Disney Interactive Studios

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Disney Interactive Studios, Inc.
Type Subsidiary of Disney Interactive Media Group
Industry Interactive entertainment
Founded 1988
Headquarters Glendale, California, USA
Products Epic Mickey
Kingdom Hearts
Spectrobes
Split/Second
Parent Disney Interactive Media Group
(The Walt Disney Company)
Website Disney Interactive Studios Homepage

Disney Interactive Studios, Inc. (DIS; initially Walt Disney Computer Software, later Disney Interactive and Buena Vista Games, Inc.) is a Worldwide American video game company. It self-publishes and distributes multi-platform video games and interactive entertainment worldwide. DIS is a subsidiary of Disney Interactive Media Group thus a part of the The Walt Disney Company media conglomerate.

Most of the games released by DIS are tie-in products to existing character franchises.[1]

Contents

Background [edit]

Initial Disney licensed its characters in the early 1980s for the games: Sorceror’s Apprentice for Atari 2600, or The Black Cauldron for personal computers.[1]

History [edit]

Computer Software [edit]

In 1988, Disney started its own in house gaming unit,[1] Walt Disney Computer Software (WDCS). WDCS generally used third-party development studios to design spin-off games using its existing portfolio of characters. WDCS had little success attributed by senior Disney executives due to low product quality and lack of understanding the differences between film and games.[2] The few market successes were third party published games based on major Disney animated features like Aladdin and the Lion King in 1993. This led to a move from self-developed and self-published to funding and development management of games with third parties published the game.[2]

Disney Interactive [edit]

Using the film studio style formula, WDCS was reorganized into Disney Interactive (DI)[2] on December 5, 1994 with the merging of WDCS and Walt Disney Television and Telecommunications division.[3] On April 15, 1997, DI reduced its staff by 20% ending in-house video game production.[4] This increased the requests for licensing from third-party games companies. Under this plan, development and production cost risks were transferred to the game companies but reduced the per-unit revenue generated to Disney and effective yielded a near 100 percent margin of licensed game sales.[2]

Buena Vista Games (2003-2007) [edit]

Buena Vista Games (BVG) was spun out of Disney Interactive in 2003 after a 2002 strategic review that chose to return to being a dedicated games publisher. With DI focused on children's games, BVG took on all other content game including mobile and online mediums.[2] Buena Vista Games is probably best known for the Kingdom Hearts series along with Japanese developer Square Enix.[citation needed]

In April 2005, BVG purchased Avalanche Software while starting a Vancouver, British Columbia based game development studio,[5] Propaganda Games.[6] In September 2006, Buena Vista acquired Climax Racing.[7] BVG formed a new game studio, Fall Line Studio, in November 2006 to create Disney and new game titles for Nintendo DS and the Wii console.[8]

Disney Interactive Studios (2007-present) [edit]

In 2007, The Walt Disney Company renamed Buena Vista Games to Disney Interactive Studios.[9] The studio publishes both Disney and non-Disney branded video games for all platforms worldwide, with titles that feature its consumer brands including Disney, ABC, ESPN, Touchstone (which is used as a label for Disney Interactive), and Disney/Pixar. The studio has selectively licensed Disney intellectual property to other video game publishers such as Activision and THQ.[citation needed]

In July 2007, Disney Interactive Studios acquired Junction Point Studios.[10]

On June 5, 2008, Disney Interactive Studios and the Walt Disney Internet Group, merged into a single business unit now known as the Disney Interactive Media Group.[11] DIS merged Fall Line Studio into its sister studio, Avalanche Software, in January 2009.[5] In February 2009, Disney Interactive acquired Gamestar, a Chinese game development company.[12] On September 8, 2009, Disney Interactive announced that it has acquired Wideload Games.[13]

DIS shut down Propaganda Games on January 19, 2011[14] and Black Rock Studio in July 2011.[15]

DIS in October 2012 announced "Toy Box", a cross platform gaming initiative where Pixar and Disney characters will interact from a console game to multiple mobile and online applications.[16] In January 2013, DIS's Avalanche Software unvieled the Toy Box cross platform game as Disney Infinity based on Toy Story 3 game's "Toy Box" mode crossed with a toy line.[17]

Also in January 2013, Disney Interactive announced the closure of Junction Point Studios.[18]

After the closure of LucasArts, Disney Interactive assumed the role of producing games based on Lucasfilm properties, in additon to entering an exclusive licensing negotiation in May 2013, with Electronic Arts for the production of certain Star Wars games.[19][20]

List of games [edit]

Main article: List of Disney Interactive Studios games

The company also publishes games from Q Entertainment worldwide except Asia: Lumines II, the sequel to the puzzle game for the PSP system; Lumines Plus, a new version of Lumines for the PlayStation 2; Every Extend Extra, a puzzle shooter; and a Disney Interactive Studios's Meteos: Disney Edition, the popular Meteos game for the Nintendo DS with Disney characters.

