Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 Thread 2.0

[Storm22]

That's a real bummer, especially considering how good the DLC characters are.

 

[Raiden]

I wonder if Marvel is the one who made the decision to stop the sale of DLC, since I don't think Activision would put all that effort in producing it in the first place then yank it unceremoniously and without warning.

 

[Iron_Stark]

Well I never got the DLC or even thought about getting it. No big loss on my part.

I hope now Activision starts making plans for a third and gives it back to Raven, not these X-loving *****es.

 

[Brainiac 8]

Well, it turns out Activision released it as a planned limited release:

Per the official announcement from IGN:

November 5, 2009 - Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced today that the greatest Super Hero action/RPG team-up just got a super-powered upgrade with Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 downloadable content, now available until December 31, 2009, for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system. Players can now experience Marvel's epic Civil War storyline with five all-new playable characters in their arsenal: Carnage, Psylocke and Cable make their Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 system debuts in the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance series alongside returning fan-favorites Magneto and Black Panther...

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/104/1042524p1.html

It was planned to be like this from the get-go appearantly.

 

[Havok83]

WTF didnt anyone know about this?

 

[ProjectPat2280]

WTF didnt anyone know about this?

Haha, yea how did we all miss that?

I bought the DLC shortly after it came out, so this doesnt really bother me, but this is still some shady s**t. I mean for the ppl who got the game for Christmas or just hadnt gotten around to purchasing the DLC, they no longer have the option, thats lame, and on top of that Activision isnt saying anything. Again, lame.

 

[Havok83]

Haha, yea how did we all miss that?

I bought the DLC shortly after it came out, so this doesnt really bother me, but this is still some shady s**t. I mean for the ppl who got the game for Christmas or just hadnt gotten around to purchasing the DLC, they no longer have the option, thats lame, and on top of that Activision isnt saying anything. Again, lame.

haha, it seems so obvious as if they went back and edited the press release. People have been wondering whats been up for weeks but its all right there yet no one realized it till now

 

[ProjectPat2280]

haha, it seems so obvious as if they went back and edited the press release. People have been wondering whats been up for weeks but its all right there yet no one realized it till now

I almost think thats what they did. NO one was talking about it being a timed release.

 

[Havok83]

I almost think thats what they did. NO one was talking about it being a timed release.

yeah bc this board is usually up on that type of stuff. I know it definetly would have been brought up here and I wouldnt have delayed purchasing it if I had known. Activision didnt even seem to have a definite answer when initially asked about this a week or 2 ago and if it was always a timed release, it doesnt make sense why they wouldnt have just said so

 

[ProjectPat2280]

yeah bc this board is usually up on that type of stuff. I know it definetly would have been brought up here and I wouldnt have delayed purchasing it if I had known. Activision didnt even seem to have a definite answer when initially asked about this a week or 2 ago and if it was always a timed release, it doesnt make sense why they wouldnt have just said so

Yea, it has to be some sort of contract thing. Something is preventing them from just coming out and saying whats going on. Or maybe Activision is preparing for a "Gold" edition and just wants everyone to purchase the game again.....yea that sounds a lot like Activision. Im going with that.

 

[Brainiac 8]

Yea, I'm not sure how we all glossed that over either.

I had delayed on buying the game for a while, and figured I'd get the dlc when I finally buy it. No go now appearantly. I have to wait until they "Gold Edition" the game to play these characters.

It is really funny that it's been in print this whole time without us knowing.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

It is really funny that it's been in print this whole time without us knowing.

Haha i know. Really strange. But it still doesnt explain why Activision was kind of bucking the answer. Shouldnt they of said, it was always a planned timed DLC, check the press release.

 

[Sparta*]

This is so stupid, why go through all the trouble of making DLC only to put it up for 1.5 months, then pretend it never existed? a big F-U to whoever made that call

 

[Havok83]

Haha i know. Really strange. But it still doesnt explain why Activision was kind of bucking the answer. Shouldnt they of said, it was always a planned timed DLC, check the press release.

