Given the horrible piece of crap that was Marvel Nemesis, it doesn't surprise me too much that EA and Marvel have parted ways. OK, strike that, it actually does, but only because EA likes to have a death grip on licenses regardless, at times, of the quality that comes out of them. So in this case it seems that perhaps Marvel pursued the end of their relationship, which can only be good news in the long term, considering the rather vague quote by the company that the move "will not affect Marvel's ongoing plans to release fighting games based on the Marvel properties in the future."

Wait. Marvel is going to shop around and still try to make Marvel fighting games? If so then let me be the last to say that it's time Marvel and Capcom had a reconciliation. When Marvel left Capcom for EA in 2004 it made perfect sense, as the studio had given up on the fighting game business. In the meantime, Arc System Works has proven the market for 2-d fighters is still there, even going so far as to recently announce the follow-up series to Guilty Gear, Blazblue (pics included). Now, with SF4 finally in development and on the way, maybe Marvel is looking to give the MvC series another shot if Capcom wants to.

Is it likely? Nah, probably not. But would it make sense? At least in America it would. MvC2 is still one of the most popular fighting games in the US, with hardcore followings on both coasts and competition that can only be considered ridiculous. If you've never seen high-level MvC2 play, check out Yipes v. Justin Wong or really, any of the related videos. A Marvel vs Capcom 3 would be the second coming to some of these people if it was done right.

But if Marvel doesn't court Capcom once again I'm not really sure who they'll look to to develop a fighting game. Hopefully they will at least find a developer who's solid in the genre, as picking EA didn't work out for anyone.

Thanks to Maho on Shoryuken for the Blazblue scans from Arcadia.

peace