MFORMA Group, Inc. and leading global entertainment licensing company Marvel Enterprises, Inc. signed a licensing agreement that will bring Marvel’s catalog of world famous entertainment brands to mobile phone users throughout the world. This landmark agreement was announced today by Daniel Kranzler, MFORMA CEO, and Tim Rothwell and Bruno Maglione, presidents, respectively, of Marvel Worldwide Consumer Products and Marvel International.
The agreement calls for MFORMA to publish an extensive portfolio of mobile entertainment products based on many of Marvel’s iconic characters as they appear in movies, television, video games and comic books which will be available in all domestic and international territories, except for Japan. As part of the agreement, MFORMA will co-publish selected mobile games with Activision, one of the world’s leading video game publishers. Activision brings a rich heritage of developing, publishing, and marketing blockbuster video games based on popular brands, including Marvel’s major properties. The MFORMA/Marvel multi-year global product plan identifies mobile entertainment applications of every kind and represents one of the most far-reaching publishing programs seen in the mobile industry.
“Nothing like this has ever before been done in mobile,” said Daniel Kranzler, MFORMA CEO. “Today, the market and mobile technology has matured to the point that a deal of this magnitude is possible. We have spent the last year expanding and building our global distribution and production capabilities so that we can serve the needs of an entertainment powerhouse like Marvel. Marvel brands routinely turn gold at the box office and in console gaming and they will do the same in mobile around the world — in Europe, North and South America, and most of Asia. We are pleased beyond words to be working with Marvel and Activision on this fantastic and perfectly-timed opportunity to catapult mobile entertainment to mainstream status all over the world.”
Marvel’s instantly recognizable characters represent one of the world’s most powerful brand franchises. The Marvel/MFORMA relationship will bring the entire universe of classic Marvel characters (with the exception of The Punisher family of characters) to hundreds of millions of mobile phone users worldwide. This includes such world renowned Super Heroes as Spider-Man, X-Men, The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Daredevil, Iron Man, Blade, Ghost Rider, Elektra and many more of Marvel’s more than 5,000 characters. The MFORMA/Marvel product lineup runs the full gamut of mobile entertainment products, including action, adventure, RPG and trading card games, images, screensavers, graphics, ring tones, voice tones, mobile greeting cards, mobile comic books, phone functions, virtual character simulations, and community and lifestyle applications.
In addition to distributing the new Marvel content through MFORMA’s global network of more than 100 wireless operators in 39 countries, MFORMA will create and host Marvel Mobile, a branded wireless and online website featuring informational, promotional and transactional links to all Marvel Mobile content. Marvel Mobile will have its home on the Internet within Marvel.com. Subscribers to the Marvel Mobile channel will have access to all Marvel Mobile products, plus unique community applications and features, special collectible items, Marvel news alerts and chat rooms, fan clubs and mobile commerce options that will open up access to all of the activity taking place in the Marvel Universe.
Source: MFORMA Group, Inc.
