Disney Interactive Studios

Disney Interactive Studios, Inc.
Formerly
  • Walt Disney Computer Software
  • Disney Interactive
  • Buena Vista Games
Division
Industry Interactive entertainment
Fate Closed by parent company
Successor Disney Mobile
Founded 1988 (1988)
Defunct 2016 (2016)
Headquarters Glendale, California, United States
Products Video games
Parent Disney Interactive
(The Walt Disney Company)
Website disneyinteractive.com

Disney Interactive Studios, Inc. (originally established as Walt Disney Computer Software, Disney Interactive, Buena Vista Interactive, and Buena Vista Games) was an American video game developer and publisher owned by The Walt Disney Company through Disney Interactive. Prior to its closure in 2016, it developed and distributed multi-platform video games and interactive entertainment worldwide.

Most of the games released by Disney Interactive Studios were typically tie-in products to existing character franchises.[1] On May 10, 2016, as a result of the discontinuation of its Disney Infinity series, Disney shut down Disney Interactive Studios, and exited the first party home console game development business in order to focus on third-party development of home console video games through other developers such as Electronic Arts (Star Wars games), WB Games (owned by rival company Warner Bros., which handles the publishing of Disney-related Lego video games and Cars 3: Driven to Win), Bandai Namco Entertainment, Square Enix (Kingdom Hearts), and Capcom (several Disney games and Marvel vs. Capcom). However, it continues to release games for iOS and Android devices under its own label, Disney Mobile.

History

Walt Disney Computer Software

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 and 1994 respectively. 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

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][4][5][6][7] On April 15, 1997, DI reduced its staff by 20% ending in-house video game production.[8] 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 effectively yielded a near 100 percent margin of licensed game sales.[2] A thirteen-game agreement was made between Nintendo of America and Disney Interactive in 1999 for both the Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color.[9]

Buena Vista Games (2003–2007)

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.

In April 2005, BVG purchased Avalanche Software in Salt Lake City, Utah and started a Vancouver, British Columbia based game development studio,[10] Propaganda Games.[11]

In September 2006, Buena Vista acquired Climax Racing.[12] BVG formed a new game studio, Fall Line Studio, in November 2006 to create Disney and new game titles for the Nintendo DS and the Wii console.[13]

Disney Interactive Studios

In 2007, The Walt Disney Company renamed Buena Vista Games to Disney Interactive Studios.[14] 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, and Touchstone (which is used as a label for Disney). In July 2007, the studio acquired Junction Point Studios.[15]

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,[16] and it merged its subsidiary Fall Line Studios with its sister studio, Avalanche Software, in January 2009.[17] In February 2009, Disney Interactive acquired GameStar, a Chinese game development company.[18] On September 8, 2009, Disney Interactive announced that it had acquired Wideload Games.[19]

In November 2010 the executive Graham Hopper left the company.[20] He announced his departure via an internal e-mail saying "the time has come for me to move on from the company and set my sights on new horizons."[21]

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.[22] The first Toy Box cross platform game is Disney Infinity based on the Toy Story 3 game's Toy Box mode crossed with a toy line.[23]

After the purchase of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company in 2012, Disney Interactive assumed the role of developing Star Wars games for the casual gaming market, while Electronic Arts would develop Star Wars games for the core gaming market through an exclusive license (although LucasArts did retain the ability to license Star Wars games to other developers for the casual gaming market).[24][25]

At E3 2013, Disney and Square Enix released a teaser trailer for Kingdom Hearts III, after going seven years of not declaring any console Kingdom Hearts game since Kingdom Hearts II.

Disney Interactive Studios has lost more than $200 million per year from 2008–2012[26] during a period in which it shut down Propaganda Games,[27] Black Rock Studio[28] and Junction Point Studios[29] and its co-president John Pleasants stepped down in November 2013 after the launch of Disney Infinity.[26]

On March 6, 2014, 700 employees were laid off.[30]

List of 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;[31] Every Extend Extra, a puzzle shooter;[32] and a Disney Interactive Studios's Meteos: Disney Edition, the popular Meteos game for the Nintendo DS with Disney characters.[33][34]

The company revealed a lineup 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 box art of each entry to the series having different logos and name of the company seeing as coincidentally, the company is re-branded in between the releases. Notably however, the company is not credited to actually developing the game.[35]

