yoshinori ono
Latest
Longtime Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono departs Capcom
He's stepping down after almost 30 years at the publisher.
Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono leaves Capcom Vancouver [update]
In a surprising move, Yoshinori Ono, a longtime Capcom fixture best known for his work as producer of the Street Fighter 4 line of fighting games, has announced his departure from Capcom Vancouver. "I resigned from the director position about Capcom Vancouver. Thanks good staff of Capcom Vancouver, and Dead Rising staff," Ono tweeted earlier today. "I had take some time, I think over very carefully about next things. I'd like to watch TV for Brazil World Cup before thinking it!" he later added. Though he plainly states that he's left Capcom Vancouver, it's unclear what future Ono might have in Capcom's larger corporate umbrella. As EventHubs points out, Ono was promoted to the rank of corporate officer at Capcom Japan in April, and as far as anyone knows, he has not resigned from that role. We've attempted to pry more information from Capcom itself, though the company offered only a boilerplate "no comment." Update: Yoshinori Ono has offered further clarification on his future plans via Twitter. "My position within Capcom has not changed and I'm still involved in all of the projects that I'm currently working on," Ono stated, before adding, "Only my role for Capcom Vancouver has ended."
Mystery female pugilist teased for Ultra Street Fighter 4 roster
When Rolento, Elena, Hugo and Poison headline the Ultra Street Fighter 4 cast, they'll be joined by a fifth, mystery combatant. We know nothing about this character, though thanks to producer Yoshinori Ono, we can at least now confirm her gender. During the recent Capcom Cup fighting game tournament, Ono fielded questions about the new combatants, quickly denying awesome possibilities like bosomy luchador R. Mika and Mike "Mayor of Earth" Haggar. Also posited was the idea that Retsu, the deadly assassin from the original Street Fighter make might a return - canonically the bald guy is pretty crucial to the Street Fighter storyline, despite missing nearly two decades of games - but all of these ideas were categorically denied by Ono. Instead the mischievious producer offers one single iota of information: The newest fighter will be of the distaff persuasion. This could be a new fighter, or it could be an old favorite - the series' roster has plenty of room for either - but it looks like we won't know more until Capcom decides to unofficially unveil its latest female pugilist.
Seen@Namco Bandai HQ: Harada and Hoshino's business tactics
Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada (right) and SoulCalibur series producer Masaaki Hoshino (left) were both heavily armed during our group interview session at Namco Bandai HQ this week. While neither of them explicitly said so, we figure it had something to do with fighting game rival and Street Fighter producer, Yoshinori Ono.
No plans for Ultra Street Fighter 4 on Wii U, Xbox One, PS4
Ultra Street Fighter 4 is not yet planned for Wii U, Xbox One or PS4. Responding to fan inquiries on Twitter, Street Fighter series producer Yoshinori Ono said Capcom has no plans to pursue any platforms beyond Xbox 360, PS3 and PC for the fighting game's latest incarnation. Ono has been quite active on Twitter in the days following the announcement. He dashed fan suggestions that he's working on a Street Fighter for next-generation consoles and reiterated that many have asked for a PS Vita version of Ultra Street Fighter 4. He also said he's been talking to Capcom about a 3DS version of Ultra Street Fighter 4. Ultra Street Fighter 4 adds five new characters, plus new modes, stages, features and fan feedback-fueled balances on top of the current Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition Ver. 2012 (phew!) update. Ultra Street Fighter 4 will be available as $15 DLC for Super Street Fighter 4 or SSF4: Arcade Edition; or as a physical disc for $40.
Capcom: Ono dreams of revitalizing Darkstalkers, 'wants Darkstalkers 4'
Darkstalkers Resurrection may have only existed officially for a few minutes, but Capcom's fighting game guru Yoshinori Ono has bigger hopes for the franchise as a whole, which until today remained one of the few dormant forces in the modern fighting game renaissance."Ono has a dream of revitalizing the Darkstalkers franchise, and this is the first step to get there," Capcom producer Derek Neal of Capcom told Joystiq at the New York Comic Con. "[Ono] wants Darkstalkers 4."Capcom is using the release of Darkstalkers Resurrection as a litmus test to gauge the strength and fervor of the Darkstalkers community, says Neal. In the past, Ono has taken it upon himself to poll audiences directly, asking for attendees interested in a new Darkstalkers to hold up cash as proof of their commitment.
