Thor and Captain America game development continues

As part of this week’s financial results Marvel Entertainment confirmed that games based on the upcoming Thor and Captain America movies are in the works at Sega. While this is not particularly fresh news it does show that development - in whatever stage it is in at this points - continues to push forward. A formal announcement about the games was made in April of 2007 by Sega.

The Captain America game is tentatively set for release in July 2011, while the Thor game will be released at right around the same period in the summer. We’ll see.

Sega has not had the best track record with the Marvel license. See our Iron Man review for an example of this. I’ll give you a hint: it might be a blood bath.

Disney to acquire Marvel

The biggest story of the day, if not the month of August, is Disney Company’s announcement this morning that it has agreed to purchase Marvel Entertainment. While this will eventually have a serious impact on a whole series of entertainment properties (like several cartoon series currently running on Viacom’s Nickelodeon) the real important thing to watch is the games and entertainment sector and the contracts Marvel has with companies like Activision and THQ.

The agreement to buy Marvel Entertainment includes a stock and cash transaction, the companies announced today. Under the terms of the agreement (based on the closing price of Disney on August 28, 2009), Marvel shareholders would receive a total of $30 per share in cash plus approximately 0.745 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own. At closing, the amount of cash and stock will be adjusted if necessary so that the total value of the Disney stock issued as merger consideration based on its trading value at that time is not less than 40 percent of the total merger consideration. Based on that closing price, the transaction value is $50 per Marvel share or approximately $4 billion.

Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Marvel including more than 5,000 Marvel characters. Ike Perlmutter, Marvel’s Chief Executive Officer, will oversee the Marvel properties, and will work directly with Disney’s global lines of business to build and further integrate Marvel’s properties. While the boards of both companies have approved this transaction, the deal is still subject to the normal regulatory approval and customary closing conditions - and the approval of Marvel shareholders.

And on a related note, Evan Narcisse has some interesting thoughts on the deal in his latest blog post - check it out.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 now available on PSN

PlayStation 3 owners may be happy to hear that Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is finally available today through PlayStation Network or through a limited retail release exclusively at GameStop in North America for $14.99. The added bonus of picking up the GameStop retail box is that, besides getting a redemption code to download the game over PlayStation Network, consumers get a month’s subscription of digital comics at Marvel.com. Only 15,000 copies of the retail box are available at GameStop, according to Capcom.

You can check out Crispy Gamer’s review for some solid information on the game.

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Marvel vs. Capcom 2 Dated for Xbox Live Arcade

Capcom announced this morning that it will release Marvel vs. Capcom 2 globally as part of Microsoft’s Summer of Arcade through Xbox Live on Wednesday, July 29 for 1200 Microsoft Points.

The latest game in this fighting game where the most popular characters from the Marvel and Capcom universes collide, will offer a total of 56 playable characters such as Ryu from the Street Fighter series, Jill Valentine from the Resident Evil games and the blue bomber, Mega Man. Some of the Marvel characters to be playable in the game include the Invincible Iron Man, Captain America, and War Machine. Best of all, players don’t have to take sides - they can mix and match from both universes in order to create their own ideal three character team-up.

Other features include a new online matching mode, including Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix’s Quarter Match mode; a new and completely optional visual filter features that smoothes out the game’s graphics, and a four button control system that is compatible with the Mad Catz Street Fighter IV joysticks and Fight Pad.

Look for the game at the end of this month.

Marvel Super Hero Squad details

THQ today formally announced Marvel Super Hero Squad, the first video game based on the animated series, The Super Hero Squad Show, scheduled to debut this fall on Cartoon Network. Marvel Super Hero Squad will mark the first title in THQ’s licensing agreement with Marvel Entertainment, and is currently in development for Wii, DS, PS2 and PSP. The game will offer both multiplayer and single player action and adventure using some re-imagined versions of Marvel’s most popular heroes and Villains.
Set in the Marvel Universe, the Super Hero Squad is on a mission against Dr. Doom’s Lethal Legion of villains to recover the hidden Infinity Fractals; fragments of the all-powerful Infinity Sword. Each Infinity Fractal holds power and can give each character special abilities that could alter the game’s rules and playing field. The game offers 20 Marvel characters to mix and match including Captain America, Dr. Doom, Falcon, Hulk, Iron Man, Juggernaut, Ms. Marvel, Silver Surfer, Thing, Thor and Wolverine, to name a few. Players can jump into a battle arena against up to three opponents in Battle Mode, or choose to play through six campaigns based on the animated series in Adventure Mode.

For more information on the Marvel Super Hero Squad video game, visit www.marvelshsgame.com.

Deadpool Movie a Go

Ryan Reynolds will reprise the role of Deadpool, which he recently played in  X-Men Origins: Wolverine film, according to E! Online. The network confirmed with Fox that the film has been green lighted and is in the works. This should prove confusing for fans of the Blade films, who remember him as a wise cracking vampire hunter. Rumors had been circulating about a possible Deadpool solo game title being considered by the developers of the Wolverine movie tie-in game.

Deadpool was created by comic artist Rob Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza, and first appeared in The New Mutants #98 - February 1991. Known affectionately as the “Merc with a Mouth”, Deadpool is a high-tech gun-for-hire known for his healing factor, smart assed remarks, dark comedy, and pop-culture references. He is also tied into the Canadian government’s paramilitary Weapon X program, which created Wolverine - and gave Deadpool his healing abilities.

Since the film is a go, we can expect that Activision is working on something related to this game - even if it is not talking about it.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine Film Sequel Approved?

According to the Variety by way of E! Online, Hugh Jackman’s successful film, X-Men Origins: wolverine has already been green lighted for a sequel. The film worldwide gross is already at $158.2 million and counting, so this isn’t surprising news. Jackman will of course reprise his role as the admantium clawed mad man in the film,  which may be set in Japan with a story arc about samurai. You know what would have been a great idea, film makers? How about not killing the X-Men off in the last movie? Yeah, hindsight is 20/20…

Sales numbers for the game aren’t in yet, but judging by Evan Narcisse’s review, it’s not worth the plastic it is burned onto.

So why mention the film here? Because it will inevitably be made into a video game and more than likely published by Activision. So now you know, and as GI Joe (another film to turned Activision game, for the record) knowing is half the battle.

 

Editor’s note:  edited a portion of the story to clarify a remark about an X-Men comic book story arc.