Sunday, April 8, 2012

THQ a.k.a THQI stock trade Marvel / Disney Connection

Apparently Marvel/Disney doesn't have the resources to develop Marvel Video Games in-house---otherwise why would they have outsourced the game to Ubisoft?  With the licenses expiring the time is (was?) ripe for Marvel to develop games in-house.  They could have bought THQ for pennies on the dollar.  But It appears that Mickey Mouse is just plain Goofy.


UPDATE: 5/10/12 Ubisoft creating ‘Avengers’ video game for Kinect, Wii U
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/ap-newsbreak-ubisoft-assembling-avengers-video-game-for-kinect-wii-u/2012/05/10/gIQA20ORFU_story.html


UPDATE 6: 5/6/2012:   Forbes Again claims Disney Interactive to Produce Marvel Games
http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngaudiosi/2012/05/06/what-disneys-200-million-marvels-the-avengers-opening-weekend-means-for-the-video-games/

yet...  Recently-registered domain name (avengersbattleforearth.com), has sparked speculation that the UbiSoft may publish the game!....

Avengers: Battle for Earth domain points to Ubi tie-in
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/346647/avengers-battle-for-earth-domain-points-to-ubi-tie-in/

To release this thing while Avengers is still burning hot, could UbiSoft http://www.ubi.com buy what has already been produced by THQ and code from there?---Could UbiSoft and THQ play nice together?

Ubisoft talent poaching case Court rules in case sparked by THQ's hiring of former Assassin's Creed boss
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/330124/thq-wins-ubisoft-talent-poaching-case/





Check for yoursefl --- go to geektools.com
and type in
avengersbattleforearth.com

and you will see that

Administrative Contact: Marvel Characters, Inc. 

Domain servers in listed order:
nic1.ubisoft.com
nic2.ubisoft.com



Although Avengers IP reverted back to Marvel, does THQ still own the code for the game they produced?



UPDATE 5: LOL. If you have a problem with a Marvel video game, please contact the product's manufacturer directly.

UPDATE 4: Sega, possibly to save themselves from losing Marvel License tried to acquire the old (Avengers) THQ Development Team http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/11/sega-australia-boss-shows-interest-in-acquiring-ex-thq-talent-do/
Ex-THQ developers form indie studio Three Phase Interactive
http://threephaseinteractive.com/

UPDATE 3: Marvel Games @ MarvelBlip on Twitter
Run by Marvel Studios' own Chris Baker (), Eric Adams and Todd 'TQ' Jefferson. All Marvel games, all the time.
https://twitter.com/#!/marvelblip   {Just trying to figure out an org chart here - so is Marvel or Disney running the show for Marvel Video Games?   Why isn't Disney Interactive sending out Twitter Messages and Marvel Studios is?}---BTW "Sr. Games Manager at Marvel Entertainment" Eric Adams used to be a "Sr. Producer" at THQ.  While at Marvel Eric Supervised the licensing side of production for THQ's Marvel Super Hero Squad console games and was the lead on THQ's canceled Avengers game.
 UPDATE 2: Disney Interactive lays off 200 as video game unit shifts focus (Article From 2011)
Co-Presidents John Pleasants and James Pitaro announce a sweeping reorganization of the group's money-losing digital media division, including the closure of a development studio.
"...{Disney} shifts away from expensive console games to focus on online and mobile entertainment...."
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jan/26/business/la-fi-ct-disney-interactive-20110126

UPDATE 1: 4/21/2012 FORBES: More Marvel The Avengers Games Heading Home Soon From Disney
"Once Disney bought the comic book giant, they switched all game development to Disney Interactive."
http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngaudiosi/2012/04/21/more-marvel-the-avengers-games-heading-home-soon-from-disney/


 

Updated 4/11/2012

Video Game Company THQ (Ticker Symbol THQI) market capitalization , once $2 billion, dips below $35 million

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2012/04/thq-market-value-once-2-billion-dips-below-35-million.html

Sega lost its licenses to produce video games for Marvel and now Marvel is ...looking for publishing opportunities...

"previously reported in September 2011 that the license for the characters had reverted back to Marvel – hence, no more Sega – and that they were looking for publishing opportunities from other potential partners. With Jefferson hinting at incoming announcements, perhaps they found someone?"
http://gamerant.com/marvel-movie-video-games-sega-robk-137564/


THQ cancelled their latest Marvel game to concentrate on their own intellectual property. Marvel seeks new home for THQ cancelled avengers game
September 21 2011
http://www.insidegamingdaily.com/2011/09/21/marvel-seeks-new-home-for-thq-cancelled-avengers-game/

I suspect that the opportunity Marvel is looking for is to produce Video Games "in-house" and the smartest and easiest way to do so is with a THQ acquisition.

