SEGA signs Iron Man from Marvel

Publisher SEGA has picked up the rights to Marvel's Iron Man, including both the comic books and the forthcoming movie, which is due to appear in May 2008.

The first fruit of the multi-year deal is likely to be a game based specifically on the movie, which will be targetted at the next generation console platforms - and the agreement between SEGA and Marvel also apparently paves the way for SEGA to produce at least one additional Marvel superhero property on next-gen consoles.

The Iron Man history is filled with compelling and intriguing characters and stories, and with the power of the next-gen systems, SEGA will be bringing these characters to life like never before," enthused SEGA of America president and COO Simon Jeffery.

The deal comes a few months after Activision, the former holder of the Iron Man rights, confirmed that it had dropped out of its arrangement with Marvel - telling US website GameSpot back in July that it no longer retained the rights, despite the fact that its deal was originally scheduled to extend to 2009.