No More "Mean Mickey" in Epic Mickey

[Andy Chalk]

No More "Mean Mickey" in Epic Mickey

Warren Spector says the "mean Mickey" planned for the upcoming Epic Mickey [http://www.amazon.com/Disney-Epic-Mickey-Nintendo-Wii/dp/B002I0GEXM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1277827575&sr=8-1] has been dropped because focus groups reacted negatively to the idea during preview tests of the game.

When the first details of Junction Point Studios' game Epic Mickey came to light [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/95252-First-Concrete-Epic-Mickey-Details-Leaked-Like-Ink] in October of last year, a lot of gamers sat up and took notice. Spector's take on the character and the world in which he lived was dark, disturbing and a far cry from the kid-friendly mascot that leaps to mind when most of us think about Disney. But the promise of a new and legitimately interesting take on Disney's most famous character seemed to fade a bit when the first published gameplay screens didn't quite live up to the twisted, steampunk promise of the early concept art.

And now, another blow: Spector has revealed that the so-called "mean Mickey," which would have transformed the character into something akin to a "snarling rat" during moments of bad behavior, has been cut from the game. Instead, the mouse will be accompanied by "levitating little guardians" that will glow different colors depending on how the player uses paint and thinner to move through the game."We're not going to change Mickey's image so much," Spector said.

"People don't like it when you mess with Mickey," he continued. "We did a focus test that was really eye-opening for me. There was a biker dude saying, 'Oh, I'd never play a Mickey Mouse game,' and then we showed him images of a changed Mickey. I was sitting there thinking, 'You're gonna love what we do,' but he said, 'No! Don't mess with my childhood'."

Ah, focus groups. Is there anything they can't screw up? Epic Mickey is slated for release during the 2010 holiday season, exclusively for the Nintendo Wii.

Source: Joystiq [http://mdn.mainichi.jp/arts/news/20100620p2g00m0et031000c.html/]


Permalink

 

[SachielOne]

Marketing research: Destroying all that is awesome since 1932.

 

[tomtom94]

If the focus groups consisted solely of young kids I will personally hunt him down and murder him for following the design-by-focus-group principle.

 

[JeanLuc761]

*watches as the entirety of my interest in this game flies out the window*

You have no idea how disappointed I am.

 

[TsunamiWombat]

By the time this comes out, it'll be just another Disney game, mark my words.

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

and i can now hear the awesomeness that was shown for this game is slowly fading away by people bowing down to the demands of middle-aged over-protective moms.

 

[Vault Citizen]

By the time this comes out, it'll be just another Disney game, mark my words.

That seems to pretty much be the way things are headed right now. And the game seemed so interesting when the concept art came out too.

 

[archvile93]

And the downhill slope officially starts...now.

 

[fenrizz]

Marketing research: Destroying all that is awesome since 1932.

I hear that.

And I was really looking forward to this game too, even planed on getting a Wii just for this game.
Silly publishers, ruining a game that could, and would, have been pure awesome.

EDIT:
Also, Junction Point Studios is now on my boycott list, along with Ubisoft.

 

[Kollega]

If even a biker was against engrimdarkening Mickey Mouse, then it probably is, in fact, not too good of an idea.

[HEADING=2]Hey fellow nerds! I understand how appealing it always seems to make gritty reboots of stuff, but please... don't. It always turns out to be a bad idea.[/HEADING]

Cue me being buried in a wave of "YOU SUCK" and "LOL KIDDIE" in 3, 2, 1.

 

[WaderiAAA]

Removing the thing that more than anything made the project interesting equals

Epic Fail!

Seriously, you couldn't tell in advance that this would go bad with focus group? The fact that Mickey is such a family friendly character is the main reason why the game seemed so appealing. I mean, everyone knows that Kratos is brutal, so that aspect isn't intriguing anymore, bot Mickey... That would be great. It would be difference, and it would be a major cliché-breaker.

Now, Epic Mickey will probably be a game that sells pretty well, but no one will remember about it, except the people who were excited about the concept and that will forever remain bitter about the game taking a lighter turn.

 

[lukemdizzle]

well that sucks.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

I don't believe in focus groups. They're just a lie made up by designers to scare their children with. Nothing that evil could be suffered to live on a planet so full of wonder.

Oh, and way to underline your two-dimensional world view. "We asked a biker, they're evil you know!"

Prats.

 

[JeanLuc761]

If even a biker was against engrimdarkening Mickey Mouse, then it probably is, in fact, not too good of an idea.

[HEADING=2]Hey fellow nerds! I understand how appealing it always seems to make gritty reboots of stuff, but please... don't. It always turns out to be the bad idea.[/HEADING]

That's the thing though. It wouldn't have been a reboot. The original Mickey, WAY back when he was first invented, was not the goody-two shoes mouse that everyone is familiar with. He was a prankster and had a bit of a dark side, and this game would have gone back to those roots.

Also, the gritty reboot of Batman was for the best and you know it

 

[Stone Wera]

Wow, can I get a "fail" from the audience?!

EPIC FAIL!
Get it? Epic Mickey? Epic fail? (interestingly enough, that "joke" fails harder than the topic)

 

[Ih8pkmn]

Well, I WAS going to buy this game, but of course, corporate fat-cats suppress imagination. Thanks for ruining what COULD have been a good game! God damn...

And an evil mickey would've been FUCKING AWESOME! Someone needs to kick the frozen brain of Walt Disney into the 21st century, and tell him and his company to STOP BEING SUCH GOD DAMN PUSSIES!!!!!!

Edit: Do people in Focus groups even play video games? Try making up a focus group of gamers for once, and show us a game that will be bad. We'll shoot it down. Maybe if one of these was around, Too Human wouldn't exist.

Edit 2:

 

[Irridium]

Because as we all know, small groups are representative of all gamers everywhere.

I was looking forward to this, but now not so much. Micky used to be badass, and this game looked like it would be going back to that.

Ah well, now I get to save money.

 

[Arcane Azmadi]

Well, I think that's the final nail in the coffin of my interest in this game. I was first drawn to it by the twisted steampunk vibe- but that's gone. I still remained vaguely interested because of the differing ways you could develop Mickey, especially back towards the "old-school" early days Mickey of the black and white era- now that seems to be gone too. Enough is enough, I'm out of here.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Also, the gritty reboot of Batman was for the best and you know it

No, no it wasn't.

It worked. There's a difference.