insertcoyne : street fighter timeline

Street Fighter Timeline FAQ

Why?

Capcom's fighting games are among the best ever made, and Street Fighter started all that. The series really embodies everything I love about games. The characters, design, style and presentation (uneven over the years) really capture my imagination. If any series of games is worth chronicalling in this way, in my opinion, this is it. I also have a geeky love of lists and can't keep the order of the 300+ titles correct in my mind without one. So here it is.

Is this everything?

No way. I really want to include every version released, everywhere. The timeline is especially lacking in non-USA/Japan releases. There are also undoubtedly versions here and there (Super Street Fighter 2 on FM-Towns Marty or some such nonsense) that I've missed completely. If you know something I don't, you can help.

What is your criteria?

OK, here goes:

Only Fighting Games: so no puzzle games (Puzzle Fighter) or quiz games (Capcom World). "What about Street Fighter 2 Movie?", you say. "That's just a stupid interactive mpeg!". True, but if I recall correctly, there is a fighting game-esque battle between Ryu and a training cyborg. Also, it really is about Street Fighter (and doesn't just randomly include SF characters, like say, Nacmo X Capcom).
Official Versions Only: so you won't see Rainbow Edition or Master Fighter II.
A Fair Amount of SF Characters: so Rival Schools (with only Sakura) is out. Whats "A Fair Amount"? Dunno. Whatever feels right.
No rereleases. No "Playstation the Best", "CapKore", "Player's Choice", etc....
No mobile phone games. "Maximum Blow"? "Rapid Attack"? Are you kidding me?
No Wii VC versions. Unlike SF2T on XBLA, SF2 on in the VC offers nothing new over the SNES version it emulates.

What are the platform abbreviations?

360 : Microsoft X-Box 360
3DO : Panasonic REAL 3DO FZ-1
3DS : Nintendo 3DS
Amiga : Commodore Amiga
Arcade : Arcade
C64 : Commodore-64
CD32 : Commodore Amiga CD32
CPC : Amstrad CPC
DC : Sega Dreamcast
FC : Nintendo Famicom
FMT : Fujitsu FM-Towns
GB : Nintendo GameBoy
GBA : Nintendo GameBoy Advance
GBC : Nintendo GameBoy Color
GC : Nintendo GameCube
GEN : Sega Genesis
MD : Sega Mega Drive
NEO : SNK Neo Geo
NES : Nintendo Entertainment System
PC : Personal Computer
PCE : NEC PC Engine
PS2 : Sony Playstation 2
PS3 : Sony Playstation 3
PSP : Sony Playstation Portable
PSX : Sony Playstation
SAT : Sega Saturn
SFC : Super Famicom
SMS : Sega Master System
SNES: Super Nintendo Entertainment System
SPC : Sinclair ZX Spectrum
ST : Atari ST
TG16 : NEC Turbo Grafix 16
VIT : Sony Playstation Vita
WS : Bandai WonderSwan
X68K : Sharp X68000
XBX : Microsoft X-Box

Why do some of the release dates contain "X"s?

Because I don't have all the release date information. Sometimes I only have the year, sometimes the year and month. If you know more, please

You included SNK games!

Yes.

You included Street Fighter 2010!

Yeah, I'm pretty much breaking my own rule here. While you do a lot of fighting, its really a platformer, not a fighting game. Also, while the main character is supposed to be Ken Masters in the US version, in the original Japanese version, you are an intergalactic police officer named Kevin. So how do I justify this?

It has Street Fighter in the title (of both versions)
In at least one version, the main character is Ken Masters
You do punch, kick and throw fireballs (sort of)
Its a really good game :)

What does "Now Printing" mean?

It means I don't have a viable picture yet. In Japanese magazines, whenever the picture is not available, they put a "Now Printing" placeholder.

Will you keep the timeline up-to-date?

I'll try.

You are wrong about something, how can I let you know? I have more info, how can I help?

the info/correction. You'll get credit.

How long did all this take?

A long time.

All if this information is available through Google!

Yeah, probably.

Did you know you can use the plane in Guile's background and shoot your opponent?

...

Special Thanks

The timeline wouldn't be possible without:

Legal

Names, characters and images belong to the respective owners: Capcom Entertainment, Arika Incorporated, Incredible Technologies Inc., Marvel Enterprises, SNK Playmore or Universal Pictures.