Most of the games Capcom re-releases through the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live receive a few additional bells and whistles, and company V.P., Christian Svensson, jumped on the Unity Boards to explain a bit of the behind the scenes details that are considered when putting out a game through these channels, along with fielding a few other related questions.Will we see Marvel vs. Capcom 1 or Street Fighter vs. X-Men on the PlayStation Network or Xbox Live?
Svensson: No news to share on that front but I'd like to see that happen someday.
Is there any specific reason why some of the older titles, Darkstalkers, Gem Fighter, Alpha series, etc. aren't on Xbox Live arcade? — Genis Sage
Svensson: It's a fair question and thank GOD for passionate fans like you, but I'm going to answer the question with a couple questions:
What do you think ANY digital product costs to bring to market at a minimum? Please budget for milestone and royalty payments to a developer OR development cost/opportunity cost for internal development, depreciated costs of all development hardware on all platforms, all test costs (which on projects like this can cost as much as the milestone payments), localization costs, internal production costs, IP clearances/new contract costs (on voicework, soundtrack work, middleware or technology patents), marketing budgets, overhead and costs of capital. If there's middleware or online hosting required involved anywhere, assume those costs as well. If there's a licensor involved (as there are with several of our most requested projects), please account for their royalties/minimum guarantees and the overhead associated with their approvals of all product development and marketing materials?
Assume that it isn't "just a straight emulation" (we do something new with everything) and that something new needs to be done to excite fans.
And assume it has to be "good" 8) (that is to say, just getting it to market isn't the bar we're going for).
Now, that's the costs... For the revenue, how many do you think we'll sell? At what price point? And how much of that price point actually goes to Capcom to cover the aforementioned costs? What would it take to sell more (and what would it cost to create what it would take to sell more)?
These are the questions we wrestle with on every project we greenlight, be it big or small.
Secondary point:
The absolute fastest we can get projects like this to market (that is from scoping the project, developer selection and contract, greenlight, development, submission and ultimately propped on PSN/XBLA) is 14-18 months, depending upon scope and scale. And over this term, we have internal resources (which are finite) tied to the project. We can't arbitrarily scale up or down. Everything is planned in the pipeline.
When we look at some of the PS1 to PSN stuff or games on demand for XBL, that's largely legal and contract work, but no new development (and thus, no development personnel or costs) and the costs of putting everything we can up there are managable. When you talk about anything other than that, you're talking about sizable amounts of resources (both personnel and financial) that really need to be strategically timed and aligned.
Lastly, we can't do EVERYTHING at one time.
That's my VERY LONG winded way of saying, what you've seen us do so far has been the highest priority, lowest hanging fruit. Do we have more in the pipeline? Sure. But it won't be everything everyone wants and the things we are doing won't aways be done as quickly as fans would want.
The TU4AR song in the TGS trailer for MvC3 was good, but the new one in the holiday trailer is awful.
Seth Killian: There are multiple remixes of Take You For a Ride song in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 :D
This is both awesome and awful. I call it... awfulsome.
How was the holiday TakeYouForaRide song awful? Some people have weird taste...
Quezacoatl it's obivious more rock than the smooth relaxing Jazz of MVC2 and the TGS version.....
@J that's what I ask each time I see your "question" on every Q&A. It's called things change from time to time so they wonder if the MVC1 and (etc and so on) situation has changed. and this is actually totally different question than normal, because unlike "Oh HDR this" or "Are you going to update this" they're just asking for a simple port no bells and whistles this time
*looks at MVC3 and then MVC2's rerelease*...*clears throat* Yari what were you saying? they seem to be on great terms with marvel and the other games(Xmen-MVC1) are still technically theirs they just need to get the character rights which I believe Marvel has the video game rights to all of them
Now that is what I call an answer to annoying questions that many fans repetitively ask. And personally, I don't get the reason why people like to have the old classics back. It's not like they're gonna play it forever especially with all the new games for this console generation coming out during the next few years. I assume (logically) that part of the reason why people like for the old classics to return is only for nostalgic reasons. And while there's no question that adding online component in the mix is really the huge draw for games, especially fighters, I'd rather much have a NEW Darkstalkers, NEW Powerstone, NEW Rival school, and/or NEW (insert whatever game title here) than getting the old ones back even with a few "bells and whistles" thrown in.
Lots of fair answers here. Go Sven =p On a side note tho...
What the hell is wrong with that Take you for a Ride holiday remix?? Seriously, I can understand everyone having their own tastes. Music is subjective after all....but "awful"?? Surely someone's trollin' >.>
@10 If you don't really carw about online play for the games,then you could just emulate them yourself.
@18 That's true,eventually people would just go back to either mvc2 or play the brand new mvc3.
Reguarding the music,it's not really "bad", it's just depends on what kind of music you like to listen to,some like it,others don't,so that whole music being awful thing is really just opinion.
only old game i want that were capcom were legend of the berserker gutz rage, darkstalkers new or old dont care, powerstone,rival schools new or old, and i think enix needs to bring back bust a groove oh yeah
I feel bad for Svensson. Every time he's on the Unity board, he seems to get the SAME question every time. Once wasn't enough? Give this guy a metal for putting up with this and answering the same stupid question, he and Killian.
Really - I cannot say that I feel bad for Svensson at all. The Unity Boards after all, are his job and fan feedback perhaps one of the largest reasons he has that job in the first place. I have to believe he is compensated for that job fairly. And it certainly is not the consumer's problem that the videogame industry/Capcom has the process it does for bringing titles to market. Yet by means and example of his interview, it does imply, in my opinion, that Svensson is making Capcom's woes ours.
Consider a thought for amusment if you will, that the problem is not the fans and what they want, but rather Capcoms and the way the system works. And while the fans whine incessantly about what they want - in this article, all I read was an employee doing the same over the details that are under the control of none other than the master he serves.
Point being... WE DONT HAVE TO UNDERSTAND. It is not our problem. Yet, it is made our problem regardless and we are the SOLE REASON why he and several others have their jobs in the first place. Economics 101 boys and girls; "don't piss on the hand that feeds you".
Why do people keep asking the same questions over and over again?