Marvel MMO officially cancelled

[Akira]

There were rumors and speculation, but following DICE, Shane Kim has confirmed the cancellation:

“Marvel Universe Online“

Microsoft announced in September 2006 that “City of Heroes” makers Cryptic Studios would develop a massively multiplayer game set in the Marvel Comics universe. But last November, rumors swirled that development of the game had been shut down.

First, I asked if the game was truly canceled. He said: “I’ll confirm. Marvel and we have agreed to end development on the MMO. It was an amicable decision…. It’s just something that we felt that, for us and for them, it would be better if we ended development. Which is disappointing, because that had a lot of promise. But sometimes you have to make these decisions.”

Cue the natural follow-up: What went wrong?

“I don’t think it’s necessarily a case of what went wrong,” Kim told me. “I don’t know that that’s the right way to put it. For us we look at our priorities and all of the things we have to do. It’s a tough space. It’s a very competitive space. And it’s a space that’s changing quite a bit. …When we first entered into the development and agreement of the development of ‘Marvel Universe Online,’ we thought we would create another subscription-based MMO. And if you really look at the data there’s basically one that’s successful and everything else wouldn’t meet our level or definition of commercial success. And then you have to look [and say]: ‘Can we change the business model for that? Is that really viable given how far we are in development? And so forth. Does Marvel want to do that?’ There’s a whole bunch of factors.”

I asked if he meant that he would have wanted — but was too far in development — to consider other business models for the Marvel MMO such as an ad-supported version. “Item-based or transaction- based,” he chimed in, expanding the possibilities further. “Clearly there are emerging models that have come about. At the end of the day, all of those combined for us to say, look, it’s probably in the interest of both parties for us not to continue.”

Kim made it clear the Marvel project is done, but said that the cessation of development of two MMO’s during his tenure — the other being “True Fantasy Live Online” — wouldn’t discourage him from greenlighting a new one, “if the right opportunity came along.”
http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/02/11/microsofts-shane-kim-on-fable-2-why-marvel-mmo-was-canceled-and-more/

Kinda sucks as this was one of the major 360 exclusives I was looking forward to.

[Ryudo]

Lame!

[NickT]

Kindof dissapointed, but at the same time I don't own a 360 and still reguarly play COH.

[Jim T.]

I can't imagine anyone sinking major money into an MMO these days. WoW is so far ahead and everyone else is just picking up the crumbs.

[NickT]

I can't imagine anyone sinking major money into an MMO these days. WoW is so far ahead and everyone else is just picking up the crumbs.
WOW is so far ahead that it is almost irrellevent. The crumbs are still profitable crumbs.

[Foolish Mortal]

I can't imagine anyone sinking major money into an MMO these days. WoW is so far ahead and everyone else is just picking up the crumbs.
Unless it's a major breakthrough in concept and design, I would agree.

The Marvel MMO just sounded like it was going to be City of Heroes with a Marvel palette slapped on it.

[NickT]

Sidenote btw, Cryptic don't have City of Heroes any more.

[Forrest]

They were just scared of the DCU MMO. :twisted:

[Smokinblues]

They were just scared of the DCU MMO. :twisted:
No reason to be. At first it was being developed by Sony, who has doing nothing but fuck up just about every MMO they got their hands on. (See Star Wars Galaxies). And now it's being developed by the publisher of the the CoH game. Even if they did have some of the original CoH developers, there was no real reason to be afraid of it. There was nothing really groundbreaking about CoH. It was a really fun, really shallow game. If anything it was a stripped down mmo.

[aj110]

CoH was a great beginner MMO. Not complicated, not deep, but it got you into the genre and gave you a great time till you were ready to step into something bigger.

[Akira]

It was a really fun, really shallow game. If anything it was a stripped down mmo.
Which would be perfect for a console MMO

[Smokinblues]

Which would be perfect for a console MMO
maybe, but that's not the point. the point is there's nothing about a stripped down MMO that is so unique that anybody can't do it. no reason to be afraid of it. no reason to hold the developers of a stripped down MMO up on some pedestal or something.

