marvel-vs-capcom-2 posts (Subscribe to this feed)

Now this, this is a deal. This isn't Avatar glasses or an episode of Stargate (seriously, that was yesterday's deal). No, this is a very good game at a very good price. Today, and today only, you can pick up Marvel vs. Capcom 2 for only 560, that's seven bucks. That's slightly more than fifty percent off the usual $15 price. So yeah, good luck resisting that.

Shortcut: Add Marvel vs Capcom 2 to your 360 download queue [Via Xbox.com]

[Via @majornelson]

Capcom and Udon Entertainment spent years redrawing and re-balancing Super Street Fighter II Turbo for its HD Remix version. Later, Capcom announced and released a port of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 over the course of a few months, with filters on the original sprites. Guess which one sold better?

"We have three titles that have drastically over-performed our expectations," Capcom's VP of strategic planning and business development Christian Svensson told GamesIndustry.biz. "The most recent of which was Marvel vs Capcom 2, which we didn't expect to exceed Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix's numbers, but it has."

One IP that hasn't quite exceeded Capcom's expectations in the west is Monster Hunter. The company is working to turn that around with events like Monster Hunter Tri University designed to familiarize press with the workings of the series. "We are strategically investing in the brand in the West," Svensson explained, "because we know that as a company we're going to continue to be creating Monster Hunter content, so it behooves us to do what it takes to make it stick here." In other words, Japanese sales ensure that Capcom is going to continue making the things, so Capcom might as well try to sell them outside of Japan as well.

Plastic peripheral powerhouse Mad Catz has unleashed its fiscal 2010 Q2 earnings results (that's the three months ending September 30, 2009 for us normal folk) and, while the company is still making plenty of cash ($21.6 million this quarter, to be exact) it saw losses of 16 percent when compared to the same period last year, where Mad Catz' net sales earned it $25.8 million. Its biggest market, North America, also saw a dip in sales this year to the tune of 18 percent; US sales have fallen nearly 20 percent this quarter, while Canadian sales rose 55 percent.

When comparing its gross sales by platform, Mad Catz only managed to lose a small fraction of its PC platform business, while simultaneously building its PS3 and Xbox 360 revenue streams by ten and four percent, respectively, and growing its specialty controller business nearly 20 percent. The company did take a considerable hit in its Wii business -- sales dropped eight percent -- as well as in other platform markets, however.

Citing what its key products were during its fiscal Q2 2010, Mad Catz obviously had a lot of love for Capcom, as several of the fight sticks it offered for 2D fighters were top earners. Aside from that, it pointed to its new line of Rock Band accessories and some Wii items such as its Remote and z-Chuk as other successful ventures.

While this quarter may not have been the best for the company, all signs point to it being a successful fiscal Q3 2010 for Mad Catz. With its collaboration with the biggest game in the universe and its venture with Capcom to offer new fighting game stuff -- the company also confirmed that Marvel vs Capcom 2 stick is legit -- we have a feeling our next post on its earnings will probably have an image of Scrooge McDuck in it.

Microsoft had a good summer, according to the company's summary of Xbox Live events. 1 vs. 100 reached nearly 3 million gamers during its beta season by Microsoft's estimates, and the Summer of Arcade Xbox Live Arcade promotion enjoyed a reported 200 percent growth in revenue over last year's sales.

While Microsoft has already relished in Metroidvania success, a press release claims that Trials HD and Marvel vs. Capcom 2 also performed well in first-week sales; and both titles join Shadow Complex in the top five bestselling week-one XBLA games of all time. Sales were no doubt boosted by a cloudy economy that kept folks indoors and looking for inexpensive entertainment. Microsoft capitalized, too, by raising the average price of its Summer of Arcade titles.

During last year's promotion, three of the five Summer of Arcade games were priced at $10, but this year, only two of the five were $10 -- the other three costing $15 apiece. (It's unclear if Microsoft counts Battlefield 1943's sales toward revenue growth; the $15 title was not technically part of Summer of Arcade this year.)

Microsoft also saw success in its bold, new free entertainment department. 1 vs. 100 averaged more than half a million users during each of the game show's live sessions. According to Microsoft, the game's near "three-million" downloads within its 13-week availability places 1 vs. 100 within the top ten downloads in Xbox Live history. If we've learned anything on this gloomy fall morning, it's that people like summer gaming and Microsoft has way too many "top" lists cluttering up its offices.

Sharp-eyed Shoryuken forum dwellers recently spotted a Marvel vs Capcom 2 Tournament Edition FightStick at a GameStop conference, and now Mad Catz has officially announced the peripheral, which will be available for both PS3 and Xbox 360 this fall. The stick features Marvel vs Capcom 2 artwork and, like its SFIV Tournament Edition cousins, is fully loaded with Sanwa arcade parts. The stick will be sold exclusively at GameStop, or online at the Capcom and Mad Catz stores. A price has not been announced, but it's likely the stick will retain the $150 price of the SFIV sticks.

We now open the comments for the inevitable Happ vs Sanwa debate. Commence.

