I hope it doesnt so they can all feel like the idiots that they are.

Freak on Board

08-21-2008, 04:31 AM

Takashi Nishiyama, the guy who started Dimps and still runs the studio, used to work at Capcom years ago, and he was actually one of the developers on the original Street Fighter. After he did that game, he left Capcom and set up that studio. He still totally has Capcom blood in him, though, and we still view him as one of the team.

lol@ Capcom blood

I guess he really intended to skip the part where Nishiyama worked at SNK for about decade.

Ultima

08-21-2008, 06:03 AM

What kind of research turned up that a single mother would be a popular fighting game character? I don't necessarily dislike Viper, but I don't understand how her design was influenced by market research unless its the same kind of research that went into making Raiden the main character in MGS2.

Results of research = "chick" + "boobs".

re: Characters

As I've said before, that "poll results" thing is all bullshit. Ono/Capcom had the cast fully planned out long before any such polls were done (And last I checked, no, Dudley's not included, so don't hold your breath for that one, or any SF3 characters). They've also long planned to release the console version early next year (late Jan/early Feb most likely), so unless they've somehow moved the date up from that, the console version isn't going to be any more of a rush job than the schedule they're currently on.

The arcade version was definitely rushed in terms of roster. The console version, assuming they manage to hit their targets, should be much more complete.

TaZaR

08-21-2008, 06:16 AM

What kind of research turned up that a single mother would be a popular fighting game character?
Since 50% of the US/EU porn sites are filled with MILF content...

P.o.t.S.

08-21-2008, 06:57 AM

Results of research = "chick" + "boobs".
MILF

To be fair, Capcom did refuse to sell out when they decided her boobs should be (much) smaller than those of DOA and SC girls. Wait, maybe that was a bad move if they just wanted her to be popular. :wonder:

Cronopio

08-21-2008, 09:07 AM

What kind of research turned up that a single mother would be a popular fighting game character?

Are you posting from the 19th century?

pherai

08-21-2008, 10:17 AM

Are you posting from the 19th century?

Yes. I have yet to see all the great martial arts and action movies of the last 30 years that star a single mother.

The Lone Dragon

08-21-2008, 10:35 AM

Yes. I have yet to see all the great martial arts and action movies of the last 30 years that star a single mother.

Seriously, mothers in fighting games are never popular.

Just look at how unpopular Sophitia and Nina Williams are. NOBODY plays them. Sophitia was SO darn unpopular that they brought her back in the console version of SC2...just to laugh at her I suppose...

If C. Viper really is as unpopular as people seem to think, I think her reputation of being among the toughest to win with is the primary culprit. Design is neither here nor there. If she had an easy win button, lots of people would be using her.

EDIT: Angelina Jolie, Viper's apparent basis, is a mother and she stars in action films all day long. And, she's quite popular, isn't she?

EDIT2: I was being very sarcastic in the beginning of this post.

TaZaR

08-21-2008, 10:50 AM

Yes. I have yet to see all the great martial arts and action movies of the last 30 years that star a single mother.

...like Kill Bill?

Chocolate Sausage

08-21-2008, 01:24 PM

Isn't this thread derailing a bit? I mean, Viper being a mother isn't exactly the defining element of her character, it's just some quirky backstory to give her some depth. It's not like she's breastfeeding in her profile pic.

You don't see people playing Wolf in VF because his hobby is karaoke, or Ky because he collects teacups...right?

DevilJin 01

08-21-2008, 01:27 PM

Yeah...WTF? Nina was hot shit in Tekken 4 and in the original version of Tekken 5 and everyone used her back then. Not because she suddenly found Paul Phoenix to take of her and Steve for a while...but because she was one of the best characters in the game. In Dark Res neither character was particulaly near top tier so neither one really got used a lot. Then Tekken 6 Anna took over simply because she's one of the top characters in that game.

C.Viper's is an interesting enough character design. She's just hard to use and even when people do learn how to utilize her she just doesn't have the pokes or damage to make her any better than a low mid or flat out low tier character. For a character that can super jump off most of her ground normals and special moves...her air normals aren't that strong either. Her pressure game when you can get in close isn't bad but you can't create knockdowns unless you get within throw range or catch someone with seismos. Which I'm sure will hurt her game a lot. If C.Viper was a really beastly ass character (like she should have been) everyone would be using her.

altergenesis

08-21-2008, 01:29 PM

Sophitia being a mother doesn't stop her from being top-tier and people using her.

Lvl.3

08-21-2008, 01:33 PM

Viper should have been Gill's assistant (The one in the intro during the final fight). But Ono decided to make her one of his originals with kid in tow. I hope for the sake of the game, he dosen't decide to put in any more of his original character ideas in SF4.

I dunno. Her design is actually my favorite of the new characters, but Ono has said a few times that Viper was born out of them polling consumers in western markets or something along those lines. I remember someone posting in one of the threads and laughing about him not understanding why people at ComicCon were gravitating more towards Abel and not Viper.

hate to tell you he's full of crap when it comes to polls, like Ultima pointed out. Where was this imaginary western market poll? Did he actually listen to some of those "we want SF4 to be all female cast" tards on the unity forum?

C.Viper's is an interesting enough character design.

A nice design for KoF. But you're on the money about if she was top teir, because poeple who play these games seriously, don't really care about the story.

TaZaR

08-21-2008, 01:59 PM

Viper is a nice design, and even if she shares similarities with KOF Vanessa, she's a pretty original one. Also, like others said "being a mother" is not really the highlighted part of her personality.
It's sad, that they weakened her down to low tier.

Akutabi Gamma

08-21-2008, 02:02 PM

Speaking of Viper....she looks similar to a character from Akumetsu Vol. 5....

DevilJin 01

08-21-2008, 02:21 PM

I mean comparing her to KOF and all that other shit is lame. There's all kinds of characters in different games that are taken from or likened to other games. She's a really risky design for a SF character and I think it's a good change even if she can be likened to a trendy KOF character. It's SF fucking IV...something's gotta change. I'm pretty sure it's obvious that Ono wasn't even thinking of KOF when he or whoever else came up with the design. I'm sure they just decided they wanted a fashionable character in a SF game.

booda

08-21-2008, 04:14 PM

If you want hot, mature female fighters, Kyoko Minazuki wins. Period.

Ono seemed to throw a lot of, "we know what we're doing," in the interview, as if casting off the criticisms and just going ahead with his plan. However, there wasn't nearly as much hype or anticipation in this interview. It was like asking Ono to describe a typical day.

So what about all the console features that people are clamouring for? I'm guessing there are none. Probably just some cut-and-paste work from CvS2.

Ultima

08-21-2008, 07:27 PM

I think it's difficult for Ono to spew out much hype at this point. The arcade game is out already so there's nothing to hype there any more, but on the other hand, it's too early to officially reveal console-exclusive stuff and shit on the arcade version. Plus, the console version is about 6 months away. I think once the arcade version is a little more seasoned (i.e. when the entire cast is revealed - bet money on Gouken being the next and final character to be unveiled), then we'll start to see the hype coming in for the home version. They'll show the in-game models of Fei Long, Dan and Cammy first, and go from there.