[Matt Jay]

This is bullshit! You can't play WoW on a console! They had a perfectly unique market for this and it's a completely different product with a different appeal! Someone fucked up and they're just covering their asses. Dammit. :surrend:

[Akira]

maybe, but that's not the point. the point is there's nothing about a stripped down MMO that is so unique that anybody can't do it. no reason to be afraid of it. no reason to hold the developers of a stripped down MMO up on some pedestal or something.
Fair enough. I was just looking forward to a console MMO by someone wth experiance making a previously sucessfull MMO.

[Cth]

Probably because of how they wanted to reflect Civil War and the sort in the game, but things are progressing entirely too quickly at Marvel to reflect things in an MMO.

[WinterRose]

Developing a good new MMO is still possible. Blizzard did indeed get the balance just about optimized for a quick an dirty, but immersive Fantasy Game for WinXP. NCSoft has pretty much done the same thing with CoX and Hero based games. The folks doing Eve Online have the space shooter mmo pretty much sewn right the hell up. (With recent advancements, I hear that Eve is looking a lot like BSG graphics now.)

But that's all for stuff on the WinXP platform. With graphic advancements like DirectX10 and 64 bit processors with several cores, the potential to make a more immersive experience is blooming fast. And there's several genres that haven't seen good exploitation yet in what has become a very rich biz.

I'm waiting for a good Sci-Fi mmo. There've been good contenders. Anarchy Online's great if you're fine with graphics from 1999. Star Wars Galaxies had great potential, but was fatally botched by Sony Online Entertainment. And since... Well... I still haven't really looked too hard into Entropia Universe yet. It sounds interesting. It also sounds like it's a cross between an graphically enabled MUCK and an MMO. Anarchy Online Meets Second Life. I've just been too busy, and I'm a casual gamer as far as MMO's go.

There's also the Cyberpunk genre. If Microsoft were to extrude its brains from its anterior rectal orifice and license someone to develop Shadowrun as an MMO, the last anyone might see of me is me waving as I descended into it, never to return. Alas... Still. The genre of that whole near-future dystopian cyberpunky brave new world post-apocalyptic kind of world has been pretty much UNtouched as far as MMO's go. I'm not sure The Matrix Online quite counts. Is it even still running?

I would imagine that the horror-based folks have been waiting for a darn good MMO to engage them as well. A world where a Zombie Apocalypse has taken place? Or perhaps a White Wolf MMO for all those goth types out there that don't want to use the engines in their previous masquerade releases to make their own. Or a call of Cthulhu type world perhaps? No need to negotiate for rights when it comes to the idea of a world run riot with monsters and every dark myth made real, and a human race that has to fight to survive, or be meat for the beast.

World of Warcraft is a pretty phenomenal success. Once upon a time, so was Everquest. And we all know what happened there. Things moved on. Mistakes were made. Challengers appeared. Computers got better. And we all moved on to bigger and brighter things.

There's room in the genre for all manner of new development and exploitation. Someone just has to find the right niche, genre or concept to develop. If the execution of that development really strikes a chord and they get it right, things can only get better for the players.

----------------------

And as far as the Marvel MMO went... I was pretty much saying back when Marvel was trying to sue NCSoft & Cryptic, "Umm.. A Marvel MMO's not gonna work. The scenario works like this: Parent or Gramma gets kid the Marvel MMO. Kid installs and starts the free month on the front. WTF?? I can't play Wolverine or Iron Man? I can't play any of the actual Marvel heroes? This sux. If I wanted to play my own people I'd have stuck with City of Heroes. Lame. You fail at Superhero MMO's. *un-install* *Boots CoX*"

[Masculine Todd]

Bummer. I was looking forward to it.

[Keith P.]

I'd love a decent Sci Fi/Cyberpunk MMO.


So tired of the same Tolkienesque crap.

I have played EQ1 and EQ2. Did a trial of D&D online. LOTR Online. WoW, CoH/CoX.

The only two that really sucked me in was EQ1 and WoW.

And WoW is basically EQ1, with all the bad stuff that was horrible taken out and a better
interface.

