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Sony bet big on Marvel and that might really pay off (possible spoilers)

I think with Marvel's latest Phase and maybe even to some people (myself included) Spider-Man 2, there was starting to be some real fatigue and question marks around the value of Marvel. Seeing how much Sony had invested with Marvel through the next 11 years felt somewhat risky.

After the release of X-Men '97 and the response from the trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine, I think we can cautiously say those concerns were overblown.

X-Men '97 a triumph and
the cameo of Spider-Man suggesting a possible Spider-Man '98 series is massive for Sony.

In tandem with Deadpool & Wolverine, there is definitely going to be a renewed interest in Wolverine and the X-Men in general. This Wolverine game assuming it is of similar quality as the Spider-Man games could be quite a seller, followed up by the planned X-Men games.

None of this includes whatever Marvel actually does to reboot the X-Men in live action, which I'm sure they'll be significantly more careful about than the eternals and the Marvels.

What looked like a risky play is starting to look like it's going to pay off in a major way. I get the sense that the X-Men are going to become as popular as they were in the 90s and early 2000s again.
 

feynoob

Member
Bigger issue would be the fees and the cost. Sony would need to have a reason to continue that investment, if the price continues to pile up.

Economy currently is messed up.
 

Ribi

Member
Marvel fans and DC fans have led to more mindless media. There's a fucking superhero movie out every week and the invasion of gaming has led to only Spiderman games with a 300million budget but the entire city was reused.

In other words, I hope it fails because I'm old and hate this generation.
 

Puscifer

Member
Marvel fans and DC fans have led to more mindless media. There's a fucking superhero movie out every week and the invasion of gaming has led to only Spiderman games with a 300million budget but the entire city was reused.

In other words, I hope it fails because I'm old and hate this generation.
They've already signed the deal and got the money so this point is moot.
 

AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
Hate to break it to you, but Sony bet on Spider-Man in 1999 and they've been laughing their way to the bank ever since.

Know what they paid for the movie rights to Spider-Man in 1999? $7 million. They were offered all Marvel movie rights for $25 million or something, which in retrospect looks stupid, but betting on Spidey sure doesn't.
 

Varteras

Gold Member
Bigger issue would be the fees and the cost. Sony would need to have a reason to continue that investment, if the price continues to pile up.

Economy currently is messed up.
where-the-fuck-have-you-been-where-are-you.gif
 

cormack12

Gold Member
Rest Spider-Man
Wolverine can be good especially if it's more brutal
I find it hard to believe the demand for any other X-Men is high though. And I don't really see a squad game in the vein of SS or GK working.
Deadpool has potential but I feel that's a really tight line to walk coming up with the right tone.
In conclusion Wolverine may get a couple of games, but that's about it imo
 

Jinzo Prime

Member
I think with Marvel's latest Phase and maybe even to some people (myself included) Spider-Man 2, there was starting to be some real fatigue and question marks around the value of Marvel. Seeing how much Sony had invested with Marvel through the next 11 years felt somewhat risky.

After the release of X-Men '97 and the response from the trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine, I think we can cautiously say those concerns were overblown.

X-Men '97 a triumph and
the cameo of Spider-Man suggesting a possible Spider-Man '98 series is massive for Sony.

In tandem with Deadpool & Wolverine, there is definitely going to be a renewed interest in Wolverine and the X-Men in general. This Wolverine game assuming it is of similar quality as the Spider-Man games could be quite a seller, followed up by the planned X-Men games.

None of this includes whatever Marvel actually does to reboot the X-Men in live action, which I'm sure they'll be significantly more careful about than the eternals and the Marvels.

What looked like a risky play is starting to look like it's going to pay off in a major way. I get the sense that the X-Men are going to become as popular as they were in the 90s and early 2000s again.
The Wolverine game is going to make bank for sure, but I don't have to like this.
 
Rest Spider-Man
Wolverine can be good especially if it's more brutal
I find it hard to believe the demand for any other X-Men is high though. And I don't really see a squad game in the vein of SS or GK working.
Deadpool has potential but I feel that's a really tight line to walk coming up with the right tone.
In conclusion Wolverine may get a couple of games, but that's about it imo
I mean you're actually wrong. We already know they're planning X-Men games.

