Returning To Round One

If you walked into an arcade in the 1990s, it undoubtedly had a Street Fighter II cabinet. If you went at the right time, you probably even saw a crowd gathered around it. As one of the most profitable games in arcade history, Street Fighter II drew more than its fair share of quarters and tokens during the arcade heyday. But the franchise transcends that one moment in time. To say that Street Fighter has sparked multiple revolutions in its genre throughout its history is not far-fetched.

Arcades aren’t omnipresent the way they once were, but the Street Fighter name has endured the ever-shifting grounds of the games industry. The fierce fistfights made the leap from mall game rooms to the living room, the internet, and even tournaments broadcast to massive, international audiences. As the franchise turns 35 years old, we met with the people involved to understand the series’ origins and how it remains relevant three-and-a-half decades later. Read more…