Why did Capcom put two identical fighters in the Street Fighter games, Ryu and Ken?

Question

They were virtually the same until the Alpha series, really, although I believe some like to disagree. Was it because Capcom wanted characters that would appeal to both Asian and Western markets? That's the only reason I could see for that.

Answer 1

ken and ryu were the players you could choose in the original in the 80's. video game memory was small, so they had the same powers.

if you remember the original street fighter 2...once a player was chosen, then the other player had to select someone different. it also created an equal matchup to see who was better, that became very very popular.

it wasnt until street fighter 2 champions edition that each player could choose the same (mirror) character at any time. there was no longer any reason to keep them the same.

the next game was street fighter 2 the new challengers, and this was really where ryu and ken started showing differences. then by Alpha they were way different.

Answer 2

because it makes people choose sides and preferences

there shouldnt be only
ONE
hero....