No one will say why Soulcalibur disappeared from digital stores
The Soulcalibur series transcends history and the globe. It has been a long-standing favorite among 3D fighting game enthusiasts. As a child, I still remember playing Soul Edge in arcades. I bought a PlayStation and a copy of Soul Blade to let my desire to play more free from the constraints of tokens and quarters. Bandai Namco decided to release Soulcalibur as well as Soulcalibur I on Xbox 360 in 2008 and PlayStation 3 in 2013. The second game will be available on both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. These games can still be played today with backward compatibility.
Bandai Namco quietly and gradually removed almost all of the games from sale over the past year. Although this is unusual, it is not uncommon. Sometimes licenses are canceled for music, or contracts with character designers. Publishers were also unable to predict how long these games would remain available.
It’s not the fact that this Soulcalibur remasters disappeared. What’s interesting is that Bandai Namco has not said anything about it and won’t tell me why, despite multiple inquiries.
This would be something simple, like Todd McFarlane’s Spawn In Soulcalibur II HD Online being removed from the title and then re-inserted without the word “Online” — that expires in ten years, which I find annoying, but not unreasonable. This has happened before, and publishers have always explained why. Why would you take responsibility for the removal of a publication when you can point to a third-party problem?
After trying for a while, I have hit enough brick walls that it is hard to believe I will ever find the answer. This story is a PSA. Soulcalibur HD, and Soulcalibur II is no longer available. These codes should still work if you can find a code for Xbox [editor: Though people on Twitter claim that this is not true for Soulcalibur II HD]. It’s possible that we won’t know the truth until Bandai Namco makes public statements about why it is so.
