Gamer
Tuesday Special:
The
Disney/Marvel/Capcom
Connection
Last week, my
buddy and fellow
Days of the Week
writer Erik
Anderson wrote
about Captain
America for
Who’s Who
Wednesday, a
Marvel character
that is
technicality a
Disney character
now. After
reading it, I
was struck by
inspiration with
an idea so wild
and crazy only
I
could
come up with!
And the idea was
this!
…Did you know
that Disney,
Marvel and the
video game
company Capcom
are tied to each
other in many
ways?
Before we move
forth, let’s get
to know each
company…
THE
PLAYERS
The Walt
Disney Company:
The raison
d'être for many
of us on this
site. Founded by
Walt Disney, it
all started out
with a couple of
silent cartoons
about a little
girl named
Alice. Then as
technology kept
advancing
throughout the
ages, Disney’s
ideas knew no
limit, soon
creating
elaborate motion
pictures,
intriguing theme
park attractions
and just about
everything you
could imagine!
Thus gave birth
to the Walt
Disney Company,
one of the
biggest media
conglomerates in
the world.
Marvel
Entertainment:
The company
started out by
producing comics
in the 1930s
under the name
of Timely
Comics. Soon,
Marvel would
create some of
the most
groundbreaking
heroes and
stories ever
seen in comics.
This lead to the
appearance of
characters like
Captain America,
the X-Men, The
Incredible Hulk,
Spider-Man and
countless
others. The
media empire
expanded onto
films and
television,
which includes
this year’s well
received crop of
Marvel movies
such as Thor and
Captain America:
The First
Avenger as well
as several shows
on Disney XD.
Capcom:
A Japanese video
game development
company
established in
1983 in Osaka,
they are known
for some of the
most popular
franchises
around. Some of
these include
“Mega Man,”
“Resident Evil,”
“Devil May Cry,”
and “Street
Fighter”.
THE
CONNECTION
This is where
things get a
little wacky, so
hold on tight!
In hopes of
expanding their
empire further,
Disney looked
onto a very
popular and
growing form of
entertainment:
video games.
While they
released a
couple of Atari
games and
Nintendo
released various
Disney themed
Game and Watch
units, Disney’s
presence in
video games
wouldn’t take
off until a
Japanese company
published in
North America a
Japanese Mickey
Mouse game for
the Nintendo
Entertainment
System. That
company happened
to be…
Despite the
lukewarm
acceptance of
“Mickey
Mousecapades
,”
it was
successful
enough that it
inspired a very
famous lineup of
Disney themed
games that would
be hailed as
some of the best
licensed games
ever made. The
partnership
between the two
companies,
however, started
to fade in the
mid-90s,
producing sparse
content
afterwards. But
by this time,
Capcom had
established
itself as a
powerhouse in
the video game
industry. This
caught the
attention of a
very popular
company. That
company turned
out to be…
In 1994, Capcom
released to the
arcades “X-Men:
Children of the
Atom,” a
colorful 2D
fighting game
inspired by the
company’s own
Street Fighter
series. Starring
the X-Men,
“Children of the
Atom” was very
fast, easy to
get into and
lots of fun. The
partnership with
Marvel extended
to see the
release of
Marvel Super
Heroes, another
fighting game,
this time
starring
characters from
across multiple
Marvel series.
Capcom then had
a brilliant
idea; they
decided to
crossover their
own properties
with the Marvel
franchise. And
thus “X-Men vs.
Street Fighter”
was born; the
first in
Capcom’s popular
versus series.
Easily the most
popular game in
the series was
“Marvel vs.
Capcom." It was
successful
enough that it
inspired three
sequels.
Soon
after the
release of
"Marvel vs.
Capcom 2,"
Capcom didn't
make any Marvel
themed fighting
games. Players
itching to play
as their
favorite super
heroes would
have to look
towards
Electronic Arts
and Activision
as they were the
ones making the
games throughout
the 00s, such as
Marvel Ultimate
Alliance.
Speaking of
Marvel, the
company made
history when in
2009, they
announced that
another media
conglomerate had
bought them out.
That company
was…
The House of
Mouse paid over
4 billion
dollars to own
the rights to
nearly all of
Marvel’s assets,
which includes
stories,
characters,
franchises and
more. So far,
due to Marvel
still having
rights with
other companies,
Disney has yet
to fully make
use of them.
Around the same
time, Marvel
announced that
both a classic
Marvel game
would me making
its return
alongside an
update sequel.
The company in
charge of that
was…
CAPCOM!
After nearly a
decade of fans
wishing for the
next installment
in the Marvel
vs. Capcom
series, 2009 was
the rebirth of
the game. The
original “Marvel
vs. Capcom 2”
was re-released
as a
downloadable
game for the
Xbox Live
Marketplace and
PlayStation
Network. Later
in the year,
“Marvel vs.
Capcom 3” was
finally
announced,
featuring
updated
graphics, online
play and a new
cast of
characters. The
game finally saw
release in early
2011.
At Comic-Con
2011, Capcom
announced an
update to the
game, now called
“Ultimate Marvel
vs. Capcom 3.”
The upgrade
includes even
more characters
and refined game
mechanics.
And there you
have it, folks.
Three completely
different
companies would
end up forever
linked in a
partnership that
yielded some of
the best
products in the
market.
With the whole
Disney buyout of
Marvel, many
questions
remain. Who will
produce the
Marvel themed
games? My guess
is that Disney
Interactive and
its development
teams will work
on them. If
Capcom, however,
were to produce
a Marvel
fighting game,
it is likely
that Disney
Interactive
would oversee
its production.
The other
question would
be, is the
Marvel deal big
enough to
attract Capcom
to make Disney
based games once
more? That’s
another question
that remains
without an
answer.
Thus ends
today’s Gamer
Tuesday article.
As the deal with
Marvel comes
into fruition,
expect me to
write about some
Marvel games you
should take a
look at. They
are Disney now,
so they still
count.