Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Capcom talks Marvel vs. Capcom 3

"Deadpool is immortal. No one can beat him."

Eurogamer I reckon Iron Man is too powerful. Are you still fine-tuning the characters that have already been revealed?
Ryota Niitsuma

If you played the E3 version and then the Comic-Con version, we have changed it quite a bit to make improvements on the game balancing. I don't know if you noticed, but there should be quite a big difference.

With regards to Iron Man, he is quite strong. But having said that, we've got a couple of characters - they're just too far-gone strong at the moment. We are tuning up all of the balancing at the moment.

Eurogamer How will the online features differ from those in Super Street Fighter IV? Will the net code be better?
Ryota Niitsuma

In comparison to Street Fighter IV, the lobby and the system will be completely different. The difficulty with this game is it's three on three. On top of that you can see all the effects coming out with moves. They are over-the-top.

Also, again because it's three on three, with the HUD and information on the screen, we've got so much more going on at once than Street Fighter IV. So it's a challenge for online games, because we can't afford to have lag while you're playing.

We are tuning that up at the moment. We are spending all of our resources tuning up all of those challenges. We can't tell you what the unique selling point of the online is for this particular title at the moment, but we're working on it.

Eurogamer I thought Street Fighter IV and Super Street Fighter IV could have done with some video tutorials to help newcomers learn how to play the game. Any plans to do that with Marvel vs. Capcom 3?
Ryota Niitsuma

We haven't decided on a name for the mode yet, but we've got a special mode for each character. Say, for instance, Ryu, starting from the basic moves you will be clearing the missions so that at the end of the overall mission you should be able to do all of the moves Ryu can launch. That will be a practice mode that acts as a tutorial mode as well.

Eurogamer Street Fighter IV had very short cartoons before and after the arcade mode was completed for each character that acted as a story. Will Marvel vs. Capcom 3 have similar cartoons?
Ryota Niitsuma

Yes. Each character will have a story. However, because we've got so many more characters, not every character will have a movie to tell the story. We have the beginning story and each character has an ending story.

Eurogamer Can you tell me anything about the story? Does it fit in with the timeline or canon?
Ryota Niitsuma

The writer from Marvel [Frank Tieri (Wolverine, Civil War: War Crimes, World War Hulk: Gamma Corps)] is writing it at the moment. It will be quite interesting because in the Marvel world some of the Capcom characters will go in and cross over, and vice versa. Interesting stuff is being written and being worked on.

Eurogamer Who is your favourite character and why?
Ryota Niitsuma

Often I'm asked this question. It changes quite a bit. At the moment, from the Capcom side, it's Dante. Deadpool from the Marvel side. This is because we had to spend so much time on these two characters.

Eurogamer Dante versus Deadpool: who wins?
Ryota Niitsuma

First of all, Deadpool is immortal. No one can beat him.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is due out for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in spring 2011.