Shoryuken forumite ohgee saw some new, unannounced Mad Catz FightSticks and FightPads at the ongoing GameStop Manager Conference, and snapped some pictures for the community. Perhaps most noteworthy is the confirmation of the rumored Marvel vs. Capcom 2 Tournament Edition FightStick, with yellow and white buttons and artwork from the recent MvC2 downloadable release. GameStop employees in the thread say it'll be out September 25 for $159.99, a $10 increase over the original TE FightStick.

Other new items found at the conference include a "Round 2" Street Fighter IV FightStick with new art, and several new FightPads.

[Thanks Ninjax!]

Major Nelson has revealed the latest figures for Xbox Live activity, which once again sees Call of Duty: World at War being the most played Xbox 360 Live title. That's not to say it's all business as usual, as the Lost Planet 2 co-op demo managed to claw its way onto the list, along with a new Xbox Live Arcade pair, Shadow Complex and Trials HD.

Both titles made it onto the top two spots on XBLA's most played list, with Chair's Metroid-inspired adventure making its debut in first place. The remainder is comprised of usual suspects Battlefield 1943, Marvel vs Capcom 2 and 'Splosion Man.

You may not be able to get one of these sweet vinyl discs, distributed at Comic Con, but you can get the next best thing. Capcom will be distributing this Marvel Vs Capcom 2 mix tape online through the PlayStation Network next week. We're hoping it will follow the footsteps of Street Fighter II's soundtrack by being zero dollars.

The soundtrack will be a nifty addition to any PS3, especially because MvC2 is one of the few games that support the in-game XMB soundtrack function. MvC2 will be available for US players later today. Make sure you're one of the first 15,000 people to download the game if you want free one month access to Marvel Digital Comics (a $10 value).

Are you ready to be "taken for a ride?" You really don't have a choice in the matter -- Marvel vs. Capcom 2 landed on the European PSN today, pulling any who dare to boot up their PS3s into her slavering, ever-addictive maw. Then again, if you're in the market for a bit of edutainment, then LittleBigPlanet's "History Pack" sounds like it'd be right up your alley. Or, maybe you just want to incorporate some bizarre MMORPG microtransaction elements into your Madden NFL 10 experience -- you're set there, too. Man, what an all-inclusive PSN update!

Following a GameStop listing discovered way back in June, a forum thread over at Capcom Unity has confirmed the existence of a PS3-exclusive retail package of Marvel vs. Capcom 2, with a moderator posting the image seen above. One forum dweller confirmed most of the previously listed contents: the box does not contain a disc for the game, but rather a download code and some extras, including an eight-page color manual (that's seven characters per page!), 1-month subscription to Marvel Digital Comics and 2000 Capcom-Unity points. All this can be yours for only $14.99.

Reportedly absent from the box is the previously listed media disc, unfortunately. Still, you get the game and plenty of extras for the same price, which is a pretty good deal. If you have the willpower to resist downloading the game the second it hits PSN, it's probably worth heading to your local GameStop. They should be on sale later this week.

[Via Siliconera]

Major Nelson's latest battle report comes as a bit of a surprise as Halo 3 was the most-played retail game of last week. With all of the new Gears of War 2 content, we were sure that game would be at the top, but Epic's title only managed to claw its way to fourth place yet again. It was bested by the usual double dose of Call of Duty action in Call of Duty 4 and Call of Duty: World at War.

On the XBLA side, the frenetic tag-based combat of Marvel vs Capcom 2 was too much for the competition. Capcom's brawler enjoyed top placement, finally bumping down Battlefield 1943 to second place. Coming in at third was none other than 'Splosion Man, Twisted Pixel's excellent follow-up to previous Arcade hit, The Maw.

It's finally here. After years of fans asking for Capcom's classic fighter on XBLA, Marvel vs Capcom 2 is now available. With online play, no less. If you like fighting games -- heck, if you've been thinking about trying a fighting game -- today is a good day. Check out the latest XBLA in Brief and see what all the fuss is about. 1200 ($15), and the game is yours.

Also, thanks to Cody for making us a sweet new intro video!

Download the trial version of Marvel vs. Capcom 2

[iTunes] Subscribe to X3F TV directly in iTunes.
[Zune] Subscribe to the X3F TV directly.
[RSS] Add the X3F TV feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.
[M4V] Download the M4V directly.

So, here's an interesting promotion. A press release just hit the ol' Joystiq inbox, claiming that those who buy all of the Xbox Live Summer of Arcade titles will be treated to 800, also known as $10 in Microsoft's funny money. This calls for copy and paste!

• July 22: 'Splosion Man 800 ($10)
• July 29: Marvel vs. Capcom 2 1200 ($15)
• August 5: TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-shelled 1200 ($15)
• August 12: Trials HD 1200 ($15)
• August 19: Shadow Complex 1200 ($15)

Just adding those up -- carry the one --- that's a free $10 for spending $70 on Xbox Live. Keep in mind it's $10 you can only spend on Xbox Live (or Zune Marketplace). While the deal might seem silly at first glance, it does essentially boil down to five XBLA games for $60, the price of one retail game. And, as another Joystiq editor pointed out, that retail game could never be 'Splosion Man.

It's a nice bonus if you already plan to pick up all the games. If you don't, you'll be saving money anyway. Everybody wins!