See Virtual Worlds, the company behind Planet Michael, now owns licenses for a whole bunch of Hollywood intellectual properties, including Total Recall.
Along with Total Recall (the upcoming remake rather than the original Arnie classic, sadly) See has acquired licenses for Men in Black 3, Asterix, War of the Worlds and -of all things- Kevin Costner’s most shameful moment, Waterworld. See develops and runs virtual planets for MindArk’s free-to-play MMO Entropia Universe and is currently producing two licensed planets slated for release later in the year; Planet Michael, a mildly creepy virtual theme park that allows users to wander around environments inspired by the deceased musician’s music videos, and the Universal Monsters Van Helsing planet, which is based on horror movie icons such as Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolf Man. It’s not hard to imagine that we might be seeing Planet Asterix or, God help us, Planet Waterworld somewhere down the line.
“These properties are tied to memorable moments and incredible characters that players are going to interact with in future SEE-created digital and online interactive video games,” said Martin Biallas, See’s CEO. He didn’t mention whether any upcoming planets would allow users to start the reactor or free Mars.
Entropia Universe is a free-to-play MMO that gives players access to numerous themed planets. It has a particularly bustling economy and has even provided virtual banking licenses, allowing real world banks to operate within the game. Early this year, See purchased popular sci-fi themed Planet Calypso for $6 million, netting them a place in the Guinness Book of Records for the Most Expensive Virtual Property Purchase.
Source: Eurogamer
Published: Aug 11, 2011 06:10 pm