Joystiq

{ Jun 27th 2009 at 3:00PM }

Further clarifying reports from nearly two months ago surrounding the release of Marvel vs Capcom 2 on XBLA/PSN, Capcom's Twitter account is putting the game's digital release "closer to the end of July." Oddly enough, the statement claims to not know where the "rumor" came from, though Marvel Entertainment's Q1 2009 financial report (sourced below) was clearly the culprit.

In the month or so you have before the game releases, you should probably head over to Shoryuken's MvC2 forums to find out how badly you're going to get stomped online. And yes, you will get stomped. We all will.

Source -- Marvel Q1 2009 Report [Warning: PDF Link]

Gallery: Marvel vs Capcom 2

{ Jun 17th 2009 at 8:00PM }

It's tough being a super hero. If you're Dr. Doom and you're feeling down, you can just blow something up. If you're The Thing, well, all you can really do is look in a mirror and cry to yourself.

That was before Punch-Out!!, though, with a new ad (courtesy of Gamervision) popping up in comics showing two beefy brawlers finding a proper outlet for their stress. Oh, we really wouldn't suggest playing with the Wiimote and Nunchuk, super guys. The game is way better with the classic controls.

Gallery: Punch-Out!!

[Via Kotaku]

{ Jun 16th 2009 at 4:10PM }

Normally we don't get excited for new screens in the "Holy S! It's the future in front of my eyes!" kind of way, but friends, today is an exception. Vicarious Visions has posted its second 3D screenshot of upcoming superhero extravaganza, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 (both found after the break) on its website and, to be honest, it's really impressive, allowing you to spin the full image in three dimensions.

The newest one features Deadpool leaping into the air and firing dual pistols at a bunch of fools, while the first (and even more impressive) screen has Thor combining with The Human Torch's powers to create some form of fire tornado. That's right -- a fire tornado. And no, things don't get much sweeter than that.

[Thanks, Wombat!]

Gallery: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

Continued →

{ May 28th 2009 at 11:03AM }

THQ has revealed details of its upcoming kid-friendly game set in the Marvel Universe. Marvel Super Hero Squad will be available this fall on Wii, DS, PS2 and PSP and is the "first game" based on The Super Hero Squad Show, which will debut around the same time on Cartoon Network. It's also completely adorable, as you can tell from the video and gallery below.

THQ promises "episodic adventures, multiplayer battle modes and interactive combat arenas," though no more details are revealed. Sure, the game may be targeted towards kids, but there's something about little chibi versions of our favorite Marvel heroes and villains running around that just pulls at our heartstrings.

Gallery: Marvel Super Hero Squad

{ May 19th 2009 at 11:59PM }

The "Merc with a Mouth," otherwise known as Deadpool, has received his official in-game reveal for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 (and no, it's not the movie version of Deadpool). The official MUA 2 website has posted a developer diary in which the devs discuss what went into adding Deadpool into the game, including some details on his powers and fusion moves.

Deadpool will be able to utilize swords, grenades, teleportation and, if the above image is any indication, he also has pistols that fire bullets nearly as big as his head. That's intimidating no matter how you slice it. Check out some new images in the gallery below.

[Via Marvel.com. Thanks, The Dark Wayne]

Gallery: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2: Deadpool

{ May 5th 2009 at 12:15PM }

If you're thinking the pending digital release of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is any indication that the path is clear for "Marvel vs. Capcom 3," think again. "The short answer is no, that's not any part of this deal," Capcom's Seth Killian lamented to Joystiq at a media event yesterday. "What we're hoping is that if people get really juiced about this title, and we can show Marvel that there's a lot of heat behind this, then they'll open up the door for us to do something with '3,' which is something we'd love to do." For now, licensing issues are preventing further developments.

The same is true for a North American release of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. "It's a lot of 'dance with the lawyers' on that one," explained Killian. "The rights holders for Tatsunoko in Japan are one company, but in the U.S. it's ... 13 companies -- and some are very attentive and some are not." So if you've been holding your breath for this one, you might want to consider coming up for air.

