How Darkstalkers died, and what Yoshinori Ono may be planning to resurrect the franchise - EventHubs Podcast

Street Fighter 4 and Darkstalkers have a lifeline that heavily connects the two franchises, we explore what this is

Posted by Jon 'Catalyst' Grey • July 27, 2018 at 8:13 p.m. PDT • Comments: 102

Darkstalkers and Street Fighter 4 have several heavy ties that fans may not be aware of. In the latest episode of the EventHubs Podcast, we explore how these titles are intrinsically linked together, and how one was a large success, while the other has struggled to live up to expectations.

The central thread in this story — Yoshinori Ono — has a history of trying to (mostly) unsuccessfully revive the Darkstalkers franchise, which isn't a secret to most people in the fighting game community.

What might come as a surprise though is the methods that Ono employs were the same between both games. One title sold nearly 9 million copies across all platforms and versions. The other was such a disappointment that Capcom went from regularly hinting that 'Darkstalkers are not dead' to barely mentioning the franchise over the last several years, outside of appearances in crossover fighting games, and costumes.

In this edition of the pod, we take a look back at the start of Street Fighter 4, with Ono using journalists to get the message out about the game to get a prototype created, and how he tried similar methods with Darkstalkers, but ultimately failed to recapture the same magic.

We also take listeners back to 2011-2012, where Ono was encouraging fans to hold up dollar bills at conventions, to show Capcom they would invest in a new Darkstalkers title.

Then we get into Udon's failed attempt to pitch a HD Remix version of Darkstalkers, and the unfortunate fate that would follow the Resurrection, along with Ono's most recent... hints from San Diego Comic Con 2018. This is the EventHubs Podcast.