The Demand For Raimi's Spidey-Suit - "Just know things take a LONG time sometimes (months and months!) and even then go down to the literal wire"
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Marvel’s Spider-Man
A Briefing on Superhero Video Games
Marvel’s Spider-Man developed by Insomniac Games was released exclusively for the PS4 on September 7, 2018 to stellar reviews. Video games based on superheroes have generally received negative reviews. One of the most notorious superhero games is Superman 64 on Nintendo 64 for mostly having Superman fly through rings and bad controls. Other superhero games are usually movie tie-ins and have a shorter development time. These games are quickly developed to coincide with a film’s release and are seen as a quick cash grab.
There have been some exceptions to the bad video game movie tie-in. The game based on X-Men Origins: Wolverine is arguably the best Wolverine game and is better than the movie. GoldenEye 007 on Nintendo 64 is frequently brought up as a classic shooter and the 2009 Ghostbusters: The Video Game is regarded as the third movie. Now when it comes to great superhero movie tie-ins, there is Spider-Man 2.
The Raimi/webbed suit from Spider-man 2
Spider-Man 2 the video game was released on June 28, 2004 and mostly followed the movie’s plot. Not only was this one of the best movie tie-in games but one of the best Spider-Man games ever released. Previous Spider-Man games had Spider-Man grounded and you couldn’t freely swing around. Spider-Man 2 gave players the entire playground of Manhattan to explore and the swinging mechanics made it a joy. Tobey Maguire was also involved and provided his voice. It was a great time for Spider-Man fans with this video game and Sam Raimi’s films. A variety of Spidey games followed but none matched the scope or freedom of Spider-Man 2.
The Demand for The Raimi Suit
Now that brings us to Marvel’s Spider-Man on PS4. Prior to Spider-Man’s release, the Batman: Arkham series were the only great superhero games available. Because of this and the expectations from Spider-Man 2, fans had high hopes for this game. It delivered on nearly every front, its gameplay, visuals, and story. It even featured several of Spidey’s outfits including the Iron Spider suit from Avengers: Infinity War and the Stark suit from Spider-Man: Homecoming. The inclusion of these movie suits and a tease lead to fan speculation of the suit from the Sam Raimi films being included. The suit from the Raimi films is referred to as the webbed suit or just the Raimi suit.
Marvel’s Spider-Man had three downloadable pieces of content each with three additional suits. After the final three suits were revealed, the Raimi suit was nowhere to be seen. Not only were fans upset over the lack of the Raimi suit but also due to the inclusion of the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse suit. Fans vented their frustration on the developers over Twitter and outright demanded the Raimi suit to be included. Some fans went as far as calling the choice of suits “trash.” Insomniac responded over Twitter to angered fans. “Listening doesn’t mean we always will do what people tell us to. We hear you. Hearing doesn’t mean we always act or follow.”
Conclusion
Regardless, Insomniac followed through and released the Raimi suit. It wasn’t because of the fan outrage as Insomniac community director, James Stevenson, pointed out. “Today's release was ultimately in the works for MONTHS and started before the base game even released.” Stevenson noted they had to remain quiet on the details due to “complexity.” It wasn’t Insomniac’s fault, they gave fans exactly what they wanted but it just took some time. Fans were just impatient and began to harass the developers over a fit of entitlement.
Ryan Smith, game director of Insomniac, announced the news on the Playstation Blog. Smith added, “The ‘Webbed Suit’ first made its appearance in 2002, and thanks to our collaboration and efforts with Marvel Games, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and PlayStation, we are finally able to add this oft-requested suit to the game. Happy Holidays!”
Thank you to all the good and hard working people at Insomniac for an amazing Spider-Man experience. The inclusion of the Raimi suit means a lot to people who grew up watching the Raimi films. For some people, the Raimi suit is as iconic as the classic Spidey suit. Hopefully this will be a lesson for fans to remain patient. Developers are open to suggestions but do not have to give into fans’ demands. They do care and Stevenson worded it simply, “We obviously never stopped listening.”
“Sometimes, to do what’s right, we have to be steady and give up the thing we want the most.” - Peter Parker, Spider-Man 2 (2004)