Divisions

Moved to Disney Interactive

Former/defunct

References

  1. 1 2 Kohler, Chris (October 16, 2012). "How Videogames Are Changing Disney". Wired.com. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Gibson, Nick (February 1, 2009). "Disney assault on games market: acquisitions and restructuring 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.
  4. ↑ Fisher, Maxine (1988). Walt Disney. pp. A8.
  5. ↑ The New York Times. December 6, 1994. pp. D5. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ CD-ROM Today. 3 (2): 26. 19 February 1995. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ↑ Windows Magazine. 6 (3): 42. March 1995. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ↑ Polsson, Ken. "1997". Chronology of the Walt Disney Company. kpolsson.com. Retrieved 7 December 2012. source: CNet News.com, http://www.news.cnet.com.
  9. ↑ Page 114. Volume 121 (June 1999). Nintendo Power. Accessed April 18, 2016.
  10. ↑ Kawamoto, Dawn (April 19, 2005). "Disney scoops up Avalanche, founds new studio". gamespot.com. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  11. ↑ "Disney digs up Turok". gamespot.com. May 13, 2005. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  12. 1 2 Sinclair, Brendan (September 28, 2006). "Buena Vista Games to acquire Climax Racing". gamespot.com. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  13. ↑ "Disney to make Nintendo games". Los Angeles Times. Reuters. November 8, 2006. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  14. ↑ Fixmer, Andy (April 25, 2007). "Disney to Drop Buena Vista Brand Name, People Say". Bloomberg. Retrieved August 8, 2007.
  15. 1 2 "Disney buys game developer Junction Point". Los Angeles Times. Bloomberg News. July 13, 2007. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  16. ↑ "Disney's games and internet divisions merging", Joystiq.com, 2008.
  17. 1 2 3 Sinclair, Brendan (January 29, 2009). "Disney layoffs hit Turok, Bolt studios". gamespot.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  18. 1 2 "Disney Interactive Studios Buys Chinese Gaming Studio Gamestar". CBS News.com. Pearl Research. February 11, 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  19. ↑ "Disney Interactive Studios to Buy Wideload Games". Entertainment Close-up. September 9, 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  20. ↑ Orland, Kyle (22 November 2010). "Disney Interactive Exec Graham Hopper Leaving Company". Gamasutra. UBM plc. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  21. ↑ Chmielewski, Dawn C.; Fritz, Ben (22 November 2010). "Longtime Disney video game chief Graham Hopper latest to exit interactive group". LA Times. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  22. ↑ Barnes, Brooks (October 21, 2012). "Disney, Struggling to Find Its Digital Footing, Overhauls Disney.com". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
  23. ↑ Lang, Derrik J. (January 15, 2013). "Disney unveils own 'Skylanders'-like franchise". Business Week. AP. Archived from the original on 25 February 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  24. ↑ "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.
  25. ↑ "The Walt Disney Company and EA Announce Multi-Year Star Wars Games Agreement". Fort Mill Times. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  26. 1 2 Miller, Daniel (3 February 2014). "Disney Interactive expected to begin layoffs". LA Times. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  27. ↑ "Propaganda Games shuttered".
  28. 1 2 Purchese, Robert (1 July 2011). "Split/Second dev Black Rock to close".
  29. 1 2 Lang, Derrik J. (January 29, 2013). "Disney closing 'Epic Mickey' video game developer". Washington Times. AP. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  30. ↑ Matulef, Jeffrey (6 March 2014). "Disney Interactive lays off 700 staff". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  31. ↑ "Lumines Plus". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc. 27 February 2007. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  32. ↑ Davis, Ryan (28 November 2006). "Every Extend Extra Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  33. ↑ "Meteos: Disney Magic". IGN. Ziff Davis, LLC. 27 February 2007. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  34. ↑ McFerran, Damien (20 April 2007). "Meteos: Disney Magic Review (DS)". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  35. ↑ http://na.square-enix.com/games/kingdomhearts/ -- © Disney. Developed by SQUARE ENIX.
  36. ↑ Macy, Seth G. (May 10, 2016). "Disney Cancels Infinity, No Longer Self-Publishing Games". IGN. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
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