Street Fighter 5's Toned Down Focus on Female Bodies "Not Due to External Pressure"

Street Fighter 5 producer Yoshinori Ono has discussed Capcom's decisions to de-emphasise the focus on female bodies, saying the change wasn't a result of external pressures.

Speaking to UOL Jogos, Ono explained aspects of the game such as R.Mika's Critical Art and Cammy's entrance, which were scrutinised for the attention paid to the female characters' bodies, were also flagged internally at Capcom.

"We didn't make any changes due to external influences," he said. "These changes came up internally. We decided to remove [the animations] because we want as many people to play as possible, and we do not want something that might make someone uncomfortable."

In early versions of the the Street Fighter 5 beta R. Mika, a female wrestler, was shown slapping her rear when executing her Critical Art. After the update, her behind isn't in frame when she slaps it.

Cammy, meanwhile, is now framed so that her behind is also out of shot during her entrance animation. Previously it was in-shot, and the camera was low enough so that her crotch area could clearly be seen. A comparison of both animations, before and after the changes, can be seen here.

In the interview, Ono continued to say Capcom wants "professional players and casual fans [to come back] again" for the new game, but to also "reach those who never even played a fighting game."

He continued: "There cannot be something [in the game] that makes people think, 'this is not acceptable.' We probably won't be able to remove everything that might offend someone, but our goal is to at least reduce that number as much as possible to think 'okay, there's this issue here, but its within the limits.' We want everyone to play and enjoy [the game] without worrying about anything else."

Capcom has announced a new beta test period for Street Fighter 5 which will begin on December 18. The beta will be available on PlayStation 4 and PC.

The Street Fighter 5 release date has been confirmed as February 16, 2016. During PlayStation Experience 2015, Capcom revealed the final launch character is Fang, a character that uses poison attacks.

Following launch, Alex, Guile, Ibuki, Balrog, Juri, and Urien will be released as new characters. Each one is earnable through gameplay for free. Those that want to get them immediately can purchase the 2016 Season Pass, which is available to pre-purchase now in North America.