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DC Vs. Marvel Vs. Capcom Considered?
Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to this interview with Chris Jelinek of Capcom, done by the unofficial SNK-Capcom.com site while they were at E3. The confirmed news in this article seems to be that the 3D Capcom Fighting All-Stars has been cancelled (although we never get a direct quote from Jelinek himself about it), but after much poking and prodding from the interviewer, Mr.Jelinek also mentions that they're considering a 'Vs. Vs' title, and gives the possible example of "Take, in theory, Batman vs. Spiderman.." So, DC. Vs. Marvel Vs. Capcom? With this blatant rumor, the stage is set for either rejoicing amongst Capcom fighting game fanboys, or derision amongst those fed up with Capcom recycling Street Fighter II for 10 years or more.
I would buy this in a second (being the consumer whore that I am). These games are still fun even if they are rehashes of the same thing over and over and over again - I usually don't even mind that pretty much anybody with quarters can beat me without looking at the screen. Throw in a bunch of DC characters and some slightly less pixelated graphics and I'll be happy.
It's an interesting concept (Can adamantium claws cut a man of steel?), but doubt I'd play. Capcom's latest fighters have been pretty and all, but I just haven't seen any real gameplay. A button masher's paradise perhaps, but certainly not titles I would rabidly pump quarters into. I guess I'm just an eternal slave to SNK...
This game better have half naked clinging/dancing pixel groupies or I'm not buying.
I would say DC vs. Marvel would be worth buying but having all 3 is just getting way redundant. I never understood the Marvel vs. Capcom anyways. They are entirely unrelated. One is a video game maker the other is a comic book maker. DC vs. Marvel makes total sense though.
Courage is fear holding on a minute longer. George Patton
Capcom is perpertually stuck in the Street Fighter II universe, which is why there is no development (man, those couple of years must have been really busy for Ryu and co.), unlike Tekken which does grow as a story.
I'd imagine that if they were to release a SFIV, there could be more in the development department. However, considering the difficulty that Capcom had counting to three, I doubt that we'll see it before 2010. So until then, more rehashes: Capcom vs SNK; Capcom vs Marvel; Capcom vs DC; Capcom vs Konami; Capcom vs Collecovision; Capcom vs the cast of LoveBoat; etc.
A video game is the perfect place for dream matches to happen. The reason is that you don't have to worry about the fan reaction to having Wolverine get trounced by Batman, or the Green Hulk getting beat down by the Green Lantern. Fan backlash would be minimal since it's the fans who are "writing" the outcome. Brilliant!
The problem isn't that they are drawing out Street Fighter, the problem is they are KILLING the original concept.
Character Style:
The original street fighter was pretty neat, a bunch of martial artists fighting with a few magic fireballs thrown in. Later in the series (SF2) we get a guy who can streach his limbs, and by SF3 there aren't too many "real" martial artists left. The characters have gotten cheesier and cheesier in look and feel.
How to fix it: In the next street fighter game bring back the characters from SF1 - SFA2. Hire someone who can actually make the characters look bad ass.
Gameplay Style:
Up SF2ST street fighter gameplay was solid. Then in alpha 1 they tried to throw in chain combo's after seeing killer instinct. Everyone hated it, so they took it out in Alpha2. Alpha 2 was the last good street fighter game. Everything since then has been button mashing cheesy player paradise. Overpowering techniques such as the roll cancel have taken over the game.
How to fix it: Make the next game without the BS features from the VS games. Keep the VS games seperate. I would love to play marvel vs DC where characters can fly, roll, run, jump 30 screens up and do 90 supers for 32904839 hits but keep that bs out of the SF series.
Storyline Advancement:
As someone else mentioned, there has been none. The original plot lines were good up until SF2 then with SF3 they all went to crap.
Solution: Do something already. Have Ryu become consumed by hakou go whatever or have him kill akuma. Tell us who won SF2 instead of making us guess.
Oh, and stop trying to move to 3D. For some reason every 3d Street Fighter game Capcom makes has graphics that look 5-8 years old.
Have you seen how long it's taken DC and Marvel to get JLA/Avengers out? Granted, Marvel/DC relations have improved measureably over the last few years. But, conflicts between Marvel and DC heroes have carefully considered and negotiated outcomes and neither side will ever agree to something where they can't control the end. Do you think DC will ever agree to allow a situation where Spider-Man can beat the stuffing out of Superman repeatedly? I'll wager my life savings that this is idle speculation and market realities will derail it in no time.
sorry if this bursts your bubble or something but...
... but few people internalize the profoundly different fun that is had when games are directly competitive && social. Even the smartest, most challenging AI (ps. I am employed as an AI programmer at this moment) is hardly compelling when compared with competing against another person with similar skill. In sports games, racing, RTS, FPS, && (my favorite) fighting... it is fun because it is social. Even geeks need friends, physical interaction, honed dexterity, practice strategizing, etc.. Competitive games are exciting.
Capcom is in the business of making money by selling video games.
Capcom had the most impressive showing at E3 this year with probably 7 new titles that are poised to be great fun. Only Nintendo could be reasonably argued to be better. This is quite normal. The unfortunate part is that Capcom is not making a new fighting game (that anyone knows is more than rumor). Gamers are being desensitized to think that movies or fighting a bunch of AI baddies while struggling with right-analog-stick-controlled-cameras is good game play. It's true that some games have great story or great single-player challenges or both
Many people don't know, couldn't understand, wouldn't care by thinking that Def Jam Vendetta / Mortal Kombat / Killer Instinct / Dead or Alive games have good fighting systems. I know that it's extremely difficult to create a good fighting game especially due to the horrendous management && communication skills of many in power at game companies but I'm just referring to the end products from a hardcore gamer's standpoint. Many games may have been created efficiently but were designed poorly or were designed well but coded badly. The result is a game which cannot survive serious competition (which includes the titles I just mentioned as well as Celebrity Deathmatch which I'm working on now). If you don't play seriously (ie. you don't play to win... rather you play to veg out, be a button masher, don't care to get better) then those games may be fine for you since you are not serious... you are bored && listless. If, however, you do care to get good or great at the things you do, you need competition. Intense competition can only exist for games designed && implemented well enough to support it. The goal of games is to be good... which is usually not innovative. They've refined && iterated. Just because many games have "vs" in the title does not mean they even have similar game play (which may have eluded you since you probably haven't played them). Those games are good because they have actual game play. They are not all the same game. Most of the similarities are a good thing. The bad thing is that Capcom does not think fighting games have much of a future that will impact their bottom line. I hope gamers remember that games aren't supposed to be stupid. There is no greater competitive fighting challenge I've found (except for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in the real world) than learning the depths of a fighting game in arcades. It is also fun to play against friends at home but most people cannot fathom how much higher the bar in competitive arcades has been raised above the local big-fish guys who dominate friends in living rooms. I don't mean to rag on competing seriously with friends in local circles though. That camaraderie can come from the same source but seeking out other gamers or attending arcade competitions is where you can begin to appreciate how much you stand to improve.
Capcom was smart to capitalize on basically their single-handed invention / popularization of the fighting game genre with SF2. Since then, Capcom fighting games have done crazy fscking stuff. Tekken has grown as a story? wtf! Fighting games are about fighting. Story is token as it should be. You should make your own story as your epic battles play out with your friends / acquaintances / strangers / enemies (all four but particularly last tw