Here is an interview with TQ Jefferson, VP games production for Marvel

Q: What role do video games play today for Marvel?

Jefferson: Over the past decade or so, video games have become more and more important as a means to reach out to existing fans, find new ones and to innovate in the ways that we present our characters and tell stories.

Q: Will Sega still be making Thor, Captain America and Iron Man games?
Jefferson: There are no current plans for additional Marvel games to be published by Sega.

{Marvel seems to be displeased with LICENSED games}

Q: Do you think we're seeing fewer movie-licensed games today in the industry, and why do comics seem to be the exception?

Jefferson: In my opinion, the biggest afflictions affecting movie-licensed games is the amount of development time and a strict adherence to retelling the story of the film in the form of a game. The former is easy to understand -- less development time means less time to design, produce and polish the game, resulting in a poor or lesser-quality experience. The latter is a little more subtle, but I can sum it up thusly: ... In order to hit the expected amount of gameplay, you need to embellish, add additional characters, story, subplots and objectives to make a more robust and satisfying experience. That’s where a lot of movie licenses fall down – lack of content.

SOURCE: Hollywood Reporter
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/marvel-games-avengers-amazing-spider-man-gdc-tq-jefferson-296842

Marvel is very aware why THQ cancelled it Avenger's game. If THQ was under Marvel's control ...well then it wouldn't be a licensed game would it. Nothing wrong with a girl playing a little hard to get.

The Avengers: The Video Game leaks, cancelled by THQ in 2011
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/30/the-avengers-the-video-game-leaks-cancelled-by-thq/

Comhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gific Books are a dying Business --- Not to say that Marvel is---Marvel is Thriving thanks to a Disney Acquisition. Marvel is already producing its own movies at Marvel Studios (and has been even prior to the Disney acquisition). Movies are a Leap from Comic books... but video games not so much. One could argue that video games are the next best thing and it's a bit surprising that Marvel took the leap from Comic Books straight to film....Moreover, Video Games are more lucrative than movies (in general we are not speaking of Marvel specifically here) --- Infographic Of The Day: Videogames Pwning Hollywood In Release Week Sales http://visual.ly/game-over-game-vs-movies
Here is a Huge List of video games based on Marvel comics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_games_based_on_Marvel_comics --notice that Marvel has not published any of them --- they are all licenses.

--- so why haven't they been producing their own video games????


This is where Di$ney comes in


Disney CEO comments on publishing Marvel games

02/10/2010
"Iger revealed that Disney may soon start publishing games on Marvel properties. Iger didn’t elaborate on when or how Disney would begin publishing Marvel video games so it could be some time before we see a Spider-Man game with a Disney Interactive label instead of an Activision one.

Currently most of the Marvel video game properties belong to a variety of companies such as Activision (Marvel comic universe, Spider-Man/X-Men film properties), Sega (Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Captain America film properties) and THQ (Marvel animated properties). Activsion has the Marvel license locked up for a few more years but the exact contract details for Sega and THQ aren’t known. So it’ll be interesting to see how Disney goes about publishing Marvel games and whether it’ll be a case of waiting for the existing contracts to expire or if Disney will simply buy out the remaining contracts and throw bundles of cash at companies like Activsion and Sega. "
http://shogungamer.com/news/disney-ceo-comments-publishing-marvel-games-and-disney-exclusivity-wii

Disney Plans High-Quality Executions of Marvel Content

3/15/2010

"The recent Disney results also echoed the belief that Marvel games would be good for the higher-end, more "hardcore" Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 demographic which some Disney properties have a more difficult time reaching.

However, since a number of third-party game publishers currently have agreements with Marvel -- for example, Sega for the upcoming Iron Man 2 game {Note: This is an article from 2 years ago! Sega recently lost its Marvel licenses...}-- it appears that it may be some time before all major Marvel properties free up for Disney control in terms of video games {The time is now!}.

