Sony's Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls has gotten off to a shaky start, and a reader argues it's the latest proof of a Marvel video game curse, where even good games don't sell.
Launch issues and immediate backlash
The reader, Trepsils, notes that Sony fumbled the launch, releasing a buggy PC version instead of delaying it. The negative word of mouth affected the PlayStation 5 version as well, which also underperformed.
Despite enjoying the beta, Trepsils wouldn't buy it at full price, but believes it wouldn't have been a hit anyway, due to a broader trend.
A history of Marvel game flops
Apart from Spider-Man games and Lego tie-ins, Marvel video games have historically struggled. Examples include Guardians Of The Galaxy: The Telltale Series, Marvel Vs. Capcom: Infinite, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, and Square Enix's Marvel's Avengers, all of which flopped.
Even well-received titles like Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy and Marvel's Midnight Suns didn't sell well, and the recent Marvel Cosmic Invasion was largely ignored.
Why do Marvel games fail?
Trepsils can't find a clear reason, speculating that people may assume tie-in games are bad, or that the appeal of the films doesn't translate. However, Spider-Man games succeed despite being unrelated to the movies.
The reader concludes that unless a game features Spider-Man or targets kids, it's likely to underperform, and predicts upcoming titles like Wolverine, Blade, EA's Iron Man game, and Marvel 1943: Rise Of Hydra will also flop, regardless of quality.
