Disney Cutting Back on Core Console Development

[Andy Chalk]

Disney Cutting Back on Core Console Development

Disney Interactive Studios [http://buenavistagames.go.com/] will cut back on the number of games it develops for the Xbox 360 and PS3, saying its releases tend to do better on platforms like the Wii and DS.

Disney CEO Bob Iger said that while the game industry presents a "huge opportunity" for the company, it doesn't necessarily lie with the traditional core consoles. "It is pretty clear that the higher end console games are a little bit more challenged in the world where not only they are more costly to produce and market, but there is just much more competition from casual games and games on platforms like the iPhone [and] iTouch platform," he said.

"Disney branded [games] seem to perform better on the Nintendo Wii and DS platforms, and on the platforms that are not to the high-end console games," he continued. "And so while we're going to continue to make games for the high end, we'll be very, very judicious in how many and which ones we choose."

It seems like a fairly logical approach to take: A quick look at Disney Interactive's High School Musical [http://www.mobygames.com/browse/games/disney-interactive-studios/offset,0/so,1d/list-games/] and other such fare that's obviously going to appeal more to the casual end of the gamer spectrum, so focusing development of those titles on the casual end of the hardware spectrum only makes sense.

Among the titles judiciously chosen for development on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC are the racer Epic Mickey [http://www.amazon.com/Split-Second-Xbox-360/dp/B002ACFZ10/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1279748410&sr=1-1], although that title is being developed exclusively for the Wii. "But I would say that our focus is going to be little bit more diverse and a little bit less reliant on highest end console games," he added.

Source: Develop [http://www.develop-online.net/news/33871/Disney-goes-cold-on-360PS3-projects?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+developmag%2Fifbh+%28Develop%29]


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[That's Funny]

What a surprise, Disney games tend to sell better on the Wii, I never would have guessed.

 

[pantsoffdanceoff]

So it took a multi-million dollar company this long to realize that kid games sell better on what are generally more kid consoles? Good going guys.

 

[Kodlak]

Wow! Most kids own Wiis and DSs, least they managed to notice that...eventually.

 

[Earthmonger]

Disney Co is the world's largest legally unrecognized cult. Governments fear it; it has the power and numbers to be beyond control, and the money to seriously hurt anyone opposing their agenda. I find the move to support Nintendo quite odd. I would wager that Nintendo has been assimilated, Borg-style.

 

[dmase]

I could have sworn i was seeing less disney movie based videogames on sony shelves already.

Well they finally learned their lesson they aren't even hardcore enough to be considered casual by playstation and xbox players.

 

[GrinningManiac]

Smart move

Everyone wins: They leave us alone, we leave them alone! Kids buy their games, we don't get bugged by them!

 

[UnravThreads]

I can sum this up in two words.

"No shit"

 

[Jared]

No surprise there. Who mainly plays Wii and DS? Female players (Been really, really narrow there) and children. They see the charm for something like that so makes sense

 

[Therumancer]

Hmmm, well the problem I have here is that I feel Disney has had some great properties over the years, especially when you look at some of their affiliated non-kiddie companies. I think one could make some pretty awesome properties off of things owned by Disney, but in general they tend to release very deritive tie-in produts aimed at a very young crowd. I have long felt that there is no real reason why Disney had to keep doing this, and with a bit of effort could very much do some products that would appeal equally to hardcore gamers as well.

The approach their taking basically shows that they aren't interested in innovation or trying to take their projects in other directions.

To put things into perspective, I think things like their "Pirates Of The Carribean" liscence have a lot of potential. You could do a pretty awesome RPG or Strategy-RPG type
game based off of that liscence. "Pirates" with the inclusion of magic and stuff.

Rather they mostly just re-tread the movies in games again and again, and use the same characters that defined those movies directly as opposed to simply working within the "reality" of that world. Even with their MMO, they pretty much tied everything brutally to the movies, and even worse somehow decided kiddifying the game was a great idea, because you couldn't use pistols to shoot people (only animals) in one of the biggest "WTF" gaming developments I had ever seen... it's also why despite giving it a shot, I fled the game screaming in terror. I couldn't believe the travesty they created.

Viewed in a similar light, there are plenty of things they have developed that have equal amounts of potential.

So all I can say to this news is "meh". I find it sad that Disney is willing to innovate in just about everything except video games.

>>>----Therumancer--->


BTW> I also remember reading that Miramax/Dimension are owned by Disney, which I believe means they hold the rights to things like "Hellraiser". To use that as an example, the Hellraiser comics kind of showed what could be done within the general confines of that universe. I see the potential in that franchise to actually produce a pretty good Survival Horror series, far more so than say "Saw" (which actually got a game).

 

[thatstheguy]

This just in! Water is wet! Fire is hot! Disney games do better on the Wii than on the 360 or PS3!

 

[Sixties Spidey]

Ahem.

 

[MurderousToaster]

And... my careometer is at zero. I've never bought a Disney game for my 360, and don't really plan to, unless they release something interesting.

 

[Plurralbles]

... what core games?

And oh no, how will I ever live without my hannah montana games...


facepalm. I really dont' care disney. Just finish the prince of persia movie and shut up.

 

[Urgh76]

*sigh*

WHY WONT THEY DIE?!?!?!

seriously what is wrong with kids these days?!?

sources: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGT8RbMaS-E

 

[Callate]

As someone who owns a Wii and DS- and not a PS3 or XBox 360- I really have to ask how much of this is due to Disney producing "kids games" and how much is due to Disney making a lot of rather BAD games that are tied to kid-friendly licenses. Subtle distinction there.

A quick look at Metacritic reveals that Wall-E scored mostly in the 50s (with some 60s) across all platforms; Bolt about the same (with a spectacular 48 on the DS), Ratatouille managed to squeak (no pun intended) into the 60s range. Hannah Montana:The Movie doesn't have a lot of reviews available, but the 360 version scored an abysmal 25.

I don't think that "kids games" necessarily inherently do badly on other platforms. But I suspect that the so-called "core" consoles are more likely to show up in houses where older gamers play as well- people who actually read reviews. An un- or semi-informed parent is much more likely to not look much further into a game than that it's rated E, produced by Disney, and related to that show/movie their game-loving child liked; hey, let's pick it up for them.

Right now video games seem to be mostly treated by Disney much like their home video division used to be treated: It's a cash cow, it broadens brand awareness, and it's required that every major movie have a tie-in. Disney might be able to do better in the broader console market if it was actually willing to commit to giving interactive entertainment its A-game.

 

[Flying Dagger]

The real question is, how badly must their games have been doing to justify this move?
is re-coding all that expensive that they couldn't make any money off it?
Unless all they plan to do is release wii-gimmick mini game collections with a different theme each time. yeah that sounds about right.

 

[Sephiwind]

Most Disney Interactive games have been craptastic failures over the years. I mean every time I saw a Disney games that I thought might be good, I would see that horrid Disney Interactive logo and say to my self..... "Well so much for that." If Disney wants to put out games that will sell they need to do what they did with Kingdom Hearts, mainly get a real video game company to develop the damn thing.

While I'm on the subject of Kingdom Hearts what they hell is with all these tie-in hand held games for different companies. First you had "Chains of Memories" come out for the GBA, which actually had story tie-in between KH and KH2. Now you have the new one for the DS. If these games are going to have story ramification to the main title IP then shouldn't they be put out on the corresponding hand held?

 

[RatRace123]

Oh, so disappointing. I wanted their cheap cash ins for their crappy shows on my PS3 or 360, hmph.

New Tron game sounds intriguing though, as does Tron 2.