Shadow_Lord
Member
Street Fighter IV was released in Japanese arcades on July 18th, 2008. The Street Fighter series, and fighting games in general. was considered dead by then, with the lackluster reception of Street Fighter III: Third Strike. SFIV was met with a great deal of hype, and continued to be updated continuously until 2014, ending with Ultra Street Fighter IV.
The first version of the game, often called Vanilla, was very well recepted as the resurrector of fighting games, and it released on consoles, in 2009, with this roster:
The game was updated and rebranded nearly every single year (Except for 2012, which only had a balance update). with each year bringing in new characters to the game, mainly from classic fighters in the past Street Fighter entries, culminating in this giant roster of characters:
The evolution of SF4 was as follows:
2009:
2010:
2011:
2013:
The effect this game had on the FGC was immense, as it inspired other creators to create good fighting games again, and gave us this recent resurgence. It also helped up the production value of fighting games every year, ending with the sequel, Street Fighter V, having its top 8 finals of Evolution, the biggest fighting game tournament of the year, being broadcasted on ESPN, the first of any fighting game.
In the end, even though it was criticized on some of its design choices, SFIV was overall extremely loved, which led to it still being played today, 8 years after release, and love it or hate it, you can't deny the gigantic influence it had on the fighting game community.
Discuss what you thought overall about SF4, personal stories that you remember, and top matches of all time.
Some Great Matches:
Uncle Valle Vs. Bonchan (Evo 2015)
Infiltration vs Gamerbee (Evo 2015 Loser's Finals)
Infiltration Vs. PR Balrog (Evo 2013 Top 8)
Momochi Vs. Daigo (Stunfest 2015 Grand Finals)
Infiltration Vs. Daigo (Evo 2012 Top 8)
Infiltration Vs. Daigo (Capcom Cup Semis)
The Beast Vs. The Machine (Evo 2011 Top 8)
And of course, the GOAT opening song: IN-DES-TRUCTIBLE