With reports popping up on the Internet about “Street Fighter IV” arcade cabinets appearing in a handful of arcades across the United States, I began to wonder:

How can I get one?

I asked my man in Capcom PR how to obtain an official arcade unit. He confirmed to me that “technically, the average gamer probably could” get one — if they can navigate the following hurdles:

1) Spend A Lot Of Money: Capcom won’t divulge the price. All I could find out is that the 2,349,400 Yen cost I found on a website from March is a re-seller’s price. Capcom is selling for less. But considering that re-seller price amounts to $21,802, I guess we’re talking about an actual price that is still greater than what I usually spend on a PS3, a year’s supply of socks or a honeymoon.

2) Buy In Bulk: Want a “Street Fighter IV” arcade cabinet? Too bad, you can’t get one. You have to get four of them. So be ready to write a really big check. Capcom won’t take orders for single units. The company requires a purchase of four units of “Street Fighter IV.” I wonder how many “Street Fighter V” units they’ll require when that game comes out? (Apparently Bungie Studios inquired about buying one — but do even they have money for four?)

3) Live In Japan: Capcom isn’t selling “SFIV” arcade cabinets in the U.S. yet. So how is the game already in some American arcades? It appears that U.S. arcade-owners have imported their units, in some cases just having imported the boards and stuck them into non-”SFIV” cabinets. The units in the U.S. now are gray-market and not approved by Capcom.

4) Wait: Capcom U.S. pr man Chris Kramer tells me that there’s no official date for when the “”SFIV” cabinets will ship to the U.S. But the company wants to make it happen. “We’re still talking with a few people here, but the arcade business outside of Japan is tough,” he told me today. “There are at least two companies seriously interested in purchasing ‘SFIV’ machines from us, but no done deals at the moment.”

If any of this discourage you for some reason, GameStop indicates that a slightly cheaper version of “Street Fighter IV” will be shipping for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in February.

Related Posts:

‘Legend of Chun-Li’ Screenwriter Dismisses Old ‘Street Fighter’ Movie, Not Going For Laughs
‘Street Fighter IV’ Producer Perplexed By America’s Choice For Favorite New Character
Is Capcom Already Thinking “Street Fighter V”?

[Image Credit: Capcom Unity]