Konami snags Marvel card game license

Yu-Gi-Oh! publisher adds superheroes to its hand of trading card games.

More mirth and mayhem from mighty Marvel is in the cards, as Konami today added the comic book publisher to its stable of trading card licenses.

The deal lets Konami develop offline and online games based on Upper Deck Entertainment's Marvel Trading Card Game for current and next-generation game systems. Konami also secured the rights to use Marvel heavy hitters like Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, and The Fantastic Four in the game.

Upper Deck's card game uses "The Vs. System," a framework of rules that allow for play between separate games. Upper Deck's DC Trading Card Game also uses the Vs. System, so decks from the two games are interchangeable, allowing Spider-Man to square off against Superman, Batman against Wolverine, and so forth.

Konami Digital Entertainment chairman and CEO Kazumi Kitaue said that Konami's experience in converting the Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game into a successful line of video games will be capitalized on to give customers "a powerful new way to interact with some of their favorite Marvel characters, especially as the online community expands.”

Platforms, release dates, prices, and even titles of the games under development were not announced.