The San Diego Comic-Con is becoming increasingly important to the video games industry. There are quite a few cross-overs between the two forms of media -- with such comic book games as Spider-Man: Edge of Time serving as tent-pole holiday releases -- so it should come as no surprise that game-related announcements will take place at this year's event. Marvel vs. Capcom 3 fans, in particular, may want to pay close attention.
Capcom will be hosting a pannel during the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con (July 21-24) on Saturday, the 23rd. The description of the event on the official Comic-Con website is clearly designed to tantalize, so let's start by taking a look at it.
Saturday, July 23
11:00-12:00 Marvel vs. Capcom– Fighting fans! Come to this panel to hear the fantastic news about this legendary fighting game franchise straight from producer Ryota Niitsuma. Get an exclusive behind-the-scenes peek as well as a chance to come onstage to showcase your fighting skills against each other for fantastic prizes. Followed by a Q&A session. Room 25ABC
Fantastic news? Whatever might they be referring to? According to The Quarter Bin, that news will be the reveal of Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, a budget priced re-release of the sublime Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, refreshed with a dozen new playable characters. Fantastic enough for you?
This strategy would fall closely in line with Capcom's recent (and quite good) Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition, which lends a pretty strong air of believability to the rumor. Will Ultimate MvC3 also follow SSFIV Arcade Edition's dual online/retail release strategy? We'll have to wait until next weekend to find out.
A dozen new fighters puts the game's roster at an even (and impressive) 50 characters. Given the staggering number of alternate costumes available for the game's original cast, the mind boggles at how much new content this update might actually contain.
The logical question to ask, of course, is: who, exactly will the new characters be? Beyond that, will either Marvel or Capcom characters dominate the lineup, or will it be evenly split right down the middle? Will previously released characters such as Jill Valentine and Shuma-Gorath be among the "new" combatants, or can players expect twelve genuinely fresh additions to the game? (Somehow, I suspect it's the former.)
Next weekend is starting to seem like a lifetime away, but count on Game Rant and Screen Rant keeping you up to date on all the breaking news out of the San Diego Comic-Con 2011.
Ranters, what do you think: would you welcome a new version of Marvel vs Capcom 3, or is it still too soon to start talking about re-releasing a game that is barely six months old? And, the biggie: what new characters do you want to see in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3? We've come up with the first ten -- the rest are up to you. Leave your suggestions in the comments below.
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Source: The Quarter Bin [via Eurogamer], comic-con.org
Header Image: CporsDesigns