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Disney: Marvel deal will help games business reach "critical mass"

'We'd be silly not to respect history of Marvel properties', says Disney VP Tom Stagg

Disney's senior vice president Tom Stagg has said that incorporating Marvel characters and licenses into its interactive division will help its videogame business reach critical mass.

Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia XVIII Conference in New York, Stagg said that he sees a future where Marvel games are published both by Disney and third-party partners.

"Overtime, on the videogame side there will be opportunities. We've said that, but that doesn't necessarily mean that every videogame that has a Marvel or Disney brand will end up being just produced by us," he said.

"I suspect there will be a blend of licence relationships and self-published titles, but at the same time we believe there's an opportunity there just in terms of our drive, driving ourselves to critical mass and having a broader base of properties with which to do that."

Stagg said that once the USD 4 billion deal is complete, consumer products and movies are the two most important divisions to incorporate into the Disney business, with videogames third on the list.

He also said that it's important that Disney respects the history of the Marvel franchises and brands as it brings them in-house

"There's an approach to the properties, the stories and characters that we have to respect, and frankly, we'd be silly not to respect that.

"We've been investing in our interactive media group, including videogames, and I look forward over the next few years in reaching scale into a number of those efforts and to turning that into a profitable growth driver," he added.

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Matt Martin

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Matt Martin joined GamesIndustry in 2006 and was made editor of the site in 2008. With over ten years experience in journalism, he has written for multiple trade, consumer, contract and business-to-business publications in the games, retail and technology sectors.