As for your opinion on there being demand, this is a bit more subjective. We probably won't get data on how successful X-Men '97 has been, but from all signs it's been really good. This combined with live action x-men will renew interest, not just in Wolverine, but all X-Men as was the case in the late 90s and before Hugh Jackman. Wolverine was definitely the favorite, but it was never this lopsided, made more so by Wolverine getting his own movies.

Bottom line: You're definitely underestimating the brand.

Do you know who no one actually cared about? The Avengers... believe it or not. And here we are.
 

gothmog

Gold Member
I guess the Russo brothers might know what they're talking about that it's a media consumption issue rather than massive superhero fatigue.
 

JackMcGunns

Member
I thought they missed that bet when they invested in just Spider-Man and refused all other characters which eventually Disney purchased? or something along those lines, but now they're investing in something new?
 

Puscifer

Member
Hate to break it to you, but Sony bet on Spider-Man in 1999 and they've been laughing their way to the bank ever since.

Know what they paid for the movie rights to Spider-Man in 1999? $7 million. They were offered all Marvel movie rights for $25 million or something, which in retrospect looks stupid, but betting on Spidey sure doesn't.
Must popular super hero of all time, it just makes sense.
 

Sleepwalker

Member
Rest Spider-Man
Wolverine can be good especially if it's more brutal
I find it hard to believe the demand for any other X-Men is high though. And I don't really see a squad game in the vein of SS or GK working.
Deadpool has potential but I feel that's a really tight line to walk coming up with the right tone.
In conclusion Wolverine may get a couple of games, but that's about it imo
The insomniac leak said they already secured the rights for an X-men game iirc. So at least 1 is going to happen.
 
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Mr Moose

Member
X-Men '97 a triumph and
the cameo of Spider-Man suggesting a possible Spider-Man '98 series is massive for Sony.
Why is this massive for Sony?

 
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bender

What time is it?
I worry in the bet in that I think people are finally starting to feel the fatigue of all the Marvel stuff that Disney is shitting out. Games take so long to develop that you'll naturally be behind the trend curves of other media. That's probably counteracted by some licenses being so popular that they are somewhat immune to these trends and Spider-Man checks that box and maybe Wolverine too.
 
Why is this massive for Sony?


I'm not saying that they could make a TV show, but rather that if Spider-Man '98 is successful, it will help the Spider-Man games sell better..
 

simpatico

Member
A lot rides on the X-Men live action stuff. Marvel will always yield nice one-shots like Spider-Man or Deadpool. Avengers tier media takeovers require a little more magic. Honestly the ball is on the tee again if they can hit it for the reasons you mentioned.

What sucks for pubs now is how long cycle times are now. In PSX/PS2 era, they were able to pump out pretty decent AAA Lord of the Rings and Star Wars games at a pace that seems impossible today. The lack of gaming capitalization on Marvel during the Avengers fever dream is going to make a great 4 hour YouTube video essay one day. It doesn't get enough credit as an industry bungle.
 
'it was a thought. the only sane thought you can have when you're chased by giant robots that were built to crush you. magneto was right!...'
- dr. valerie cooper (?), x-men '97

whoa! well, now, I guess this changes everything! man, this's after friggin' decades of magneto being wrong! whew! i think I might have to sit down now...
 

cormack12

Gold Member
I mean you're actually wrong. We already know they're planning X-Men games.

As for your opinion on there being demand, this is a bit more subjective. We probably won't get data on how successful X-Men '97 has been, but from all signs it's been really good. This combined with live action x-men will renew interest, not just in Wolverine, but all X-Men as was the case in the late 90s and before Hugh Jackman. Wolverine was definitely the favorite, but it was never this lopsided, made more so by Wolverine getting his own movies.

Bottom line: You're definitely underestimating the brand.

Do you know who no one actually cared about? The Avengers... believe it or not. And here we are.

They were planning plenty of GaaS too were they not? Where is TLOU online these days? Things change and even more drastically and quickly than just a couple of years ago. Where is Spider-Man online from Insomniac?

A Wolverine trilogy could work I guess, similar to most character action games like Nate Drake, Lara Croft etc. That's probably something that has the best shot. Especially as it has had some previous solid games behind it.



