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Microsoft to develop Xbox 360 Marvel MMO

T

thorns

Banned
http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuo...tfh86269_2005-07-14_05-01-16_n7d495688_newsml

Microsoft and Marvel ink online game deal
Thu Jul 14, 2005 01:01 AM ET
By Lisa Baertlein

SAN FRANCISCO, July 14 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. said on Thursday it won exclusive rights to develop and publish multiplayer online games starring Marvel Enterprises Inc.'s super heroes, including Spider-man, the X-men and the Hulk.

The deal covers massively multiplayer online (MMO) game titles developed for Microsoft's upcoming Xbox 360 gaming console and published by the software giant's game studio.

The deal is Marvel's first MMO pact. The first title is expected in 2008.

"This is our one and only," Tim Rothwell, worldwide president of the Consumer Media Group at Marvel Enterprises, told Reuters, referring to the MMO pact.

The MMO deal is Microsoft's (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) first for a console, although the company has previously had MMO deals for the PC.

MMO games allow players in various locations to compete. Such game play is popular with PC gamers in Asia. Some analysts estimate that as many as 2 million people are MMO game players

Online capabilities will be central to new game consoles and Microsoft sees MMO games as a large opportunity.

The Xbox 360, Microsoft's next-generation game console, is due out this fall. The company launched Xbox Live, a fee-based online console gaming network, in November.

"Online gaming is reaching a point of acceptance. We will use as many of the Marvel characters as we can" in the MMO game, said Peter Moore, corporate vice president of worldwide marketing and publishing for Microsoft's Xbox.
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Shit, MS is basically pouring money into the industry.

I wonder who's developing it?

On other news, Sigil games is looking for console programmers..
 
One thing for sure, Xbox 360 won't be short on MMOGs..

FFXI, Huxley, APB, new Sqenix MMOG, Marvel MMOG , probably Vanguard and maybe TFLO..
 
That sounds exciting for a press release, but I'd have to wait until 2008? That's a bummer, to be sure. That said, I hope to hear details on the size of this massively multiplayer world when the time is right, not to mention how many characters from various works we may see.
 
xbox and ps2 were supposed to have their fair share of mmorpg's too. id rather play them on a console than a PC but im not holding my breath.
 
thorns said:
One thing for sure, Xbox 360 won't be short on MMOGs..

FFXI, Huxley, APB, new Sqenix MMOG, Marvel MMOG , probably Vanguard and maybe TFLO..
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That was supposedly going to happen with Xbox, and every last one got cancelled.

At least they're setting realistic expectations for when this one might make it out the door.

On the plus side, that must have been a helluva expensive license to pick up, so they're less likely to let it go to waste.
 
thorns said:
Interesting note: SOE is developing a DC based MMORPG for PC (and probably PS3):)
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unless things have changed, SOE doesn't carry allegience with it's own company exactly.

Star Wars Galaxies was announced for Xbox but was eventually cancelled. So it could probably go either way.
 
Holeeeshit. Long ways off, but then I remember when the Star Wars RPG with Bioware was announced (about two years ahead of release) and that one sure turned out well.

Another feather in the 360's cap.

The Xbox 360, Microsoft's next-generation game console, is due out this fall. The company launched Xbox Live, a fee-based online console gaming network, in November.
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WHAT
 
I wouldn't wait for a DC MMO announcement on 360. I asked SOE straight up when the deal was made and they said 'Uh, our name kind of prevents that.'
 
eXxy said:
I wouldn't wait for a DC MMO announcement on 360. I asked SOE straight up when the deal was made and they said 'Uh, our name kind of prevents that.'
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they were going to bring SWG to the Xbox though
 
Great. Comic book characters in an RPG. A MMO one at that. I can hardly stop myself from calling everyone I know and filling them in on this truly glorious news. My grandkids will look back at this day and be amazed that I was alive to witness it.

...

Oh happy day.
 
