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The Upcoming Marvel Game Is Cutesy

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Clonus
in General Roleplaying

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comment_2830215

I have always been the first to admit that I know diddly/squat about comic books, 

 

but even I know Shield stood for Supreme Headquarters for International Espionage, Law Enforcement Division.

 

Of course, I also knew that those words really don't make a lot of sense together, and that someone really wanted it to spell "SHIELD."

 

 

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    comment_2830235
    2 hours ago, Duke Bushido said:

    I have always been the first to admit that I know diddly/squat about comic books, 

     

    but even I know Shield stood for Supreme Headquarters for International Espionage, Law Enforcement Division.

     

    Of course, I also knew that those words really don't make a lot of sense together, and that someone really wanted it to spell "SHIELD."

     

     

     

    They changed it to Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate. in 1991.   Not that they use that in the movies and TV series which started after the Department of Homeland Security became a thing.  Then there's the alternate universe where it is Saviors of Humanity by Intervention in the Evolution of Life-form Deviants.  There's no limit to how awkward a backronym can get.  

     
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    • 2 weeks later...
    comment_2832250

    The thing to remember with Marvel (and DC) is that the money for them comes from stuff that isn't a comic book these days.  Tee Shirts, pajamas, buttons, hats, ... games.  So if they can get a share of the RPG market with this, well its all just cash for them because the IP is already locked in and they have a gazillion art samples to use for illustration.  It doesn't have to be good, it just has to get interest and sell.

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    comment_2832260

    I'm actually surprised anyone is bothering to do this game. I mean, is Marvel publishing this new RPG themselves? If not, then the actual publisher has to weigh the cost of the license against expected sales. Particularly with a license that is likely very expensive. Other Marvel RPGs in the past have failed to endure because sales were not enough to justify continuing to pay for the license. There is little evidence that the popularity of the MCU will translate into (significant) superhero TTRPG sales, so I don't see how anyone could think that this is Marvel just printing money for themselves.

     

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    comment_2832334

    Another licensure issue to consider is IP ownership.  Clearly, Marvel owns the characters.  If they pull the license, or the game publisher lets it lapse, who owns the game mechanics?  What happens to the stock printed and sitting in the warehouse?  Can we reprint existing publications if they sell out?

     

    FASERIP and the new Marvel game appear designed around the IP.  You won't be using abilities in an acronym that sells Marvel if the license is pulled, so all the cost and effort that went into the actual game design is tied to that license.

     

    It's a lot like a franchise business - who owns the real intangible value?

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    comment_2832364

    Game mechanics aren't protectable IP unless granted a patent, which is exceedingly rare, and did not happen for FASERIP in any case. Those game mechanics are free for anyone to use/adapt. Only trademarked Marvel characters are off limits without a license. Unsold stock of previously printed games belong to whomever published them, until sold off to someone else. You can't reprint an out-of-print copyrighted game without permission from the copyright holder (again, either the original publisher or whomever they sold the copyrights to). A lot of old games become orphaned and fall into copyright limbo because the copyright holder no longer exists (as a business entity). Just another flaw in our current IP laws that we have to live with.

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    comment_2832572

    In some ways it is good that Marvel is publishing it themselves. They have unfettered access to all of their IP and don't have to pay anyone else for that privilege. On the other hand, this new RPG will only be supported for as long as it looks strong and profitable in Marvel's ledgers. RPGs are not Marvel's core business, and my prediction/expectation is that as the CoV2 lockdown eases and people have other things to do (again), this game will inevitably end up on Marvel's chopping block.

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    • 1 month later...
    comment_2837466

    One can hope that it's good - I still have all the original Marvel RPG stuff here somewhere, and will definitely keep an eye on it.  I'm on the fence about whether they'd actually be willing to create a system for building "original" heroes in their universe though.  There's a certain "ease of play" with familiar built characters, but that only keeps my interest for so long.

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    • 2 weeks later...
    comment_2839173

    I hope its not going to get to cutsey lol.

    In any case if they make one good game and setting that is all that are needed since it like all other marvel properties will be discontinued and or replaced sooner or later. Its the quality that matters. I would like it to be richly illustrated of both the world and characters and have those cut out things where you have the hero on one side and their stats on the other. 

    Oh and keep the Beyonder out of the game please lol.

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