Sega Snags Iron Man License
Let the two years of hype begin!
by
Hilary Goldstein
November 6, 2006 - In a surprise announcement, Sega revealed it had wrestled the Iron Man license from Activision. Several years ago, when the Iron Man feature film was expected to release in 2006 or 2007, Activision had secured the rights to make a game based on the film. Developer Z-Axis, originally scheduled to make the game for Activision, can take a breather. Sega has the exclusive rights to make games based on both the Iron Man film and the comic book.
Sega offered no details on the future games, other than stating that its first title, based on the movie, would be coming to next-gen platforms in spring 2008. The film, which stars Robert Downey, Jr. as eccentric alcoholic Tony Stark and Terrence Howard as Jim "War Machine" Rhodes, is Marvel's first self-financed movie.
"Marvel is recognized as one of the world's leaders in the entertainment industry and Sega is excited to be publishing the next-gen interactive entertainment based on Iron Man, the first Marvel Studios project being brought to the widescreen," said Sega of America President and COO Simon Jeffery. "The Iron Man history is filled with compelling and intriguing characters and stories and with the power of the next-gen systems, Sega will be bringing these characters to life like never before."
"Sega is an excellent partner to bring our Iron Man franchise to the next generation consoles," said David Maisel, Executive Vice President, Office of the Chief Executive of Marvel Entertainment. "Sega is a powerful force in the video game space and has always been on the cutting edge of the industry. We are very excited to be bringing Iron Man to theaters in 2008 and to team with a great partner to simultaneously introduce Iron Man to the video game world."
The acquisition of the Iron Man license does not exclude the classic character from appearing in the upcoming Marvel MMO from Microsoft. However, it likely mean Iron Man won't make an appearance should Activision release a sequel to Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.
It is unknown if the future movie or comic-book based games will feature a "Tony Stark is drunk in his suit" mode, but we hold out hope.
"Marvel is recognized as one of the world's leaders in the entertainment industry and Sega is excited to be publishing the next-gen interactive entertainment based on Iron Man, the first Marvel Studios project being brought to the widescreen," said Sega of America President and COO Simon Jeffery. "The Iron Man history is filled with compelling and intriguing characters and stories and with the power of the next-gen systems, Sega will be bringing these characters to life like never before."
