Back to (Fight for) the Future

You didn't think that AE's release would make me forget about Third Strike, did you? I couldn't let a month go by without an obligatory Third Strike post. Today I present you with a video featuring a mystery Hugo player going on a serious tear, complete with really sneaky standing 720's. Also, we have this little tidbit (found on SRK) from Capcom's Christian Svensson about Third Strike: Online Edition:

There are places this game is going for fans where no fighting game (not even our big retail fighting games) have gone before.

What does this mean? I'm focused on two specific facets of this statement: 1) There's something that's never been done before. 2) It's "for fans." The "never been done before" part makes me think of stuff like Danisen ranking. (What's Danisen? There's a great intro at iPlaywinner.) This is something that hasn't exactly been built into any fighting game before.

The "for fans" part might support the idea of Danisen being included, as it has been requested by fans; however, the idea of a fan-service feature seems to suggest something less obtuse. Also, are the fans being catered to general/casual fighting game fans or Third Strike fans in particular? If we're talking about general fighting game fans, the additions might include new modes and features akin to Challenge Mode and such. What kind of mode would make for something totally new, though? If we're talking about Third Strike fans, the additions would likely not affect the gameplay as much. If I were to guess what new feature would appease 3S fans, it might have to do with better replay uploading and viewing — perhaps built-in YouTube uploading.

Since the game was announced so early in development, it'll be quite a while before we find out. Sven did promise that we'd be hearing more "in 2011," so we'll just have to be patient for now.