The Avengers was huge. And the games tanked. Not sure what point you're trying to make?

But let's go by precedent. Which games centred on X-Men without Wolverine have been large successes?

And which characters (not including wolverine) would you build a game around personally. We're years away from the original release and Night Crawler is still one of the most remembered scenes.

To me it sounds more like a GaaS project - The online elements certainly. I guess that could work, like build your own x-man. But it kinda also feels a bit like The Great Web+ which looked like it lacked a lot. You could transplant the character into a city like Spider-Man and just have them doing missions like a comic book style but I genuinely don't see it working.

If you're trying to convince us that XMen is going to do Spider-Man numbers that ain't going to happen. I'd peg it in the same bracket as Infamous: Second Son which I think it fair.
 
They were planning plenty of GaaS too were they not? Where is TLOU online these days? Things change and even more drastically and quickly than just a couple of years ago. Where is Spider-Man online from Insomniac?3

Games get cancelled all the time. Hope you realize that. GaaS or not.

A Wolverine trilogy could work I guess, similar to most character action games like Nate Drake, Lara Croft etc. That's probably something that has the best shot. Especially as it has had some previous solid games behind it.

We already know what Insomniac's plans are and it isn't a Wolverine Trilogy. The X-Men are bigger than Wolverine, I know that's hard for some people to believe, but it's always been the case.





The Avengers was huge. And the games tanked. Not sure what point you're trying to make?


You mean the game that has a 67 on metacritic tanked? Lordy me.

But let's go by precedent. Which games centred on X-Men without Wolverine have been large successes?

Which Wolverine game has been a large success? Which Harry Potter game before Hogwarts Legacy was a large success? Which Spider-Man game before Marvel's Spider-Man was a large success? What Batman game before Arkham Asylum was a large success?

Depending on your definition; X-Men the Arcade game, X-Men on the Genesis certainly come to mind.

And which characters (not including wolverine) would you build a game around personally. We're years away from the original release and Night Crawler is still one of the most remembered scenes.

Original release? lol cute...

Nightcrawler has always been been a fan favorite. Gambit, Iceman.

The original NES X-Men was built around Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Iceman.

Future games threw in Beast, Psylocke, and even Magneto.

You also have Rogue, Bishop, and Cable.

Honestly the list goes on and on...

If you're trying to convince us that XMen is going to do Spider-Man numbers that ain't going to happen. I'd peg it in the same bracket as Infamous: Second Son which I think it fair.

That's hilarious.
 

Fbh

Member
The Sony Marvel games will probably continue to have strong sales as long as they keep the quality consistent.
Though I wonder if it's really worth it after the Disney cut and with Sony never really owning these IPs.
 

cormack12

Gold Member
Games get cancelled all the time. Hope you realize that. GaaS or not.
Exactly. So putting all your eggs in this basket is really weird.

We already know what Insomniac's plans are and it isn't a Wolverine Trilogy. The X-Men are bigger than Wolverine, I know that's hard for some people to believe, but it's always been the case.
I don't care who is bigger in terms of sales or comics. This isn't a mystery machine or turtles situation where you absolutely need the entire cast to make a good game featuring X-Men. Focus on the characters makes it stronger imo.

You mean the game that has a 67 on metacritic tanked? Lordy me.
Metacritic scores? Really? It's one of the most fondly remembered games of that era and arguably the best x-men related game released. Did you play it at the time? Genuine question.

Depending on your definition; X-Men the Arcade game, X-Men on the Genesis certainly come to mind.
So you sneer at a 67 metacritic Wolverine, but a 70 rated X-Men game is much better?

Original release? lol cute...

Honestly the list goes on and on...
I'm talking about the movies that were released because you're somehow linking this renaissance to X-Men 97. Old IP's that were popular are not necessarily popular now. Most of those names are not in the zeitgeist when people think of characters in universe. There are too many things that need to happen to reach the heights you're talking about.

That's hilarious.
I dunno why that's hilarious? Insomniac are clearly a decent studio and will put out a really solid game. I just don't think it has the backing in numbers. That's kind of around the same as Bloodborne isn't it? Which is perceived to have done well I guess. Of course its projected to be a while off so we can't really tell unless Sony finally have a steady stream of games at that point, or even if they release a PS5 and a PS6 SKU.


