When we see a game based on characters from Marvel Comics it usually is from Activision, who has the rights to Spider-Man, The X-Men and the Fantastic Four. At one point they also had the rights to do games based on Iron Man.

Soon after being announced, however, Activision said they no longer had the rights to Iron Man and Marvel said a new licensee would be announced this fall. Right on time, they have announced today that Sega will be making games based on the movie and comic book iterations of the character.

The movie itself is scheduled to arrive on May 2, 2008 starring Robert Downey Jr. For the first time this film is entirely self-financed by marvel, having has much success with other films such as X-Men 3.

"Sega is excited to be publishing the next-gen interactive entertainment based on Iron Man, the first Marvel Studios project being brought to the wide screen," said Simon Jeffery, Sega of America's president and COO.

This deal is merely the beginning of a "strategic partnership between Marvel and Sega to bring at least one additional Marvel Superhero property to next-gen platforms."

This is good news for me. I own an Iron Man #1. Once the movie and game comes out, the value on it should rise even more! Not that I would ever part with it... well, maybe for the right price.