marvel posts

The big business story of the day (and maybe one of the biggest entertainment stories of the year) happened today when Disney announced that it is planning to acquire Marvel Entertainment, by far the biggest comic book publisher, for about $4 billion. This new deal will likely affect all sorts of entertainment properties including video games.

Disney already operates their own video game company in Disney Interactive and it's possible that future Marvel Comics-based games could be published via that company. Marvel has spread out its characters and properties across several publishers including THQ, Sega, Activision and Gazillion (who is making the Marvel Universe MMO). It remains to be seen if Disney will allow current Marvel game licenses to run out or if they plan to take over those licenses.

Update: In a conference call announcing the deal, games were indeed mentioned with execs stating that Disney will likely have a mix of third party publishers handling Marvel games alongside their own self-published titles. When current third party licensing deals expire, Disney will look to see what's best for their company before they decide whether to renew those agreements.

Patch updates Spider-man: Web of Shadows to version 1.1, fixing bugs and improving game performance.

Download Spider-man: Web of Shadows v.1.1 Patch (20 MB)
Check out all Spider-man: Web of Shadows downloads

Marvel Comics has a ton of upcoming games coming up, mostly from Activision with games like Spider-Man: Web of Shadows and an upcoming game based on the Wolverine move due out in the next 12 months. However it looks like Marvel is teasing us with an image that suggests a new Punisher game is coming soon.

The image above was shown on the official Marvel comic web site this week; specifically in their video game blog where the title said simply, "Feel Free to Speculate." The image clearly shows Marvel's favorite vigilante surrounded by bodies, some of which have the Punisher's logo. The last game to star the character was THQ's 2005 third person action game of the same name. It's currently unknown if THQ still retains the rights to make Punisher games.

The latest trailer for Spider-man: Web of Shadows gives everyone a deeper look into what the game is all about and how far the infection spreads. Web of Shadows will pit Spider-man against a world of infected citizens, which forces him to tap into some dark-side powers from his alien costume. Spidey won't be fighting alone, since the trailer clearly shows Wolverine lending his claws to the not-so-friendly neighborhood Spider-man's cause. This trailer premiered at the 2008 Comic-Con in San Diego.

Download the Spider-man: Web of Shadows HD Trailer

It seems turning adult characters into cute cartoon kids equals box office; the Backyard Baseball line of games has been using that premise for years. Now Marvel Comics and THQ are moving into that genre with a line up of games called Marvel Super Hero Squad. The first game is set for release in 2009 for the PC and other platforms.

Targeting the ever picky 4-10 age group, Marvel Super Hero Squad takes place in Super Hero City where heavily cartooned style versions of Wolverine, Spider-Man and other heroes battle equally cartoony versions of villains like Doctor Doom and the Abomination. Presumably Wolverine's claws won't be cutting into the Abomination's flesh in this incarnation. Look for Marvel to really push this brand heavily with Marvel Super Hero Squad action figures, toys and an animated TV series due for release as well.

Gamers anxious to step into Spider-Man's wise-cracking, wall-scaling boots are getting a new game earlier than expected. Although Spider-Man 3 was mediocre, Treyarch has a chance to redeem themselves with the newest installment (which was previously only rumored), Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, which is going to be on every current system.

There's no concrete information, although it has been hinted that the player will be able to change the outcome of the story as well as decide who they want to ally with. How it pans out will be interesting, especially on the wake of the Civil War crossover (which had Spidey switching sides halfway through). Check out the official site and decide for yourself.

[Via IGN]