While we learned a while ago that Capcom would be removing the controversial butt slap that fighter R. Mika did in a gameplay trailer for Street Fighter V, we now have some information coming directly from the team as to why this was done.
The information was revealed by the game’s producer, Yoshinori Ono, where he essentially said that the move to remove the butt slap and other gratuitous shots in the game was done to avoid making potential new fans to the series from feeling uncomfortable.
Ono said that their objective with the new game is to “start over from zero,” he told UOL Jogos in an interview that was translated by a member from NeoGAF. “We want the professional players and the casual fans of the series to return, but we also want to reach those who have never even touched a fighting game. So we can’t have something in the game that makes people think, ‘This is not acceptable’”.
This has been a topic that has definitely stirred up a good amount of controversy, as some people say that it’s censorship and others say it’s the right thing to do in a world that is trying to move away from overly-sexualized characters. Still, regardless of the removal of the butt slap R. Mika’s outfit will not be changing at all, which shows plenty of skin that would potentially disturb new fans, anyway.
Street Fighter V launches worldwide on February 16th, 2016 for PlayStation 4 and PC.