That actually would have made more sense bc had they done that, people like myself would have rushed to buy it, thus increasing sales for them. Keeping quiet only makes them lost out on all those potential sales

Im thinking this is one side effect of the recent Disney buyout. I think Disney is going to want to publish all their games, which means taking back the Marvel liscense from Activision.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

Let me ask a rather stupid question, but when you download DLC for a game. That content is saved to your console's hard drive, not the actual game disc, correct?

 

[Nathan]

Yes, it's on the hard drive. So I wouldn't format it any time soon without making a backup. Because you won't be able to redownload it anymore.

 

[Ryuuie]

Ok, here's the thing. IGN did NOT have that up when it was first posted. Because NO ONE knew about it until it just mysteriously disappeared. There's a good chance it was just recently added.

Only JoyStiq and some other website no one really cares about had the limited time stuff.

Activision has not said why it's limited edition, they have not said if it will ever come back, they have not told Vicarious Visions what's going on.

Here's the backlash:
-There will most likely NOT be any more DLC for M:UA 2.
-Vicarious Visions and Activision's partnership might weaken because of this.
-M:UA 2's disc sales will drop because of this (they already have).
-Activision will lose a LOT of Marvel fans as soon as more people hear (IF Activision still holds licenses).
-This will affect future Marvel games (again, IF Activision still holds licenses).

Remember, we have absolutely no idea what's going on and what with what's going on with Conan vs NBC, contracts CAN be breached so don't think Marvel can't/won't take things back.

 

[Havok83]

MuA2 disc sales did not drop bc of this. Its a 3 month old game. Games typically see their highest sales within the first month and they go down from there. Considering this was recently pulled and numbers havent even been released yet, I dont see how one can equate the DLC disappearance to lower disc sales

As far as Activision and VV's parternship, well they dont have one....Activision owns them

 

[Ryuuie]

MuA2 disc sales did not drop bc of this. Its a 3 month old game. Games typically see their highest sales within the first month and they go down from there. Considering this was recently pulled and numbers havent even been released yet, I dont see how one can equate the DLC disappearance to lower disc sales

As far as Activision and VV's parternship, well they dont have one....Activision owns them

Because a lot of people wanted the game due to DLC, the sales will most likely drop due to them just pulling it for (at the moment) no reason. May not be significantly, but it will most likely happen. Plus, there are people who got the game before or after Christmas and are returning it without even playing.

Didn't Microsoft own Bungie and they wanted to pull out? Anyway, VV still isn't happy with them and this still could affect things in the future.

 

[Brainiac 8]

Because a lot of people wanted the game due to DLC, the sales will most likely drop due to them just pulling it for (at the moment) no reason. May not be significantly, but it will most likely happen. Plus, there are people who got the game before or after Christmas and are returning it without even playing.

Didn't Microsoft own Bungie and they wanted to pull out? Anyway, VV still isn't happy with them and this still could affect things in the future.

I think you're misunderstanding how the business works.

Like Havok said, most sales of a game are in the first month, generally only Nintendo can pull off the 'evergreen' sales strategy. MUA2, started going down in sales on the second month, so this dlc issue won't effect sales like you think it will. Plus considering that barely half of any install base actually have their systems online, it's even less likely that the dlc will effect sales that much.

Also, you can't assume that there is a large drove of people that will return the game without playing it due to the reasons I stated previously. There is no way you can prove that you are correct there, as it's as made up as Santa Claus.

Second, it doesn't matter how VV feels about the situation, as Activision OWNS them. If you want to keep your job, you continue to do what corporate says. Right now, Activision can replace any of VV people, since there are so many who have lost their jobs in the games industry that Activision would have no problem getting new help for the company.

#3 - That was the original press release by Activision, and IGN generally posts them when the company releases them. Check anywhere else, I just used IGN since it's easy, but anywhere else that records press releases...it says the same thing.

