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Yoshinori Ono, the lovable and energetic producer of the Street Fighter 4 series, has taken on a new position at Capcom. As a corporate officer, he is responsible for managing the company’s daily operations. That doesn’t mean, however, that he’s going to be leaving his current position as head of the publisher’s consumer games research and development division. Though it’s a bit worrying, considering that this man was overworked to the point of hospitalization in March of last year, I’m sure that Capcom is a little more aware of Ono’s health this time around.
Though he’s been a producer for quite a long time, he’s recently become the face of Capcom since the release of Street Fighter 4. His jovial attitude and goofy demeanor has endeared him to fans around the globe, who affectionately refer to him as “Ono-san”. He’s certainly embraced his popularity within the fighting game community as well. I’ve actually seen him visit a local arcade here in Vancouver, just to watch people in arcades play Super Street Fighter 4.
What his new position means to fighting game fans isn’t immediately clear, but he’s previously expressed great enthusiasm at the idea of bringing back older Capcom series, such as Darkstalkers and Rival Schools. With his new position he may have a bit more influence at Capcom, so fighting game fans might have reason to celebrate.
Yoshinori Ono was recently at Sony’s PlayStation 4 event in February. There, he presented Capcom’s new IP Deep Down. Ono is believed to be working on the PlayStation 4 title.
