The hype for MvC3 can hardly contain itself. The sequel to one of the most beloved fighting games in history is mere weeks away. While people with access to arcades are sinking their teeth into SSF4 AE, the vast majority of us in the community have been dying to play something new. But MvC3's release is monumental for another reason. It will be mark the first time since SF4's release in 2008 that a fighter will make this much impact on the casual player base. Anticipating the overall implications of this fact and their effect on the community has me just as hype as for the game itself.
Prediction: MvC3 will bring in plenty of newcomers
This is a given. Sure, the game will draw the fighting game crowd, or rather the Capcom crowd, but Marvel is the real spice in this salsa. The comic book superhero faithful will be brought out of their basements and into Las Vegas for Evo after the game's release; there's no question. There isn't any reason to think otherwise. Even historically, many of today's most well-known players had their start in the MvC series like Mike Ross and Justin Wong.
Prediction: MvC3 will not live up to the hype
While many think it would be simply in impossibility that MvC3 can hold a candle to MvC2 just by virtue of name alone, I contend that regardless of what game came before it, MvC3 will split the MvC playing community, not unlike how Third Strike and SF4 players have split. No matter how you spin it, MvC2 and MvC3 are two totally different games, very different. There will be plenty of those that are so stubborn to not leave their baby that they will keep MvC2 alive thus hindering the sequel. I've heard it all from the old Marvel players already: It's too similar to Tatsunoko vs Capcom, it's not crazy enough (or not broken enough), I want such and such character. Ultimately, it's a different type of game also. A versus style game is not for everyone. Air combos, assists, super jumps, and air dashes are very alien to some and especially to the Street Fighter playing crowd.
I remember back when Blazeblue: Calamity Trigger was released, people hyped the crap out of it. Now even with two sequels, the series has failed to even come close to the initial hype it received. It completely failed at pleasing the Guilty Gear crowd, and the game's inherent flaws failed to please regular fighting game enthusiasts by in large. MvC3 might follow along similar lines although not nearly to the same dramatic extent, because...
Prediction: MvC3 will have a large player base
Looking back at MvC2, which was the most popular fighter in it's prime, we can expect its sequel to bring big crowds. With so many players getting their start with MvC2 along with the quality of the game itself, MvC2's Evo tournament was the main event of the fighting game year in the U.S. While some may laugh at this, it was even more popular than Smash was. Let's think about it. Smash is the ultimate casual fighting game, to have something as hardcore as Marvel draw even more players is simply astounding. There isn't any reason not to think MvC3 will be immensely popular, the question is how popular will it get?
Prediction: MvC3 will not be bigger than the SF4 series
The sad truth. Bringing in all the factors and predictions previously mentioned, I fail to see how MvC3 can eclipse SF4 as the fighting game king. While MvC3 will bring a lot of newcomers, it will not be enough to combat the flood of people (the '09ers) that came along with SF4.
SF4 hit all the right notes, it brought back old gameplay with a new twist, it featured new-age graphics, it brought back everyone's favorite characters, and it was immensely easy to play. I believe MvC3 fails on two of those accounts, in the character department and in the ease of play. MvC3 will feature a modest cast for a Versus game and people are already complaining. MvC2 nuts want every top tier back which is not happening and fans of the series have already voiced their opinions about certain omissions from both the Marvel and Capcom side. The one I always hear about is Mega Man in some form (Zero doesn't count). And while this new entry in the series will follow the trend in today's fighters in that it will be easier to play, it won't be on the scale of SF4 or even Blazblue. The casual draw that SF4 brings is simply too strong to match. The numbers might compare with SF4 initially, but it for sure will not have the staying power in the long run.
What do you think? With many of the other games I mentioned for historical reference, the community was blind-sighted by their unprecedented success or disappointing failure. Honestly, MvC3 could fall into either extreme making my relatively safe predictions seem rather silly later. The hype is especially huge here in Iowa, and I hope people aren't setting themselves up for disappointment. As for me, I plan to stick with the game and get to a decent level. I can't speak for others, but I'm not too sure how many will follow me.
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