Sega Hulk-ing up on Marvel licenses

Bruce Banner's mean and green alter ego, Captain America, and The Mighty Thor join Iron Man on the Japanese publisher's roster.

Last November, Sega announced that it had taken over the game license for the Marvel Comics hero Iron Man from Activision. Today, the Japan-based company announced it has acquired three more game licenses from the venerable comic book publisher turned media powerhouse.

Evildoers, beware!.

Foremost among the new acquisitions is The Incredible Hulk, who is currently appearing in the role-playing game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. Previously, Vivendi Games held the game rights to the brawny superhero, releasing 2005's critically acclaimed The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (PS2, Xbox, GameCube) and 2003's less praised The Hulk (PC, PS2, Xbox, GameCube). Under the new deal, Sega will also be developing games based on the forthcoming movie The Incredible Hulk, which stars Edward Norton as the Hulk's less angry alter ego, Bruce Banner. The game will be released alongside the film next summer.

Though he may have died in comic books, Captain America will live on in game form. Sega is planning a game based on the forthcoming Captain America film, which is still in development. The last game that centered on the shield-wielding hero was Captain America and the Avengers (Game Boy, 1994), although he currently also appears in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.

Last--but in the minds of would-be Vikings everywhere, not least--Sega has landed the license for The Mighty Thor. Like Captain America, the comic centering on the earthly adventures of the Norse god is being turned into a film with a tentative post-2008 release date. The Mighty Thor game--the first based solely on the character--will be released alongside said movie on undisclosed consoles. (Thor is also a featured hero in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.)

Today's deal is a "multi-year global licensing agreement" that gives Sega exclusive rights to make Thor, Hulk, and Captain America games for consoles, handhelds, and the PC. In a statement, Simon Jeffery, Sega of America's president and COO, said, "As Sega continues to create games that are built from the ground up to appeal to Western audiences it makes perfect sense to work with a powerhouse like Marvel."

184 Comments

  • RedEyedMouse

    Posted Nov 4, 2009 6:08 pm GMT

    @ KingChainz31684

    I know this is an old post, but just incase you didn't know, Superman did fight Hulk and he mopped the floor with him. Wiki it - DC vs. Marvel - there were actually a few different fights, but the authors didn't expand on the fights enough (many of them were only a page or two). Some of the fights were: Batman beating Cap; Spiderman beating Superboy; Silver Surfer beating Green Lantern. The comics went out in 1996 - quite a while ago.

  • DragonicB

    Posted Nov 4, 2009 3:58 am GMT

    @keyroon I agree 100%

    Had the best time playing those games XD

  • keyroon

    Posted Feb 9, 2009 9:17 am GMT

    i still think capcom made the best marvel games, The marvel vs. series kicked ass.

  • edmakel

    Posted Mar 17, 2008 12:40 pm GMT

    HUIK...STRONGEST ONE THERE IS......!!!

  • hotrider12

    Posted Aug 9, 2007 12:05 am GMT

    I agree with most of you guys that really know about the hulk . he may have to be angry to power up his awsome power onces he go's off I would hate to be superman or dino mutt haa "joke" superman need the sun ray. hulk dont need (sh-t) but a reason to put his foot up your a.s.s. super man might have invincibility I bet hulk open a can of whump a.s.s. on superman or any other marvel or d.c. hero's he is the greatest of all time!!! outside of the flash my sec. favorite hero

  • promano3

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 11:37 am GMT

    Woot! I'm glad Sega bought some of those licenses. Most video games based on characters from movies and comics suck, but Sega is a solid company. I think I can expect some actually good games staring Captain America, The Hulk, etc. And for the recent comments, there's no question that Superman would win against pretty much everyone in the Marvel Universe due to his invincibility...that's why I'm a Marvel fan.

