In the past week, Capcom has been feeding us tons of Street Fighter IV assets, which you will no doubt find all across the Internet as other video game news and blog sites spread the hype with Capcom's blessing.  We've gotten press releases announcing upcoming DLC for a game that isn't even out yet, screenshots for alternate outfits when gamers haven't even gotten a chance to see the characters in their defaults, and plenty of trailers.

As the official launch date approaches, PR becomes more intense, evidenced by the most recent video that can only be described as "incredibly badass."  Go figure, it's the introductory cinematic for the game, not just another teaser.

A huge benefit of pushing a game like Street Fighter IV is a minimal risk of spoilers.  Despite all the screenshots and videos, we're looking mostly at a lot of flash with little substance, previewing gameplay and visuals instead of story.  Contrast that to the Resident Evil 5 PR campaign, which some gamers criticise for revealing too much.

The Resident Evil 5 gave gamers a taste of how the game might look and feel with the new co-op feature and African setting.  Accompanying screens reveal more challenges Chris and Sheva will need to face, including giant crocodiles, angry chain-saw wielding dudes, fighting aboard boats.  The question here is whether Capcom should have kept most of that under wraps.

With Street Fighter IV, some of us wonder if Capcom is overhyping. 

Overhype!  Hell, it's a word the gaming community has been hearing constantly following two major award shows for 2008, in which Fable II and Grand Theft Auto IV both took home the title "Game of the Year," enraging countless rabid fanboys in the process.  While both games have their fair share of followers, Grand Theft Auto IV was also recognized as the most hyped game of 2008, and many gamers claim it was mostly overhype and GTA IV didn't deserve GotY.

No game is perfect, but I personally believe Grand Theft Auto IV deserves recognition for everything it accomplished or attempted to accomplish, if nothing else.  Rockstar showed us a psuedo-realistic universe by placing gamers in a cage and lowering us into a seedy underworld where the American dream doesn't go as planned, composing an opus of misfortune wrought with car chases and gun fights -- The Godfather's dirty younger cousin.  If we looked at the game objectively, the ingredients for an enjoyable gaming experience are all present, but overhype ensured that many players would end up experiencing disappointment as expectations are popped one by one.

And who can forget Peter Molyneux?  Despite my reverence for the man, he has a penchant for angering gamers by setting the bar of expectations too high, a habit we saw with the first Fable.  Again, with Fable II Molyneux expressed his excitement and miscommunication resulted in that same cycle of events comprised of overhype and a trail of angry fans.

Don't get me wrong because I love both aforementioned titles, but as a writer for Neoseeker, I and a couple other writers noticed this recent plethora of Street Fighter IV assets.  We tilted our heads at each new press release from Capcom, wondering if they were simply trying too hard.  Nearly every day for the past week, we've received notice from Capcom, and with each new announcement are reminders of previous ones.  When Capcom first revealed the new artistic style (Okami, anyone?) for SFIV almost two years ago, gamers and writers were stunned, and the company had apparently made the right move by adding this visual flare to an old franchise.  Of course, we need reminders from time to time that this amazing fighter is coming out in February 2009 or it just falls into the backs of everyone's minds.

Sure, this game is one of the biggest franchises in the history of entertainment, and with all the previous titles already out on the market for years, most gamers already know more or less what to expect so there's less room for disappointment and the backlash of frustrate fanboys.  There's a new look, kind of like seeing an old friend after he or she went through a television makeover show, but we're seeing mostly familiar faces.  We're seeing them over and over again in a very short time, but what's the harm if any publicity is good publicity?

Still, we don't need three trailers in five days or 50-something screens showing us alternate costumes for the fighters set for release after the game.  It's not like you get those for free or anything!  And while the arcade opening cinematic is a bundle of awesome, I would have been able to appreciate the game itself much more if they had held off on releasing the video a few more days.

We get it, Capcom.  Seriously, give the gamers some room to breathe!