Street Fighter IV 2D?

Wondering what Street Fighter IV would have looked like had Sega Saturn beaten out the Sony PlayStation due to its superior 2D strength? Capcom has the answer in the latest post at the SFIV official blog.

The blog includes the following inline images:

Ignore the blackened bodies for a moment. Yes, these are sprites based off the SFIV cast.

The sprite work is being used (in full color form, of course, without the blackened bodies) for the next two Xbox 360 premium theme packs, to be distributed on the 1/29 and 2/5. Together, the two packs will contain sprites for all 25 characters!

If you're wondering why they decided to show Rufus, of all characters, in advance, you're not alone. It does make sense, I suppose, to show someone totally new, as most of the remaining cast has has previously had their days as sprites.

Closing off on a completely unrelated note, the blog notes that video footage of recent tournament matches will be posted in the not-so-distant future. Hopefully Capcom will be able to mix in some crowd shots so that you can really see how exciting the tournament was (for a glimpse, see my report from the event).