  • KingChainz31684

    Posted Apr 20, 2007 6:01 pm GMT

    "Lol how many people are bashing superman out there?U haven't really put him in a fight against the hulk so how would u know that the hulk or superman would win?"

    well its not so much that it has or hasn't happened i mean if it had happened there would be no questions(excluding an indecisive draw) either superman or hulk woulda won and then no one could argue about it but then no one would of ever brought it up. It is brought up because it is something that can be argued about and it allows for creative opinions and ideas to be brought to the table. Now if you don't want any part of it thats fine but its really about people having there own kind of fun and there are a couple superman supporters that left messages in here too but its all in good fun. its funner to argue marvel vs. DC in my opinion because they haven't faced off against eachother. I mean whats there to argue in the wolverine vs. cyclopes arguement as much of a wolvie fan as i am i know everytime they face off cyclopes basically mops the floor with wolverine now summers was never able to kill wolvie but until wolvie takes down cyclops you more or less can be told without a shadow of a doubt wolvie would lose so wheres the fun in that now you got hulk vs superman its never happened so it really allows people to play out there own scenario and others can agree or disagree.

  • nightshadeA

    Posted Apr 20, 2007 3:42 pm GMT

    UMM sega has made a couple of spider man games before 1 for the arcade (wasnt easy to find back then and very rare to see these days ) and the genesis spiderman I dont know if they made the 32x version also but both were highly liked at the time

  • Dino23

    Posted Apr 20, 2007 12:17 pm GMT

    Activision, thank you for making 3 great comic action RPG's. (X-men Legends, X-men Legends 2, and Marvel Ultimate Alliance) Now that Sega has the rights to the Marvel licence, in my opinion, will go down the drain. I can see it now, Marvel vs. Virtua Fighter or Ecco the Dolphin featuring Sub Mariner. LOL!!!

  • Somini

    Posted Apr 20, 2007 7:07 am GMT

    Superhero nerds, lol...

  • therancors

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 10:29 pm GMT

    Lol how many people are bashing superman out there?U haven't really put him in a fight against the hulk so how would u know that the hulk or superman would win?

  • KingChainz31684

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 9:01 pm GMT

    "Seriously, now that I think about it, Marvel really hasn't been sticking with the comic books either. I mean look at the spider-man games. Really now, Spider-man didn't have the venom suit until waaaaayyyyyyyy later in the series, I mean come on people, he hasn't fought Rhino yet, Scorpion yet, Shocker, Croc, and so many others, hmmm, let me guess, the next movie will have the six-arm spider man that the punisher was fighting, What, is Wolverine going to be in the next movie, and based on X-Men Legends 2, Why was Jubilee NOT in this game? She had like the main role in the Apacolypse saga and she wasn't even in the game. I was Highly PISSED, especially since she was in the first one. Movie games usually do suck pretty badly. I don't know why these companies keep making them to be honest. Seriously, Marvel has sooooo many Uber Cool characters, Hulk, The Entire Spider-Man Cast, The Entire X-Men cast, the Avengers, and so forth. If Marvel ever plans on making a great comic book game, They need to get some old-school comic book readers and let them develop the storylines for these games, because otherwise we're just going to end up with games like we already have"

    I like what yoru saying with this but i do also understand why they really don't do it. I mean remembering back when i was reading the first issues of spiderman those things where sometimes upwords 40 pages with several twists and turns to the point where if they stuck to the story line of events in a decent way you would prolly be 60 before they got half way through the spiderman series i think they oculd possible do it in a manner of the sense but it really wouldn't be a way conductive to business because there would be no character developement cuz when i think back there really weren't that many villians for the first 50+ issues that weren't itroduced in the first 20 like green goblin, scorpian, the living brain, tinkerer, crocidile, doc oc and so many others that weren't just in one comic i mena most of them made 3 or 4 appearences in the first 50 comics so trying to stick to a story line together like that would prolly be with out any plot it would prolly be a good tv series but not a movie or game where poeple like an ending. cuz following the story line you really couldn't develop one villian and create a plot around them if your having spiderman deal with all these other people. I do think its a shame in the movies they often leave out very interesting facts and relationships that at the very least are worth mentioning like no lovers qaurrels between betty and liz i mean i think some comic book stuff would be easy to through in i suppose the liz betty thing you wouldn't really be able to bring mary jane in as fast as they did but eventual it could spin off into a black cat thing if they got into it a bit more. Or in X3 when they don't mention jugghead being prof. charles xaviers brother and they say he is a mutant and what not. I also don't think it would hurt to do like they like to do and who like newspaper clippings in of spiderman hero or menace and then have a sub heading that says spiderman stops the vulture but was he in on the whole thing. Man i could go on forever but i feel this is long enough.

