No wonder Yoshinori Ono got Street Fighter IV made. The exuberance that the series’ producer displays for fighting games is as unmistakable as the warm, wide grin that rarely leaves his face. In a recent interview, Ono impressed us with how intent he is on making Super Street Fighter IV the game that fans want — right down to its price:

OXM: Why did you decide to make Super Street Fighter IV?

ONO: When we released Street Fighter IV, we were pretty satisfied with where it was balance-wise, but then a million or more people got their hands on it. We started to notice that they were finding and exploiting things we didn’t realize were in the game, and it became obvious that people really wanted and in fact expected a follow-up. We want to make sure they know we’re listening.

OXM: So what’s something you’re adding that fans demanded?

ONO: I mentioned when we were making Street Fighter IV that we were going to try to get bonus stages in there, and needless to say, they didn’t end up in IV. People got really mad about that, and I got really mean emails calling me a f---ing liar and whatnot. So listen: I’m going to try really, really hard this time, so please stop sending me mean emails [cracks a big grin].

OXM: What’s new on the online side?

ONO: A lot of people made it clear that they want to play in larger groups, rather than just one-on-one. They also wanted to see what was going on with other people and maybe learn a few things from expert players. We’re looking to improve online quite a bit [in those areas].

OXM: Tell us about new fighter Juri… 

ONO: She represents a lot of firsts when it comes to the Street Fighter universe. She’s the first Korean character. She’s the first user of tae kwon do. And a lot of times when you add a character to a fighting game, it’s natural to make them a good guy…but this time we decided to go a different route, and she’s kinda nasty — kinda mean. Perhaps evil! She’s got a sexy edge to her. She’s not a cheesecake character; she’s not going to come out and poledance. But it’ll all be up to the ESRB how far we can take that [chortles]!

OXM: Are you changing or improving the opening and closing cinematics? 

ONO: We’re aware that people weren’t exactly thrilled with the less-than-stellar quality of the opening and ending sequences. We’re man enough to admit that, and as an apology, we’re remaking them entirely. We’ve also got new storylines happening during the fights and some rival matchups to look forward to.

OXM: Are you doing anything differently after all the negativity from fans about goofy new characters like El Fuerte?

ONO: I absolutely plan on having some similar kinds of things going on in Super. These sort of wacky, jokey characters are an integral part of the Street Fighter universe. There’s something about that disconnect of taking a fight really seriously, practicing a lot and fighting really hard, only to be beaten by Rufus, who’s doing some goofy pose after he wins. It makes you feel like an idiot, but you kind of laugh it off because he is a joke and he’s there just to make you laugh.

OXM: Is Seth still going to be the final boss?

ONO: He is, and we’re going to make you like him even less! He’s the last boss — you’re not supposed to like the guy! We’re not going to make it unfair-hard, but he’s going to have you throwing a few controllers. But don’t worry: you’re not going to be stuck on him continuing 527 times!

OXM: Are the unlockable characters from Street Fighter IV available from the start?

ONO: You might be happy to know there are no unlockable characters in Super. It is fun to finish the game a bunch of times and wonder what you unlocked, but we’re going to sacrifice that for the ability to use everyone out of the box. There are other ways to get people to play the game more — such as creating other things to unlock. It doesn’t have to be just characters.

OXM: Is Super going to be available as downloadable content or a full game?

ONO: There’s simply too much stuff going on with this update and it’s just too big, so it’s going to be a full-on disc release. But we’re not going back to the dark old days where we just tack another word onto Street Fighter and charge you 60 bucks again. This won’t be a full-priced game. I’m not going to promise you a $5 game or anything like that, but we’ll try to get it to you as cheaply as possible.