Crystal Dynamic's upcoming Marvel's Avengers video game is still in the works, but the developer has confirmed that it'll be getting post-launch DLC, in the form of a playable Spider-Man. At least, for the PlayStation 4 version. Those on Sony's platform will be getting the character exclusively, for free, sometime in "early 2021". No screenshots were shown in the announcement, but Crystal Dynamics promises that his appearance will be influenced by the respective styles of iconic comic artists who helped popularize Spider-Man. Meanwhile, in an apparent contrast to Insomniac's take on the series, Avenger's Spider-Man will use special technology in this outing, giving him access to boosted abilities. Marvel's Avengers will launch on PlayStation 4, Steam, and Xbox One on September 4th, with a next-gen version planned for later this year.

It’s never been a better time to be a spider-fan! The team at Crystal Dynamics, along with our partners, are overjoyed that we get to be a part of this hero’s gaming journey. We can’t wait for you to add Spider-Man to your Marvel’s Avengers roster in early 2021, and as we’ve promised before, he will be available at no additional cost to owners of the base game, exclusively on PlayStation.

Source

 

[D34DL1N3R]

Well, you see why it's different right? Mario, Luigi, and Samus are Nintendo IPs and Forza is a Microsoft IP. While the Spiderman game is exclusive to the PS4, Spiderman the character is not exclusive to Sony. You got Spiderman all across different games and on different platforms.

If, say, Sackboy was a Sony exclusive DLC character for this game, we wouldn't be having this conversation (although it would still be notable because that would be weird.)

Doesn't matter. Exclusive content is exclusive content. When someone owns something they can do what they wish. And you forgot a pretty big tidbit. Sony owns Spider-Man. How is Nintendo owning Mario or Microsoft owning Halo any different than Sony owning Spider-Man? It would be like complaining if Nintendo and Microsoft owned characters weren't included in a PS4 version of a game.

 

[SG854]

Some of you like "Typical Sony"... but forgot to mention anything about Nintendo or Microsoft. Damn Nintendo for not having Mario, Luigi and Samus cars on my PS4 version of Rocket League! And damn Microsoft for not putting the Forza games on Switch! They all tend to keep their owned properties on their own systems. Having Spidey as an exclusive makes perfect sends and I personally would purchase the game on a Sony console for this reason, if the game turns out to be any good to begin with.

I don't see Mario Odyseey coming to PS4.

Weird comparison. A console exclusive game. To a multiplatform game that only one console will get the dlc.

 

[Xzi]

Assuming one is the Amazing Spider-Man duology, what was the other?

I guess that was it, huh? Just felt like there was another one because of how much they retreaded the same ol' story lines in TASM, and how much time there was between Raimi's trilogy and Spider-Man finally appearing in the MCU.

 

[Nerdtendo]

Never heard of you

You getting so upset about my comment says a lot tho.

I guess maybe you should take your own advice

dude. it was a meme

 

[SG854]

Never heard of you

You getting so upset about my comment says a lot tho.

I guess maybe you should take your own advice

Will you stop caring about video games also over the age of 12

 

[Xzi]

Will you stop caring about video games also over the age of 12

Isn't this the guy who shoved a dildo up his ass in public to prove how "not homophobic" he is? Probably not the best idea to take his advice on this or any other subject.

 

[D34DL1N3R]

I don't see Mario Odyseey coming to PS4.

Weird comparison. A console exclusive game. To a multiplatform game that only one console will get the dlc.

What's weird is that I never said anything even remotely close to "Mario Odyseey coming to PS4". Let me spell it out to you one last time. Sony owns Spider-Man. It really doesn't get much more incredibly simple than that. If some of you can't comprehend that idea, there's nothing left I can say. I'm out.

 

[Axido]

If Sony was a Marvel character, they'd definitely be a villain. Creating multiple universes where Spider-Man is not an Avenger sure isn't what a hero would do.