[Cth]

I would imagine that the horror-based folks have been waiting for a darn good MMO to engage them as well. A world where a Zombie Apocalypse has taken place? Or perhaps a White Wolf MMO for all those goth types out there that don't want to use the engines in their previous masquerade releases to make their own. Or a call of Cthulhu type world perhaps? No need to negotiate for rights when it comes to the idea of a world run riot with monsters and every dark myth made real, and a human race that has to fight to survive, or be meat for the beast.


360 & PC exclusive.

:D

THE SECRET WORLD

Durham, USA - From the creators of 'Age of Conan', 'Anarchy Online', 'The Longest Journey' and 'Dreamfall' comes a brave new massively multiplayer online role-playing game for the PC and Xbox 360. Taking place on our earth, in our times, 'The Secret World' (TSW) is inspired by history and mythology, modern conspiracy theories and ancient mysteries.

For there really is a world within ours, a secret world, where magic exists, monsters roam and ancient forces are fighting for the dominance of earth. It is a world of legendary stories, ageless conflicts and powerful cabals. In this world, even modern cities hide secrets. In this world, players can take part in the greatest conspiracies of our age, and battle the forces of darkness across the world and throughout time.

"We started envisioning this contemporary online world more than ten years ago, and as the years passed the ideas grew and improved," said Ragnar T rnquist, Producer and Director on 'The Secret World'. "We always wanted a different kind of online world, something scary and contemporary, something deeper and closer to our reality. Our goal now is to create a detailed world where players feel empowered and part of something big, something mystical and epic."

"We believe there are millions of gamers out there who want to explore something beyond traditional fantasy and sci-fi games," said Trond Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom. "'The Secret World' is just that - a fantastic new setting that will fuel the imagination of online gamers, and keep players busy for years. We have a golden opportunity to bring something fresh and exciting to the genre, and we firmly believe the game is an ideal extension of Funcom's MMO portfolio."

'The Secret World' has been in development since last summer and the game is in a playable state. It is produced at the Funcom studios in Oslo and Beijing. A release date is not being announced at this point, but players are already getting involved in the fast-growing community. Through a complex web-based mystery launched on May 6th, players are being led to a series of websites, including www.DarkDaysAreComing.com, where - after solving a puzzle - concept art from the game is being unveiled.

As a gamer you can become a member of the first wave community, and through pioneer forums you can discuss and explore the intriguing backstory. To access the forums and learn more about the mystery make sure you check out: http://www.darkdemonscrygaia.com/

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-9/371835/360mmo.JPG

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-9/371835/untitled2.JPG

[Amedeo]

I'm actually pretty relieved. Now I don't have to be disappointed when the game comes out....though I guess it could have been amazing....oh well!

[BENDIS!]

one day i will speak of this.

[Jim T.]

one day i will speak of this.

Tease...

[BCD]

I would imagine that the horror-based folks have been waiting for a darn good MMO to engage them as well. A world where a Zombie Apocalypse has taken place?

I'm not a horror or mmo person, but that sounds like a fun ass game.

[Dreaded Anomaly]

I would imagine that the horror-based folks have been waiting for a darn good MMO to engage them as well. A world where a Zombie Apocalypse has taken place? Or perhaps a White Wolf MMO for all those goth types out there that don't want to use the engines in their previous masquerade releases to make their own. Or a call of Cthulhu type world perhaps? No need to negotiate for rights when it comes to the idea of a world run riot with monsters and every dark myth made real, and a human race that has to fight to survive, or be meat for the beast.

A White Wolf Mage-based MMO would be amazing. Their system is so much more intuitive and flexible than AD&D. I've never played WoW, but something like that might break my resolve.

[NickT]

A world where a Zombie Apocalypse has taken place?
I think that would be cool, set it in a big city and have zombie populations roam and the like. Problem is that they'd need to have enough to get people paying a monthly fee for years, I can't see where in a game like that.

[Matt Jay]

one day i will speak of this.

I would love to hear it. There's got to be more to this.

[thatguyfromsyracuse]

one day i will speak of this.

How about tomorrow?