Conception and Development
In Japan, the character is named Vega (ベガ, Bega?), derived from the star of the same name. However, during localization of Street Fighter II for the English language market, Capcom's North American branch felt that the name sounded non-threatening to North American audiences for the game's final boss and was more suitable for the Spanish cage fighter Balrog. At this same time another concern arose that the name of another character, Mike Bison, conceived as a parody of real-life boxer Mike Tyson, would be a legal liability for Capcom. As a result, the characters swapped names, and the game's final boss was dubbed M. Bison for English language appearances of the character. Capcom has never explained what "M" stands for, calling it "part of the character's mystery". Regardless, Bison has been addressed as Master Bison in Street Fighter Alpha 3 repeatedly, as well as in the animated movie. In his introduction before a fight in (Super) Street Fighter IV, he refers to himself as "The Mighty Bison". (Neither is correct as both are merely loose translations of "Vega-sama" ) In endings in Alpha 2, he is referred to by a henchman as Commander Bison.
When developing Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, it was decided to give him a more muscular appearance, rather than have him resemble "a middle aged man", while his face was modified to appear somewhat demonic. This appearance was later carried onto the Street Fighter Alpha series, featured as his original appearance before the Street Fighter II series.
The first source of inspiration for M. Bison's design came from the character General Washizaki, one of the main villains of the popular martial arts manga Riki-Oh. However Bison's image and supernatural prowess are also widely considered to have been inspired by Yasunori Kato, the mystical antagonist of the influential fantasy novel series Teito Monogatari, especially its subsequent cinematic adaptations.
Read more about this topic: General Bison
Famous quotes containing the words conception and/or development:
“We are weighed down, every moment, by the conception and the sensation of Time. And there are but two means of escaping and forgetting this nightmare: pleasure and work. Pleasure consumes us. Work strengthens us. Let us choose.”
—Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867)
“The work of adult life is not easy. As in childhood, each step presents not only new tasks of development but requires a letting go of the techniques that worked before. With each passage some magic must be given up, some cherished illusion of safety and comfortably familiar sense of self must be cast off, to allow for the greater expansion of our distinctiveness.”
—Gail Sheehy (20th century)