Hate the player, not the game: IGN Insider talks to Ames Kirshen, Marvel's manager of game development, about licensing, brand management and, um, Sub-Mariner:

"A lot of times our licensed products have failed in the past. In the past, for the most part, it was up to the publisher as to who takes the brand and shepherds it on the development side and what it turns out to be as the end product. Picking the publishing partner is obviously extremely important, but what developer is working on your product is also important. Whether it's a new developer, or a developer with certain competencies -- those are major factors in terms of what game we end up with. So another part of my role is to identify what partners we want to work with on the development side as well.

"We have the Namor the Submariner property, which Marvel Studios is extremely excited about -- they've been pitching it as their Lord of the Rings or Star Wars fantasy property. It's a Universal film, and it's going to be huge, but it's also going to be an extremely effects-heavy and challenging game to make. So the question there is not just finding the right publisher, but also the right developer who can do this epic film franchise justice."