  • KingChainz31684

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 8:40 pm GMT

    First off how smart can Super-Man be. There are two things that hurt him red sunlight makes him weak but thats just about an impossiblity to sustain and kryptonite takes him down yet this dumb*** has his whole justice league of friends who would be willing to fight his villians for him yet he always be picking fights against people with the ever so rare kryptonite that all of his enemies seem to have a life time supply of i mean what game show were they on to get that stuff. I mean why doesn't he trade enemies with some of his friends or something. Second of all he is a reporter hmm reporters brain vs. nuclear physicist specializing in Gamma radiations brain. And though the Hulk gets filled with rage he still is quite inteligent when he needs to be just tends to be a little more blunt about it and a lot more clouded. I mean superman with his two almost impossible to affect weaknesses and just about every superpower imaginable he still loses and the hulk doesn't.. Sometimes Superman does show more poise and patients in battle but thats normally after he gets chucked through a concrete wall a couple of times by the time superman gets chucked through a wall a couple times hulk would have the enemy pulverised.

    Sega you better do a great job cuz activision was doing a great job. Remember there are college kids who play video games too so don't turn marvel into the same mess you turned sonic into.

  • zappa02

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 8:35 pm GMT

    Sweet. Hope this will not be a Bad game.

  • nini200

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 8:04 pm GMT

    Quote:
    "glaceya
    Superman is stronger than the hulk by virtue of his brain,
    he has intelligence, while the hulk has blind rage .
    Blind rage might be effective against a weaker opponent, but against an equally powerful foe with intelligence, it will be the deciding factor."

    I have proof that the Hulk is Stronger and More intelligent than Super Man. The Hulk's strength continues to grow even after he gets super Green. 1st off, Strength, as far as strength goes, I would like to see Superman Fight Galactus, Apacolypse, the Abomination, and Annihilus and win. The Hulk has fought literally every super hero out there and won. In the fight against wolverine, Wolverine had his claws through the Hulks Head and it had literally No Effect on the Hulk, then the Hulk Destroyed him. The Hulk is in fact more Intelligent than Super Man because for one, the Hulk IS in fact, A Genius Scientist, and He knows how to use his surroundings in a fight waaaayyyyyyy better than SuperMan. SuperMan got Beat by Batman so its absolutely no way Superman could beat him. Not saying Batman sucks because Batman is one of DC's best superheroes to me but just the simple fact that a regular human beat superman is proof enough. If you do not believe that the Hulk has defeated Every Marvel Comic Book Hero, then Read the Comics and See for yourself.

  • ChinTikki

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 7:18 pm GMT

    this make me horny

  • SmallPower

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 6:40 pm GMT

    Stephen Colbert is in talks to star as The Mighty Thor.

  • glaceya

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 4:08 pm GMT

    Superman is stronger than the hulk by virtue of his brain,
    he has intelligence, while the hulk has blind rage .
    Blind rage might be effective against a weaker opponent, but against an equally powerful foe with intelligence, it will be the deciding factor.

  • ThugNMe

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 3:25 pm GMT

    Of course Hulk is stronger, come on Doomsday beat superman, that hulk vs. superman comic was a joke

  • spotjar

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 3:15 pm GMT

    I was browsing through Wikipedia and I read something that can finally put the debate of who is stronger to rest, if it hasn't alread been put to rest. The Hulk is stronger than Superman and there is proof. If you read about the hulks powers you will see that he has punched an asteroid twice the size of earth in half! The writers os superman cannot make up their minds on how strong he will be but eventhough he has knocked out the hulk before he has never fought a freed version of the hulk or any other forms the hulk posseses. The Hulk only has to depend on his anger while superman depends on the sun. plus superman is weakened by kriptonite...i mean come on. The Hulk could smash his face in. Just moving planet earth wouldn't take as much strength as punching an asteroid twice the size of earth clear in two. The Hulk is clearly stronger than Superman.

