Updates (09/27/06)

[t0xin_ven0m]

Okay, while I was posting on the official Marvel threads earlier today...one of the Marvel staff said that Microsoft is planning to make an announcement on this game this month. I'm so hyped up!

[t0xin_ven0m]

Okay it is official now: Marvel, Microsoft, & Cryptic Studios (if you will remember, Marvel had a big battle with them not to long ago over City Of Heroes) will be producing the Marvel Universe MMORPG.

Here's more of the article:

Fans who suggested that are getting the last laugh today, as it was announced at X06 that Cryptic will join Marvel and Microsoft Game Studios (their partnership was announced last summer) in developing a Marvel Universe MMO for both the Xbox 360 and Windows platform, and will allow seamless play for players on either system.

“For us, this is a very exciting announcement for multiple reasons – one of the first is that the Marvel Intellectual Property is universally recognizable,” Frank Pape, Senior Director of Business Development, Microsoft Game Studios told Newsarama. “We believe that it transcends the boundaries that currently exist on cross-platform on the two different audiences that you seem to find on both platforms. We believe that this can transcend that, and bring a new, fresh experience to the players on the MMO space on console, and Cryptic is our first choice, and the best choice we could have possible made to develop this game. We’re very lucky to have had them sign on to develop the game. They’ve had a great track record in delivering MMOs such as City of Heroes and City of Villains – both highly rated and highly successful games; as well as having games developed in a very timely fashion.”

While the parties declined to discuss how former legal sparring partners turned into business partners (“We call it water under the bridge,” Pape said), it was suggested that Marvel and Microsoft were pursuing Cryptic.

“There has been a very vibrant discussion with trying to get Cryptic to sign on as the developer, and both Marvel and Microsoft were very interested in having them become our partner, and that’s been going on for many months,” Pape said. “The deal was signed a couple of months back, and now we’re ready to announce it to the world so everybody knows what they can expect to see out of the Marvel MMO. It’s been going on for a while – these things take time, but it’s time very well spent.”

According to Ames Kirshen, Vice President of Interactive, Marvel Entertainment, the Marvel characters are the perfect choice to make the jump between the platforms. “The Marvel IP is the perfect IP to break the stereotype of MMOs,” Kirshen told Newsarama. “They’re primarily fantasy based and have been primarily on the PC – almost completely on the PC. The Marvel IP is the perfect IP to break that mold, bring it to the console, and have it be a very different experience than the MMOs that are on the market right now.

“That being said, we’re still developing it simultaneously for both platforms, and it’s up to the wizardry and magic of the guys at Cryptic to have it appeal to both audiences, and I can’t imagine a developer who’s better equipped to do that than Cryptic is.”

Jack Emmert, Creative Director, Cryptic Studios: “We’re committed to making sure that we capture the Marvel experience, and you can ask comic writers like Mark Waid, Ed Brubaker and Brian Bendis about my knowledge of Marvel, and they will attest to it, because we’ve met and talked over the years – as well as my passion of the Marvel properties.

“One of my frustrations of the past, although certainly not recently is that superhero games are not really that linked to the Marvel Universe. It doesn’t feel like it – although that’s obviously changed with games like Ultimate Spider-Man which is just so awesome, because it felt just like the comic. So what I’m focusing on as Creative Director is making sure we capture what is it like to open up a Marvel Comic today? Every Wednesday I go to the store. I read about 90 titles a month, and I am on a crusade to make sure to make sure that the game represents the mainstream Marvel Universe. Not the Ultimate Universe, not the Supremeiverse, but earth 616 with the Avengers, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man that we’ve known and loved for decades.”

Not only will the game be set on Earth-616, Emmert stressed that the MMO will reflect current – and changing – continuity.

“This is where Ames and all of Marvel has been great. I have carte blanche to be able to be part of the discussions of what’s going on at Marvel, not just now, but in two years, to make sure that the game properly reflects the IP when it’s released. It’s terrific to talk about ideas that we can have events in the game that reflect events that are going on in the Marvel Universe. A great example of something like that is Civil War – when thing like Civil War happen, the game will reflect that, and Marvel’s been terrific about that.”

