Capcom has a running poll to gauge the popularity of the Street Fighter characters, possibly in anticipation of a new Street Fighter game. I’m reasonably sure that either Street Fighter V or Darkstalkers 4 will be announced alongside Playstation 4 next week, but it sure would be fun if Darkstalkers took that slot as a new graphics showcase, the way Darkstalkers originally was for CPS2.

So let’s assume that the votes actually matter and see what Street Fighter V will be like, if NeoGAF can be considered to represent the average Street Fighter fan. For this, I’m also assuming that it will be a new engine with a new design, so having a model made for Street Fighter IV or X Tekken doesn’t necessarily secure a spot this time around. With 39 characters in Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition, I would assume that at least 30 will be necessary for the first version of Street Fighter V or people will cry foul.

The given twelve:

We’re getting Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Guile, Zangief, Blanka, Dhalsim, Cammy, Sakura, Sagat, Bison and Akuma no matter what, seriously. Voting for them is a waste of slots for more interesting choices. (12)

The new four:

Seems like a very likely number, but obviously we have no idea who they’ll be. (16)

The popular returnees:

I’d guess that the eight most popular characters from Street Fighter IV would naturally come along. The Third Strike newcomers got overwhelming support, with Dudley, Makoto and Ibuki all certified to stay. Guy and Cody have a solid following, and Rose, Dan and Juri would also be welcome. The only other character with a decent following is Yun. (24)

The new oldtimers:

Many of the characters who didn’t make it for Street Fighter IV were heavily requested, with Karin in a solid lead, and Q and Urien not too far behind. These would seem given. Then there’s a mix of solid choices in Elena, Alex and Poison, all of which have had appearances in non-Street Fighter games. Rainbow Mika also has a dedicated following, as well as the fabulous Eagle. Close, but not quite there, are Rolento and Maki (another Capcom vs SNK 2 alumni), Charlie (who would need a resurrection story), Sodom and, although that’s wishful thinking on my part, Juli & Juni who each have decent support and would never appear on their own anyway. (30)

The ones we can lose:

Hakan, Crimson Viper, El Fuerte, Abel and Rufus all failed to capture many hearts, although it seems that Capcom are fond of both Rufus and Viper. It’s more surprising to see Vega and Balrog fail to win many votes, but they may possibly be considered obvious choices already. The old New Challengers are pretty much irrelevant, with Fei-Long, Dee Jay and T. Hawk (with a single vote!) at the bottom of the list. There doesn’t seem to be much demand for Seth, Gen or Oni, and somewhat surprisingly Gouken didn’t get a single vote. Even more so, Honda and Adon are out, as well as Yang, unless his palette swap status improves his chances. Finally, Evil Ryu got not a single serious vote, and good riddance for that.

The lost causes:

Remy, Oro and Sean all did decently, but I would think that it takes more for old characters to be given a chance. Hugo and Birdie also seem left out. Twelve and Necro are truly gone at this point, Ingrid probably isn’t liked enough and neither Geki nor Joe got enough of a push to return to the series. I would also think that Haggar and Skullomania, while fan favourites, are quite unlikely, especially Skullo who would need special licensing from Arika.

The pointing and the laughing:

Gouken, Gill, Mike, Lee, Retsu and Evil Ryu got no votes in the close to 200 lists I collected. No real surprises there except Gouken.