parallaxscroll
02-04-2014, 04:10 AM
An inside look at the creation and fallout of Capcom's industry-defining fighting game, as told by those who were there.
In 1985, artist Akira Yasuda showed up to a Capcom job interview dressed in pajamas and a tie. He left his portfolio at home, saying fans stole his work because it was too good. Asked why he chose pajamas, he replied he wanted to look presentable and that was the only thing he owned with a collar.
Capcom developer Yoshiki Okamoto sat on the other side of the room, amused by Yasuda's antics. Okamoto, himself known for pranks and outlandish behavior, liked Yasuda's work.
Yasuda got the job.
Without realizing it at the time, Okamoto was recruiting a team that, five years later, would develop the competitive fighting game Street Fighter 2. The franchise would go on to sell more than 30 million units. It would become a cologne.
Street Fighter 2 is one of the game industry's biggest success stories, but its history is often told secondhand, through official statements and loosely translated interviews. In an effort to remedy that, over the past year we tracked down more than 20 former Capcom employees and business partners and asked them to tell it in their own words.
They tell a story of extreme personalities coming together to make a game, and the egos, cultural differences, glitches, rivalries, lawsuits and police raids that followed.
http://www.polygon.com/a/street-fighter-2-oral-history
Great article, worth reading.
In 1985, artist Akira Yasuda showed up to a Capcom job interview dressed in pajamas and a tie. He left his portfolio at home, saying fans stole his work because it was too good. Asked why he chose pajamas, he replied he wanted to look presentable and that was the only thing he owned with a collar.
Capcom developer Yoshiki Okamoto sat on the other side of the room, amused by Yasuda's antics. Okamoto, himself known for pranks and outlandish behavior, liked Yasuda's work.
Yasuda got the job.
Without realizing it at the time, Okamoto was recruiting a team that, five years later, would develop the competitive fighting game Street Fighter 2. The franchise would go on to sell more than 30 million units. It would become a cologne.
Street Fighter 2 is one of the game industry's biggest success stories, but its history is often told secondhand, through official statements and loosely translated interviews. In an effort to remedy that, over the past year we tracked down more than 20 former Capcom employees and business partners and asked them to tell it in their own words.
They tell a story of extreme personalities coming together to make a game, and the egos, cultural differences, glitches, rivalries, lawsuits and police raids that followed.
http://www.polygon.com/a/street-fighter-2-oral-history
Great article, worth reading.