Joystiq [Xbox]

1UP continues its coverage of Street Fighter IV with a new video interview detailing the reasoning behind the development choices made for the game, most notably the decision to use three-dimensional characters and backgrounds while retaining two-dimensional gameplay. Producer Yoshinori Ono asserts that the core of SFIV's design philosophy is to retain the feel of a classic Street Fighter title while bringing the characters into the third dimension. When asked why Capcom chose to go with 3D characters rather than pursuing a high resolution 2D style akin to the Guilty Gear series, Ono says that Capcom is known for pushing technology, stating that the company really did the most it could with 2D animation in Street Fighter III and that 3D allows for new possibilities. Using 3D for character models allows Capcom to implement transparent skin layers, for example, giving the characters detailed veins and musculature. Player damage will also be visible in character models. The characters can also interact with the backgrounds, though so far it sounds like these interactions are purely aesthetic -- hanging cloth being blown by a passing fireball, for example.

It all sounds fine and dandy, but the proof will ultimately lie in how well the game plays. Find the entire interview -- all thirteen minutes of it -- embedded after the break.