  • Boy_Man07

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 11:27 am GMT

    Sega, please, don't do with these games what you did with Sonic(what a pity...i really like Sonic)!! Activision is making so great games like Spider-man (1, 2 and certainly 3) and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance! i'm not sure if these games will deliver...Sega, i still have hope: you can make good games just like you used to do in the past (and, if it happens, please make a good Sonic game)!

  • hunter8man

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 10:26 am GMT

    Sounds like a bunch of movie-based superhero games being made to make a quick buck. Sorry, but I want my Marvel games to have some depth to them, and not be continually low grade like the recent Sonic games have been. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now.


    I didn't know they killed off Captain America!! I'm a sad panda......

  • nini200

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 10:12 am GMT

    Seriously, now that I think about it, Marvel really hasn't been sticking with the comic books either. I mean look at the spider-man games. Really now, Spider-man didn't have the venom suit until waaaaayyyyyyyy later in the series, I mean come on people, he hasn't fought Rhino yet, Scorpion yet, Shocker, Croc, and so many others, hmmm, let me guess, the next movie will have the six-arm spider man that the punisher was fighting, What, is Wolverine going to be in the next movie, and based on X-Men Legends 2, Why was Jubilee NOT in this game? She had like the main role in the Apacolypse saga and she wasn't even in the game. I was Highly PISSED, especially since she was in the first one. Movie games usually do suck pretty badly. I don't know why these companies keep making them to be honest. Seriously, Marvel has sooooo many Uber Cool characters, Hulk, The Entire Spider-Man Cast, The Entire X-Men cast, the Avengers, and so forth. If Marvel ever plans on making a great comic book game, They need to get some old-school comic book readers and let them develop the storylines for these games, because otherwise we're just going to end up with games like we already have.

  • GoddBless

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 9:46 am GMT

    Well, so much for Ultimate Destruction 2! I guess I'll just keep playing Crackdown, but it's not the same. It's damn close though!

  • OtterX

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 9:29 am GMT

    I hope the new Hulk game is as good as Ultimate Destruction. I think Crackdown was influenced alot by that game.

  • cobrax80

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 8:51 am GMT

    The last hulk game was actually pretty fun, maybe they should stick to that formula.

  • daviwinn

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 8:47 am GMT

    Marvel, take them back! After the way Sega systematically ruined its own beloved character they have no business with these licenses.

  • tical2003

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 8:37 am GMT

    The only superhero games worth a damn are the ones based on the comics like X-Men Legends, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, and The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction for instance. the ones based on the movies of the heroes are only a reason to make more money off the movies. It sounds like that's what Sega is trying to do cause all those planned games have movie tie-ins hopefully they make a few games based on the comics solely.

  • kidy3k

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 8:09 am GMT

    they need to make a game that directly follows the comics like x men it would make sense if they followd the comics but and stip makeing game movies

  • hulkmad67

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 6:53 am GMT

    it better be good!

  • scorp76

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 6:38 am GMT

    *sniff* *sniff*........I smell disaster! With about a year or less in development time the games won't get the attention it needs to come out with the movie. And with Sega track record well.......it speaks for itself. Not looking forward to these games.

  • Somini

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 5:14 am GMT

    The only way for Sega to restore their greatness, would be if they announced Shenmue III, THAT would be something.

  • ebookerd1

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 4:50 am GMT

    Gooo SEGA!!! Go Restore your GRRRREATNESSS!!!!

  • ShockG707

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 3:16 am GMT

    Hulk owns your soul!

  • CarlosY2Jericho

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 3:05 am GMT

    Man, for a second I thought Sega was Capcom and they were making a MARVEL VS CAPCOM 3 !!

  • cocomacoco

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 2:37 am GMT

    wow! this is definitely a big mistake from Marvel, Activision had made great games, better than anyone before, Japanese games based will be smashing no brainer punches, combine with stupid puzzles and missions, Japanese style, except that of Capcom, doesn't appeal to me

  • Tha_lazyboi

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 2:18 am GMT

    slipslayer_666 /fails

  • slipslayer_666

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 12:56 am GMT

    Captian America: "AVENGERS ASSEMBLE.....in japan?" Dear sweet jesus by the time this is over Thor will be into Cos play, Hulk will get fat from eating Pocky, and Cap will end up with spiked purple hair. J/k i'll just have to wait and see how this turns out like everybody else.

