During an interview at the Tokyo Games Show, Yoshinori Ono; producer of Street Fighter IV and upcoming 'Super' Street Fighter IV, made a statement that Capcom currently have no plans for an arcade release for this next fighting game expansion. As such, fighting game fans around the world have decided that the decision could ruin the arcade scene for good, and drive newcomers to the genre away with the lack of a new installment.The arcade version of Street Fighter IV has already been lacking the full 25-character roster of the home console editions, and with Super Street Fighter IV introducing totally new gameplay mechanics as well as re-balancing and altering pre-existing characters, the fans will be divided on which version of the game they should practice. Major tournaments such as Evolution and Final Round will likely decide to play SSFIV on console, whereas Japan's largest, 'Super Battle Opera' (闘劇) uses only arcade cabinets, and so the decision could play a large factor of the future success for such a prestigious event.
For many players, Street Fighter began and will always remain in the arcades, and it's no exaggeration to say that the arcade atmosphere is unrivalled when it comes to the fighting game scene. So what can we as a community do to keep the series' roots alive and kicking? Well, a petition has already been started to presuade those in charge over at Capcom to change their plans for their fans.
If you feel you would hate to see Street Fighter leave behind its arcade legacy, make it known here: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/SSFIVArcade/index.html