The hype for Street Fighter II on the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom in 1992 was unlike anything the gaming industry had seen before.
The "impossible" port: before July 1992, playing a major arcade hit at home usually meant a compromised, stripped-down home port. When Street Fighter II: The World Warrior was announced for the SNES, the idea that an arcade game of that scope could run at home felt like witchcraft.
Magazines like EGM built massive anticipation with cover features and deep dives into the 16-megabit cartridge, the largest and most powerful SNES cartridge of its time.
Costing US$79.99 at launch (roughly US$175 adjusted for inflation), but millions of players didn't hesitate to pay for it. In fact, it sold over 6.3 million copies on the SNES, becoming Capcom's best-selling single software title for decades and a massive system-seller that convinced many people on my surroundings to buy a Super Nintendo.
Sega had no answer to that until September 1993, which was too late for many.