As many were aware, yesterday was potentially a historic day for both comic book fans and video gamers alike, as DC Universe Online, the largest MMO role playing game for both the PS3 console and the PC with actual licensed characters, hit shelves everywhere in the US. The game is said to be a landmark in the way comic fans and gamers cross over, and could even be huge for more cross-platform marketing.
DC Entertainment has quite a big year ahead of it in the box office as well, with their first big-budget, costumed live action flick since Dark Knight hits theaters with Ryan Reynolds’ Green Lantern. You can expect to see plenty of marketing between now and the film’s June release, even in-game marketing with DCUO. From Heat Vision:
Jim Lee, co-publisher of DC Entertainment and executive creative director for DCUO, said that while the game will remain focused on 75 years of comic book lore, future expansions of the game will tie into film events like Warners’ The Green Lantern.
“Fortunately, the Green Lantern that debuts in the feature film this June is based heavily upon the same core canon found in the pages of the comics,” Lee said. “In that sense, Green Lantern is Green Lantern, so of course, future expansions of DCUO will want to tap into the same well of excitement and passion and awareness that’s generated by such big blockbuster motion pictures.”
In the end, Lee said expansion packs will still be adaptations of the core comic book stories but share thematic links to the stories told on the big screen.
With an open-ended game like a MMO, the folks at Sony and DC now have an open door to add or change anything inside of this world to accommodate their newest venture, be it a film, comic, or TV series. Expect to see this medium take off more and more as the world of video games become more mainstream.