Somehow we all just happened to miss that.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

Yes, it's on the hard drive. So I wouldn't format it any time soon without making a backup. Because you won't be able to redownload it anymore.

right and if that's the case, couldnt people just save the DLC off of their console's hard drives and copy it to sell to others to load onto their own systems?

 

[ProjectPat2280]

I think you're misunderstanding how the business works.

Like Havok said, most sales of a game are in the first month, generally only Nintendo can pull off the 'evergreen' sales strategy. MUA2, started going down in sales on the second month, so this dlc issue won't effect sales like you think it will. Plus considering that barely half of any install base actually have their systems online, it's even less likely that the dlc will effect sales that much.

Also, you can't assume that there is a large drove of people that will return the game without playing it due to the reasons I stated previously. There is no way you can prove that you are correct there, as it's as made up as Santa Claus.

Second, it doesn't matter how VV feels about the situation, as Activision OWNS them. If you want to keep your job, you continue to do what corporate says. Right now, Activision can replace any of VV people, since there are so many who have lost their jobs in the games industry that Activision would have no problem getting new help for the company.

#3 - That was the original press release by Activision, and IGN generally posts them when the company releases them. Check anywhere else, I just used IGN since it's easy, but anywhere else that records press releases...it says the same thing.

Somehow we all just happened to miss that.

Perfectly worded. Yea, Ryuuie, you are just missing a few details as to how the industry works in the relations between VV and Activision. You are also over estimating the consumer. Activision gets a ton of hate, yet their games still sell through the roof. You thinking that all of a sudden Marvel fans will just outright stop buying Activisions products is just wishful thinking. Its not happening. This is DLC we are talking about. A recent study that just came out found that only 15% of gamers even bother purchasing DLC. I dont think too many ppl outside of the hardcore fan base will even realize that this DLC was even available. They wont be losing much sales due to this.

Also, you keep wanting to think that it'll be easy for Marvel to pull their games rights away from Activision, it wont. Sure contracts get broken all the time, but there is usually some sort of penalty. Marvel SOLD the digital rights to some of their characters to Activision. If they want them back, chances are they are going to have to buy them back. Its certainly not something that Marvel couldnt do, but you have to ask youself is it something they are willing to do at this point.

Also, if you still think this is just IGN changing the press release, here are a few other sites that had the press release, all which state the DLC was only available until Dec 31.

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/21408/Marvel-Ultimate-Alliance-2-DLC-Available/

http://www.411mania.com/games/news/121157/Marvel-Ultimate-Alliance-2-DLC-Announced.htm

We all just missed it.

right and if that's the case, couldnt people just save the DLC off of their console's hard drives and copy it to sell to others to load onto their own systems?

DLC is tied to your gamer tag. The only way the DLC that i bought would work is i my Gamer Tag is the one thats active when playing the title.

 

[Ryuuie]

I think you're misunderstanding how the business works.

Like Havok said, most sales of a game are in the first month, generally only Nintendo can pull off the 'evergreen' sales strategy. MUA2, started going down in sales on the second month, so this dlc issue won't effect sales like you think it will. Plus considering that barely half of any install base actually have their systems online, it's even less likely that the dlc will effect sales that much.

Also, you can't assume that there is a large drove of people that will return the game without playing it due to the reasons I stated previously. There is no way you can prove that you are correct there, as it's as made up as Santa Claus.

Second, it doesn't matter how VV feels about the situation, as Activision OWNS them. If you want to keep your job, you continue to do what corporate says. Right now, Activision can replace any of VV people, since there are so many who have lost their jobs in the games industry that Activision would have no problem getting new help for the company.

#3 - That was the original press release by Activision, and IGN generally posts them when the company releases them. Check anywhere else, I just used IGN since it's easy, but anywhere else that records press releases...it says the same thing.

Somehow we all just happened to miss that.

So, just because it was missed, makes it perfectly ok? Also, it can still have an adverse effect because people do talk and things will just go down further.