I'd probably wait until they commit to SM3 with Miles tbh, that will probably give us an indication on how important the character is on its own
 
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Exactly. So putting all your eggs in this basket is really weird.

All their eggs? How so?


I don't care who is bigger in terms of sales or comics. This isn't a mystery machine or turtles situation where you absolutely need the entire cast to make a good game featuring X-Men. Focus on the characters makes it stronger imo.

Your ignorance of X-Men doesn't make your argument stronger. For more evidence, the X-Men movies have grossed much more than the Wolverine movies with the exception of the real stinkers. So not sure why you're basing your argument on, but it doesn't have foundation anywhere.

Metacritic scores? Really? It's one of the most fondly remembered games of that era and arguably the best x-men related game released. Did you play it at the time? Genuine question.


So you sneer at a 67 metacritic Wolverine, but a 70 rated X-Men game is much better?

Avengers is the most fondly remembered game? Maybe you got your responses mixed up.


I'm talking about the movies that were released because you're somehow linking this renaissance to X-Men 97. Old IP's that were popular are not necessarily popular now. Most of those names are not in the zeitgeist when people think of characters in universe. There are too many things that need to happen to reach the heights you're talking about.

See above.

I dunno why that's hilarious? Insomniac are clearly a decent studio and will put out a really solid game. I just don't think it has the backing in numbers. That's kind of around the same as Bloodborne isn't it? Which is perceived to have done well I guess. Of course its projected to be a while off so we can't really tell unless Sony finally have a steady stream of games at that point, or even if they release a PS5 and a PS6 SKU.


I'd probably wait until they commit to SM3 with Miles tbh, that will probably give us an indication on how important the character is on its own

Sony created an all new character with no legacy behind it and it sold 10 million+ in Ghost of Tsushima, 20 million+ in Horizon. I wouldn't sleep on what they can do with X-Men.
 

Hudo

Member
Good for Sony, I guess. Bad for me, since I really don't care about super hero stuff at all. So all these Marvel games are really not interesting to me. I'd rather have Insomniac work on a new Resistance game, tbh.
 

FeralEcho

Member
I mean you're actually wrong. We already know they're planning X-Men games.

As for your opinion on there being demand, this is a bit more subjective. We probably won't get data on how successful X-Men '97 has been, but from all signs it's been really good. This combined with live action x-men will renew interest, not just in Wolverine, but all X-Men as was the case in the late 90s and before Hugh Jackman. Wolverine was definitely the favorite, but it was never this lopsided, made more so by Wolverine getting his own movies.

Bottom line: You're definitely underestimating the brand.

Do you know who no one actually cared about? The Avengers... believe it or not. And here we are.
I feel like this song and dance with X-Men has been happening since the damn reboot with every new movie...then it turned out... it's still Wolverine people are interested to see lol
 

Nvzman

Member
Marvel fans and DC fans have led to more mindless media. There's a fucking superhero movie out every week and the invasion of gaming has led to only Spiderman games with a 300million budget but the entire city was reused.

In other words, I hope it fails because I'm old and hate this generation.
I'm sorry but I cannot help but find this one of the dumbest complaints about the game.
Yea they re-used the city from 2018/Miles Morales, but they nearly doubled the entire size of the map by adding in much more boroughs of New York.
Also, its fucking NEW YORK CITY, what has changed significantly about NY in five years either? Damn I guess the building architecture workers are slacking!
 
I feel like this song and dance with X-Men has been happening since the damn reboot with every new movie...then it turned out... it's still Wolverine people are interested to see lol

Even the best performing Wolverine movie: Logan is still behind X-Men Days of Future Past and Last Stand.

I'm not saying there is a singular character more popular than Wolverine, but collectively, yes, people are more interested in the X-Men than just wolverine.

The Wolverine is one of the worst grossing X-Men movies only surpassed by Dark Phoenix.

There is a reason why Sony is starting with Wolverine, but quickly jumping to X-Men for future titles.
 