  • ChAoS_Maker

    Posted Apr 18, 2007 11:40 pm GMT

    oh great... a japanese Company Taking over these 3 characrers....this should but intresting...

  • SpazH3d

    Posted Apr 18, 2007 11:13 pm GMT

    The Hulk! Yeah! Smashie smashie! I sure hope they didnt steal the rights from activision, i need that MUA DLC, dammit!

  • W_Claiborne

    Posted Apr 18, 2007 10:23 pm GMT

    Teagre, all those games are mediocre. But I still have faith in Sega. Even more so after this news ;-)

  • gforce007_basic

    Posted Apr 18, 2007 10:06 pm GMT

    Yea sonic and the secret rings is pretty much the best sonic game they've released since sonic and knuckles and even sonic and the secret rings is barely better than a rental. It has camera problems that the original sonic adventure for dreamcast had for godsakes. Sega has done a terrible job with their sonic games and its emblematic of how crappy their developers are. What good does it do to resurrect old franchises if you suck at development? Nobody's begging for a next-gen Shinobi, looks like Sega did a great job killing off that IP. They were working on a Vectorman game, then cancelled it. And god help me if they ever made a Streets of Rage game. The best beat em up franchise ever would be made irrelevant in the hands of Sega.

    Condemned and Full Auto were not developed by Sega, only published by Sega. Same with Armored Core 4 and Chromehounds. So no, Taegre, Sega deserves no credit for good games that it publishes, it deserves solely ridicule for the crap that it has developed. Virtua Tennis and Virtua Fighter are clear exceptions but that's about it. They'll probably continue to be a hit and miss company, maybe pulling off a great game with the nights sequel on wii but then butchering a franchise they try to bring back to life, like altered beast or something. The bottom line is: this move is not reassuring for Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Captain America fans.

  • Collideoscope

    Posted Apr 18, 2007 9:54 pm GMT

    Hey Sega, some helpful hints so you don't alienate the Marvel fans, like you did with the Sonic ones....

    1. Take a look at Phantasy Star Universe: this is last-gen. Don't release a game that could've been played on an Xbox/PS2.

    2. Look at Sonic The Hedgehog. See him fall off a path and die for no reason? Don't release a game until all the bugs and glitches have been removed.

    Thank you for your time.

  • DrCLos

    Posted Apr 18, 2007 9:53 pm GMT

    Well I will have to take a wait and see attitude like I usually do. Hopefully Sega can do these licenses justice. If anyone has a good chance to, Sega definitely does.

  • MJ22see

    Posted Apr 18, 2007 9:49 pm GMT

    It seems to me that there won't be another Marvel Ultimate Alliance game since the rights on the heroes are split. I hope I'm wrong though.

  • GIF

    Posted Apr 18, 2007 9:43 pm GMT

    So these are all movie licensed games? -Meh. Also, the best version of Captain America resides in the Ultimates. If you haven't picked it up yet, you're simply missing out.

  • pearlpunx85

    Posted Apr 18, 2007 9:43 pm GMT

    make mine marvel mofo! excelsior...

  • blackspyda

    Posted Apr 18, 2007 9:04 pm GMT

    For those who do not know the Cap died not to long ago in the comic book series "Civil War".

  • Taegre

    Posted Apr 18, 2007 9:01 pm GMT

    I just feel the need to clear something up for everybody who says Sega doesn't make good games.

    Condemned: Criminal Origins = 8.0
    Sonic the Hedgehog = 4.4
    Sonic and the Secret Rings = 7.6
    Chromehounds = 7.9
    Virtua Fighter 5 = 8.1 (8.7 average)
    Armored Core 4 = 7.7
    Virtua Tennis 3 = 8.4
    Full Auto = 6.5

    The only next-gen titles Sega missed on were Sonic the Hedgehog and Full Auto. And the next Sonic game immediately following that turned out to be a lot of fun. Sega's got a better record for next-gen systems than most other companies and yet there seems to be a phenomenom in which they never receive the credit they're due. Ah well, Sega now has a very impressive lineup of games that could mark its return to juggurnaut status.

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