Marvel Universe MMO

*Originally published on 2/4/10


I already talked about the upcoming DC Universe Online MMO that is set to come out some time later this year, but there was another comic book based MMO that was set to come out as well. It wasn't a Green Lantern MMO nor was it one that utilized the zombie apocalypse, rather it was going to be Marvel's counterpart, aptly titled Marvel Universe Online.

While I am a DC guy first and foremost, I was eager to play this game. Sure MMO's are ridiculously addictive, but it seemed like quite a bit of fun. I would've greatly enjoyed creating a hero to fight alongside characters like Spider-Man or Captain America.

They even released a promo trailer that showcased some of the characters that were to be featured. Even watching it now gets me excited, which is impressive considering that the game was cancelled.

Yes, they decided to pull the plug on this one and they revamped it into a more generic super hero game. I've heard fairly good things about the non licensed superhero MMO's, but I'd much rather play alongside iconic characters then ones that were made up by game execs. Even if they are avid comic fans, the sensation of fighting alongside Extraordinary Man isn't the same as fighting alongside the Incredible Hulk.

In the long run, I suppose it's for the best. It will save me some money and I've got a full plate as it is. With the upcoming Star Wars MMO looking rather awesome, I'll most likely have two MMO's going so a third would just be overkill.

There are a few explanations for why they cancelled the game. When it was first announced, officials said that they didn't think that the game could compete with the success of World of Warcraft so they decided not to bother. I don't understand this thought process. Yeah, trying to topple the World of Warcraft giant is a nice high goal to aim for, but just because you don't reach that level of success doesn't mean you won't have success. Even if World of Warcraft was still the top MMO, you still could have come up with a really good game. Dwayne Wade isn't as good as Michael Jordan, but he's still a great basketball player and people still buy tickets to see him play.

Marvel said that the game wouldn't reach their level of definition of success, but I call poppycock. There are tons of avid comic and video game fans who would've picked the game up.

Another explanation is that there was some licensing discrepancy between Microsoft and Marvel about the characters. Wouldn't all that have been settled before the game was even announced? I mean, you released a frikkin' trailer for the game, one would think that at that point you were past all of the legal mumbo jumbo.

I don't know if you would've been able to play as the characters, my guess is that, like DCUO, you would create your own character to fight alongside the Marvel heroes or villains. In that sense I suppose one comic MMO is enough seeing as it runs the risk of becoming redundant. Still, it would've been nice to give Marvel fans the opportunity to get in on the MMO action while playing alongside some of their favorite Marvel characters.

It may be pointless to dwell on what may have been, but when a project like this comes along and sees its potential wasted, you kind of have to look back and wonder how things would've turned out had they gone through with it.