Capcom announced today that four fan-favorite fighters from previous Street Fighter games are making a return in Street Fighter 6, including the feral man 'Blanka.' Aside from the green electricity-controlling character Blanka, the other returning characters are Ken, E. Honda, and Dhalsim, each representing a different country in the diverse Street Fighter roster.
The characters are back with each of their iconic moves, such as Dhalsim's Yoga Flame, Ken's Hurricane Kicks, Blanka's Beast Balls, and E. Honda's Oicho Throw. Street Fighter 6 is shaping up to be the ultimate fighting game for long-time fans of the series, as Capcom has also announced a custom character creator for this year's release.
In Street Fighter 6 story mode, players can design their own character and augment this character with a variety of moves from popular fighters in the series, such as Ryu's Hadouken or Chun-Li's Spinning Bird Kick.
Gamers will have a chance to try out Street Fighter 6 during its Closed Beta test on October 7th, 2022.
Image Credit: Capcom
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Fan-service in Gaming
- Opportunity for developers to improve engagement with their avid gaming community by reintroducing popular characters and storylines from previous games
- Character Customization
- Potential for game developers to deepen fan engagement by allowing players to create and customize their own characters with move sets inspired by existing game characters
- Nostalgia Marketing Strategy
- Opportunity for brands to capitalize on nostalgia by featuring familiar characters and themes as part of their marketing campaigns
Where This Applies
- Video Game Industry
- Game developers and publishers can capitalize on nostalgia and fan service to boost sales and engagement
- Marketing Industry
- Brands can leverage nostalgia marketing strategies to reach and connect with their audience on an emotional level
- Entertainment Industry
- Movie and TV studios can create new content based on nostalgic franchises to appeal to fans of older properties
