Based on some reports I'm reading over on Insert Credit's forums and on the SRK forums, Balrog/Boxer and Sagat have both been spotted at this past weekend's location tests in Japan for Street Fighter IV. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any videos or images pop up of the two characters yet (is Capcom still trying to enforce a no image policy after the second day of AOU?), but if anyone out there has seen the two characters on another link or has taken footage themselves and would like to share either, please let me know. I'm eager to see whether or not this information pans true, but based on the "authority" of at least one of the two sources it seems likely that it's legitimate. It's interesting to note however, that the official developer's blog for the game had a small write up from this past weekend's test and did not mention the presence of either character... Odd to say the least.
When Famitsu revealed the news that all of the original World Warriors would be returning to the cast of fighters, they also mentioned that they had a few other characters that they were shown that they could not reveal yet. I find it hard to believe that if Balrog and Sagat made the cut that Vega/Claw wouldn't as well to finish off the trifecta of sub-bosses from Street Fighter 2. Part of the reason for the lack of an announcement from the two characters is that Famitsu magazine should be coming out today or tomorrow in Japan. Capcom may be holding off officially revealing the two characters for the magazine.
On another note, Capcom has announced a new location test for Street Fighter IV in Japan at the Hey Akihabara Taito Game Center for this coming weekend. With the official announcement that Capcom is looking for a distribution partner in the US for Street Fighter IV, I wonder if they are going to be putting one or two location tests stateside (most likely on the west coast) for a US location test. I would definitely argue that it would be a great show of support for Capcom USA if they tried to work out those arrangements prior to the Japanese arcade release of the game.
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