In 10 days, the U.S. will receive Street Fighter IV. It's a game that needs no prefacing of any kind. We just thought that you might want to take a break with us and watch the completely awesome Japanese opening cinematic. Seriously, if you watch one video today, this should be it. It's way better than the last trailer we showed you. Akuma totally fights Gouken. You can find the video past the break.

Like some other current-gen fighting games, Capcom's Street Fighter IV will be receiving premium downloadable content. As revealed by Japanese magazine Famitsu (via IGN), the latest in the SF series will witness weekly updates of additional costume packs, starting on and following after the Japanese launch date of February 12.

There are five costume packs (priced at ¥400 or 320 each) in total, with each one containing alternate costumes for five different combatants. If you do the math, that makes one extra wardrobe change for each character on the 25-fighter roster. However, it might be more worthwhile for clothing-crazed fans to wait until after all packs are released before grabbing things off the racks. Why? Because Capcom has plans of a "combo pack" enclosing all that content at a discount (¥1,200 or 1,000) sometime after everything is made available. Call it an out-of-fashion clearance sale.

Not everything needs to be paid for, however, as Street Fighter IV will also have a free Championship Mode update offering tournament-style network play. High-ranking players will have their replay data uploaded online for the public to watch and study. Though all of this currently pertains only to the Japanese version, it's likely safe to assume that Capcom will make similar announcements for worldwide releases very soon – especially with the launch so near.

Putting their artistic talents to use, NeoGAF members have been hard at work creating fan-made Street Fighter IV magazine-style ads. Y'know, just in case Prince Capcom decides to swing by the forums and sweep one off its digital feet and into the magazines. Most (if not all) of the ad mock-ups are professionally crafted, with our favorites coming from the "What Are You Fighting IV?" series. You can view all the ads, including the not-so-good attempts, over on the GAF forums.

Fighting game fanatics, wonderful news comes courtesy of our good friends at Capcom: EVO 2009 is on! For those of you who aren't in the know, EVO is a huge fighting game tournament open to gamers from around the world. It's also an awesome search term on YouTube. This year's tournament will go down in Las Vegas from July 17 to July 19 and will feature a variety of Capcom games, as well as some other notable fighters like Soulcalibur IV and Guilty Gear XX Accent Core. The Capcom games to be featured include:

• Street Fighter IV
• Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (single and teams)
  
• Marvel Vs. Capcom 2
• Street Fighter III: Third Strike (2 vs 2 teams)
• Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom

Sounds like quite the tournament, and we're very glad to see Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom getting some love. We're still holding out hope that it'll get localized some day, as unrealistic as that may be.

[Via Capcom Blog]

Capcom, we need to talk -- or rather, you need to talk less. You see, we were watching the new Street Fighter IV trailer and, beautiful though it may be, we had to mute it halfway through. The video, which highlights each of the game's characters, has some pretty cornball material -- we're talking laughing at, not laughing with.

... Then again, once we get our hands on the game, we'll probably be too enthralled to notice. SFIV is set to punch you in the face on February 17.

Speaking with Eurogamer earlier today, peripheral manufacturer Mad Catz revealed a struggle to meet UK demand for the Street Fighter IV FightStick: Tournament Edition (pictured). Considering the UK is "over there" and we're, well, over here, we wanted to see the situation report for North America.

We spoke with the company's PR head, Alex Verrey, who was surprisingly candid about the situation. The issue is that the initial production run of the $150 Tournament stick consisted of 3,000 units. The company's pre-order count is now "many, many, times that amount," which Verrey admits caught the manufacturer by surprise. The sticks are currently going back into production, but it will take a little time for turnaround. Naturally, more units were allotted for North America than Europe, but he couldn't get into numbers. Although many who order now may not get the stick day and date with SF IV's release, we were informed the company intends to make sure that pre-order demand is met.

As for the other official Street Fighter IV controllers, Verrey believes that there should be adequate supply. Another topic we discussed at length was the quality of Mad Catz products, and he asked that consumers don't think of this Mad Catz as the same one they remember. He emphasized the new Mad Catz has evolved and is focusing more on quality. He reiterated that its wares come with a two-year warranty and they are committed to better products. We've placed pricing details for the SF IV controllers after the break.