Heard@ Tokyo Game Show 2012: Harada and Ono can never work together due to 'animal turds'
The friendly rivalry between Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada and former Street Fighter mastermind Yoshinori Ono is a long and storied one, though we've always suspected that, were their powers to ever truly combine, the fighting world would never be the same.As it turns out, it'd likely be the carpet in the Namco Bandai offices that never recovered: "I think he would be a positive asset to the company and on that front we definitely would want to hire him," Harada told us during a pre-Tokyo Game Show event earlier this week, after we asked if Ono would have a future at Namco Bandai, should the need ever arise."But personally working with him, I don't think we'd get very far in our jobs because we'd be too busy playing pranks on each other and putting animal turds around each other's desks. I think work would slow down a great deal if we worked together."
Street Fighter's Yoshinori Ono consulting on Remember Me
Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono is helping out Dontnod Entertainment with the development of Remember Me, the cyberpunk action game Capcom announced at Gamescom last week.Ono has visited the Dontnod studio in Paris to offer his advice, Capcom senior producer Mat Hart tells Eurogamer. "He's my boss and he and I speak very regularly about the game, and he's come out with me to Paris," Hart says. "He knows the team and knows the game very well. I always benefit from his wisdom when I'm chatting to him about how we're progressing."Hart compares Capcom's relationship with Dontnod to the one it has with DmC: Devil May Cry developer Ninja Theory, describing it as a "collaboration," rather than the "old-fashioned approach of being adversarial."Remember Me uses combo-based combat with finishing moves and dodges, and special moves that are unlocked by progressing through the game, activated with a power wheel. "On top of that will come much more depth, as well," Hart says. "That we'll talk about later."
Seen@Gamescom: Ono! Blanka crashes Capcom press conference
Yoshinori Ono really is the face (and hair, and skin) of the Street Fighter franchise. Ono showed up at Capcom's Gamescom conference dressed as Blanka and carrying a cake celebrating Street Fighter's 25th anniversary. Throughout his appearance, Ono joked that he wanted to show off Street Fighter 5, pointing at the screen excitedly but getting shot down by less colorful Capcom gatekeepers.
Yoshinori Ono on resurrecting Street Fighter, says 'there's no mercy' at Capcom
Yoshinori Ono is more than the Blanka-toting, smiling face of the Street Fighter series – he's its savior. After Street Fighter III: Third Strike in 1999, Capcom was all too happy to abandon the series, which had seen flagging sales. And Ono always felt responsible for having some hand in its demise, having worked on the last game in the series.He held onto that guilt for years, and after being promoted to the role of producer, pitched a design document for Street Fighter IV. "I was working on Onimusha 4 and during that time I repeatedly submitted my proposal for a new Street Fighter," he told Eurogamer. "The company kept telling me: 'It's a dead franchise. It doesn't make any money. We have series that make money like Resident Evil and Onimusha. Why bother with a dead franchise?'""Eventually I was given a small budget to create a prototype," Ono revealed. But it wasn't a result of his "pestering" the management that eventually brought the game to fruition – the journalists and fans "started making a lot of noise and pressuring Capcom," even though Ono admitted he told them to do that. "Journalists and fans have the power to move Capcom - not producers. With so many voices crying out for a Street Fighter game Capcom could no longer ignore it any more and so they gave the green light for a prototype and they asked me to create it. It's a miracle that happened after a decade..."But as romantic as all of this is, Ono's account of work-life at Capcom is anything but. After taking a step back from the Street Fighter spotlight following a health scare, Ono spoke candidly about his employer – one he accuses of overworking him and failing to recognize his health woes related to overworking."Nobody told me to take a rest. When I returned to work, Capcom didn't even acknowledge that I had been in hospital. There was no change in my schedule. I was at home for an entire week before the doctors allowed me to return to work. When I returned to my desk there was a ticket to Rome waiting for me. There's no mercy. Everyone in the company says: 'Ono-san we've been so worried about you.' Then they hand me a timetable and it's completely filled with things to do."Ono recalled a previous project in his first days at Capcom, when he had a short timetable to retrofit the soundtrack for Street Fighter Alpha to be compatible with a less advanced arcade chipset. "Capcom was very good at squeezing people to the last drop of their blood to get work done."In regards to what's next, Ono isn't talking – but there's no way he'll leave fighting games behind. "There have been rumours saying Ono is dead or retiring. None of that's true. I want to support the next generation of fighting game. It's my job. It's my calling."
