Highlights

  • Street Fighter 6 references the controversy surrounding M. Bison's name in different regions.
  • In the World Tour mode, Bison has a line that alludes to his name being Vega in Japan.
  • M. Bison was originally the name given to Balrog, but the names were changed in the US due to the boxer character's similarity to Mike Tyson.

The most recent Street Fighter 6 DLC finally added the dreaded M. Bison as a playable character, and with him a clever nod to the infamous controversy surrounding his name in different parts of the world. In the base Street Fighter 6, Bison is thought to be dead following his climatic fight against Ryu in the previous entry, with series newcomer JP taking over as master of the sinister Psycho Power and the primary villain that players have to battle against in both the World Tour mode and several Arcade mode playthroughs.

However, it was later revealed that M. Bison isn’t so deceased after all, as the former head of Shadaloo was confirmed to be part of Street Fighter 6’s second-year DLC pass during June’s Summer Game Fest livestream. Bison was shown sporting a ragged new look as he rode into the fray on horseback, but gameplay footage showed that he is still as dangerous as ever thanks to his returning Psycho Power-enhanced moveset. Ever since he was added to the Street Fighter 6 roster a couple of weeks ago, players could learn to channel these moves by seeking Bison out in World Tour.

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After the player locates M. Bison in Street Fighter 6’s World Tour mode, they will see that the once-infamous Shadaloo leader has no memory of his past life. During a conversation, Bison will tell the player to call him whatever they would like after going through a list of possible names like Bison, Vega, Shadaloo, and Lord. The Fighting Game Anniversaries Twitter account was quick to notice an interesting Easter egg with one of Bison’s examples, particularly the name “Vega,” which was what Bison was originally called in the Japanese release of Street Fighter 2.

Street Fighter 6 References M. Bison’s Regional Name Change

American Street Fighter fans know Vega as the masked claw-wielding assassin of Shadaloo, but originally that name was given to his master. In turn, Vega was known as “Balrog” in Japan, and the boxer who bears that name in the US was called “M. Bison” in Japan as a reference to former undisputed world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. However, when Street Fighter 2 was localized in the US, the names of the three Shadaloo members were switched around due to fears of a lawsuit from Mike Tyson over the perceived use of his likeness – a change that has stuck to this day.

Without the explicit reference to Mike Tyson, the meaning behind the name “M. Bison” is a mystery for English-speaking Street Fighter players, with not many being aware of the dark one’s original name or the switch-up with his henchmen. Street Fighter 6 contains plenty of fun references to things like Blanka’s green skin, and now M. Bison is calling back to the confusion surrounding his name as part of his recent identity crisis.