Fighting games pioneered a crossover-fighter subgenre that monetizes licensed character rosters

Evidence

Fighting games have proved a natural fit for the brandscape blockbuster structure, resulting in a distinct subgenre called the “crossover fighter,” which features characters from multiple franchises. X-Men vs. Street Fighter in 1996 evolved into the popular, eight-installment Marvel vs. Capcom series, featuring characters from the former conglomerate’s comics character roster and the latter’s video game character roster. The five installments of Super Smash Bros. have been an even bigger success, bringing together characters from forty different franchises, some internal to its developer Nintendo (Mario, Zelda, Pokémon) but many external licenses as well (Sonic, Street Fighter, Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Minecraft, etc). — Andrew deWaard, Derivative Media, 419

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s ABANDON-worthy/catalog-acquisition thesis: crossover fighters are an early, pure instance of Wall Street-style brand aggregation expressing itself directly in a game’s formal feature (its roster).
• QUESTION: Worth asking whether licensing costs for an external character (Sonic in Smash Bros) change how prominently that character is balanced or featured, i.e. finance leaving fingerprints on gameplay form.