Virtua Fighter 1 Prototype Question

When Shenmue II came out for Dreamcast, it included Virtua Fighter "Passport" and "History" discs. The History one is what's caught my attention. The disc features, among other things like attract screens and gameplay, development materials and "tech demos" from the early production of the original Virtua Fighter:



This is a very cool look into the game's production. However, one thing has always confused me a bit. If this footage is so early, why is Akira present instead of Shiba/Siba?



Furthermore, the names of the characters are mostly comparable to those of the final, save for "Jackey" and "Jefer." Other than "Sara," they don't match the early (and pretty funny) ones seen in the above image or this one:



I was just curious about this. Maybe Akira was planned early in development and replaced with Shiba, only to return again? But, this doesn't match the name inconsistencies. Any thoughts?

 

from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Virtua_Fighter_characters#Siba

"
Siba

Siba (シバ Shiba?) is a mystery character that appeared on the early VF1 arcade cabinets' character roster under the name "Akira". Game-wise, he appeared in Fighters Megamix but not in the actual VF series. His fighting style is indeterminate, but it is often speculated that he uses Pencak Silat since he wields a sword used in the art in his stance.
Siba is actually from a prototype of Virtua Fighter but was cut from the cast by the time of game's actual release, though an icon featuring him (and mislabelled as "Akira") appears on older Virtua Fighter arcade cabinets. Siba is an Arab in a white and purple outfit equipped with a sword that charges with green energy (the World Fighting Tournament calls for no weapons other than the human body, so this counts as cheating); he is unlocked by defeating the 'Bosses' section. His stage is based upon Wolf's "desert" stage from Virtua Fighter 3."

 

Omg @ Willy, who knew?

Don't have the passport disc, but remember on Japanese Saturn, they had all the CG portrait discs, that you can still find pretty reasonably on ebay.

 

Yeah, and Dural is a pretty funny name for Jeffry, too.

Anyways, I know that Siba showed up in Fighters Megamix, and he definitely did appear, labelled as "Akira," on some American arcade cabinets. But, his absence in this supposed early build and presence in an obviously later one puzzles me. Maybe the screens above were just mock-ups and Siba was canned early on once the game started to take shape. Or, maybe the footage above is a prototype for the 32X or Saturn ports...?