Chart Toppers: Sega Turning Iron Man to Gold

Gamedaily.biz writes: "Iron Man the game shows just how valuable a good license can be. While the title was critically panned, it racked up almost 500K in sales in May, riding the coattails of the movie. We speak with Sega about the game's success.

Marvel is turning into the comic company that can do no wrong. While many of its main staple franchises continue to do well in paperback and magazine sales, one of the main drivers of the company's success of late has been its assortment of super hero films based upon classic IPs. These movies have turned into critical and commercial successes, and they've even struck gold using lesser-known heroes like Daredevil and Ghost Rider.

For Summer of 2008, Marvel has pinned its hopes partially on Iron Man (although Hulk is certainly doing quite well at the box office also). Iron Man, a creation of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (and a founding member of the Avengers), is certainly not an unknown hero but Tony Stark's alter ego doesn't have the star power of the X-Men or Spider-Man. Still, the Iron Man movie has turned out to be a runaway success, with positive critical reviews across the board and an incredible $545 million taken in at the box office. The accompanying movie game, published by Sega, has been riding high on the film's popularity.

We talked with Sean Ratcliffe, Sega's VP of Marketing, about the invincible Iron Man."