Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Too Soon?

Written by Ryan Johnson (RyanDJ) Thursday, 28 July 2011 05:00

Lots of people are giving Capcom a lot of flak for releasing Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 so soon after the original came out. Too soon, or just right? Click in to find out Ryan Johnson of GoozerNation's opinion, and see if you agree!

Still under a year out, and Capcom is throwing out an "ultimate" version of MvC3. Long known for this since Super Ultra Mega Final Exciting Pancakes Epic Street Fighter 2: Championship Edition: Super Hyper Fighting Edition version 6.3 (I may be exaggerating a bit there), Capcom has been pulling these stunts. If you look at the situation, though, you can see how this may be beneficial for us as gamers.

There are currently 12 extra characters, new modes, new levels, and who knows what else going into this game. Any DLC that has come out so far has been $5 a character. With this edition retailing for $39.99 on Amazon, it's like buying characters and getting 4 free if they had come out on DLC. Looking at this from a business perspective, disc seems almost the only way to go. There was a timeframe for releasing DLC that the tsunami in Japan delayed. In DLC, timing is everything. Release too late, and the hype is gone. Release on time, and despite the tragedy, reviews of DLC could come out before people are prepared after such a tragedy to purchase, and it can have an impact on sales. Putting it all together and releasing it as one package is almost the only way to maximize sales.

This also solidifies these characters' place in the roster. Remember my article on Marvel: Ultimate Alliance: Standard vs. Gold edition? Thanks to copyrights or whatever expiring, the DLC is no longer available, and therefore it is available only on the rarer Gold edition. If this had come out on DLC, who knows if you could always get it? Additional bonus: as people purchase this, it will create a uniformity in the online community, with everyone playing the same roster. While the internet has the "official" full list, Ghostrider, Hawkeye, Firebrand, and Strider have been confirmed through the MvC website, with 8 more to come. Staples such as Cable are allegedly not in that roster, but DLC in the future could further change that.

Think about some of the multiplayer FPS games that have come out recently, some even having $10 DLC on Day One. Plus, if you bought all of the, say, Black Ops map packs, you would have spent an extra $40 plus right there. Also, there's the awesome Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare pack. It was a cheaper expansion pack that could be bought digitally, or outright on a disc that didn't need the original disc to play. Think of this as DLC on disc akin to that, that adds the original game in free, and you should feel a bit better about it all.

Things I would have changed: Saving the "collectors edition" for the Ultimate edition: if there is an Ultimate Collector's Edition, I'll have a hard time buying it after ponying up for the original. Second: offer a rebate for people who directly purchased the DLC. After all, they were the start of the plan of true DLC, and now they're going to put that on a discounted disc. Kinda makes me wish I hadn't written the other piece recommending people purchase the DLC, but hindsight's 20/20, eh? I would also eliminate the abiliy to purchase them, make them free, or at least put a disclaimer on the download sites. Lastly, and I know this is what everyone wants; the ability to get DLC. I think putting this out early as a Game on Demand would eliminate that worry, by allowing you to charge $40 for the download so many people want. Also, this NEEDS to be the LAST disc based version of this game. Add DLC, yes, but if another disc comes out, especially within the year, we are going to go back to the 90's in Capcom mockery.

If you are a true MvC fan, you may have had gamer rage (as I did, having bought the Collector's Edition). But when you see the value placed in the package, you are actually saving money. Plus, you can pick it up from Amazon via preorder and not even have to go buy the disc! So go ahead, drop your original out on Goozex while there's still interest (1000 points right now! That's maximum!), preorder the new version, and get primed for re-entering the fight come this November!