Killian also told Joystiq that Capcom is considering releasing Marvel vs. Capcom 2-branded arcade sticks (à la the popular SFIV controllers). "It's a discussion ... we would love to make it happen. If you saw the 'leak' of those MadCatz sticks, that was actually B.S. That was a complete fabrication, but it's something we would love to do."

Gallery: Marvel vs Capcom 2

{ May 5th 2009 at 8:15AM }

In reporting its Q1 2009 financial results, Marvel Entertainment has revealed a short release schedule for its upcoming licensed products, including those that require the frantic mashing of buttons. Though the dates are noted as being subject to change, the fine purveyors of POW! indicate that Capcom's PSN and Xbox Live Arcade release of cross-company brawler, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, is currently set for release on June 29, 2009.

A quick flick through our Official Age of Apocalypse Calendar reveals that June 29th falls on a Monday, and since neither Xbox Live Monday nor PSN Monday exist, one may speculate that the game may be due sometime during the week of the 29th. We've asked Capcom for further information, though suspect that we'll receive little more than a 768-hit combo of non-commentary.

Update: Says Capcom's Seth Killian: "That's the first time I've heard that date, and so far as I know, it's not correct." It's Marvel vs. Capcom ... on release dates!

Gallery: Marvel vs Capcom 2

Source -- Marvel Q1 2009 Report [Warning: PDF Link]

{ May 4th 2009 at 1:30PM }

Remember how when you saw the Wolverine movie yesterday, and it was at the part where Wolverine was all like "Rawrrgh! I'm going to cut on you!" and you thought that dialogue seemed pretty familiar? You may have heard that exact same line in X-Men Origins: Wolverine: The Game -- in a recent interview with Yahoo, Aussie hunk extraordinaire Hugh Jackman admitted he "was able to bring some of the lines of dialogue from the game script into the movie." Thief! Vagabond! Scoundrel!

However, since the general consensus we've heard says the game is better than the flick, perhaps this scurrilous Outbacker's shameless line thievery isn't such a bad thing.

[Via GoNintendo]

{ Apr 28th 2009 at 7:45PM }

Sorry, WiiWare fans -- it looks like Capcom's recently down-counted brawler Marvel vs. Capcom 2 isn't coming to your beloved download platform. Responding to a forum post inquiring as to why the fighter was deftly dodging the Wii, Capcom corporate head Christian Svensson said, "This is a downloadable play, not a retail play. We don't actually have any retail rights on this project. And there's no way to get anywhere near the WiiWare file size limit here."

In other words, Capcom doesn't have the right to sell the game at retail outlets (Marvel is probably holding some rights there), nor is the game tiny enough to fit on the WiiWare service. Perhaps Marvel or Capcom, sure. But both of them? In one download? Now you're just being ridiculous.

[Via GoNintendo]

{ Apr 28th 2009 at 10:45AM }

The good news: Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is coming to XBLA and PSN! Yay! The bad news (which may also be good news, depending on your feelings about Udon's redrawn Super Street Fighter II sprites): it won't be a full HD Remix, but will instead rely on graphical filters for the characters. The good news about the bad news: those filters are optional.

Producer Rey Jimenez showed off the three sprite filtering options in a Capcom Unity blog post: classic (no filtering), smooth ("based off of 2X Bilinear filtering, but with some tweaks") and crisp ("based of off 3X Bilinear filtering, but it was also tweaked heavily") You can see the first screens of the game in our gallery (or in 1080p on Capcom Unity).

Jimenez also introduced two expert MvC2 players, Magnetro and MikeZ, who thoroughly tested the game to find bugs that most of us wouldn't notice -- including bugs that were present in the PS2 and Xbox releases of the game.

