14 DAY TRIAL // Can Tatsunoko vs. Capcom slate the thirst for fighting games that Nintendo Wii players have? Judging by the way players are demanding to see Street Fighter IV on their platform, the answer is “No.” And now there's a glimmer of hope for Wii owners, judging by a statement coming from a Capcom official.
In a post on the official forums, Seth Killian, the community manager for Capcom who also lent his name to the final antagonist in Street Fighter IV, is saying that “While not every aspect of SF4's presentation would likely be possible on the Wii, the core elements are obviously possible. As for 'never happen!' - I'd hope that if Tatsunoko vs Capcom has taught us anything, it's that we should never say never when it comes to Capcom.”
The publisher has done very well in exploiting its old franchises on a variety of platforms. The Street Fighter IV arcade cabinet was a hit, mainly in Japan, probably because it allowed fans to play the game before it arrived on other platforms. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 releases of the game also went very well and generated an unprecedented demand for fighting sticks, with a lot of them sold out for some time. Now, the PC version of Street Fighter IV is set to be released, bringing the game to a lot more potential players.
The Nintendo Wii would be the final barrier for Street Fighter IV, as the install base of the console is huge and those who use it have had no classic fighting game to enjoy. It would be interesting to see whether Capcom can keep all the looks of the game intact in a port or whether it needs to take them down a notch to accommodate the limited power of the Nintendo home console. But even with dumbed down graphics, the game would sell on the strength of its mechanics.