KOF XIII

[Alpha Six]

at least SF4 had NEW CHARACTERS

are you unironically implying that 13 doesn't have new characters

hwa jai is totally new to KOF and saiki is totally new to SNK in general (both forms), and there's still 4 more characters to announce (ex iori doesn't count but is a welcomed addition, considering his 13 movelist is totally different from his 98 movelist. so in a way iori himself counts as a completely new character. also a bunch of characters have totally new movelists as well)

also 13 not having """new characters""" in comparison to sf4 is totally different, mostly because for SF all you have to do is create a new model and give it moves. SNK is staying true to sprite-based animation, which means characters take a lot more effort to make. and by adding in fan favorites to this new system they're pleasing the fanbase a lot more. KOF already has tons of characters and in all honesty it doesn't need to see very many new faces because of how diverse the cast ALREADY is. they'd have to work really, really hard to create a new character that has a totally original movelist and playstyle while still being KOF.

sf has a lot more opportunity to work in new characters because 3/4 of the cast is either a shoto or has shoto-esque properties (fireball, uppercut, leg-based move)
but they don't need to do so either because they have so many favorite characters in past games like THIRD STRIKE WHERE IS ELENA CAPCOM