Marvel & EA Call Off Marvel Fighting Game Deal

Remember that Marvel Fighting game everyone was getting so excited about a while back? Well, it was in development by EA Chicago, which was closed down just last Summer 2007.

Well, today Marvel Interactive confirmed its deal with EA has been called off.

"Electronic Arts and Marvel have jointly agreed to discontinue development of Marvel fighting games under the Electronic Arts brand," said Justin Lombros, VP of Marvel Interactive. "This was a business decision based on Electronic Arts portfolio strategy and will not affect Marvel's ongoing plans to release fighting games based on the Marvel properties in the future."

Marvel wants to continue working on their character-based fighting game, but they have not revealed anything about the developers/publishers that might be involved.

[Via IGN]

EA Confirms of EA Chicago's Closing

EA Chicago is closing down, as hard as it is to report. The studio closing is affective immediately.

It seems that EA is working hard to place many of the 150+ employees at it's other studios around the world. And for the future of the Def Jam fighting franchise and the forthcoming Marvel fighting game? We are still trying to find out about that, when we know something, we will have you covered.

The memo sent to EA employees from Frank Gibeau, President of EA Games. In it he says:

"FROM FRANK GIBEAU Today we are announcing the closure of our studio in Chicago. This is a difficult decision but we are convinced it's the right thing to do for the future of the Games Label and EA.

Within the EA Games Label, we are committed to running each franchise and facility as a city/state, teams with unique creative identities as well as responsibility for product quality, ship dates and profitability. We recognize that games require large investments and extended development cycles. We're willing to take risks, make long-term investments, and to support teams and individuals between launches. But each team is responsible for staying on a reasonable path to profitability. Sticking to that strategy is what gives us the financial resources and flexibility to take risks on new projects.

Unfortunately, EA Chicago hasn't been able to meet that standard. The location has grown dramatically in the past three years while revenue from the games developed there has not. The number of employees has grown from 49 in 2004 to 146 people currently in the new facility in downtown Chicago. As it stands, EA Chicago has no expectation of hitting our profitability targets until FY2011 or later.

Closing EA Chicago is the toughest decision I've made in my career - one that in no way reflects on the talent and dedication of the people who work there. I've enjoyed their games and consider GM Kudo Tsunoda to be one of the best creative minds in our industry. The people impacted by this decision will be treated fairly - we're offering relocation opportunities to many and there will be outplacement assistance and severance for all eligible employees.

I know this decision will be unsettling to many beyond those who work in Chicago. It's important that you understand that we are willing to take creative risks and make long-term investments in people and projects. But the city/state philosophy demands that every project be committed to delivering a reasonable expectation of profitability. It's a performance commitment that binds us together and ensures we have the resources we need to invest back into our people and creative output.

Finally, when EA announced our quarterly earnings last week, John and Warren referenced facility closures. We had planned to include Chicago in that communication but a personal tragedy in the studio - the death of a colleague - resulted in our delaying the announcement out of respect for his family and friends. I apologize for any confusion or concern that caused.

I think you'll find that in addition to tackling some serious challenges, we are making great progress on our business. Consumers have responded well to our new IP and quality scores are tracking up. We are proud of our recent hits, such as Skate and the success we have made in making a solid game with The Simpsons. And we're looking forward to breakout hits like Need For Speed Pro Street, Rockband, Burnout Paradise, Battlefield Bad Company, Army of Two, Crysis, and more in the future with Mass Effect and Mercenaries 2 World in Flames.

We're definitely headed in the right direction.

Frank"

It is a difficult day for gamers. Try to take this sad news in as lightly as possible. Lets give one last praise to EA Chicago, for making the games they did.

[Via Kotaku]

EA Chicago "We're Working Hard on the Next Marvel Fighting Game"

A member of NeoGAF looked through the October 2007 Wizard issue. Inside was an interview with EA Chicago that states they're currently working hard on the next-gen Marvel fighting game.

- They admitted that Nemesis' gameplay sucked.
- The new fighting game will have interactive environments like Def Jam: Icon.
- The art style comes straight from the comics.
- Each fighter will have their own very unique fighting style.
- There will be a lot of strategy involved due to the uniqueness of each fighter. They gave an example of Spider-Man vs. Juggernaut - two polar opposites.

That sounds great, and I personally cannot wait for this game as it looks very unique.

[Via NeoGAF]

EA's New Marvel Fighting Game

EA Chicago has been busy developing a fighting game that would hopefully do our Marvel superheroes justice. Game Head gives us a first look at that same game, in this three-part video update of the yet-to-be-named title for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

It's not your typical fighting game at all, where your characters are confined to a single plane, with emphasis on combos and super moves - on the contrary, you're given complete freedom of movement, with a massive stage that features not only destructible environments but also panicking citizens.





[Via QJ.NET]