Posted by Bob Muir on Jan 22, 2015 in
Videogames 
Playing fighting games is great, even if I’m merely competent. But watching the pros at the EVO Championship Series every July is another thing entirely. The back and forth is actually exciting, with massive levels of “hype” to savor. This year’s EVO is being held July 17-19 at the Bally’s/Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, and the main tournaments have been announced. The games are: Ultra Street Fighter IV, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, Killer Instinct, Mortal Kombat X, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Tekken 7. I’m sad my personal fave BlazBlue isn’t in there, but it’s understandable when two other Arc System Works games are in there. What’s more annoying is the lack of King of Fighters XIII, easily one of the most exciting tournaments in previous years. I’d rather have that in there than two Smash Bros. tournaments, but I guess Nintendo wanted to show off their newest game while allowing hardcore players to play their tournament classic. Read more…
Tags: Guilty Gear, Mortal Kombat, Persona 4, Street Fighter, Super Smash Bros., Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 16, 2013 in
Comic Books,
Videogames 
People keep asking me why I prefer physical media in an increasingly digital world. Today, I get to give another reason why. Though they didn’t give a specific reason, Capcom has announced that Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 will soon be delisted from Xbox Live and PSN, along with all related DLC. You won’t be able to purchase them digitally after December 17 (North American PSN), December 19 (European PSN), or December 26 (global Xbox Live). Anyone who has previously purchased the games and DLC will still be able to redownload the games from their download history if need be. While there are still physical copies of UMvC3 out there, there will be no way to buy any extra characters or costumes for it, while the HD version of MvC2 will disappear completely.
And this is the reason why I not only prefer having physical copies of games, but also am wary of DLC and digital-only games. I recognize the boon digital releases have been for indie developers or smaller games from big-budget publishers, because many of those games might never be made and released at all if they needed a physical release. But the idea of this content becoming inaccessible in the future due to whatever reason — I’d imagine that Capcom can’t justify the cost of renewing Marvel’s license — just plain sucks for consumers who may want to purchase these games in the future after hearing about them from a friend.
And even if you have already purchased the content and downloaded it to your hard drive, what happens down the road when this iteration of Xbox Live and PSN are taken offline? After Microsoft shut down Xbox Live for original Xbox consoles, any DLC for those games became forever lost and no longer available to redownload. What happens when your hard drive inevitably fails in the future and you need to redownload unlicensed content from a service that is no longer running?
Many gamers probably won’t care and might put down money for a future rerelease, such as the soon-unavailable HD version of MvC2, which made the game affordable and accessible to those who couldn’t acquire a copy of the original releases from 2000 to 2003. But for those who care about the preservation of these works for future generations to enjoy, the whole thing is nothing but a headache.
Source: Kotaku
Tags: Capcom, Marvel, PS3, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Xbox 360
Posted by Michael Sacco on Jul 22, 2011 in
Comic Books,
Videogames 
Marvel vs. Capcom 3 isn’t even a year old, but Capcom has already announced its value-priced followup, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Besides gameplay tweaks like new moves for current fighters and a direly-needed spectator system for online matches, Marvel and Capcom have also added a dozen new (and bizarre, in some cases) fighters to the fray. The original announcement showed Hawkeye and Ghost Rider for the Marvel side, with Firebrand and MvC fan-favorite Strider Hiryu repping Capcom. A accidental leak from the Capcom website, however, revealed the entire list of new brawlers, relieving us of the suspense of several months of slow-drip character reveals. Marvel fans can now also look forward to playing as Doctor Strange, Iron Fist, Nova, and Rocket Raccoon (?!); Capcom fans get their pick of Dead Rising‘s Frank West, Resident Evil 3‘s Nemesis, Dante’s brother Vergil from Devil May Cry, and Phoenix Wright (?!). See what I mean about bizarre? Mega Man fans reeling from the cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3 will no doubt be disappointed that the Blue Bomber is skipping this iteration of the fighting game yet again. UMvC3 is slated for release in November of this year, with an MSRP of $39.99. Read more…
Tags: Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