Although, Kirshen pointed out, the Marvel MMO won’t strictly adhere to what’s going on in the comics, as with any MMO, the players end up dictating the story, he said, and the Marvel MMO will be no different.

The decision to stick to the current continuity in the Marvel Universe was rooted in the idea of making the game as accessible to as wide an audience as possible, Pape explained.

“When we sat down and all talked and thought about what slice of Marvel we were looking to create or go after, I think to go back and make things based in history, and making the player have to do ‘homework’ so to speak to get up to speed in regards to what the world is that we’re creating just didn’t make sense. It’s a lot easier for the player now to pick up a comic book at a comic shop or bookstore, or go to Marvel.com and get a snapshot feel of what the Marvel Universe is like today, and then just jump into the MMO game and understand what they’re doing.”

And while the game will be accessible to newbies to the Marvel Universe, Emmert said that he wasn’t about to let all his arcane and obscure Marvel knowledge go to waste. “There will be plenty of Easter Eggs, and for the people who really know Marvel, and I consider myself one of them, there will be plenty of hints and suggestions of Marvel’s…even ancient history. But, at the same time, the game has to be accessible to somebody who can just pick up a comic book today. That’s the goal.”

Asked if the Marvel MMO will be a similar flavor to City of Heroes and City of Villains, Emmert said that the assumption that the game will be just like CoH with a Marvel overlay isn’t quite true.

“With City of Heroes, we really had a very different goal in mind than we do with this particular game,” Emmert said. “Certainly, with the technology, we’re doing the next rev on it. The fact that all of our servers were up and running – we didn’t have queues, we didn’t have crashes – those are the important things. That experience will be the same. But in terms of what the player does, the sky’s the limit, and we’re not thinking inside of any box right now. We’re definitely going to expand gameplay and change it and make this game its own.”

As for the most fundamental possible similarity – players creating their own characters, none of the principles would confirm or deny that players will be able to assume the identities of existing heroes or create their own. Although, who would own characters that were created by players, Emmert, Pape, and Kirshen declined to comment.

What Emmert would confirm is that the game will be set in New York City – something that will make it fundamentally Marvel, he said. Additionally, according to Kirshen, Stan Lee and Avi Arad will be in the game as well, giving the players their missions.

Pape stressed that the gameplay between platforms will be seamless, allowing players playing on PC to interact with players on the Xbox 360, something that, when combined with the Marvel characters, will have a serious impact on the MMO market.

“Cryptic’s technology is robust and proven, the Marvel IP is universally recognized, and the Microsoft strength is Xbox Live and our publishing ability,” Pape said. “That’s what makes it unique, and what will bring in millions of users when the game releases. Frankly, this is going to be something fresh, instantly recognizable, very broad based in its appeal, very intriguing, and paired with the right developer to make sure that you can play seamlessly and that you have a killer experience.”

Kirshen: “From the Marvel perspective, this is a big reason why we went with Microsoft as opposed to another game publisher. What they bring to the table in terms of making this game accessible to the masses, both on the Xbox 360 and everything they’re doing there, in addition to the tens of millions of people running Windows and what they’ll be able to do on Vista, and have the two operating systems talking to each other.

“Plus, MMOs are a completely different animal – to publisher for them is not like getting a game on the shelf and walking away. These things are living, breathing entities that require constant updating and logistical resources. Not every publisher has the infrastructure to support this kind of game. Obviously, with Microsoft being the platform owner on the two platforms we’re going out on, in addition to our face and where Microsoft is going with the 360 and ht XBox brand in general were the key factors for us to not be platform agnostic as we have been in the past by going with third parties.”

As is usual with announcements of development teamings, the three declined to even give a guesstimate for a release date of the Marvel Universe MMO, with Pape saying, “When the game is ready and ready to grab the world and invite it to come in and play, then we’ll release it.”