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Loomy

Thinks Microaggressions are Real
Exactly. So putting all your eggs in this basket is really weird.
For the 673rd time, they increased spending on live service games. They did not decrease spending on their other games. And before you respond with "but that money could have been spent on increasing the budget for the single player games" - They need to diversify their offerings. Games take a long ass time to make these days, they need to have revenue in between major single player games.
 

Loomy

Thinks Microaggressions are Real
Marvel fans and DC fans have led to more mindless media. There's a fucking superhero movie out every week and the invasion of gaming has led to only Spiderman games with a 300million budget but the entire city was reused.

In other words, I hope it fails because I'm old and hate this generation.
It's okay, gramp! Go feed ducks, we've got this.

Also, the number of superhero movies/shows coming out has gone down significantly, and there's barely any superhero games being made these days.
 

Larxia

Member
I don't really have much hopes for future Marvel content, both in cinema and games...

After recently playing Midnight Suns, I think the best X-Men game would be a spin off of that, but set in the Xavier's School, it would be perfect for it.
 
Not sure on the OP’s premise - most people seem to be decidedly over the whole superhero thing for a while at least, I definitely am…
 

Roni

Gold Member
I feel like the comic book boom peaked with Endgame. Games are the hot new thing. Hopefully, once this wave is over, we can go back to original shit again. I'd like to live through at least one era of those before I'm in the ground.
 
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cormack12

Gold Member
For the 673rd time, they increased spending on live service games. They did not decrease spending on their other games. And before you respond with "but that money could have been spent on increasing the budget for the single player games" - They need to diversify their offerings. Games take a long ass time to make these days, they need to have revenue in between major single player games.
I didn't say they did. The point was on the slide this game is still years out. Games are getting cancelled. So assuming this isn't at risk is a bit weird.

All their eggs? How so?
See above

Avengers is the most fondly remembered game? Maybe you got your responses mixed up.
That wasn't about Avengers, it was your xmen example.

Sony created an all new character with no legacy behind it and it sold 10 million+ in Ghost of Tsushima, 20 million+ in Horizon. I wouldn't sleep on what they can do with X-Men.
OK, but if your point is so solid why would they make a Wolverine game BEFORE an X-Men game? In fact why would they even make a Wolverine game at all if you're right?



Also, at both of you really to see the conversation move on. What type of game do you think X-Men will be? Single character? Party arpg? Jrpg?
 
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I didn't say they did. The point was on the slide this game is still years out. Games are getting cancelled. So assuming this isn't at risk is a bit weird.


See above

The term all your eggs in one basket, suggests they put all their funding into GaaS. That's literally what it means. Maybe choose a different saying.

Sony knew the risk with their GaaS investment. At the time many people told many of the naysayers that all they needed to do was get one. Helldivers has already generated more revenue in two months than every game Sony has published in the US save for 6 games. It could easily become the best selling SIE game of all time and has a much better long term view than any of the 6 games that could be above it. If it's already at 7, it's already in rarified air. When the game switches to a F2P model, it could easily become one of the most popular games in gaming... (it already is).

Literally every other GaaS game they make could fail or be cancelled and their strategy was already a success.


That wasn't about Avengers, it was your xmen example.

You said, Avengers games tanked, and I told you it wasn't a good game. You can't simply assume it will sell because it has the name attached. Insomniac has proven they can make a successful Marvel game with Spider-Man. I actually think Wolverine is much harder to do right than Spider-Man, so we'll see how they do, but you bringing up Avengers made no sense.

OK, but if your point is so solid why would they make a Wolverine game BEFORE an X-Men game? In fact why would they even make a Wolverine game at all if you're right?

  • Wolverine IS the most popular X-Men character
  • It's easily to build a game around ONE character and moveset and really flesh that out than to build a game around 5-10 characters.
    • The leak actually shows that Jean Gray will also be a playable character, because pure melee alone will get boring.
  • Starting with Wolverine will allow you to create assets and sell a game while you build out the other characters.
  • Wolverine is FAR easier to build out than say Storm.
  • Wolverine has his own rogue's gallery of villains.
It makes perfect sense to start with Wolverine and build out from there.

Also, at both of you really to see the conversation move on. What type of game do you think X-Men will be? Single character? Party arpg? Jrpg?

