10 Video Games Popular Franchises Stole From

When Capcom realised that interest in Street Fighter II was waning, they released an updated version one year later called Street Fighter II: Champion Edition. In this version, you could play as the eight original characters as well as the four bosses. Besides that, it was pretty much the same game.

However, hackers believed they could improve on the game themselves by tinkering with the Street Fighter II arcade cabinets. Over time, hackers created their own version of the game where the player could change their character in mid-match, perform moves in mid-air, and adjust the speed of the gameplay. The hack was so successful, it was actually outselling the original game in some arcades!

Although Capcom could have taken legal action to stop the hack, they decided to go about it a different way. Instead, the company took a leaf out of the hackers' book and created another update called Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting. This version had many mechanics from the hack including air-moves, better balance between characters, and the ability to speed up the gameplay. So there you go. Hackers are directly responsible for making the Street Fighter series a global phenomenon.