Odysseus said:
Great. Comic book characters in an RPG. A MMO one at that. I can hardly stop myself from calling everyone I know and filling them in on this truly glorious news. My grandkids will look back at this day and be amazed that I was alive to witness it.

...

Oh happy day.
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Just a note - you're terrible at sarcasm.
 
Agent Icebeezy said:
they were going to bring SWG to the Xbox though
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LUCAS ARTS was going to bring it to the Xbox, not SONY

You won't see a sony online rpg, developed and published by SOE on a Xbox platform, period.
 
Only thing about a comic book license is that its impossible to please all the comic book fans in one game...still i hope this turns out well, I hope they take advantage of the fact they dont have to cater for narrowband users by taking things a bit further towards an action game.
 
Great. Comic book characters in an RPG. A MMO one at that.
Click to expand...

Eh, I'd say City of Heroes turned out well. No one says it has to be an RPG just because it's an MMO.
 
sangreal said:
Nothing, since it was cancelled for the PS2 as well.
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Well that only makes sense since there was no hard drive to support the game, and HD owners would already be locked into FFXI.

At the end of the day, it still seems a little ridiculous to claim that a CANCELLED project from 3 years ago should override the developer explicitly stating that it's not gonna happen. SWG was technically Lucasarts' property, and they could put it where they wanted. It will be a different scenario with this new game.
 
border said:
Well that only makes sense since there was no hard drive to support the game, and HD owners would already be locked into FFXI.

At the end of the day, it still seems a little ridiculous to claim that a CANCELLED project from 3 years ago should override the developer explicitly stating that it's not gonna happen. SWG was technically Lucasarts' property, and they could put it where they wanted. It will be a different scenario with this new game.
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For the record, I have no delusions of the DC mmo coming to the xbox 360
 
border said:
Well that only makes sense since there was no hard drive to support the game, and HD owners would already be locked into FFXI.

At the end of the day, it still seems a little ridiculous to claim that a CANCELLED project from 3 years ago should override the developer explicitly stating that it's not gonna happen. SWG was technically Lucasarts' property, and they could put it where they wanted. It will be a different scenario with this new game.
Click to expand...
I think the point was that if it was categorically impossible for SOE to develop a game on a non-Sony platform, they would not have announced the Xbox version to begin with. In that instance, Lucasarts required the game to be on all online platforms to maximize the audience for it. In this instance, it is plausible that Warner imposed the same requirement.
 
Full PR:

Microsoft and Marvel Sign Worldwide Licensing Agreement for Massively Multiplayer Online Game Development
Thursday July 14, 9:00 am ET
Entertainment Titans Team Up to Create Virtual Persistent Universe Featuring Marvel's Renowned Stable of More Than 5,000 Characters; Games to Be Available for Xbox 360

SAN DIEGO, July 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today at Comic-Con International, the world's largest comic book convention, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT - News) and Marvel Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: MVL - News) announced a licensing agreement that will team the entertainment powerhouse Marvel with Microsoft's proven creative and technology success in the interactive gaming space. Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft has obtained the exclusive rights to develop and publish massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) featuring Marvel's iconic universe of Super Heroes(TM) for use in games developed for the Xbox 360(TM) system and published by Microsoft Game Studios.

"Marvel has created some of the most iconic and exciting characters and stories in the past century. We're thrilled to bring this universe to interactive entertainment," said Peter Moore, corporate vice president of Worldwide Marketing and Publishing for Xbox at Microsoft. "With this next generation of gaming, Marvel fans will finally have the ability to create choices with their favorite Super Heroes, villains and creatures in unbelievable detail -- all with the power of Marvel's incredible vision and the Xbox® platform."

Marvel's stable of Super Heroes is known throughout the world and their epic stories have been forever etched into popular culture. Though originating in comic form, the Marvel myths have been a force in feature films, television shows and video games such as best-selling titles based on the Spider-Man, X-Men and Hulk franchises.

