Street Fighter IV PC is just around the corner. An Intel Pentiumv4 2.0GHz or higher processor, 1GB or more RAM and a DirectX 9.0c/Shader3.0 video card are the bare essentials to execute those focus attacks and ultra moves. And to make sure you got every SF character in your hard disk, you need at least 10GB of free space (clear those anime episodes now).

Minimum

OS: Windows XP

CPU: Intel Pentium4 2.0GHz or higher

RAM: 1GB or higher

HDD: 10GB of free space or more

Video Card: DirectX 9.0c/Shader3.0 or higher compatible, NVIDIA GeForce6600 series, ATI Radeon(TM) X1600 or higher or higher, VRAM ：256MB or higher

Sound: DirectSound compatible, DirectX 9.0c (or higher) compatible

Input Devices: Mouse, Keyboard

Maximum

OS: Windows Vista

CPU: Intel Core2Duo 2.0GHz or higher

RAM: 2GB or higher

HDD: 10GB of free space or more

Video Card: DirectX 9.0c/Shader3.0 or higher compatible, NVIDIA GeForce8600 series or higher, ATI Radeon(TM) X 1900 or higher, VRAM ：512MB or higher

Sound: DirectSound compatible, DirectX 9.0c (or higher) compatible

Input Devices: Gamepad ：Xbox360 Controller for Windows

I need a Chun Li, C Viper or Cammy joystick for this.

Image: Mad Catz

Capcom is not neglecting the PC gaming crowd as the worldwide leading gaming developer and publisher has a Windows-based PC line-up this coming July. Starting with Street Fighter IV this July (3rd July), followed by Bionic Commando and finally the highly-acclaimed Resident Evil 5 at the end of this year.

The PC version of Resident Evil 5 will feature online co-op play and 3D gameplay (thanks to NVIDIA’s GeForce 3D Vision technology). Wearing the 3D glasses will either make the zombies more macho or make you dizzier.

Image: Cpacom

Dangnabit! Someone beat me to writing a good book about retro gaming! Haha!

Seriously now. Yes, someone has beaten me to the punch, but at least we get quality retro gaming tips and tricks from Chris Kohler, who has written a gamut of video gaming articles for a number of conventional and unconventional media like Wired, Official Playstation Magazine, 1up.com, IGN, Gamespy, Nintendo Official Magazine UK, and Electronic Gaming Monthly.

Here’s a little bit more about the author of Retro Gaming Hacks:

Kohler’s first book, Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life, was published by BradyGAMES in September 2004. Kohler completed the research for Power-Up as a Fulbright scholar to Kyoto, Japan. He graduated summa cum laude with highest thesis honors from Tufts University. He has contributed to books such as Gaming Hacks for O’Reilly and High Score! Second Edition for McGraw-Hill.

All that aside, he would most like to be remembered as having starred as the first guard after Vulcan Raven in the Easy mode of Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes for Nintendo GameCube.

Now, who wouldn’t be interested in taking a gander at Retro Gaming Hacks? It’s chockful of retro gaming goodies, such as guides on how to buy and run old consoles like the Atari 2600 and the Nintendo Entertainment System, and how to play classic games on contemporary consoles and platforms, like from Arcade to PC and Macintosh.

Let me just shut up and give you a summary of the book in a few paragraphs:

Maybe it was the recent Atari 2600 milestone anniversary that fueled nostalgia for the golden days of computer and console gaming. Every Game Boy must ponder his roots from time to time. But whatever is driving the current retro gaming craze, one thing is certain: classic games are back for a big second act, and they’re being played in both old and new ways.

Whether you’ve just been attacked by Space Invaders for the first time or you’ve been a Pong junkie since puberty, Chris Kohler’s Retro Gaming Hacks is the indispensable new guide to playing and hacking classic games. Kohler has complied tons of how-to information on retro gaming that used to take days or weeks of web surfing to track down and sort through, and he presents it in the popular and highly readable Hacks style.

Retro Gaming Hacks serves up 85 hard-nosed hacks for reviving the classic games. Want to game on an original system? Kohler shows you how to hack ancient hardware, and includes a primer for home-brewing classic software. Rather adapt today’s equipment to run retro games? Kohler provides emulation techniques, complete with instructions for hacking a classic joystick that’s compatible with a contemporary computer. This book also teaches readers to revive old machines for the original gaming experience: hook up an Apple II or a Commodore 64, for example, and play it like you played before.

What are you waiting for? Go grab the book and enjoy 502 pages of pure retro gaming goodness.