I swear, the internet is too hung up on this "character referenced in game = not joining the roster" and it's really silly. Especially now in the day of DLC and companies going for whatever can make them the fastest buck/fan demand backing this up.
They're hung up on X more than anything, and again Capcom has no one to blame but themselves. I've said it before and I'll say it again, that's what happens when you treat your customers like utter [parasitic bomb] and offer no compensation. Hahahaha, and as for "companies going for whatever can make them the fastest buck/fan demand backing this up," please see below...
It may be unlikely, but disregarding the authors for one moment and speaking solely in the context of the game's structure, there's no reason it couldn't happen.
If people really want X, then as long as DLC additions are still on the table, they should be continuing to push for him. Instead, they're content to throw their arms in the air and walk away, because every reference to him is one more reason he was "ruled out" in their own minds. It's pathetic. For X's own fans to be so disloyal to him, it will only convince Capcom that they are not worth listening to.
LOL! If by "disregarding the authors for one moment and speaking solely in the context of the game's structure" you mean "ignore the fact that Capcom ignored the DLC in the original $60 dollar game and forced their customers to buy a brand new $40 Expansion pack which in turn made said $60 purchase 100% useless" I'll be honest....I personally find that kinda hard to disregard. But that's just me.
I mean honestly, what about this MVC3 series gives you any sense of hope or reason it could happen? The very game itself is almost concrete, Phoenix Wright-able evidence that they have 0% interest in utilizing their DLC system. They charge $60 for the bare-minimum'd first game, ignored the game's structure, then made that very purchase obsolete by releasing this version of it. Realistically, what that shows is that the only chance of seeing X or any other MM character in a MvC3 fighting game is if they release another brand new $40 game and make UMvC3 useless. I mean, they've already stated that they have no plans at this moment to utilize DLC for characters at this time. Again, not concrete evidence but considering UMvC3 itself, it's pretty clear that Capcom is interested in giving the fans of this game the bare minimum and essentially screwing them out of as much money as possible because they know that people are going to buy it regardless.
And you think that Capcom thinks MM fans are worth listening to? X was the top polled character, showing that most of them actually do care, and he wasn't in the game anyway but a skin & card. So because X fans don't start a 100,000 X Fans Strong To Get Mega Man X in UMvC3 Facebook page, they're disloyal? Because they don't think he'll be put in the game based on the evidence already clearly shoved in our faces for $40 after already spending $60, X fans are disloyal? As of now, all that's being shown is that Capcom already doesn't give a [parasitic bomb] what MM fans think. People are still furious over how they were treated, and they've been offered zero compensation to make up for that, except for a brief statement from Seth Killian for fans not to give up hope on the MM franchise.
Keep in mind too, I don't even think putting X in UMvC3 in anyway would help ease fan anger over how they were treated. They want more than X in a fighting game. As insanely happy as it would make me, they want more than another downloadable 8-Bit Classic series MM game. They want a new high end game, and both the intelligent fans & the Capcom business executives know that there is little to no profit in making one right now.
Also keep in mind, I'm an optimist. I don't think the franchise in done with in any stretch of the imagination. However, what the overly optimistic and depressed pessimistic don't seem to realize is that the series is no longer profitable and people outside of the MM fanbase have little to no interest in the franchise anymore. I don't care that X isn't in UMvC3, because it doesn't [tornado fang]ing matter in terms of both X fandom or the future of the MM Franchise. It's a goddamn fighting game. And this one is still a $40 expansion pack that makes the first game absolutely useless. I'm much more upset about that than X not being in the game, in terms of the MvC franchise. In terms of fighting games, I'd love another TatsuCap. So people who are complaining that X is not in a fighting game and think it has anything to do with the franchises' history are just as foolish as people who think that X fans are disloyal for not pushing for him to be a DLC character harder after they've already ignored both his #1 polling & the fact that Capcom has ignored the DLC in the previous $60 game.