Marvel announces Xbox 360-exclusive MMORPG
Massively multiplayer games to feature company's comic book characters will be exclusive to Microsoft's next-gen console.
Today at the Comic-Con International in San Diego, Marvel Enterprises announced a deal that gives Microsoft exclusive worldwide rights to make massively multiplayer online role-playing games based on characters from its popular comic books.
Perhaps of more significance to gamers, the two companies revealed that the as-yet untitled Marvel game will be developed exclusively on the Xbox 360, not on the PC like the vast majority of MMORPGs. That means any MMORPG to feature the hundreds of classic characters, such as the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and Iron Man will only appear on Microsoft's next-generation console.
Marvel's entry into the MMORPG market comes as little surprise. Speculation sparked up last November when the company sued NCsoft, claiming the publisher's highly successful City of Heroes MMORPG allowed players to create characters so close to Marvel properties that they constituted copyright infringement. While the suit is ongoing, NCsoft scored a partial victory in March, when a judge threw out many of Marvel's complaints.
Regardless of the lawsuit's outcome, NCsoft won't be the only competition for Microsoft and Marvel's MMORPG project. Last month, Sony Online Entertainment picked up the rights to make a DC Comics-inspired MMORPG in a deal that also saw the company acquiring The Matrix Online.
Microsoft and Marvel mentioned neither the number of titles covered by the agreement, nor when the first game will be released. However, the announcement does mark the fourth Xbox 360 MMORPG to be announced since the console was unveiled two months ago, following APB, Huxley, and Final Fantasy XI (which is already available for the PC and PlayStation 2). By comparison, the only high-profile MMORPG for the current-generation Xbox was the now-canceled True Fantasy Live Online, although there are rumors the game will be resurrected for the 360.
31 comments
out of the 300,000 speculated MMO projects yearly, only one or two are ever released. don't let gamespot hype you up for something that WILL NOT HAPPEN.
Actually glad this game was canceled, Cryptic Studios was just going to butcher the franchise anyways.
You know what's interesting? even though i am a 360 fan... i can say that an i think everyone would agree... the xbox wasn't as good as ps2.... the xbox 360 caught up with the ps3 and while...to be honest...ps3 smtimes beats it with its exclusive it is an important competitor...so as u can see year by year xbox is catching up with ps... note that playstation wsa in the gaming industry way before xbox..it's a shame to see all this work go to waste with next gen consoles ...
If done right this will be AWESOME. I can't wait. Going to have to kiss that social life of mine goodbye.
=D =D =D =D =D =D =D =D =D =D =D =D =D =D =D =D =D =D =D =D =D CANT WAIT !!!!! DC SUCKS!!
1 Like DC owns marvel, maybe not in today's day in age, but if you think of the two most popular Comic book characters...Batman and Superman!?!?!? they are from DC. Plus The Joker is arguably the greatest villain in comic book history!!! DC owns!
@Whitem1ke You are a an idiot, and you should feel bad. That being said, DC Universe Online is an excellent MMORPG. That is all.
Marvel sued City of Heros...pffft. So what if you can create characters close to Marvel's characters...you can never get them to look exactly alike, plus, you can never get the powers exactly alike....even if you do, that character is lost amongst zillions of other characters. This, the xbox 360, and the long wait makes me want to go buy City of Heroes. It is dirt cheap now.
marvel and dc need to hurry up and merge. its bound to happen soon or later...maybe not in my lifetime. think about it. ufc and pride, wwf and wcw and ecw, sprint and nextel, at&t and cingular. superman vs the incredible hulk would be sweet!
I wonder if people will make their own heroes, or use Marvel Heroes. Action RPG, or server turn based?
On the official Marvel website, it says that the game will be coming out for Vista, the new Windows OS. That spells PC release to me.
Damnit, I was hoping marvel would go with sony. Thats one less reason for me to get PS3, unless Ubisoft brings back prince of persia and somehow manages to cram one more adventure down our throats (which woudln't make any sense according to the end of pop3, although that game still kicks ass no matter what they do with it). Oh well, I'll start saving up now since Xbox 360s won't be back in stores for another million years....oh yeah, almost forgot, DC SUCKS!!! :)
This move is going to really disappoint a vast majority of gamers. We own PC's, not consoles. Rethink this, Microsoft and Marvel. If DC puts its product out on both consoles (PS3) and PC, Marvel will fall behind in that war right away. An online PC Marvel game is what I've been waiting for since they started making MMORPG's, and now this news that it will only be produced for the XBox 360? Pfft. I think I'll become a new fan of DC. Why would you NOT make this for the PC too? Makes no sense. None.
Game with all the characters from the marvel universe would be awesome to say the least. I hope they work overtime to get it out to us gamers.
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Marvel Universe Online
- Publisher(s): Microsoft Game Studios
- Developer(s): Cryptic Studios
- Genre: Role-Playing
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