No Arcade Street Fighter IV for U.S.

Capcom won’t be releasing a Street Fighter IV arcade version in the United States, despite the franchise’s strong history as an arcade attraction and extensive ties to tournament gaming. Chris Kramer, Capcom’s senior director of communications and community, gave the word to Edge: “At this point, it does not look like Street Fighter IV arcade machines will officially hit the U.S. arcade market.”

Of course, some U.S locations have put up the money necessary to import a machine from Japan. But you’re probably going to find them only in what few profitable arcades and gaming halls remain in the U.S. And it won’t be a localised machine. And Kramer shot down the idea that Street Fighter IV could make any contribution toward revitalizing the arcade business in the U.S. “Street Fighter IV’s a great game, but could it rejuvenate an industry that died off seven or eight years ago? I don’t think so. I don’t think it’s that great. I don’t think anything by itself would be capable of revamping a whole business like that.”

But if the console is SFIV’s only home, it doesn’t mean you won’t be able to play it using a controller more familiar to the game. Edge also teased some news about joysticks under production by Mad Catz, who showed off some prototypes to Capcom and got a hearty thumbs up. “They’re awesome. I mean, really good. … really, really, really nice. You can pretty much recreate the entire experience in your home.”

Capcom: No Street Fighter IV for U.S. Arcades [Edge via GayGamer. Image from Capcom]