Who's better at Street Fighter? Well, from a very limited sample of people that could make it to Capcom's brawl at CES in Las Vegas this year, we can conclude that PlayStation fans are the Street Fighting champs. Team PlayStation was represented by Joe C., who uppercutted Major Nelson's representative, Josh, to victory. Professor PlayStation (Jeff Rubenstein) awarded him a Star Wars Battlefront PSP and a chance to get obliterated by Street Fighter legend Justin Wong.

Kudos to all that participated. As PS3 fans, we have to thank Joe for representing PlayStation and showing Xbox gamers all over the world that we're a force to be reckoned with. At least in Street Fighter.

Update: Looks like the deal is dead. Price is back to $60.

Wow, it's only a few weeks away until Street Fighter IV hits store shelves. If you want an early pre-order deal, this offer from Circuit City looks like a champ. Circuit City is selling the PS3 version of the game for $50, and will throw in a free $10 gift card. (The 360 version, strangely, costs the regular $60 retail price.)

It's a terrific deal, but there is one caveat: Circuit City may go out of business before the game comes out. Ouch.

[Via CAG]

With a little more than a month left before Street Fighter IV hurricane kicks its way to retail, the peripheral mystics at Mad Catz have announced a bevy of SFIV-themed accessories. Now, even if you don't know your sonic boom from your yoga flame you'll at least look like you do.

Set for release alongside the anticipated fighter's February debut, the lineup includes an official Street Fighter IV controller and arcade stick for the Xbox 360 and PS3, each adorned with the game's unique art style. Additionally, those pining for a more authentic arcade experience can pick up the stick's 'Tournament Edition,' which will feature "arcade quality" components and a design overseen by SFIV producer Yoshinori Ono. Not enough? A wall scroll, console stickies and faceplates are also on the way, though we expect true fans to dye their skin green or comb their blond hair to preposterous heights before they stand a chance to defeat Sheng Long.

We're as tired as you are of getting missives from the front lines of the console wars, so we're relieved to hear that they'll finally be behind us after this week's Consumer Electronics Show. Capcom will settle the fight once and for all on Saturday in Las Vegas, pitting the best Microsoft rep against Sony's pick in a battle for Street Fighter IV supremacy. The loser has agreed to stop making their console forever and ever, so the stakes are pretty high.

... Yes, we made that last part up, but we're going to keep our fingers crossed.

The console wars have gotten real. The PlayStation.Blog is looking for a capable Street Fighter to take on Team Evil Xbox in a fight for console supremacy. CES, which begins this week, will play host to this intriguing event which pits Professor PlayStation's team of PS3 wizards versus Major Nelson's Xbox soldiers. Think you're ready to represent?

If you're in the Las Vegas area this Saturday, you'll have a chance to represent PS3 gamers everywhere. Only 20 players can represent PlayStation in this truly extraordinary showdown. Shoot an email to iwannaplaystreetfighteriv@gmail.com with your name, PSN ID, and why you think you should have a chance to compete. You must be 18 years or older. Good luck. Make us proud.

Capcom Europe revealed today -- and reiterated in a few cases -- the release schedule for its titles in the first quarter of 2009.

• February TBA - Flock (XBLA/PSN)
  
• February 20 - Street Fighter IV (X360/PS3)
• February 27- Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop (Wii)
  
• February 27- Neopets Puzzle Adventure (Wii/DS/PC)
  
• March 13 - Resident Evil 5 (X360/PS3)
  
• March TBA - MotoGP (Wii)
  
• Q1-2 TBA - Bionic Commando (X360/PS3)
  

All these dates are believed to be official European release dates. We're currently awaiting Capcom US to release its own list of dates (if it even plans to do so). We'll update if anything changes.

Update: Added Capcom's North American information after the break.
Update 2: Bionic Commando will not be hitting Europe in March. The timetable is the same as the US: in the first half of '09.

Capcom has today revealed the "long awaited, and not so secret, last character" in Street Fighter IV. We'll spare the drum roll and get right to her: Rose. But, well, you already knew that. Still, Capcom's announcement has sealed the list of 25 fighters. (Sorry to Retsi, Geki, Joe, Lee, T. Hawk, Dee Jay, all of SFIII, some of you Alpha dogs and cats, and any of the rest of yous we missed! Maybe next game, eh?)

Get familiar with the entire Street Fight IV gang right here: