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3 CommentsDisney already planning first new titles in EA Star Wars agreement
By Emily Gera on May 07, 2013 05.07.13
Disney is already planning the first new titles to be developed as part of its recently announced multi-year licensing agreement with EA, senior executive VP and CFO of Disney Jay Rasulo during today's Disney Q2 financial earnings results. Disney remained mum on what these titles will entail. The studio will retain the rights to develop new mobile and online titles in the Star Wars universe, however, said Rasulo reiterating a statement made previously by the company. He added that while financial earnings results for Disney's interactive sector improved thanks to an increase in sales in the Japanese mobile sector, there is an expected operating loss for Q3 due to the shifting of the release window for Disney Infinity from Q3 to Q4 2013. Speaking on the topic, Disney CEO Bob Iger...
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6 CommentsDisney Infinity hopes to inspire future game makers
By Brian Crecente on Apr 08, 2013 04.08.13
It is also a powerful creation engine, like Minecraft and LittleBigPlanet, designed to allow people to invent their own complex games, play them within Disney's many worlds and then share those creations with everyone who owns the game. The developers of Disney Infinity have already managed to recreate playable Disney-fied versions of a slew of popular video games in Disney Infinity's Toy Box mode using the game's "logic tools." "We've created games inspired by Donkey Kong, Mario Bros 1-1, Ironman Stewart's Super Off Road, Gauntlet, Contra and Joust to name a few," said John Vignocchi, Disney Infinity's executive producer. "A team of guys went in and recreated the Bowser's Castle level from Super Mario Kart. [Developer Avalanche Software's head] John Blackburn spends a lot of his free...
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6 CommentsDisney Infinity sets, starter packs available for pre-order now
By Megan Farokhmanesh on Mar 17, 2013 03.17.13
Disney Infinity starter packs, figures, play sets and power discs are available to pre-order now through retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy and GameStop. Individual retailers are offering deals on pre-orders. Best Buy and GameStop buyers who pre-order a starter pack will get a single figure for free, while Amazon shoppers will get a free figure and power pack. Starter packs, which include the game, Infinity Base, four figures, three play sets, a Power Disc and a Power Pack, are priced at $74.99. Three-figure packs are priced at $29.99, while individual figures are $12.99. Power Disc packs are $4.99. Disney Infinity was announced in January. The video game and toyline were recently delayed until August. Expected to be a direct competitor with Activision's Skylander series, Disney...
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7 CommentsDisney Infinity games and toy line delayed to August
By Michael McWhertor on Mar 13, 2013 03.13.13
Disney has delayed its Disney Infinity video games and toy line to August, according to The New York Times, a new release window reportedly requested by retailers. Disney Infinity was originally slated to hit current consoles and Nintendo 3DS this June, the same month Pixar's Monsters University hits movie theaters. Play sets based on Monsters University, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Incredibles are planned to debut alongside the games. A set based on Pixar's Cars has also been announced. John Pleasants, co-president of Disney Interactive, says Disney Infinity is now due Aug. 18 in North America and Aug. 20 elsewhere. Pleasants tells The New York Times the two-month delay will allow developer Avalanche Software "a little more time to add bells and whistles and make sure it really...
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1 CommentPDP making Disney Infinity accessories
By Samit Sarkar on Feb 28, 2013 02.28.13
Peripheral and accessory manufacturer PDP will be making accessories for Disney Infinity, Avalanche Software's upcoming sandbox game with physical toys, PDP confirmed to Polygon today. "We are excited to say that we will be partnering with Disney for PDP manufactured accessories in support of the Disney Infinity launch this summer," said PDP community manager Candace Hinton. PDP is keeping details of the partnership and products under wraps for now; Hinton told us the company "will reveal more details of this exciting partnership in the next few months." PDP is planning to produce cases and stands for Disney Infinity toys and related items, reports MCV. Capsules for the Power Discs, character-themed cases for the Infinity base and an album that holds 20 Power Discs will be available...
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0 CommentsStudio Gobo developing Disney Infinity's Pirates of the Caribbean playset
By Alexa Ray Corriea on Feb 18, 2013 02.18.13
Boutique developer Studio Gobo is developing the Pirates of the Caribbean playset for Disney Interactive and Avalanche Software's Disney Infinity, according to a post on the developer's official Facebook page. "If you see any boats or pirates — that's the bit that we are working on at Gobo," reads the post. "We're responsible for the Pirates of the Caribbean playset in Disney Infinity. Very proud." Britain-based Studio Gobo, lead by former Climax Racing/Black Rock Studio co-founder Tony Beckwith, is building one of four currently-announced sets for the game. The others include packs based on Pixar's upcoming film Monsters University and previously released titles The Incredibles and Cars. Gobo's Pirates set will be included in the Disney Infinity Starter Pack when the game is...
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4 CommentsDisney Infinity to feature play set based on Pixar's Cars
By Dave Tach on Feb 07, 2013 02.07.13
Disney Infinity's Cars Play Set, which will bring characters and settings from the Pixar franchise to the game, will be revealed in the March 2013 issue of Game Informer, according to a report published in VideoGamer. The Cars expansion will allow players to build racetracks and host tournaments and include characters like Lightning McQueen and Mater, who've appeared in previous promotional materials for the game. Events in the Play Set will take place in the home of many of those characters, Radiator Springs, set sometime after the events of Cars 2. According to the report, in Toy Box mode players can destroy set pieces and use them to perform tricks off of. Disney announced Infinity, a Skylanders-like hybrid between physical toys and video games, at an event in January. Set to...
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2 CommentsDisney Interactive posts $9 million in profit for first quarter
By Michael McWhertor on Feb 05, 2013 02.05.13
Disney's video game division posted revenues of $291 million during the most recent quarter ending Dec. 31, 2012, a four percent increase over the year prior. According to an earnings release from the company, Disney Interactive posted $9 million in net income for the holiday quarter, compared to a loss of $28 million from the same period the previous year. During the quarter, Disney released a handful of games, including Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion, Wreck-it Ralph for iOS and Toy Story Mania for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The company did not provide detail on the performance of its console and mobile games in an earnings release. Disney attributed the higher operating results to lower acquisition accounting impacts at the interactive division's...
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9 CommentsDisney CEO Bob Iger examining violence in Disney video games
By Dave Tach on Jan 26, 2013 01.26.13
Disney CEO Bob Iger met with company executives last week to talk about violence in the company's video games and "take stock in everything we've got that can be considered near the line or over the line," according to a report published in Deadline. Iger revealed the meeting during a Jan. 23 luncheon sponsored by the Hollywood Radio & Television Society. He spoke about violent content and what Disney might do in the wake of the Dec. 14, 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. "Fortunately at Disney there's very little [violence], but I still want to make sure we're asking ourselves the right questions in terms of that standard, and also we're willing to be a part of a dialogue in today's world that I think is pretty necessary in terms of what our role is and what our role should be,"...
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0 CommentsDisney Infinity could serve as a platform for movie tie-ins, Vignocchi says
By Tracey Lien on Jan 24, 2013 01.24.13
Disney's planned sandbox game that combines the best of Pixar's and Disney's properties could mark the end of standalone movie game tie-ins from the company, excutive producer John Vignocchi said in an interview with VideoGamer. Vignocchi said that Disney Infinity, which is set for a June release, could provide a platform where all game characters from different franchises can exist, saving the company from creating a standalone game based on Tangled, or Tron or Epic Mickey. "Our idea was, what if we created a platform that all the content could live in?" he said. "From a development perspective, we can leverage all of the existing work that we've done, so that there may be another character similar to Mr. Incredible in terms of having super strength. "You can imagine when you look...
