IOS version of the classic Marvel vs. fighting game Capcom 2, released on April 25, is quite high on the App Store sales charts. And it is a symbol of total disorder in the game world.
Marvel vs. Capcom 2, in which Street Fighter characters and Marvel superheroes meet, has low-resolution graphics and an indecent frame rate. But its main problem in managing: the game uses an on-screen virtual joystick and buttons that reproduce the arcade machine with the original game. There is not a single precise strike in it that made up the splendor of the original game. You just rub your fingers on the screen in the hope that something good will happen.

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But players will buy this lazy monster because they remember the name. And as long as shit continues to be sold, publishers will have no reason to change their behavior.
Why do large publishers like Capcom take the risk and create original games that would use all the features of touchscreens, when fans already consume low-quality ports of games with well-known names? Why not just profit from lovers too drunk with nostalgia to resist? Publishers could never give up the temptation of easy sales of ported versions of already developed games, despite the fact that consumers who buy these games, in most cases, get negative experiences.
Such companies are not at all unskilled or stupid or just bad at developing mobile games. They simply do not have enough restraint, and as a result we got a market that was flooded with amateur games with monstrous control from studios that have the best experience behind them.
In a recent article in the
New York Times Magazine , which the author called "stupid games," iOS designer Zack Gage explained how, in his opinion, publishers were exploring the mobile market at the dawn of the iPhone.
“Everyone was trying to figure out a way to make the games they already released fit for the platform. Tetris was not made for the touchscreen. If we did not have these original games, and we would have only a touchscreen, we would never see games like this. He would never have appeared in a natural way, as he is not good for the touchscreen. ”
Imagine a world in which the iOS version of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 would not have a nostalgic component. Anyone would be pleased with her?
Capcom is one of the worst examples. 18 out of 20 Capcom titles on iOS are ports of existing games. The company has only two original games and this is not very good. Of the 18 ports, 16 rely heavily on on-screen virtual control.
The three most popular Capcom paid apps currently are Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter IV Volt. In some ways, the least manageable games on iOS sell best. Other sales hits, Resident Evil 4 and Mega Man X, are also reworking traditional button arcades that use on-screen controls.
But these games are not just more popular than games created specifically for iOS, they can be sold at a premium price of about $ 5 each. If more people buy $ 5 pieces of govnosoft than the original content for $ 1, then why try and make good games?
And Capcom is not alone. In fact, he is in a large company of the world's largest game publishers. The creators of Call of Duty and World of Warcraft from Activision Blizzard cannot understand what to do with the App Store. 10 out of 12 games are semi-finished products with a bunch of mistakes and virtual controllers, based on existing franchises. In addition to the original Pix Maze and the new Skylanders Cloud Patrol, everything else that the company lays out for iOS looks like something for Nokia N-Gage.
Ubisoft plays the same notes. The company's most popular application is Assassin's Creed II Discovery, a mediocre endless runner with virtual buttons, which has not been updated for two years since its release and is sold for $ 6.
Square Enix got rid of the early life of the iPhone and released the original game. Remember Song Summoner, Hills and Rivers Remain, Vanguard Storm, Sliding Heroes and Crystal Defenders? Of course not, because no one bought them. The company has since become smarter and began to release expensive ports of old role-playing games for iOS, from Secret of Mana ($ 9) to Chrono Trigger ($ 10).
With 107 apps on the App Store, Electronic Arts will take iOS more seriously than most of its competitors. But for each carefully crafted Mirror's Edge there is Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. And Battlefield 3: Aftershock was so unpopular that the company completely deleted the application from the App Store.
We get the games we deserve. If you want the best line of games for iOS, then the only way is to stop impulsively buying games based on your nostalgic desires, and start rewarding the best games. Otherwise, you give publishers the wrong signals.
PS From the translator: In the discussion of our last article, there was a link to this Wired article. Frankly speaking, we planned to translate it into Apps4All , however, the dispute that arose accelerated the process itself - thanks to Yizahi for the comment .