As expected, Capcom-related news has blossomed from San Diego Comic Con in the form of rumor and speculation. This past Friday, Kevin Feige, President of Production at Marvel Studios gave fans a nugget of hope that we may in fact see a Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, quoted as suggesting, “And maybe sooner than you think.”

My first reaction to this is, oh great–just what the fanboys need. As a fighting game fan myself, it’s an ongoing frustration for me to hear degenerate scrubs crying out for something grander than their beloved Marvel Vs. Capcom 2. Instead of appreciating that game for all the reasons they cherish it for, they holler in true American fashion, “Give us another one, but more!”

The trouble is that most fighting game fans don’t know what they really want. They get so caught up in the novelty of a title that they forget that what they should be asking for is the next great game. Capcom did attempt to answer to such demands with Capcom Fighting Evolution. While I do regret that the community didn’t recognize that game as a sign to better consider getting what they ask for, I do have hope for Street Fighter IV not being the game that everyone wants, but being the game that everyone needs.

Alas, for ten years strong, there has been no shortage of flow for unimaginative demands… “Give us larger teams! Give use more super moves! Give us more characters to choose from! Make it faster! Make it more crazy!” Never once have I seen consideration on whether or not those things add true value to a game. When it comes to understanding game design, I would argue that there are fewer idiots found in any gaming community than those in the mass majority of the fighting game fandom.

That said, this article does bring up an interesting point. Capcom’s current “Versus” game project, Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom is one that I’d only rolled my eyes at until I’d recently seen footage of its attractive gameplay. It’s likely to never make its way stateside due to many of Tatsunoko’s characters being held under license by multiple companies in America, thus some expensive red tape to cut through. However, while the use of Tatsunoko characters is a no-go, Capcom’s half of the roster, the graphics, and gameplay mechanics is still quite easy to still port, and would only need some other franchise to take Tatsunoko’s place. Marvel’s lineup could theoretically fill that role.

The biggest hurdle for that idea is what’s always kept Capcom from going forward with producing a MvC3 or even next generation ports of their older Marvel-themed fighting games: Acquiring the license for Marvel characters. Many of Marvel’s characters are currently under license by other companies. And given the boom in popularity that Marvel has experienced in the past ten years, those licenses are no doubt to be way more pricey than they were when those games were produced.

Thank you, Kevin Feige for fanning these flames, but I maintain my own advice to fans: Don’t hold your breath.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 27th, 2008 at 5:12 pm and is filed under Games, Street Fighter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.