ChunLi is definetely popular , no doubting that. But I feel like compared to Ryu she isnt as big. Especially in character usage.
Of course she's not as big as the poster boy of the series, Mr. Fighting Game himself. But she's right behind Ryu in terms of being well-known/popular as well as impactful to the series and fighting games in general.
Play stats don't really matter all that much either, because if we go just from those and look at, say, MvC3, then you could easily make the argument that Akuma is more popular than Ryu because Akuma was played more than Ryu.
Or if we look at SF4, you could easily make an argument that Rufus was an actually beloved character.
Again , When i meant OG I was referring to older VS games. Also to clarify I was talking about having an OG char over a SFV rep NOT Chun li.
Yeah I got that, you edited into the post later on.
That said, SF5 representation is pretty much inevitable. An allstars/crossover fighting game series like MvC is not only a way to do fan service, but also to use as a platform for exposure. That's why we'll be having Captain Marvel in MvCI's roster - she's being heavily pushed by Marvel, will get her own movie in a couple years and what have you. Just like how it was with Rocket Raccoon back in MvC3, they're using this game, popular as it is, as a way to get various characters into the eyes and minds of fans.
So obviously we'll have our Ryus and Spider-Men and what have you, but we'll also get our Rashids and Kamala Khans, characters who are current and important to contemporary Capcom/Marvel.
None the less, it isnt a spin off like the EX series for example.
I didn't know that it wasn't supposed to be a spin-off series, since it had various aspects that made it seem that way to me, but I stand corrected.