Ono taking a break from Street Fighter to recuperate after illness
Following a hospital stay for a sudden illness, Street Fighter series producer Yoshinori Ono is temporarily stepping away from his duties. "I'll refrain from work for current job for a while," he said on Twitter. "Another person in charge of SF series for a while." He added that he will still offer "constant support."The rest of the Street Fighter team is "working wholeheartedly on patches for [Street Fighter X Tekken]," he said. "[Please] wait just a little longer." We wish Ono a speedy recovery and hope he gets a chance to relax. "Relaxed" is not a state we can remember ever having seen him in.
Rumor: Darkstalkers 4 in the works, Yoshinori Ono presiding
Capcom is reviving, revamping and repackaging fighting games almost faster than we can keep track of them but, if the latest rumor is correct, yet another series is set for a comeback. Specifically, DarkStalkers 4 is allegedly in the works, with Capcom's fighting guru Yoshinori Ono heading up the proceedings, according to a source at GamesBeat. The game will reportedly run on a modified version of the Street Fighter X Tekken engine.Capcom has been quietly pushing the Darkstalkers series back into the public consciousness recently, having released the original Darkstalkers on PSN late last year, and a recent ESRB rating points to the possible PSN release of Darkstalkers 3 as well. The company also recently registered a new Darkstalkers trademark in Europe. For what it's worth, Capcom has been teasing the possibility of a return to Darkstalkers for several years now.
Street Fighter: The Movie: The Yoshinori Ono Re-enactment
We're going to start your weekend off the right way: with Yoshinori Ono phonetically reciting Raul Julia's iconic lines from Street Fighter: The Movie. As good as you think this is going to be, we promise it's better.
Street Fighter X Tekken's Mega Man has Inafune's blessing
You might be wondering why Capcom decided to go with an outlandish, embarrassing caricature of the Mega Man 1 box art Mega Man as a Street Fighter X Tekken bonus character for PS3 and Vita. According to a tweet from producer Yoshinori Ono, the decision was made with input from Capcom executive emeritus Keiji Inafune."I consulted with Mr.Megaman (his name is Mr.I...) about it 1 year ago," Ono said. This iteration was the "result" of that consultation. A previous Mega Man game developed under Inafune's command, the cancelled Mega Man Universe, also featured "Bad Box Art Mega Man." So maybe Inafune just thinks it's really funny.Now, as for why Mega Man and Pac-Man are Sony-exclusive characters despite not having anything to do with Sony or the PlayStation platforms ... we aren't sure who was consulted on that decision.[Thanks, Alex!]
Ono: Fighting games should have more customization, user creation
Yoshinori Ono is the Grand Poobah of all things Street Fighter these days, and it would be hard to pinpoint a single person who currently has more of an impact on the direction of the fighting game genre than he does. That direction, it turns out, looks an awful lot like some of the changes implemented in Street Fighter X Tekken, namely the Gem system and everything it stands for."For future titles I want to keep having this concept of, my character is different than your character," Ono said during an interview with Eurogamer. "In fighting games, the only difference between me and you is how good I am. But what I want to do with fighting games from now on is add in that element of customisation [sic], where I can have a Ryu that's different than your Ryu, so we can compete on a different level than just our execution."Ono envisions a future where players can modify their characters on a deeper level than SFxT's Gem system allows for. "It would be like, the Ryu that Yoshinori Ono made is the best, or the Ryu that other guy made sucks." Ono did not go into any specifics regarding future titles, but it's clear that he wants to steer the Street Fighter series away from the character selection screen and toward the stat tree.