Remember, the sales of M:UA effected the creation of M:UA 2, the sales of DLC effected the sales of any future DLC (which now won't happen). Do you really think that word of mouth won't travel around and the few Marvel fans Activision have won't start really thinking hard about what's happening?

I know a LOT of people who follow Activision are pretty much fanboys but even fanboys can only take so much. People are growing tired of Activision's ******** (even if this was planned from the beginning), that you just can't deny.

Actually, normally I would go against you and all that but you just proved one BIG reason why Activision doesn't listen to the internet fanbase so I'm gonna give you "props" for it:

"Plus considering that barely half of any install base actually have their systems online, it's even less likely that the dlc will effect sales that much."

Due to this, Activision doesn't give a **** about any *****ing online because the truth is their games are made for offline fans, not online. It seems you've realized this and that's good.

I and a lot of others DID check everywhere and no other website mentioned it except Joystiq. In fact, I read when the article was posted on IGN (or any other of the "popular" sites for that matter) and none of them mentioned it.

Perfectly worded. Yea, Ryuuie, you are just missing a few details as to how the industry works in the relations between VV and Activision. You are also over estimating the consumer. Activision gets a ton of hate, yet their games still sell through the roof. You thinking that all of a sudden Marvel fans will just outright stop buying Activisions products is just wishful thinking. Its not happening. This is DLC we are talking about. A recent study that just came out found that only 15% of gamers even bother purchasing DLC. I dont think too many ppl outside of the hardcore fan base will even realize that this DLC was even available. They wont be losing much sales due to this.

Also, you keep wanting to think that it'll be easy for Marvel to pull their games rights away from Activision, it wont. Sure contracts get broken all the time, but there is usually some sort of penalty. Marvel SOLD the digital rights to some of their characters to Activision. If they want them back, chances are they are going to have to buy them back. Its certainly not something that Marvel couldnt do, but you have to ask youself is it something they are willing to do at this point.

Also, if you still think this is just IGN changing the press release, here are a few other sites that had the press release, all which state the DLC was only available until Dec 31.

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/21408/Marvel-Ultimate-Alliance-2-DLC-Available/

http://www.411mania.com/games/news/121157/Marvel-Ultimate-Alliance-2-DLC-Announced.htm

We all just missed it.






DLC is tied to your gamer tag. The only way the DLC that i bought would work is i my Gamer Tag is the one thats active when playing the title.

See what I said up there to Brainiac 8? Imagine I said that to you because I don't really feel like repeating myself since you pretty much said the exact same thing he did with nothing new or worth my time.

Just subtract the part about getting how Activision is with online groups because you probably wouldn't understand it.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

See what I said up there to Brainiac 8? Imagine I said that to you because I don't really feel like repeating myself since you pretty much said the exact same thing he did with nothing new or worth my time.

Just subtract the part about getting how Activision is with online groups because you probably wouldn't understand it.

Like we said, you just arent quite up to speed on how business works, be it from the consumers viewpoint or the viewpoint from the business. I dont know, maybe you're young, but you obviously are missing something.

This DLC incident wont change much. People will not be flocking to their local retailers to return their copies of M:UA2 as you have put it. People are not going to start boycotting the next Activision Marvel game etc etc. You are just over estimating who actually pays attention to all of this.

 

[Brainiac 8]

It's probably either youth, or he's just never followed sales trends in the industry. Ryuuie, I'm part of a group that follow sales trends pretty close over at Penny Arcade, and I'm telling you that this dlc incedent won't effect the sales of the game either way.

Most of those who would have been fans of this game/genre/or subject matter have already bought and probably beaten the game whether or not dlc ever came for it.

On top of that, who knows why they limited the dlc. For all we know, they may have had a contract with Disney that required that they pull it down after the end of the year, it may have been beyond their control.

Also, any company that records and archives press releases have the release for the dlc for MUA2. I'll give you another example to show that it wasn't a case of IGN making it up. Google is your friend:

http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Ma...Now-Available-For-PS3-And-Xbox-360-20929.html