Street Fighter…my babysitter, my best friend, my role…
There use to be a lot more video arcade machines around the neighborhood compared to nowadays. Back in the 80’s and early 90’s it was orthodox for kids to go straight to a 7-11 to line there quarters up on the most popular fighting game after school. Back in 1988 when I was still riding my BMX around Foutain Valley with a bunch of other hoodlums we used to hang out at this ice cream parlor which had about 20 arcade machines. I used to tell my mom I needed money for ice cream; however I spent all of it on the original Street Fighter game. That first Street Fighter arcade unit was something I still reminisce about; instead of the normal six buttons it only had two big PVC buttons for punch and kick. Kids had to use their fists or elbows to connect with the blows on the screen. When I saw that first Dragon Punch from Ryu, I was fucking hooked; I never seen anything like it at the time, afterwards I just remembered all of us would imitate that punch on each other. I spent all my lunch and ice cream money on that game. I even tried to drill a tiny hole on the edge of the quarter and tied it to a string so I can trick the machine…of course it never worked.
In 1991 when I upgraded my BMX to a GT Vertigo I cruised to my normal hang out spot at 7-11 and saw a grip of kids hanging around one arcade machine. As I made my way through the newspaper and magazine stands to take a look at what all the commotion was about, I heard a loud “Sho-ryu-ken” then followed by a “Sonic Boom.” Wait wasn’t that Ryu, wasn’t that Street Fighter…as I looked up I saw the new Street Fighter II logo. As I peeked through and saw Guile and the new game play I knew history was in the making. After that day I made it a personal mission to become the master of Street Fighter II. My friends and I would go to all the 7-11’s / liquor stores around Fountain Valley to search for that next challenge, in essence we became the world warrior. The feeling of putting the quarter as the next challenger and to kick the winner’s ass was the best feeling at that time…I must say at that age it was probably better than sex. Street Fighter II became an addiction; it was my life away from reality. On weekends when my parents were out on dinner engagements I would always con my mom into letting the Street Fighter machine at 7-11 babysit me; nachos, big bite, sun chips, big gulp, and Street Fighter was T.G.I.F for me.
Finally the game came out for the Super NES which was not to my expectations because of the game play and graphics. However, the Champion Edition came out at the arcades and it drew me back to saving my quarters again. In my high school days the competition opened up, and ditching school to play Street Fighter II became a norm on some days. But as I aged and girls came into the picture I realized sex was better than Street Fighter.
In February of this year Richard and Brian told me while they were at the Magic trade show that a representative from Capcom stopped by our booth. The rep told them that they would like to meet later on regarding Street Fighter. Of course I thought they were bullshitting but the call from Capcom did eventually come. Junta Saito from Capcom came to our office and told us about Street Fighter’s anniversary this year and the release of Street Fighter IV next year…so the rumor was true after all (I’m sure some of you already knew about it, but I have been out of the loop for awhile). We talked and we were given the chance to make a proposal for this special Street Fighter project. This proposal had to be cleared with Capcom first and then by the producer of Street Fighter…the producer…yeah the producer of Street Fighter…and it’s due in one week…YEAH..! After the concept development I had to go back into college mode and convert the concepts to a power point presentation…yeah power point presentation…guys school does help a little. We got a response back from Capcom saying that the producer loved our concept and this is where we stand now…
We are very happy to announce that we will be collaborating with Capcom on the Street Fighter series. Our first assignment will be focused on SHADALOO (Shadowlaw, Shadoloo, don’t worry we asked the producer and he told us the proper spelling is Shadaloo), the crime syndicate of VEGA (M.Bison in the U.S). And that is all I can say for now. If someone was to tell me when I was in my teens that I would be a part of Street Fighter in the future I would have told them to give me a quarter. Now I’m 30 (my girlfriend is 22 so HA..!) and my goal and everyone here at Triumvir is to revive all you kidults (kid + adult) out there with the memories of those guys who use to do the short short throw or the invisible throw on you…haha…but really it’s all about Street Fighter…hope you guys will like it…
B.