Gallery: Marvel vs. Capcom 2: Filtering Options

{ Apr 27th 2009 at 8:54PM }

Remember the site rumored to be counting down to an announcement of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network? Marvel's own news site appears to have confirmed what's going to be revealed when the clock hits zero: the game is making a comeback, as hoped.

As revealed in the teaser trailer above, the classic cross-over fighter will hit both systems sometime this summer with online play. The footage isn't the best, but it looks like the game won't be getting a SSFIITHDR style high-def makeover for its return. We'll have more info when Capcom spills its details any minute now ...

Update: As expected, Capcom has made the return of MvC2 official via Capcom Unity. The biggest news: a demo of the game will be available on PSN this week (most likely during the usual update on Thursday, April 30. Christian Svensson, the company's VP of strategic planning and business development, calls this the "definitive version" of the classic fighter, providing some details to back up his claim.

In addition to the already confirmed online play, it's been revealed that the game is based on the Sega Dreamcast release, features HD upscaling and widescreen options, and will support custom soundtracks on both platforms. Also, all 56 characters will be "unlocked" from the beginning. ~~No word yet on a 360 demo, but we've dropped Capcom a line for comment.~~ [PlayStation.Blog confirms the demo is exclusive to PSN.]

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

{ Apr 21st 2009 at 2:30PM }

http://dev02.capcomusa.net/

{ Apr 17th 2009 at 9:40AM }

Xbox360Achievements has just given us a bit more reason to believe that an HD Remix of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is on the way -- or at least some kind of XBLA version. It's not hard to guess what kind of evidence would be found at that particular site: Achievements!

The site has a list of twelve Achievements for the frantic crossover fighter, worth 200 points total. Some of the challenges seem super fun, like "Berserker Barrage: Perform a 200 hit combo. (Multiplayer)" and Achievements based on creating X-Men, Street Fighter, Darkstalkers, and Avengers-only teams. We just hope, then, that these awesome achievements, and the new version of this awesome game, are real. If Capcom is able to get permission from Marvel for a re-release, we have renewed hope for its ability to deal with all the Tatsunoko license holders.

The retailer ShopTo reportedly provided another item of evidence, in the form of listings for a "Marvel Vs. Capcom Tournament Edition Arcade Stick" for Xbox 360 and PS3, to be released in July. The listing has been removed from the site, and Mad Catz hasn't responded to our inquiries about it.

We've embedded the character select music after the break in case you've managed to get it out of your head in the nine years since the game's original release.

Continued →

{ Apr 10th 2009 at 7:04PM }

Will Wright's announcement that he was kind of leaving EA this week took the gaming community by surprise. Unsurprisingly though, Wright says the move was planned over the course of the last year with EA. "It's something that we've been in talks with EA for almost a year ... it's kind of a long-term plan and I was just in no hurry to do it," he told GameSpot. Lucy Bradshaw, VP and general manager at EA Maxis, echoed Wright's statements, telling GameDaily it's been a "life-long dream [for Wright to have a] small nucleus think tank."

Funded by EA and venture capitalists, Stupid Fun Club is setting out not to develop just new games but to develop new IP across multiple mediums. Wright calls his vision of the club the "evolution of the entertainment industry," using Marvel and LucasArts as reference points and saying, "If I'm into Star Wars or Lost, I might go to the website or buy the toys .... It's the IP that really matters, that strand of consistency and quality through it." We've certainly heard this tune before, though never from such an acclaimed developer. It remains to be seen just how "stupid fun" Mr. Wright's club actually is, but we'll remain hopeful for now.

Source 1 - GameDaily
Source 2 - GameSpot

{ Apr 3rd 2009 at 1:27PM }

Guha Bala, president and co-founder of Vicarious Visions, took us through several levels of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, showing off the new features that will be available in this sequel. Most notable among these is the "Power Fusion" function where two heroes can combine their powers for great justice.

You can check out the new images from the game below, and a new Iron Fist video and highlights after the break.