MMOGs, which enable thousands of players to interact online simultaneously, represent one of the biggest areas of growth for the multibillion-dollar interactive entertainment industry. The Marvel-based titles will be developed for the Xbox 360 console platform.

"The alliance with Microsoft catapults us into the games category in an unprecedented way. Microsoft is an acknowledged leader in the interactive game space, and backed by their technology, creative and marketing clout, Marvel will establish a strong presence in the burgeoning online gaming arena," said Tim Rothwell, worldwide president of the Consumer Media Group at Marvel Enterprises. "We are very excited to be working with Microsoft to bring our fans what we expect will be a world-class online gaming experience. We also believe online gaming will provide valuable, global exposure to our character brands."

Further details regarding Microsoft and Marvel's MMOG titles will be released in the coming months.
Click to expand...
 
So Sony grabbed DC a bit back, and MS grabs Marvel....

I'm reading a news article from last month that says:

DC's won't be the first superhero MMO game. In 2002, Marvel Enterprises Inc. signed a worldwide licensing agreement with Vivendi Universal Publishing to create an MMO based on Marvel's more than 4,700 other characters, including Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk and the X-Men. According to a Vivendi spokeswoman, that project is currently on hold.
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So what happened to the Vivendi deal? I guess it was on hold because the relationship was about to be terminated....

EDIT:

The deal is Marvel's first MMO pact. The first title is expected in 2008.
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Eh but that's not true... it's not marvels first MMO deal.... it's their 2nd.
 
Well what do you know, this is yet another EGM rumour that came true.

I'm going to start reading EGM Rumour mill section more closely.
 
Awesome! I've been reading a lot of graphic novels from both Marvel and DC, and there are so many characters that are lesser known than the likes of Batman, Superman, etc, but they're still really coll characters.
 
ManCalledNova25.gif



hfh01.jpg



Sold +1
 
Well Marvel's IP is definitely more recognizable to the casual... but that may not mean much, because in the end it's really going to come down to what teams get assigned to these products and how "fun" and "easy to get in to" product they put out...

If either side is smart they'll definitely look and see what NCSoft has done right and wrong with City of Heroes/Villains.
 
The problem is that the MMOG will never be released. These games are very expensive and require huge teams to develop, maintain, and would require an extra subscription ontop of Xbox Live. I'm not sure console players are ready to pay $30 a month to play one game on top of the $60 that they're going to spend buying it.

I also dont' think consoles are equiped to handle an MMOG without a keyboard.
 
Ulairi said:
The problem is that the MMOG will never be released. These games are very expensive and require huge teams to develop, maintain, and would require an extra subscription ontop of Xbox Live. I'm not sure console players are ready to pay $30 a month to play one game on top of the $60 that they're going to spend buying it.

I also dont' think consoles are equiped to handle an MMOG without a keyboard.
Click to expand...

What makes you think it's going to cost $30 a month? City of Heroes runs $14.95 per month, The Matrix Online runs... $14.99 I think, and MxO part of SOE's Station Access pass runs $21.95 a month... but that also includes EverQuest, EverQuest II, Star Wars Galaxies, PlanetSide, and EverQuest Online Adventures for the PlayStation 2. Also, both the X360 and PS3 have USB ports, so popping a keyboard in isn't an issue... at the very least the X360 will support voice right out the box.
 
Ulairi said:
The problem is that the MMOG will never be released. These games are very expensive and require huge teams to develop, maintain, and would require an extra subscription ontop of Xbox Live. I'm not sure console players are ready to pay $30 a month to play one game on top of the $60 that they're going to spend buying it.

I also dont' think consoles are equiped to handle an MMOG without a keyboard.
Click to expand...

1.) MMOGs don't require an xbox live subscription.
2.) It will probably cost $10-$15/month
3.) It's developed with consoles in mind, will do fine without a keyboard.
 
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