While many people are no doubt most hyped for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom or Mario & Luigi: Brothership, one announcement has been on my mind above all. MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics from Capcom is set to release this year on Steam, PS4 (PS5 via backward compatibility), and Nintendo Switch worldwide making these games available on modern platforms for the first time. I never played most of these games before, but every recent Capcom collection involving fighting games has been great, so this release is very exciting. Ahead of its release, I had a chance to talk to MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics Producer Shuhei Matsumoto about fan reactions, a potential vinyl soundtrack release for MvC 2, the team aiming for Steam Deck Verification, fan reactions, the community, and more.

Note: The image used is the game’s key art from a video on each device and not an actual early build of the game.

TouchArcade (TA): MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics was easily the biggest surprise announcement of 2024 so far. Usually things like this would have some hints, but we had no idea this was happening. How has it been for the developers at Capcom seeing the reactions online?

Shuhei Matsumoto (SM): I’m glad you felt a big surprise! We believe that the announcement method should vary depending on the title, so we chose this approach for this game. We watched in real-time and were moved by your reactions. We also saw the reaction videos afterward! We’re very happy about it.

TA: When Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection released, the Japanese release let you select both versions while the overseas release only let you play the overseas version. Will the MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics release have parity across regions on Steam and consoles?

SM: There are no regional differences in the ‘MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics.’ All players can enjoy both the Japanese and international versions!

TA: I’ve not played most games in this collection before, and that makes it even more exciting with the prospect of rollback netcode included for online play. Was it always the plan to include rollback netcode in this release?

SM: Rollback netcode was used in the ‘Capcom Fighting Collection’ and was well-received by users, which is why we decided to implement it for the development of ‘MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics.’

TA: How long has the team been working on this package?

SM: Development itself took about 1 to 2 years, but we have been wanting to realize this project for around 4 years and have been communicating with Marvel during that time.

TA: Will Capcom be doing anything to support the competitive scene around MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics that will no doubt start growing very soon with this official release?

SM: The catalyst for making this game was the ongoing use of our titles in community events and tournaments. By releasing this game on current-generation consoles, we hope to shine a spotlight once again on the community that has tirelessly kept the scene vibrant for years. You are the ones supporting it.

TA: The MvC 2 soundtrack is legendary, but it never got an official release. It will be included in the gallery mode here. Are there any plans to do a vinyl release for it and other music from this collection?

SM: I want one too! Let’s reach out to Marvel and see.

TA: Has Capcom done any specific enhancement to MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics for Steam Deck? Recently, every Capcom game has been amazing to play on Steam Deck. I play Street Fighter 6 and Monster Hunter on it regularly.

SM: We are optimizing the game to ensure smooth performance on the Steam Deck. Although it’s still pending review by Valve, we are preparing to receive the ‘green checkmark’ approval.

Around the time I sent Capcom questions for this interview, I had a chance to do a hands-off preview of MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics. It continues to look excellent, and I feel like it will end up joining Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection as my most played Capcom collection yet. My only real annoyance right now is that we don’t have a MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics release date yet or look at a potential limited edition in any region. Hopefully both of those are announced soon so I can pre-order it on Switch and PS4.

I’d like to thank Shuhei Matsumoto and Janice Teo from Capcom for their time and help with this interview.

You can keep up with all our interviews here including our recent ones with Santa Ragione here, Peter ‘Durante’ Thoman about PH3 and Falcom here, M2 discussing shmups and more here, Digital Extremes for Warframe mobile, Team NINJA, Sonic Dream Team, Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, and more. As usual, thanks for reading.