As for what branding these titles would be released under, Disney's Wadsworth told Gamasutra: "If we do things under the Marvel brand it may just be [marked on the box] under the Marvel brand." He added that it also might be a joint Marvel/Disney brand in some cases."
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/27293/Disney_HighQuality_Executions_Of_Marvel_Games_Planned_PostAcquisition.php


This is what Marvel would be buying....A TEAM.. or should we say THQ's teams

"Darksiders 2 was a lot quicker to get done because we already had an established team, they were experienced and we had already made one game. When we first did the first Darksiders we had four people at the beginning. We didn’t even have a decent sized team for over a year. We didn’t have an engine. We were still building the technology and the tools. We didn’t have designers…we didn’t have anything. So it’s hard to count the first year and a half, or so, of the first game. But we did get Darksiders 2 done in half the time, because we already had a team ready. Building a good team, literally, takes years.

Says Joe Madureira of THQ's Vigil Games...

But wait, who is Joe Madureira?

Joe Madureira has done a lot of things. He’s worked as a comic book artist for Marvel Comics, and even created his own comic series under the Wildstorm label called Battle Chasers. ... Madureira (Joe Mad to his friends) and David Adams eventually left NCSoft and founded Vigil Games in 2005. Since then, Vigil Games has been acquired by THQ, and is currently shepherding the post-apocalyptic franchise Darksiders. At a recent preview event for Darksiders 2 I sat down with Joe Mad, Creative Director on Darksiders 2, to talk about his transition from comics to video games, the core tenets of the Darksiders franchise and even secret Nintendo assassins.
SOURCE: http://playstationlifestyle.net/2012/03/22/mad-about-darksiders-2-joe-madureira-speaks-to-playstation-lifestyle/

Fast Forward to the Present: 4/3/2012 Marvel begins changing titles of employees (o.k. employee) working on Licensed Video Games from "Manager of Licensed Games" to "Interactive Manager"

"Ryan Penagos: My guest this week is Chris Baker Manager of Licensed Games.... oh no? no?
Chris: My Title recently changed to Interactive Manager
Ryan Penagos: Congratulations
Chris: It's not a promotion its a title change ...but hey I'll take it
Ryan Penagos: Yeah, well that signals something I assume...

http://marvel.com/news/story/18451/download_episode_22.5_of_the_this_week_in_marvel_podcast_with_chris_baker



THQ has worked on successful video games for Marvel previously (look on bottom left)
http://marvelshsgame.marvel.com

Google Search marvel site:thq.com
About 195,000 results

Google Search thq site:marvel.com
About 176 results


Food For Thought: {What if we were to replace the word(s) "movie" and "motion pictures" with the words "Video Game" below?}
"Marvel used to license out the rights for motion pictures in their characters to other film studios, because Marvel could not afford to make their own motion pictures. Therefore, it was more profitable for Marvel to license out the rights in an exchange for a substantial fee and a percentage of the gross proceeds from the films.....
Back before Marvel started making its own movies, it was very beneficial to them to license out these movie rights to other studios. Unfortunately, now that Marvel has its own studios and is making their own comic book hero movies, they cannot just terminate their licensing contracts for some of the most popular heroes in the Marvel Universe. Marvel has no option now, but to wait for the other studios to break one of the licensing contracts or to buy the rights back, that is if the studios are willing to sell. "
SOURCE: http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/steveorjoey/news/?a=41001 Please read this article the author has put a lot of thought into this


Marvel gets Blade and The Punisher screen rights back, more movies coming?

Both of these characters have had three movies apiece now, but both have been off the big (and small) screen for some time. And now, Marvel Comics CEO, Joe Quesada, has confirmed that the rights have duly reverted back as a result.
http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/991095/marvel_gets_blade_and_the_punisher_screen_rights_back_more_movies_coming.html


For marvel to become immediately immersed in Video Games ...it needs only buy a company like THQI

LINKBACKS
http://www.hookedgamers.com/blogs/markbarley/2012/04/19/rumor_marvel_to_purchase_thq.html
http://www.gamingcentrum.com/2012/is-marvel-going-to-buy-thq/
http://gamingbolt.com/reports-speculate-a-thq-purchase-by-marvel
http://kotaku.com/5903103/speculation-marvel-to-buy-thq-and-make-video-games-in+house
http://game2gether.de/76663/wird-thq-von-marvel-aufgekauft/
http://www.gamalive.com/actus/12666-thq-rachat-marvel-disney-jeux-video.htm?p=1
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/04/17/will-marvel-buy-thq-games/
http://www.gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=175787
http://boards.420chan.org/wooo/res/2043675.php
Youtube: GAMING NEWZ: Tekken Marvels At Darksider's Tag
DISCLOSURE: LONG THQI

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