During February 2011, Capcom (a Japanese based developer and publisher) released a highly anticipated sequel to “Marvel vs. Capcom 2,” simply called “Marvel vs. Capcom 3.” The appeal to this specific type of fighting game is that you can pick a team of three fighters, which can be switched out at any point. These characters can come from either the extended Marvel Universe or Capcom’s characters who come from their respected video game franchises such as: Resident Evil, Megaman, Street Fighter, etc. When announced, fans clamored for more and more details of a game ten years in the making. Everyone hoped that this game would change the face of the modern fighting game genre and directly compete with the Mortal Kombat reboot. However, when it was released during February of this year, it fell short of nearly everyone’s expectations.
The fighting mechanics in “Marvel vs. Capcom 3” were solid and gave the fighting game fans exactly what they wanted: buttery-smooth controls and intense and exciting gameplay. But from a non-fighting game fan, such as myself, there was no reason to spend $60 on a game that had less content and modes than other competitors. The game came with a whopping 38-character roster, noticeably reduced from “Marvel vs. Capcom 2’s” 56 characters that people can pit each other against. Not only that but “Marvel vs. Capcom 3” also had a sparse amount of modes. Noticeably absent was the lack of a spectator mode in which players could watch other players fight and not be bored while they were inactive. Instead, in “Marvel vs. Capcom 3,” player cards hit and bounce off each other to show that two players were fighting each other. Compared to Capcom’s other fighting game “(Super) Street Fighter 4” and the aforementioned competitor, “Mortal Kombat,” “Marvel vs. Capcom 3” fell short in nearly every way.
Fast-forward to San Diego’s Comic-con and Capcom announces “’Ultimate’ Marvel vs. Capcom 3,” which included updates such as: new fighters (Ghost Rider, Strider, Rocket Raccoon and Hawkeye), game balancing patches, and the spectator mode that was supposed to be in the original “Marvel vs. Capcom 3.” Needless to say, this infuriated fans and non-fans that a company could sell the bare minimum to the consumers again and make the original version obsolete because there is no option to download all the updates without the retail disc. The retail disc was announced to cost about $40. When you boil “’Ultimate’ Marvel vs. Capcom 3” down, you would be paying $40 for the additional characters because game-balancing patches can be uploaded for free via the Internet in most other games and spectator mode should have been in the original.
As a gamer, I am appalled that Capcom has the audacity to pull a maneuver like this. If they receive some bad press but people still buy this “Ultimate” version, then more of these same practices can be repeated. I believe strongly in speaking with one’s wallets because that is the only language companies, like Capcom, understand.
