DICE 08: Shane Kim talks Marvel MMO cancellation, Alan Wake

33 Comments by Justin McElroy Feb 11th 2008 10:15AM
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360

Shane Kim has been getting a lot of coverage at this year's DICE summit, and it's not just because he's got a thousand-watt smile that lights up a room. Microsoft has been pretty cagey about 2008 so far, and it seems like, thanks to Kim's hinting, the first details of a schedule for the year are just starting to solidify. If you want to know where your favorite upcoming title stands, look no further than MTV's comprehensive interview with Kim on all of the company's big 08/09 guns.

Besides hearing about how great Fable 2 is going to be (answer: very) we were especially intrigued by Kim's reluctance to pin down Alan Wake as a 2008 title. Also, though we were disappointed by the cancellation of the Marvel MMO, we have to admit we agree with the reasoning: In short, Microsoft noticed the dozens of subscription-based MMO carcasses that littered the road and decided that, perhaps, advancement was unwise. We heartily concur.

Tags: dice, dice-08, fable2, marvel-universe-online, shane-kim

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(Page 1) Reader Comments

Zac: Feb 11th 2008; 10:24AM

if Microsoft did an MMO that offer no or minimal cost over regular live subscription, I'd sign on at least for a while to give it a shot. I'm not paying 10-15 a month for an MMO, but if comes in at under 5 with Live, I'd be pretty receptive.

FOXHOUND: Feb 11th 2008; 10:29AM

Exactly. People have enough expenses as is, without paying for umpteen-thousand MMOs out there to play. And c'mon... let's face it, the MARVEL MMO would've just been CITY OF HEROES/VILLAINS at best anyway. MARVEL eff'd up by not sponsoring it(in fact, if I recall correctly, they tried hitting them with a lawsuit too).

WhoMe: Feb 11th 2008; 1:54PM

Why would it cost less? Xbox live doesn't diminish the costs of an MMO afterall. I mean you pay for Live just to be able to play online and get stuff sooner but that's it. There's no MMO servers or anything. MMO servers are expensive.

Joshua Kleier: Feb 11th 2008; 10:28AM

s h i t

Spaniard0069: Feb 11th 2008; 10:33AM

No surprise there with the Marvel MMO. I almost forgot about Alan Wake. From what I've seen and read about it, I think it will have the same quality and impact as Bioshock.

baby sea tuna: Feb 11th 2008; 10:34AM

Alan Wake plz! Been patiently waiting for like 2 years now.

Well, at least I'll have Condemned 2 and another Silent Hill to scare the shit out of me in the meantime...

baby sea tuna: Feb 11th 2008; 10:39AM

Sorry to ask but, what to "SOW" and "LFG" mean? I'm only a beta or gamma-level nerd.

FOXHOUND: Feb 11th 2008; 10:42AM

sow = son of(a)whore
lfg = looking for(a)group

...I swear, people are lazy if they have to "backronym/retronym" the above.

Justin McElroy: Feb 11th 2008; 11:02AM

It's Spirit of the Wolf. Are there no EQ nerds here?

DreWamek: Feb 11th 2008; 11:05AM

SOW = Spirit of Wolf. Makes you run faster.

Mr.ESC: Feb 11th 2008; 11:29AM

I used to be a NWN Geek.

Clerics FTW.

MasterInsan0: Feb 11th 2008; 11:43AM

That was probably one of the most annoying things about playing a Shaman in EQ. You walk into a city and suddenly you get like 20 tells saying "I can has SOW?". At first you could charge a little for it, or people would tip for it, but eventually people just expected it. You were a Shaman (or later on a Druid), and so you were there to SOW.

It's sad how little things have changed since EQ.

THE WICKER MAN (BWF) (GT: Dalek Prime): Feb 11th 2008; 12:17PM

Tuna the fact that you didnt know this is a good thing.

FOXHOUND: Feb 11th 2008; 12:39PM

Srsly. I had to look on wikipedia. :\

xGeneral DEATHx: Feb 11th 2008; 12:46PM

I thought "LFG" was "Look For Gold". Show's what a n00b I am in the world of MMO's.

Spaniard0069: Feb 11th 2008; 10:39AM

Yes they did try to sue and they failed miserably.

