Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 Is Not Taking You For A Ride

It seems these days that forums are full of youngsters with a false sense of entitlement. Many are saying Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 is overpriced, under delivers, and is a straight rip-off. I figure it’s time to sit down and look at the numbers and rationale behind the upcoming Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 and put some of these complaints to rest.

Most of the backlash I’ve seen on forums around the release of Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 revolves around a few topics: the report that much of the announced content was originally intended as DLC for Marvel vs Capcom 3, the exclusion of MegaMan, and the price and disc format. Let’s look at these issues individually.

 

The Content Should Have Been Vanilla DLC

Capcom definitely threw me for a loop when they released the first costume pack for MvC3 but had no mention of a future DLC schedule or even plans to release another costume pack. Yoshinori Ono has spoiled the fighting game community with a thinly veiled, yet regular flow of information regarding Street Fighter projects. Although managed by a different team, Marvel vs Capcom is a staple franchise and should be treated in a similarfashion. When we heard nothing, I got the sense that they either wanted to see how it was received or truly had no sense of a roadmap for MvC3 DLC.

Given the events that transpired on and after the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, again not even a month after the release of Marvel vs Capcom 3, it is understandable that there would be some disruption to the development cycle. That aside, one can speculate that had a catastrophic event not taken place, some of the characters announced for UMvC3 may have made it to DLC and the chain of content would have continued over the past six months. Unfortunately though, it did happen and this is most likely Capcom’s attempt to catch up with fan demand, while at the same timegiving us a bundle and saving us a lot of time and money.

 

The No-MegaMan

Capcom has always been one of the better companies at doing fan service, and over the last few years their attention to fans has grown tremendously. With the hiring of Seth Killian as “special consultant” and community liaison, and the full-time attention given to communication on Capcom-Unity and Twitter, Capcom has proven time and again their commitment to fans. Even the existence of current Street Fighter and Marvel vs Capcom sequels speaks to this fact, as both were written off as too expensive and time consuming to be profitable. Luckily for Capcom, their fans truly support their work and vote to support them with their dollars year after year.

Personally, I’m a roster whore. When MvC3 didn’t have more characters than MvC2, I was thoroughly disappointed and saw a product of laziness and complacency, despite claims they were attempting to go for balance and all viably playable characters. Over time, I really came to enjoy the system and the roster we were given, but really missed my old Capcom favorites like Jin Saotome, Captain Commando, and yes, MegaMan.

As much as it irked me to have to imagine how amazing Blodia Punch, Saotome Dynamite, and Captain’s Corridor would look in the MvC3 engine, I just had to come to accept that Capcom and Marvel wanted to move onto new characters and we all are not entitled to anything as consumers. You get what you buy and as an educated consumer, you should never buy something you do not wish to support. If the lack of MegaMan ruins the entire experience for you, you have the right to refuse support for it, or perhaps you should deal with not having your way and enjoy the game like the other two million people playing it. Look on the bright side, we’ve now got Frank West, Phoenix Wright, and everyone’s favorite, Strider, all of which came as the loudest cries from fans on the Capcom-Unity forums. Didn’t they say spectator mode was not feasible given the amount of craziness on-screen and data being transferred? Didn’t they also say Strider didn’t fit into the system? MegaMan is not dead, the franchise is not abandoned, and I have a sneaking suspicion that at some point it would not be out of the realm of possibility to see the blue bomber appear as DLC.

 

The Price and Disc Format

It just doesn’t make sense to release an update this large as DLC. Should UMvC3 be released for Games on Demand? Sure, but it should not be considered a basic add-on. The game plays similarly and is recycling many assets and game engine mechanics, but this much content truly warrants a proper release. Priced at $39.99, Capcom is already acknowledging that this isn’t a full sequel to MvC3, but rather an expansion much in the way Super Street Fighter IV was to the original “vanilla” version. Oh, and this is also assuming Capcom has no more surprises up their sleeves prior to the November launch date. Remember, Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition started out announced as DLC only, but was eventually released on disc due to fan demand.

As far as price is concerned, Capcom currently has two major fighting game franchises they’re actively supporting, and given their popularity as both multi-platinum selling titles we can look at the two for comparison. The first Street Fighter IV update, Super Street Fighter IV, was available on disc only and priced at $39.99.  The game featured ten new characters, five new stages, a rebalance, new menus and HUD, and new online modes. This offering was widely accepted as a hefty update with a substantial amount of content being added to the original, and thus the backlash was minor for the update being released only a year after the first franchise entry in a decade.

Many fans claim Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 is a minor update and an attempt at gouging players on the part of Capcom. They argue UMvC3 should be made available as DLC. UMvC3 is bringing twelve new fighters, eight new stages, new menus and HUD, and new online modes including spectator mode. For MvC3, Jill and Shuma Gorath were the only available DLC fighters, priced at $5 each. Assuming Capcom gave away spectator mode and the other new online features, for twelve new fighters alone this DLC would run $60. (Just be glad they aren’t $8 each like they are for BlazBlue.) Now let’s talk about the eight new stages for UMvC3. The original had eight stages, plus training and the final stage. Adding eight new stages basically doubles the initial offering and would realistically be priced no less than $10 as DLC. Considering Soul Calibur IV had bonus songs for $15, I think this is a bargain. So all told, for twelve characters and eight stages, again assuming the spectator mode and updated interfaces are worth nothing, the DLC total is $70. Hell, maybe Capcom should release this as piecemeal DLC and really take you for a ride.