Firstly, the final product given out has been great. I’m no game developer, just a consumer. I’ve been relatively pretty ■■■■ happy with their efforts.
Secondly, this stage clamor is getting to me, so i went and did some digging…
Killer Instinct - 26 characters - 21 stages
Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 - 50 characters - 20 stages?
Mortal Kombat XL - 33 characters - 14 stages?
Guilty Gear Revelator - 23 characters - 19 stages?
Dead or Alive 5 Last Round - 34 characters - 34 stages?**
King of Fighters 14 - 50 characters - 18 stages?
Super Smash Bros for WiiU - 58 characters (including 3 Mii-type custom fighters) - 55 stages***
Marvel vs Capcom 2 - 56 characters - 13-14’ish stages?
All are popular games, all most of us know of, all maybe less of us have played or seen played. There are two games listed that match the number of characters to the number of stages out of seven. Not even a majority. And half the time, especially in games like Mortal Kombat XL, Injustice, and Smash, the stages have a direct bearing on how you fight the match. Killer Instinct is not entitled to make one stage per character, especially guests to whom the holder of their rights has, likely, every say in how their character is presented.
New stages are gonna keep being demanded because IG has opened themselves up to hearing about the good and the bad from these forums. In the game on the whole, in my opinion, stages are not unfinished business. They’re a sexy element that adds onto and expands how deep this game is. They’re not nearly the core of what makes this game great, and that’s been what they, and we, have focused our attention on.
Having said that, i know the demand is not gonna stop…
/endrant
**I think some stages of DOA are only playable in certain modes, and are variations of one another
***Obviously, Smash is a unique game in how it’s interactables, limits and platform style stages are a core to its experience.