Batzarro: Feb 11th 2008; 10:42AM

Yes Spidey, I DID want it. Seems like I was the only one, though. Oh, well, I'll just wait until the NEXT MMO to hit consoles. It'll probably feature the fantasy middle ages...AGAIN...

Savok: Feb 11th 2008; 10:55AM

Trust me, you weren't the only one, not by far.

Batzarro: Feb 11th 2008; 11:10AM

It's okay, the game's in a better place now. It's up there in heaven with Shenmue 3 and the Unseen and True Fantasy Live...

Korova: Feb 11th 2008; 12:48PM

I cant believe they could not go ahead with a Marvel MMO - so many great story lines that everyone knows! I am sure that Marvel and the corporate dividend sucking losers that own it just could not attract the creativity required to move the superheroes into the 21st century and onto the internet. They are just afraid to take risks with their "properties". Even George Lucas is more agile than Marvel.

UltimateQ: Feb 12th 2008; 8:25AM

I'm hardly a big fan, or even a steady player. But have you given City of Heroes/Villains a try? I don't know how it compares. I don't play it. But I've never heard anything overly critical about those games.

ck: Feb 11th 2008; 11:21AM

Alan Wake! Man, I was hoping it would come out this year, but that hope keeps fading. I have a bad feeling it's going to come out too late for people to care...or that the hype extended over these past 2 years will be too much for the game to overcome.

Mr.ESC: Feb 11th 2008; 11:34AM

Damn, I bought my Xb360 for Dead Rising, Gears (back when I thought it was an exclusive) and Dead Rising. While Dead Rising alone pretty much justified the Xb360 I really wanted to play Marvel Universe Online.

Alan Wake well the graphics are great but it looks like a rip off of Alone in the Dark.

justly: Feb 11th 2008; 12:09PM

They need to get cracking on the next crackdown ASAP!!!

THE WICKER MAN (BWF) (GT: Dalek Prime): Feb 11th 2008; 12:19PM

Yes more Crackdown please! I would also like to complain to the manger about that Alan Wake I ordered and have yet to receive!

modified: Feb 11th 2008; 12:18PM

Microsoft has really cold feet when it comes to MMOs. I think the real reason they canceled the game is because of a design problem. You can't have 10,000 Wolverines running around.

THE WICKER MAN (BWF) (GT: Dalek Prime): Feb 11th 2008; 12:21PM

If Marvel can manage to have 10,000,000 Wolverines im sure M$ could handle it. Where is the big Bendis summer crossover where everyone figures out its not the Skrulls that have secretly invaded, but an army of wolverines! "We are Wolverine and we are LEGION!"

embassy: Feb 11th 2008; 12:25PM

man if gears 2 comes out its a wrap.

another piece of info i find more interesting than the marvel MMO shenanigans is that Kim basically confirms that the Mass effect trilogy is a MGS property and that if it indeed *does* go multiplatform that it'll be published by MGS and not EA.

aln wake looks ok, but im banking on fallout to be this years Bioshock/Oblivion.

and Rare really needs to come through with banjo...their other offerings so far haev been..."ok" at best imo.

VampireHunter Z: Feb 11th 2008; 12:43PM

MMOs really die a lot. So many MMOs are announced but not many released. The investment in making such a huge game is just too much for the profit that will be made.

Plus if they allowed everyone to be the same character that would suck. And if you can't be the character you want because someone else choose it that would suck too. It was just a bad idea.

ThornedVenom: Feb 11th 2008; 1:20PM

I'm pretty sure they're pussying out in front of WoW.

They're the corporate industrial types, not risky innovators: they'd only invest in relatively secure ground.

NukeAssault: Feb 11th 2008; 1:54PM

Alan Wake better comesout this year....dont make me bust a cap.

mietha CAG: Feb 11th 2008; 3:53PM

Horseshit. A marvel MMO would have exploded and pushed the console. Fucking idiots. How many dead MMOs do you see with a license the power of marvel? SWG is a total piece of shit, and it's still around. MMOs haven't done well on consoles because all but EQOA have totally sucked. Make it decent, not even good, but decent, and they would have made a killing on it.

Dio: Feb 12th 2008; 10:29AM

So what, does this make the lawsuit against CoH/CoV meaningless?

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