Disney News, Disney Features

A new game taking the starting grid?

A lineup of domain registrations by Disney Enterprises is pointing to the possibility of an upcoming racing game. The domain names include DisneySpeedster.com, DisneySpeedsters.com, DisneyRacers.com, DisneyKart.com, DisneyKartRacing.com, DisneyKarting.net and DisneyRacing.com. All of the domains were discovered...

The only Disney division to not turn a profit

The House that Mickey Built made a strong financial showing in the first quarter of 2013, but the Games that Mickey Makes can’t share in the good news. While Disney as a whole reported a 32 percent increase in its net income to $1.5 billion, Disney Interactive saw a loss of $54 million for the same...

But will Nintendo fans see any benefit?

EA has signed up "exclusive" rights to Star Wars video games following the closure of LucasArts last month. The multi-year deal appears to cover original games, rather than those linked to the forthcoming movies. To confuse things further, Disney has retained the rights to certain mobile, online and tablet...

Get ready to party?

The ESRB has posted ratings information on the upcoming Disney Infinity series’ 3DS rendition and it looks to be taking some planning tips from Mario Party. Disney Infinity: Toy Box Challenge is referred to as a “multiplayer ‘party game’” including various game boards and competitive mini-games. The standard fare of...

"It gives us a little more time to add bells and whistles"

Disney Interactive has revealed that its Disney Infinity video game and toy range will be launching in August instead of June, as was originally planned. August 18th is the proposed launch date in North America, with other regions getting the game two days later. Speaking to The New York...

3DS LL bundle also revealed

Namco Bandai, together with Disney Japan, is developing a new 3DS title, Disney Magic Castle: My Happy Life. The game will release in Japan on 11th July, and will also receive a limited edition 3DS LL bundle; the handheld itself is white and includes a special design on the surface, with gold and white Mickey Mouse...

The need for a second job, is now

Accessory manufacturer PDP unveiled a line-up of peripherals that will be available alongside the launch of Disney Interactive Studio's upcoming summer hit title, Disney Infinity, for the Wii U. The specialist company is planning to release cases and stands which can store your character figures, as well as...

Pixar's chief creative officer is excited by Disney Infinity

Disney Infinity is due to be released this summer on Wii U, Wii and 3DS as well as other platforms, and it looks to be Disney Interactive's most ambitious project yet. It allows the player to scan real-life toys into the virtual world from all sorts of Disney universes like The Nightmare...

"Plenty of room" for both Skylanders and Disney Infinity, too

Jerry Storch, CEO and Chairman of Toys R’ Us has spoken to Family Gamer TV about his stores’ anticipation of Disney Infinity to further substantiate the toys-to-life genre. Talking at the Skylanders Swap Force launch event, Storch confirmed that he thought there was “plenty of...

Former Junction Point chief is proud of the studio's achievements

Yesterday Disney announced that it was closing Junction Point Studios indefinitely, resulting in around 160 people sadly losing their jobs. Warren Spector was the man who headed up the operation at Junction Point, and because of the closure he too has left Disney Interactive. In a...

Warren Spector's studio closes its doors

It has emerged today that Junction Point Studios, the developer behind the Epic Mickey series, has closed its doors and in the process made its employees — of which there were around 160 in early 2012 — redundant. Rumours were circulating yesterday about the studio's demise, and now a Disney...

Troubling tales regarding Warren Spector's studio

Various reports have been circulating around the internet in the past couple of hours saying that Warren Spector's Junction Point has been suffering some problems, with the development studio being closed down by Disney. A tweet originating from Roberts Space Industries sparked the chatter, but it...

Games will be forwards and backwards-compatible

Disney Interactive will be launching its ambitious Disney Infinity title this summer on pretty much every platform you can imagine, including Wii U, Wii and 3DS. The game allows the player to scan real-world toys into the environment and will feature characters from the Pirates of the Caribbean, The...

Warn the bank manager

We can imagine a tired old Executive at Activision in late 2011, working through yet more paperwork and then coming across sales figures for the experimental Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure, a game where the publisher was boldly asking parents and enthusiasts to buy the game and a load of toys. Their eyes would have widened,...

But still "well positioned" to remain on top

Last night, Disney announced its own take on the Skylanders "toys to life" concept: Disney Infinity. It hasn't taken long for Skylanders publisher Activision to react to the news, with John Coyne, Vice President of Consumer Marketing, telling Forbes: We are thrilled by the incredible success that the...

Epic Mickey 2 only sold 270,000 copies to the original's 1.3 million

Let's face it, Epic Mickey 2 was something of a critical disappointment. After the promise of the first game, we had high hopes that the follow-up would be even better, but as our Epic Mickey 2 Wii U review shows, it was a bit of letdown. It would seem that the poor reaction has...

Mickey Mouse titles that could have been

It's come to light that Buena Vista Games - now known as Disney Interactive Studios - was experimenting with different ideas for a Mickey Mouse game long before Disney Epic Mickey became a reality. The proposed Mickey Mouse title - given the working title Spy Mickey - sadly never got past the concept phase,...

Looks set to be played across platforms

Disney has always been about creating experiences. It has done it with its movies, its theme parks, its toys and also with games. Now though the company aims to create a gaming experience with a much grander scale than before; one with a lot of ambition. Disney Infinity is the company’s latest gaming...

Would also like to work with other Disney characters

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two is out right now on Wii and Wii U. The game sees you painting your way through several Disney-esque levels with Mickey and his pal Oswald and is designed with two players in mind. In an interview with Red Bull, Warren Spector, the man behind Epic Mickey, has hinted...