The company revealed a line up of games at E3 2006, which include DIE's Turok, a re-imagining of the video game series of the same name and Desperate Housewives: The Game, based on the hit television show.

Disney Interactive Studios is credited in all entries to the Kingdom Hearts franchise, with the original release boxart of each entry to the series having different logos and name of the company seeing as coincedently, the company is re-branded in between the releases. Notably however the company is not credited to actually developing the game.[21]

Games in Development [edit]

Studios [edit]

Former/Defunct [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b c Kohler, Chris (October 16, 2012). "How Videogames Are Changing Disney". Wired.com. Retrieved 17 October 2012. 
  2. ^ a b c d e Gibson, Nick (February 1, 2009). "Disney assault on games market: acquisitions and re-structuring underpin rapid growth". Screen Digest. Retrieved 17 October 2012. 
  3. ^ Polsson, Ken. "July to December 1994". Chronology of the Walt Disney Company. Ken Polsson. Retrieved 6 December 2012.  sources:
    *Fisher, Maxine (1988). Walt Disney. pp. A8. 
    *The New York Times. December 6, 1994. pp. D5. 
    *CD-ROM Today 3 (2): 26. February 1995 1995. 
    *Windows Magazine 6 (3): 42. March 1995. 
  4. ^ Polsson, Ken. "1997". Chronology of the Walt Disney Company. kpolsson.com. Retrieved 7 December 2012.  source: CNet News.com, http://www.news.com.com.
  5. ^ a b c d Kawamoto, Dawn (April 19, 2005). "Disney scoops up Avalanche, founds new studio". gamespot.com. Retrieved 22 October 2012. 
  6. ^ "Disney digs up Turok". gamespot.com. May 13, 2005. Retrieved 22 October 2012. 
  7. ^ a b Sinclair, Brendan (September 28, 2006). "Buena Vista Games to acquire Climax Racing". gamespot.com. Retrieved 22 October 2012. 
  8. ^ "Disney to make Nintendo games". Los Angeles Times. Reuters. November 8, 2006. Retrieved 19 October 2012. 
  9. ^ Fixmer, Andy (April 25, 2007). "Disney to Drop Buena Vista Brand Name, People Say". Retrieved August 8, 2007. 
  10. ^ a b "Disney buys game developer Junction Point". Los Angeles Times. Bloomberg News. July 13, 2007. Retrieved 19 October 2012. 
  11. ^ "Disney's games and internet divisions merging", Joystiq.com, 2008.
  12. ^ a b "Disney Interactive Studios Buys Chinese Gaming Studio Gamestar". CBS News.com. Pearl Research. February 11, 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2012. 
  13. ^ "Disney Interactive Studios to Buy Wideload Games". Entertainment Close-up. September 9, 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2012. 
  14. ^ "Propaganda Games Shuttered" from Joystiq.com
  15. ^ a b "Split Second Dev Black Rock To Close" from EuroGamer
  16. ^ Barnes, Brooks (October 21, 2012). "Disney, Struggling to Find Its Digital Footing, Overhauls Disney.com". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 October 2012. 
  17. ^ a b Lang, Derrik J. (January 15, 2013). "Disney unveils own 'Skylanders'-like franchise". Business Week. AP. Retrieved 30 January 2013. 
  18. ^ a b Lang, Derrik J. (January 29, 2013). "Disney closing ‘Epic Mickey’ video game developer". Washington Times. AP. Retrieved 30 January 2013. 
  19. ^ "ELECTRONIC ARTS SELECTED FOR MULTI-YEAR AGREEMENT FOR THE FUTURE OF STAR WARS GAMING". Lucasfilm. Star Wars.com. Retrieved 6 May 2013. "While EA studios will develop for the core Star Wars gaming audience, Disney Interactive will focus on delivering new Star Wars games for casual audiences on mobile, social, tablet, and online gaming platforms." 
  20. ^ "The Walt Disney Company and EA Announce Multi-Year Star Wars Games Agreement". Fort Mill Times. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2013. 
  21. ^ http://na.square-enix.com/games/kingdomhearts/ -- © Disney. Developed by SQUARE ENIX.

External links [edit]
Disney Publishing
Worldwide
Franchises
Other
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Disney_Interactive_Studios&oldid=553837018"