Street Fighter
In August 1987, an arcade cabinet bearing the name Street Fighter opened its doors to players in Japan. Takashi Nishiyama and Hiroshi Matsumoto designed this first entry, placing martial artist Ryu at the center of a global tournament spanning five countries. Players could choose between Ryu or his American rival Ken Masters to face ten opponents using three punch and kick attacks alongside special moves like the Hadoken. The game quickly found life on home computers including MS-DOS and appeared as Fighting Street on the TurboGrafx-16 CD add-on console by Hudson Soft in that same year.
Capcom released Street Fighter II: The World Warrior in 1991 following an unsuccessful attempt to brand Final Fight as the sequel. Akira Nishitani and Akira Yasuda designed this title to give players a choice from various characters with different movesets. Each fighter possessed approximately thirty moves including grappling techniques and two or three special attacks. The original Japanese version featured an African-American boxer boss named Mike Bison who shared physical characteristics with real-life boxer Mike Tyson before Capcom rotated names to avoid legal issues.
The series continued evolving through multiple revisions starting with Champion Edition which made four computer-controlled bosses human-playable. Hyper Fighting offered faster gameplay while Super Street Fighter II introduced new playable characters and Super Combos. Street Fighter Alpha arrived in 1995 expanding the story between the first two games and introducing younger versions of established fighters. Street Fighter III debuted in 1997 discarding most previous roster members to focus on Ryu and Ken while adding parry mechanics. Street Fighter IV returned in 2008 with cel-shaded graphics inspired by sumi-e paintings and Focus Attacks. Street Fighter VI launched on the 2nd of June 2023 featuring real-time commentary and customizable avatars powered by the RE Engine.
Street Fighter II became the first one-on-one fighting game to offer players a choice among diverse character types with unique move sets. This innovation allowed for varied matches where each player could select from eight main characters plus four CPU-only bosses. The game introduced special moves performed through specific joystick and button combinations that required precise timing and execution. Players could execute Hadoken projectiles, Shoryuken uppercuts, or Tatsumaki Senpukyaku spins depending on their chosen fighter.
Super Street Fighter II Turbo brought back fast-paced gameplay while introducing Super Combos as a new type of special technique. These moves consumed part of a meter system allowing players to store energy for powerful attacks. Street Fighter Alpha extended this concept further by creating three levels of combo meters enabling storage and release of super combos. Chain Combos appeared initially before being replaced by Custom Combos requiring portions of the super combo meter to activate.
By 2014 total home software sales reached thirty-five million units with arcade cabinet sales exceeding five hundred thousand generating over one billion dollars in revenue. The best-selling game remains Street Fighter II with more than ten billion dollars in gross revenue from all versions mostly derived from arcades. More than fourteen million cartridges sold for both the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis Mega Drive combined.
Capcom referred to Street Fighter as the most successful video game series of the decade during 1994 while promoting Super Street Fighter II. Total franchise sales across all platforms reached fifty-six million units worldwide making it one of Capcom's flagship series behind Resident Evil and Monster Hunter. Arcade cabinets generated substantial income contributing significantly to overall financial success throughout the decades.
An unofficial animation released in South Korea in 1992 followed characters Soryong and Saeng traveling through the Street Fighter world to defeat M Bison. Group TAC produced an anime film titled Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie which opened theatrically in Japan in 1994 before English adaptation arrived on home video in 1995. An American-produced animated television series aired on USA Network
between 1995 and 1997 focusing on Guile leading a group against Bison's minions.
Live-action films began appearing starting with the 1994 movie starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as Guile opposite Raúl Juliá as General M Bison and Kylie Minogue as Cammy. This inspired both arcade and console games using digitized character sprites similar to Mortal Kombat. A second live-action film Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li released in 2009 starred Kristin Kreuk but received criticism as one of the worst films ever made.
Manga adaptations emerged including Masaomi Kanzaki's Street Fighter II translated into eight issues by Tokuma comics. Masahiko Nakahira created four different series featuring Cammy Gaiden and Sakura Ganbaru! which integrated Evil Ryu and Karin Kanzuki into main games. UDON Publishing produced Canadian comic books addressing continuity retcons while IDW Publishing released crossovers with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in May 2023.
Daigo Umehara known as Daigo or The Beast holds the world record for most successful player in major tournaments according to Guinness World Records. Evo Moment 37 occurred during Evolution Championship Series 2004 when Umehara parried fifteen consecutive hits from Justin Wong's Super Art move while having only one pixel of vitality remaining. This comeback became frequently described as the most iconic
moment in competitive video gaming history comparable to Babe Ruth's called shot.
Hajime Taniguchi ranked number one globally per SRK Data eSports rankings achieved three-time EVO champion status recognized among best fighters ever playing the game. Mike Begum operated controllers using only his mouth reaching rank 378 worldwide featured on ESPN E:60 demonstrating accessibility within competitive play.
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Common questions
Who designed the original Street Fighter arcade game released in 1987?
Takashi Nishiyama and Hiroshi Matsumoto designed the first entry of the Street Fighter franchise. They placed martial artist Ryu at the center of a global tournament spanning five countries.
When did Capcom release Street Fighter II: The World Warrior?
Capcom released Street Fighter II: The World Warrior in 1991 following an unsuccessful attempt to brand Final Fight as the sequel. Akira Nishitani and Akira Yasuda designed this title to give players a choice from various characters with different movesets.
What date did Street Fighter VI launch on the market?
Street Fighter VI launched on the 2nd of June 2023 featuring real-time commentary and customizable avatars powered by the RE Engine. This version introduced new mechanics while maintaining the core fighting system established by previous entries.
How much revenue has the Street Fighter franchise generated from all versions combined?
The best-selling game remains Street Fighter II with more than ten billion dollars in gross revenue from all versions mostly derived from arcades. Total franchise sales across all platforms reached fifty-six million units worldwide making it one of Capcom's flagship series behind Resident Evil and Monster Hunter.
Which animation film opened theatrically in Japan for the Street Fighter series in 1994?
Group TAC produced an anime film titled Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie which opened theatrically in Japan in 1994 before English adaptation arrived on home video in 1995. An American-produced animated television series aired on USA Network between 1995 and 1997 focusing on Guile leading a group against Bison's minions.