Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 Release Decisions Explained

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The plans for the release of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 less than a year after the release of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 left some scratching their head. However, Capcom’s Seth Killian says the timing of the release is a byproduct of forces not entirely in Capcom’s control.

“We have the license for this specific game, but other companies outside of Capcom have licenses for other Marvel games that impinge,” said Capcom’s Seth Killian. “So we have to find specific times where we’re able to release products. It’s on the Capcom side and on the Marvel side.”

“I don’t ask anybody to feel sympathetic about that,” Killian added. “These kinds of corporate realities and legal contracts and things like that shape all of our lives whether we like it or realize it or not.”

More odd is the revelation that the content would not be available as DLC, which is a byproduct of the Japanese market. “Japan is still very much not a DLC market,” explained Killian. “DLC sales in general in Japan are vastly lower than they are here, even with popular games. DLC is not as much of a going concern. And online gaming in general is a lower adoption rate. The percentage of people playing any given title online in Japan is much lower.”

“Capcom has had different schools of thought internally. You’ve seen on the Street Fighter front has been a little more on the DLC side. But even on the Arcade Edition there was a balance there where they did do a disc release but they also made it available as DLC,” he added. “Capcom obviously has strong roots in the disc based tradition. That’s the way most games are sold in Japan, so this is the way to approach it naturally. Clearly they’re active in a global market, but are putting their toes in the water of shifting tastes for consumers in other places. Having just an all DLC release would be considered a strange move in Japan. Having an all DLC release would be odd.”

“The Marvel team had slightly different ideas than the Street Fighter team, so they’re always going in different directions. But it’s a piece of feedback from the Western side at least we’ve been very clear about, saying there’s a lot of talk saying we would like to have this as a DLC option rather than a disc based release,” he noted. “Of course there are people here who still like the disc based release, collectors and people who just appreciate the disc who are worried if they’re not able to go online then the game won’t work. There’s some from both camps. It’s a developing process for Capcom.”

Source: Eurogamer

 

Legend Of Zelda Goes To War

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One of the great things about the PC gaming sphere is fans coming up with great mods for existing games. One of the most amazing ones recently seen is this conversion of Medieval 2: Total War to the various races and factions of Hyrule, which is a perfect celebration of the franchise’s 25th anniversary.

Any Webpage Is A Game

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To promote the Nokia N8 smartphone, Nokia Argentina allows you to convert any web page into a fully interactive mobile game. By installing bookmarks, you can slice fruits by activating Fruit Ninja or shoot birds by pressing on Angry Birds destroying the HTML elements on the page in the process.

What Would You Steal?

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For the new Stiller/Murphy action comedy Tower Heist, fans can access The Ultimate Heist Crew app on Facebook and start recruiting and earning rewards. Start by answering a few key questions about what you would be willing to steal and why and then start a crew of your own. Once a crew has formed, fans can steal members away from other crews to earn more points. The bigger your crew, the more exclusive ‘lite’ video and content unlocked.

Angry Birds Surpasses 500 Million Downloads

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Rovio has announced that Angry Birds has been downloaded 500 million times across all platforms. This equals total playtime of 200,000 years, with 300 million minutes of playing time daily, 266 billion levels played in total, 400 billion birds launched and 44 billion Stars collected.

“This is a fantastic landmark achievement for us, and we’re extremely delighted to see such an incredible amount of people enjoying our games,” said Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio. “We remain committed to creating more fun experiences and bringing exceptional quality to Angry Birds Fans everywhere.”

NFL Thursday Night 2011 Looks To Be Big Winner

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While it looks like early season Thursday Night Football is off the table, the remaining late season games are doing well. Now entering its sixth season, the NFL Network is close to selling out its eight-game prime-time slate.

More than 80 percent of the eight game prime-time slate’s worth of in-game inventory have been sold, with automotive, retail, and QSR being big categories. Slots in the latter half of the schedule have been held back to accommodate scatter buys.

“From a timing standpoint, we’re the perfect platform for studios,” said David Pattillo, the NFL’s vice president of media sales. “Thursday nights are highly sought after; they can make or break your opening weekend.”

Returning sponsors will include Sears for the pregame and Kay Jewelers is back for the wrap show, while newcomer Kia will sponsor the TNF halftime show. It is estimated that NFL Network last year took in $90.4 million in net ad sales revenue, up 38 percent compared to 2009.

Source: AdWeek

Nintendo Wants Casual Gamers To Become More Advanced

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The perception with Nintendo’s recent hardware offerings, especially the Wii, were designed for a casual audience. According to Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, that was never the intention.

“There was a misunderstanding that Nintendo was dedicated to such games at some stage of the lifespans of the Wii and the Nintendo DS,” said Iwata in a recent Q&A session with investors. “We have made efforts to develop video games that are in tune with various consumer tastes; however, we have not been able to gain adequate consumer understanding regarding our intentions, while in the common perception there are no or few core users playing Nintendo platforms, which is not the case.”

“Every avid game player was once a beginner, or in other words, there are no born advanced players,” insisted Iwata. “Unless we create a flow from beginner to expert by offering an entrance for beginners and the processes for a beginner to become an intermediate user and from an intermediate to an advanced player, the video game industry will gradually shrink.”

Grand Theft Auto V Digital Exclusive, Suggests Newzoo

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Grand Theft Auto V will surely be a landmark release for the gaming industry, pushing maybe upwards of 20 million in unit sales. Newzoo CEO Peter Warman theorizes, however, that the most revolutionary part about it is that it will ship without a disc in the box.

“There are a lot of reasons why publishers are pushing towards digital distribution of triple-A games,” said Warman. “Speaking out loud might harm the relationship with retail partners, but the benefits have become too large to remain silent about the desire to go completely digital. The ultimate objective being to launch games faster, create continuous revenues on a title and simply to make more money.”

“Will retail disappear from the picture Of course not,” he continued. “Retail will always remain an important channel to promote and distribute games. Retail has a strong hand to play when it comes to eyeballs and… boxes make a nice gift. Boxed games will not disappear, but what is in the box will. That is why the boxed GTA V version will contain a collectible piece of merchandise and a download code. No disc.”

Source: IndustryGamers