Disney Shuts Down Console Video Game Publishing Arm, Cancels ‘Disney Infinity’
The company admits the business is worth less than it hoped, swallowing a $147 million charge
Phil Owen | May 10, 2016 @ 2:30 PM
Last Updated: May 10, 2016 @ 3:51 PM
Disney’s stint as a publisher and developer of console video games is over, the company announced in its quarterly report on Tuesday.
“After a thorough evaluation, we have modified our approach to console gaming and will transition exclusively to a licensing model,” read a statement from Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media boss Jimmy Pitaro that was given to TheWrap. “This shift in strategy means we will cease production of Disney Infinity, where the lack of growth in the toys-to-life market, coupled with high development costs, has created a challenging business model. This means that we will be shutting down Avalanche, our internal studio that developed the game. This was a difficult decision that we did not take lightly given the quality of Disney Infinity and its many passionate fans.”
Disney Interactive Studios, and its subsidiary Avalanche Software, was primarily responsible in recent years for the “Disney Infinity” line, a sandbox-style video game for which players could purchase small figures that would unlock new playable characters and activities within the game. It was a Disney-branded attempt to, in 2013, replicate the success of Activision’s “Skylanders” game which functioned in a similar way.
“Disney Infinity” existed both as a game and a platform in itself, promising seemingly endless potential for expansion through the sale of those figures and play sets.
A Disney spokesperson told TheWrap that Disney’s mobile games division will continue to operate as-is, both developing and publishing games for iOS and Android devices.
Disney CEO Robert Iger said the quarterly earnings call that the company no longer felt comfortable operating as a video game publisher. “We just feel that it’s a changing space and we’re just better off at managing the risk that that business delivers by licensing rather than publishing,” Iger said. He also noted that while “Infinity” was well received at launch, the risk inherent in an evolving games space did catch up to the company.
Despite a sizable investment for a video game and piles of Disney characters to exploit, including Marvel and “Star Wars” heroes, “Disney Infinity” never quite took off the way the company had hoped — “Disney Infinity” was intended as a platform that could operate in perpetuity for years or even decades, but is being ended just under three years since it launched in August 2013. Disney is taking a $147 million charge on the discontinuation of its internal console games business.
Disney Interactive’s video game lineup has consisted mostly of tie-in properties since it was founded in the late ’80s, with few exceptions in the last decade, such as the racing games “Pure” and “Split/Second.” Since “Disney Infinity” launched in 2013 it’s been the primary focus for Disney’s games division.
“Disney Infinity” still has two remaining releases on the schedule, summer tie-ins for “Alice Through the Looking Glass” and “Finding Dory,” and according to a post on Disney Interactive’s blog those sets are still on the way and will hit retailers in June.
Though Disney will no longer publish console games based on its properties, tie-ins will still be produced by third parties through licensing deals.
Top 13 Best 'Star Wars' Video Games Ever (Photos)
There have been so many "Star Wars" video games in the 40 years since the franchise began, and most of them were not good. Hell, a couple of the ones I list here aren't good. But they all deliver an experience you can't get anywhere else, and that's worthy of some praise.
Not actually good, but still great. It's a game that defies description because there's nothing from the past two decades to compare it to. For that reason alone it makes the list.
12. "Masters of Teras Kasi"
How we haven't been inundated with "Star Wars" fighting games is anyone's guess -- aside from "Soul Calibur IV" letting you play as Yoda or Darth Vader, "Masters of Teras Kasi" on the original PlayStation console is the only one. And it was the style of fighter that was easy to learn and enjoy, so we remember it fondly.
11. "Yoda Stories"
This weird and cheap little "Zelda"-esque thing had Yoda sending Luke Skywalker on bite-sized randomly generated missions, and somehow it was extremely engaging. We are well overdue for a smartphone version of this thing.
10. "Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast"
If we're being honest, the beloved "Jedi Knight" video game series is pretty mediocre all the way around. "Jedi Outcast," though, is the peak as it features the closest we've ever gotten to realistic video game lightsaber combat.
9. "The Force Unleashed"
The "Star Wars" universe is full of stories about good apprentices going bad and wreaking havoc on the good guys, but we've very rarely gotten the inverse. That made "The Force Unleashed" a really novel experience. You play as Darth Vader's secret apprentice in the years between the original and prequel trilogies. You're a dark side force user and soldier for the Empire who goes rogue in a really epic way.
8. "Rogue Squadron"
We'd been flying in space battles for years with "X-Wing" and "TIE Fighter," but "Rogue Squadron" gave us something new bringing our starfighter into a planet's atmosphere. "Rogue Squadron" was also built to be accessible, which was a pretty new thing for a "Star Wars" game.
7. "X-Wing Alliance"
Develops the minimalistic narrative approach of "X-Wing" and "TIE Fighter" and develops it in a great way -- you're still a grunt, as a fighter pilot for the Rebellion, but now you're a named character who has real-life concerns beyond the next confrontation with the Empire.
6. "Racer"
There aren't a lot of "Star Wars" racing games, weirdly enough, but "The Phantom Menace" provided the perfect in with its big pod racing sequence. It turned out pod racing translated perfectly to video games.
5. "The Old Republic"
Bioware attempted to meld their style of story-focused role-playing game with a "World of Warcraft"-style online game, and that was a mistake. But it's still full of really outstanding "Star Wars" stories that are better than most all of the ones you'd get elsewhere. It's also funnier than most others.
4. "Knights of the Old Republic"
If you're trying to replicate the beats and "feel" of a "Star Wars" movie, you do it like this: with an entirely new cast of characters in a fresh story. "KOTOR" even manages to have a twist as powerful as "I am your father," but without feeling as though it was copying "Empire."
3. "Rebellion"
Not a technically great game in the traditional sense, but the first galaxy-scale "Star Wars" strategy game is still a blast. It's also great fuel for the imagination because you can mold the war between the Rebel Alliance and the Empire in whatever way you want.
2. "TIE Fighter"
It's a great example of minimalistic "Star Wars" storytelling, putting you in the boots of a a mostly anonymous Imperial pilot during the Rebellion period. You're a grunt, but things are happening around you, and it's weirdly enthralling.
1. "Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords"
Obsidian Entertainment created an experience that manages to subvert basically every way "Star Wars" has ever operated, starting with its predecessor. It's a total downer, every character is in a bad mood, and none of the decisions your character makes will ever be greeted with approval from her master. "There are no right choices" is not the normal "Star Wars" way, and it works perfectly.
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There are so many “Star Wars” games to choose from, but these stand out from the pack
There have been so many "Star Wars" video games in the 40 years since the franchise began, and most of them were not good. Hell, a couple of the ones I list here aren't good. But they all deliver an experience you can't get anywhere else, and that's worthy of some praise.