They can stick their policy regarding exclusive content where the sun doesn't shine. I for one won't support a company that merely buys into exclusive content. Didn't do that with Epic, won't do that with Sony.

 

[SG854]

What's weird is that I never said anything even remotely close to "Mario Odyseey coming to PS4". Let me spell it out to you one last time. Sony owns Spider-Man. It really doesn't get much more incredibly simple than that. If some of you can't comprehend that idea, there's nothing left I can say. I'm out.

Just like Epic Games has exclusives yet people hate them for it.

 

[Xzi]

The best comparison here would be Soul Calibur 2 with Link exclusive to GCN, Heihachi exclusive to PS2, and Spawn exclusive to Xbox. The only difference this time around is that Sony has all the leverage because they're the only one of the big three that owns any Marvel characters.

Again though, there's no need to be salty over it because this Avengers game looks like ass. I'll be buying a PS5 and skipping it altogether anyway.

Just like Epic Games has exclusives yet people hate them for it.

Third-party exclusivity is something that you don't see even Sony or Nintendo doing. People don't like any exclusivity, but they're used to it from consoles after 30+ years. Of course introducing it to PC for the first time in 2019 was going to draw a lot of ire, even Epic had to have known it was coming. Sweeney loves the negative feedback and being the center of controversy though.

 

[Tony_93]

If Sony was a Marvel character, they'd definitely be a villain. Creating multiple universes where Spider-Man is not an Avenger sure isn't what a hero would do.

They can stick their policy regarding exclusive content where the sun doesn't shine. I for one won't support a company that merely buys into exclusive content. Didn't do that with Epic, won't do that with Sony.

What? These are two different things tho. Sony didn't just merely bought exclusivity on something they don't own. Sony OWNS a big portion of the character. Is not like Spiderman was going to be on PC/Xbox and Sony suddenly threw money at last minute to Marvel to keep Spiderman away from the other versions. Which is what Epic Games has done.

 

[Axido]

What? These are two different things tho. Sony didn't just merely bought exclusivity on something they don't own. Sony OWNS a big portion of the character. Is not like Spiderman was going to be on PC/Xbox and Sony suddenly threw money at last minute to Marvel to keep Spiderman away from the other versions. Which is what Epic Games has done.

I was about to give you this one, but one thing doesn't fit.
You see, Sony owns the movie rights to Spider-Man. Let that information circulate through your mind a bit before we get to the more interesting part, which is: This does not include the video game rights. Those rights are still with Marvel and they definitely weren't acquired by Sony when Insomniac made their PS4-exclusive Spider-Man game (or to be more precise, when Sony actually bought Insomniac), at least not exclusively. Video game rights are normally not handed out exclusively to one Developer or Publisher. That's why there's multiple games in development that feature Spider-Man, another one being Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, which features Spider-Man and is going to be a Switch exclusive.

So, if Sony didn't have the excliusive rights to video game Spidey in the first place, this is definitely a case of bought exclusivity. And it works, because people think "Oh yeah, Spider-Man belongs to Sony." Well, unless you care to differentiate.

 

[Jayro]

And THIS is exactly why Sony needs to give Spiderman back.

 

[Ericzander]

I was about to give you this one, but one thing does not fit.
You see, Sony owns the movie rights to Spider-Man. Let that information circulate through your mind a bit before we get to the more interesting part, which is: This does not include the video game rights. Those rights are still with Marvel and they definitely weren't acquired by Sony when Insomniac made their PS4-exclusive Spider-Man game, at least not exclusively. Because if Marvel was to hand out the exclusive rights to Spider-Man, he couldn't have appeared in other Marvel-themed games on other platforms.

So, if Sony didn't have the excliusive rights to video game Spidey in the first place and it isn't bought exclusivity, you'd need to tell me what it is.

This was my line of thinking when I made my earlier comment. I was (and also still probably am) under the impression that while Sony has the film rights to Spider-Man--acquiring Insomniac wasn't enough to give them full rights over the video games. But then @Xzi stated that Marvel only retains the rights to comic book Spider-Man and I didn't bother looking into it further.

