Marvel proposed a deal to both Sony and Microsoft, which they turned down

When it comes to video game adaptations of properties Marvelone of the most successful experiments is certainly Marvel’s Spider-Man by Insomniac Games, which quickly became one of the flagship titles in the line-up Sony; the game has in fact already received a spin-off dedicated to Miles Morales and seen confirmed his following. However, it seems that, in 2014, Marvel had proposed also to Microsoft to develop games based on its properties. We think about bringing out this detail, as reported above Reseterathe book takes care of it The Ultimate History of Video Games, Volume 2: Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, and the Billion-Dollar Battle to Shape Modern Gaming, and in particular an interview with Jay Ongsince 2014 vice president of Marvel’s Games division.

“Since I had been part of the first-party console in the past [presso Microsoft, NdR], I reached out to both sides, both Xbox and PlayStation, and said ‘We don’t have any major console-side deals. Would you be interested in doing something? Microsoft’s strategy was to focus on their IPs. They declined the offer. ” Jay Ong then goes on to explain his meeting with Boyes Drake, Connie Booth and Scott Rohde of Sony Interactive Entertainment, who proposed a triple A game centered around Spider-Man; from there, the rest is history.

As for the Microsoft side of the thing, it’s important to keep in mind the situation Xbox was in at the time. The launch of the last generation of consoles was not easy for the House of Redmond, and various rumors suggest that even on the upper floors there was an intention to close the Xbox division. Which, perhaps, offers a good explanation as to why Marvel’s offer was not accepted. We close with a final detail on the matter, namely the one concerning the Activision side of the thing. The latter publisher had already made an agreement with the House of Ideas regarding Spider-Man, which Jay Ong took action to end early. When the deal was closed, the Activision representative asked NGO what he intended to do with this IP, to which he replied “I’ll find him a better home”. “Good luck finding your unicorn”was Activision’s response.

Previous article

Gloomhaven

Gloomhaven will also arrive on consoles in the course of 2023