You know you’re hungry for new information on a game when you’re watching videos from South Korea. 

That’s where the latest batch of Super Street Fighter 4 videos emerged from. All the new characters have been announced, the pre-order and limited edition bonuses have been revealed, and unless Capcom has something up their sleeves there's only a flood of videos and balance changes from beta testers the next few days and then nothing but speculation until the game's release.

Maybe I spoiled myself by knowing the new features before SSF4 was even announced.   

Last September, the Street Fighter fan site Event Hubs posted a leaked list for an upgrade to Street Fighter 4, with mainstream sites picking the story up soon after. The list appeared a few days before Capcom showed it at the Tokyo Game Show, and aside from some minor details the list was note-for-note correct. 

New Bonus Stages? Yes.

New Ultra Combo attacks? Of course, along with some names too. 

Will Dee Jay, T. Hawk, Guy, Cody, Adon, Dudley, Ibuki, and Makoto be in the game?  That’s thinking too small – How about an Evil girl named Juri and an oil-obsessed wrestler named Hakan?

Sure, at the beginning the list could be as true as any set of rumors. But as Capcom unveiled a methodical march of trailers it became harder and harder to ignore it. By the time Hakan said "Looks like it's time to oil up!" at the end of the Street Fighter 3 character trailer I just wanted him to show up and get it over with. Even if you don’t frequent the Shoryuken forums or other fighting game sites, if you look at a video or article of anything Street-Fighter related it is bound to have a comment that brings up the leak.

Fans can be desperate for new information, but does knowing about what's coming break the joy of anticipation? While it’s not surprising that Capcom would make new Ultra combos or include popular characters like Guy and Dudley, not knowing opens up more speculation about who gets in the game and how many characters are brand-new. 

It would also make teases like mailing Giant Bomb editor Jeff Gerstmann Dudley's boxing glove and rose more exciting. Makoto would be a surprise choice as well: While the karate girl is popular among tournament players, with other well-known Street Fighter 3 characters like Yun and Alex around she wasn't a guaranteed pick. 

On the other hand, knowing the leak didn’t stop me from watching those trailers an unhealthy number of times. It didn't tell us how Juri and Hakan played or even looked like, and unlike the leaked footage from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 of the controversial "No Russian" level Capcom planned to reveal these features before the game came out anyway. 

The leaks that were actively removed from message boards, like this grainy picture of Hakan, only came out days before a new trailer verified it and only added to the anticipation. And knowing game-play changes before it's released isn't like knowing the plot twist of an upcoming movie, especially with a franchise focused on verses play like Street Fighter.

In the end, it’s my own fault for looking at the leaks. I’m the person who wants to know the latest news regardless of the source. I'm the person who doesn't want to wait until April 27th to know if Rose will be a better character than before. I'm the person who benefits when a forum member translates an article from Japanese or Spanish or French, or when someone violates an information embargo. If I want that information now, than it’s my fault for not being surprised five months later.