Hard to say. The game is planned for 2030 meaning it will be a PS6 title. Big factor is whether the game is crossgen or not. A big point with the X-Men is their teamwork, which few games have really captured. It could be a co-op game or single player with AI/swappable characters or and more likely if it is cross gen it could be like Spider-Man 2 where you swap characters but it is still a single player game.
 

poodaddy

Member
I think Sony will make boat loads of money from Wolverine, I agree with that.That being said, with the writing of Spoders 2, color me skeptical of everything coming out of Insomniac to say the very least. Wolverine is supposed to be absolutely brutal, sad, and affecting, and I simply don't trust them anymore. It'll make them money, but Sony's writers' take on Marvel IP is so completely off base that it's downright disrespectful, and I say that as someone who actually has a great time with Spoders 2, but that writing was unforgivable.

I'm a simp for Venom and Wolverine in general, and I'm the first to admit it....but to be honest I'm trying to pull away from my love of these characters just to be less disappointed when Insomniac inevitably drops trousers and absolutely decimates them with mighty loads of diarrhea. I'm gonna be 37 soon....time for me to stop loving stories about men in tights fighting, Hell, the stories aren't written for me anymore anyway.
 

Hudo

Member
The biggest tragedy is that Marvelous! have not managed to make a Marvel game. I feel that's some missed opportunity.
 

Ribi

Member
It's okay, gramp! Go feed ducks, we've got this.

Also, the number of superhero movies/shows coming out has gone down significantly, and there's barely any superhero games being made these days.
I'm glad your ADHD brain is so focused on the positives which is.. they're not milking it as much anymore so everything is ok!
 
Yeah, but the X-Men stuff's assuming Disney doesn't screw up Seasons 2 and 3. They already fired DeMayo (maybe they bring him back); considering there's been no scandal, I assume it was down to creative differences and some type of disagreement. One thing you'll notice about X-Men '97 is, it's VERY much sticking to the comics, mostly the classic ones & storylines, it has a strong male lead presence, not a ton of gender or race swaps, and doesn't feel like a Disney Channel show with a bunch of kids being pushed front and center...

...basically it's the opposite of everything Disney & Marvel have been doing with the MCU the past couple of years. So '97 is great right now, but I'm worried the typical crap will take over in the latter half of Season 2 depending on who's leading the project and whatnot. We'll see what happens.

Meanwhile in the live-action area, most of the movies since Endgame have been mediocre or outright terrible. Eternals was a dud. Thor: Love & Thunder was an insult. Black Panther 2 was a disappointment. Ant-Man 3 was trash. Shang-Chi was decent. The Marvels was a disaster. Guardians 3 was maybe the only universally well-received MCU film since 2019.

And then you get to the shows....She-Hulk was an abomination, Moon Knight was okay, Echo was 🤣...you get the point. The live-action output has been mediocre overall at best, meanwhile they've somehow been screwing up the Blade movie BTS, Captain Falcon's had extensive reshoots...the only potential surefire bright spot is Deadpool 3.

Only the Spiderman films have been consistently solid since Endgame, actually.

So I'll just be blunt: until the live-action MCU stuff consistently improves for the better, there's no reason to think of Deadpool 3 as an exception to a downward trend in quality. And if they dare screw up X-Men '97 with the stuff I just mentioned above then, yeah, they will taint hype for live-action X-Men too. They already kind of screwed up with Silver Surfer casting; yes I know there is a female Silver Surfer from the comics, but you'd think they would've went with the much more popular male Silver Surfer as that's the one most people are familiar with. Plus, it'd be the character's first live-action appearance in the MCU, so why go for such a deep cut variation?

What this means for SIE's superhero games? I don't know. But if I were them I'd be hounding Disney & Marvel to not screw up X-Men or Spiderman, and to restore the MCU. They know what that would entail. And if Disney & Marvel can't manage that? Well I hope SIE have a nice out from that licensing deal. You never know, it could end up where the next Rachet & Clank sells more than Wolverine or even Spiderman.
 

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
As much as I agree spiderman has a lot of appeal, I think it's the quality of the games that insomniac is delivering that drives most of the sales.
 
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