New details regarding the cancelled Ultimate Spider-Man 2 video game have been revealed by a developer who worked on the project. In the early 2000s, licensed games thrived, particularly as 3D graphics became more of the norm and allowed developers to realize iconic worlds in a more immersive way. Movie tie-in games also became much more notable, especially with the great work that Treyarch had done on Spider-Man 2, a title that is widely regarded as one of the best Spider-Man games ever made. A year later, the studio released another Spidey game known as Ultimate Spider-Man, which adapted the comic of the same name. It was incredible, but it never got a sequel.
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There are many great Spider-Man games, but Ultimate Spider-Man is one that sort of got overshadowed. It was never given a sequel and was left behind on the then outgoing console generation. It came out just a couple of months before Xbox 360 and about a year before PS3, so some people never even had the opportunity to play the Marvel game at all. However, it has had a lasting legacy thanks to its unique art style for a game, cameos from other Marvel characters, such as Johnny Storm, and much more. Fans have long wondered what a sequel would’ve looked like and why it never happened, but turns out, there were plans for one at one point.
Ultimate Spider-Man 2 Was Cancelled Because It Wasn’t as Popular as the Movie Tie-In Games
Earlier this year, a ton of details for the cancelled Ultimate Spider-Man 2 game were leaked online, including concept art and plot details. It would’ve featured the Ultimate version of Green Goblin in a prominent role with Harry and Norman Osborn at the center of the story. Now, concept artist Ian Hosfeld is speaking out about the project. In an interview with Spider-Man News, the artist revealed that Ultimate Spider-Man 2 was canned largely because the sales didn’t meet Activision’s expectations, despite being “adequate.”
The sales of the two movie tie-in games set a much higher bar for Activision’s financial expectations and Ultimate Spider-Man didn’t meet them. Hosfeld concluded that the audience for the movies was much larger than those looking for a regular Spider-Man game. Once Treyarch acquired the James Bond license, a new 007 game became the team’s next project. As for what Ultimate Spider-Man 2 would’ve looked like, Hosfeld noted that Wolverine and Daredevil would’ve appeared and Green Goblin would have been playable, like Venom in the first game.
“We didn’t get too far, it was mainly Brian Reed, the writer, Chris Busse, the Lead Designer; and Chris Soares, the Art Director, and I, laying out the main story points along a thread that Bendis had suggested, involving the Osborns and their Goblin alter egos. The fire-wielding Green Goblin would be the other playable character, like Venom was. We explored that part, as well as guest stars like Wolverine and Daredevil. I have a bunch of story point drawings that recently got leaked from somewhere, so now that the cat’s out of the bag I’ll be posting those to give people an idea of what could have been.”
Would you have liked to see Ultimate Spider-Man 2? Let me know in the comments!
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Image courtesy of Lucasfilm
