There's much to talk about Street Fighter IV (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC). And why not? The game's sure to be a hit with loyal fans eagerly awaiting its release. That's why it sure was heaven-sent when Yoshinori Ono had a sit-down chat with OXM to talk about several aspects of the game that are sure to pique the interests of gamers all around.

The interview was rather comprehensive, with Ono-san dishing out details on the game's online play, balance and parrying skills. However, what probably stood out the most would be the bit on parrying. You do know they've taken it out, right?

Here's his explanation on why they decided to scrap it:

I didn't want to create an entertainment videogame as such. I wanted Street Fighter IV to be a tool for the people to use and enjoy themselves.

I often use the analogy of a chess game. Chess can be played by the American or Russian champion, if you like. We can see them playing chess on live TV and so on. The parrying system is that level. It's quite hard for the vast majority to master but chess can be played by grandpa and grand kids on a Sunday afternoon.

I want Street Fighter IV to be a tool for everyone to enjoy. Therefore I deliberately didn't include the parrying system. But, you know, we carried on with the focus attack and such. Basically we used the rule book from Street Fighter II because that was the most popular.

So it's not gonna be an entertainment game, it's gonna be tool for enjoyment. That should be interesting to see how it turns out. Yoshinori Ono also took the interview as an opportunity to clear up the air regarding some "confirmed news", particularly on the release date of Street Fighter IV.

Here's where it kinda gets confusing. A couple of weeks back, the movie producer for the Street Fighter big-screen adaptation, Patrick Aiello, confirmed that both the game and the flick will be coming out March 2009. HOWEVER. And yes, that's really in all caps. When Yoshinori Ono - Lead Producer for the game - was asked if this indeed was true, he gave an answer that was meant to throw us all off course, and successfully does.

According to him t their R&D team didn't know much about this timing. Yes, there is pressure, but their main concern is to balance the game and pull off the add-on features for the console versions.

We're just working on it, we still don't know... However, our producer also attended Comic-Con in San Diego. A lot of users expressed their frustration that the arcade version is only released in Asia and they still can't get their hands on Street Fighter IV. I'm thinking as long as the game has the basic tool function for everyone to enjoy, we may be able to release it on the early side. We still don't know.

I don't know about you guys, but I think I'd place my bet with Ono-san. Between the movie producer and the game producer, I think it's fairly easier to see who is in better standing to divulge information about the game's release date, yes?

The interview runs further and more answers are given to questions everybody wants to get some clear answers to. Here's your chance to be somewhat enlightened. Source link below leads to the full transcript of the interview.

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