Now if only it existed in a world that didn't have games like Marvel vs Capcom 2 and X-Men vs Street Fighter, I might actually care...

I don't think EA really understood it. Capcom's versus series worked because it was hugely known and respected franchise vs. hugely known and respected franchise, not Spiderman vs. Johnny Ohm. I mean really, Johnny Ohm?? If those characters were supposed to be parodies of existing heroes and villians or something I'd be all over this. However this is supposed to be serious judging by the art direction, and well right now it ain't workin.

"I don't think EA really understood it."

That can be used to apply to pretty much every EA game. EA doesn't get that Goldeneye was so great because it was an amazing innovative FPS that also happened to have James Bond in it. None of their Bond games get that. They think that the Bond licence is what matters and that's why regardless of all the famous voice actors and theme songs by Mia EA's Bond games are forgotten about three months after release while Perfect Dark is still considered a classic five years after it was released.

EA sees X-Men vs. Street Fighter and assumes it was popular because it had the X-Men in it. It was popular because of Street Fighter. At the time I didn't even think of the X-Men as Marvel characters. I saw it as a Capcom uber-game that combined Street Fighter Alpha and the Capcom game X-Men: Children of the Atom. The crossover added more appeal but what really made it a classic was that it was the ultimate 2D Capcom fighting game. They could have made it a King of Fighters like deal where it was just numerous Capcom characters in one game and I think it would have been just as popular if the gameplay was the same.

EA is the ultimate example of boardroom executives running an entertainment company. The people in charge aren't fans so they don't understand why something is great.

I think it's not so much that EA "doesn't get it," as it is that EA "doesn't care."

It's the Bond liscense that sells games, whether the game is innovative or not. Why bother with the expensive of developing a good game when you can cash in on a franchise with a crappy game? EA understands what makes a legendary game, but they only care about what sells a game.

"It's the Bond liscense that sells games, whether the game is innovative or not."

How much does it sell though? Goldeneye sold huge amounts. I remember reading something like 7 million copies or something. I'm sure none of the EA Bond games have come even close to that.

I think EA doesn't get it because their philosophy in making games works well in the short term but could later kill them off Acclaim style. Deep down Nintendo only cares about sales too. But they get what makes a game great and they have used that strategy to continue to be successful for so many years.

When you really understand how to make something great you gain a fanbase that can help you out in tough times. EA's approach has no safety net. They have no actual fanbase. No one actually gives a crap about them because they make throwaway mainstream junk. If market trends change and EA doesn't adapt with them they're dead. That's why they don't get it.

Well comparitively they're not going to sell as well

But if EA realeased their Bond games under some generic "Joe FPS" title they wouldn't have sold nearly the same amount. It's the Bond liscense that allows them to release so many of these crappy games.

This game would have been a thousand times better had it JUST been Marvel. Don't throw people random characters when they could be adding well established ones like Omega Red or Carnage.

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Originally posted by: Ian Sane
EA sees X-Men vs. Street Fighter and assumes it was popular because it had the X-Men in it. It was popular because of Street Fighter.

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Originally posted by: Ian Sane
They could have made it a King of Fighters like deal where it was just numerous Capcom characters in one game and I think it would have been just as popular if the gameplay was the same.

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Well, I love this game. Playing with my friends, it's really fun. Yes it has MANY setbacks, and the original characters are almost never used, but the game, to us, is fun. Besides, the satisfaction of beating the powerful Venom (my friend) with Daredevil (me) is undescribable (?).

Haha, the DS version probably took the least amount of time to make, what with it looking something like an Atari Lynx failure, yet it comes out last.