Aren't intellectual property rights fun?

Doesn't matter. Exclusive content is exclusive content. When someone owns something they can do what they wish. And you forgot a pretty big tidbit. Sony owns Spider-Man. How is Nintendo owning Mario or Microsoft owning Halo any different than Sony owning Spider-Man? It would be like complaining if Nintendo and Microsoft owned characters weren't included in a PS4 version of a game.

I didn't "forget" a pretty big tidbit. I went off of the presumption that the video game rights to Spider-Man are NOT held exclusively by Sony. Which is why I differentiated Spider-Man from Mario, Samus, Forza, and Sackboy.

If I'm wrong and it turns out Sony actually does have complete control over Spider-Man when it comes to his video game portrayals then that's where my argument falls apart. But I can't find any verifiable source that states that Sony has exclusive control over Spider-Man in video games. In fact, most evidence points to the contrary.

But at any rate, my post did not forget a tidbit. But I should also clarify that you're not completely correct when you say that Sony owns Spider-Man because, obviously, Sony only owns certain aspects of the character. But I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that's what you meant.

 

[Axido]

Aren't intellectual property rights fun?

They sure are a mess to deal with and dig through.

 

[AnimeIsDead]

Yay more marvel and marvel superheroes....

 

[Xzi]

But then @Xzi stated that Marvel only retains the rights to comic book Spider-Man and I didn't bother looking into it further.

That's my understanding of it, but I could be wrong. I was curious about his appearance in Ultimate Alliance 3, so I had a look at the back of the case. While it doesn't mention Sony in specific, it does say, "trademarks are property of their respective owners." That doesn't clear much up, but it does seem to imply that Koei Tecmo had to clear the game with more than just Marvel alone.

Edit: Google seems pretty certain that Sony owns the video game rights, but that seems to be based solely on one article, while other articles suggest Marvel still retains those rights and is simply more willing to work with Sony based on their previous collaborations together. Definitely a mish-mash of conflicting information on the topic.

 

[RyRyIV]

That's my understanding of it, but I could be wrong. I was curious about his appearance in Ultimate Alliance 3, so I had a look at the back of the case. While it doesn't mention Sony in specific, it does say, "trademarks are property of their respective owners." That doesn't clear much up, but it does seem to imply that Koei Tecmo had to clear the game with more than just Marvel alone.

Edit: Google seems pretty certain that Sony owns the video game rights, but that seems to be based solely on one article, while other articles suggest Marvel still retains those rights and is simply more willing to work with Sony based on their previous collaborations together. Definitely a mish-mash of conflicting information on the topic.

I’ll put it this way. IF Sony owns the video game rights, it’s definitely a recent development. Everything I can find points to them only owning film rights, and that’s backed up by the pure number of non-Sony games Spidey has shown up in. But I’m no expert in copyright law so I’m not gonna say it’s impossible that Sony acquired exclusive video game rights recently

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

TBH I absolutely expect this will just be a timed exclusive agreement, with Spiderman coming to other platforms as free DLC like other future characters are supposed to a year or two after release.

Still dumb they're making a major character of a franchise exclusive to one platform initially though, "exclusive" shit like this needs to finally disappear

 

[Kioku]

This is actually pretty bad. Yeah, you can argue that with Sony owning specific rights to the character they can do what they want and blah blah blah. However, this is nothing like Master Chief, Kratos, or Samus. It's not their original character. It's not something they've owned since it began, or bought exclusive full (I MEAN FULL) rights to. It's a shitty move to incentivize playing on their platform. It's also now fuel to the fanboy fire. Honestly? Anyone with any decency would want nothing with this. Apparently when it comes to money all human decency is out the fucking window..

Oh well.

1. We know nothing about how this game plays outside of some short demo reel. Which didn't show much, and honestly looked blah.

2. I can't think of one game with Spiderman in that was actually fun.