Street Fighter X Tekken getting post-launch tournament patch
Like the game that shares half its name, Street Fighter X Tekken will receive a free post-launch update aimed at the tournament crowd. Capcom hopes this patch will alleviate the concerns around the controversial gem system. In Street Fighter IV, it was a free update that added replays and other matchmaking features, but the exact nature of the free DLC in Street Fighter X Tekken is still mostly unknown."A lot of players were saying, 'I have to do button checks. Do I have to do a gem check now before a match?' With regards to that we plan to release a free post-launch tournament support mode," producer Yoshinori Ono told Eurogamer. "Hopefully from that we'll get feedback from the community, and then we'll have a better direction of exactly what we should do with this mode." Just so we're clear: The free mode will be released, and then based on how the mode is received, the mode will be changed? Crystal.Ono also says that players shouldn't expect DLC gems at launch. Instead, Capcom is adopting a wait-and-see approach, gauging community reaction before plotting its next move. "In terms of DLC gems, we don't have any set plans on selling gems like this or like that," Ono said. "We're waiting to see what the user reaction is first, because we think a lot of users still don't understand the gem system completely. They're not power-up items. That's not how we see them. We put gems into the game which are default. As long as you have these default ones you'll be fine. If you want to get more gems down the road from the pre-order bonuses, you can definitely do that, but it doesn't make you stronger, it doesn't make you a better player, it doesn't mean you'll have an advantage."
No exclusive fighters in Xbox Street Fighter X Tekken
While the PlayStation 3 and Vita versions of Street Fighter X Tekken are seemingly jam-packed with platform-exclusive characters, it looks like the Xbox version will be stuck with the original roster, reports Xbox 360 Achievements. Street Fighter guru Yoshinori Ono recently told the site that while Capcom was "in discussions" with Microsoft regarding the possibility of special characters, "we weren't able to decide on a character because of differences in timing and things like that."Had a deal been reached, Ono said he would have liked to include either Marcus Fenix from Gears of War or Master Chief from the Halo series. Personally, our vote would have gone to "banana guy" from Kinect Sports.
Ono: SFxTekken uses new netcode, don't expect a 'Super' version on disc
We recommend filing this one under "Things to take with a grain of salt" in your PR filing cabinet, but Capcom veteran and long-time Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono has told Gematsu that there will be no boxed versions of any future Street Fighter X Tekken updates: "I would say that you don't really need to worry about a new version of the game coming out. If we choose to update the game, it will be done in the same fashion as Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition." "The same fashion," as you'll recall, involves releasing an updated version of the game as DLC rather than at retail, and for a discounted price. It sounds great, and we certainly hope Capcom goes that route from now on, but Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3's existence isn't the most reassuring thing. Ono also said that Street Fighter X Tekken will make use of brand-new netcode, rather than the code used in SSF4:AE or UMvC3. He didn't go into specifics as to what differences or improvements they're hoping to make, but decreasing latency and improving match-up algorithms usually take front and center when improving netcode. We're optimistic that Ono's words will ring true, but we also know that we can't always get what we want.
Ono on why Namco and Capcom are keeping separate while collaborating
In a Capcom developer interview, Street Fighter X Tekken producer Yoshinori Ono said that he isn't interested in checking up on Namco's work on the collaborative project -- and they aren't checking up on his. "Basically, there's no point in developing a game separately if you're constantly getting in each person's way," Ono said. "For example, if we checked the work Namco had done on Ryu, we definitely want to tweak things ourselves. The same is true for Namco. There's no point in mutually checking each other's work, for it would diminish the individuality of each party. It has to be 'Capcom does Tekken' and Namco does Street Fighter.'" Ono went on to say that the cross-company project is meant to "build a foundation for the next ten years of fighting games" by inspiring these two major players to make their best work.
Rufus taking a bite out of Street Fighter X Tekken
Everyone's favorite pot-bellied pugilist is heading to Street Fighter X Tekken, as revealed by Capcom producer Yoshinori Ono during a panel tonight at the New York Comic Con (and teased just last month). Despite being comically overweight and rocking an extra long rat tail, the rotund reveal was met with mixed reaction from a raucous crowd of hardcore Street Fighter players. The ever jubilant Yoshinori Ono, however, was all smiles, happily noting that plenty more character reveals are on the way.%Gallery-136564%
