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NCsoft, creators of superhero themed MMORPG City of Heroes could face serious legal repercussions, with Marvel suing them over similarities between some of the game’s user-created characters and its own superhero creations. Developer, Cryptic Studios is also named in the lawsuit which aims to put a stop to players creating characters that are identical to Marvel heavyweights, Wolverine and The Incredible Hulk.
City of Heroes allows users to create their own superhero before stepping out into the virtual city to fight crime and generally do good, and it seems natural that some users will use the system to re-create their favourite heroes from their favourite comics, but Marvel already has a strong lineup of gaming IP and is obviously keen to protect the sales of current and future titles – including a planned MMORPG. Raise eyebrows here.
One thing is for certain: if they are successful, it could have far reaching consequences within the industry. In their Pro Evolution Soccer series, Konami subsidiary KCET long relied on gamers to correct unlicensed footballers names for accuracy, and many other developers include extremely detailed facial feature editors in their games. In the future publishers would have to be very careful about what level of customisation they allow their developers to put into games. Hopefully the courts will see sense before pens, pencils and paint are banned, in case some kid draws a picture of Spiderman on his rough book.
