Nope, not a thread on the fantastic DCU fantasy cards that have been making their appearances on these boards in recent weeks. This is something different ...

Though DC fans may have to wait for the official VS version of DCU ... we will soon have a new way to waste time, it seems. Ads appeared in most DC Comics for the last two weeks, though here's a preview if you haven't seen it yet:

http://www.myspace.com/dcuo

So my wondering is this: Along with several toy lines under the 'DC Universe' banner, there will now be a big MMO with the same name.

I know how crazy this sounds ... but is it possible that UDE is waiting until DC Universe the MMO comes out so that they can release the DC Universe VS set at the same time?

Yeah, I'm clutching at straws, I know. But I'm pretty sure that TBS once assured us that we 'hadn't seen the last of DC'. I guess I just keep looking for signs that it might be true.

The entire DC hold up is based on one thing.... Art.

Its no longer financially viable to hire artists to make entire sets of VS cards. Marvel owns all their own art and so they can easily license it out. DC however allows the artist to maintain control of their art. Therefore DC doesn't have this cheap pool of art for VS to license out. Its simple business really. Not enough vs sells to maintain a profit margain with the added costs of artists. Its just not viable for UDE. Until DC gets a pool of art for cheap for VS to access.

The idea that the price of art is what's holding up DC expansions is actually just an educated guess on your part, though, since no one is allowed to discuss the details of the ongoing negotiations (if they are still 'ongoing' ... it's been what, at least 4 months?). Some folks think that the re-negotiations with DC are due to UDE wanting to produce a DC version of Ultimate Battles.

I do think that your guess is accurate, but it's not solid fact yet unless you have insider information. (And if you do ... how are the negotiations going? :) )

Either way, I still thought that it was interesting that the next 'window' for a VS set (next spring/summer) would seem to coincide with another gaming product called 'DC Universe'. Yeah, it's wishful thinking, but it's still a remote possiblity.

Gotta do whatever I can to keep the hope alive ...

I had heard rumblings about the art issues as far back as last year. I don't have any insider info, but everything Anthrex is saying sounds true.

I really hope we get another official DC set. And sooner rather than later.

I really don't know how far I can go without any more DC sets. Usually there is at least 1 Marvel team in a set I am very interested in, but it is just very draining with no DC news in months.

Kudos, I agree completey.

I know it's a hassle, but not sticking with the game after DC leaves would only make it go downhill. If we can help get the game back to some of it's former glory, they can start making enough money again to make getting new DC art financially viable again (assuming that's what it is)

Not necessarily. If they continue making the same amount of money without DC, why would they pay more to get DC and then pay more for original art?

This MMO might indirectly solve the "cheap pool of art" problem. Just use CGI from the game. Looks good enough to me. And you only have to pay one source.

It'd also look pretty nifty too, what with the Jim Lee designs and all.

Anything to keep the DC half of VS alive!

Hopefully the game will be good. The Jim Lee designs and the screen shots they've shown certainly show promise. I played City of Heroes for about a year and it was a lot of fun. But a DC version would be a dream come tru if it was at least as good as CoH. Unfortunately, DC doesn't have the best track record with liscensed video games. But I'm still holding out hope this will be one of the exceptions.

I know people want to keep hope alive for DC coming back to Vs, but this game is unlikely to have any kind of impact on that happening. Hopefully, it will just be a really cool on-line game.