Street Fighter (video game)

Street Fighter is a series of popular video games developed by a Japanese company named Capcom. The first Street Fighter, released in 1987, was only a modest success, but its sensational sequel turned the series into a multimedia franchise. Widely hailed as the grandfather of fighting games, Street Fighter II pits martial artists of different nationalities and fighting styles against each other in hand-to-hand combat. Although praised for its fluid animation and tight controls, the game's novelty was its large cast of characters, each armed with a unique set of attacks. Players input secret button combinations to execute these powerful "special moves." Pursuit of mastery motivated fierce competition, enticing millions of players around the world to test their hand-eye coordination against others at their local video game arcade and even in professional tournaments. The popularity of arcades began waning in the late 1990s and Street Fighter entered a long period of decline, but the series experienced renewed interest and sales with the release of a well-received fourth installment in 2008.