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Disney Plans Sale of Video-Game Unit Acquired From Fox (Marvel Strike Force)
- Thread starter Deleted member 16657
- Start date
What's left to do? They gutted the studio and there's only like a handful of people left that handle licensing.
Bob Iger really hates making computer games.... It's one aspect of him that disappoints me, overall he is a great CEO that has created great value for Disney. But his dismissal of investing in games squanders a lot of what Disney could achieve in this space if given a chance.
The core staff have started, sold, left, started, sold, left cycle three or four times already. I'm sure they have exit plans to leave and start something new.
Cause there isn't anything left. All development ceased in 2013 and the only thing left is administrative staff for licensing.
Disney's lack of game interest is one of the most glaring money wastes of the last 19 years. Imagine if the took they're properties seriously and released family games at the level of Nintendo, and Superhero/Movie titles on the level of WB. They have the money. They just don't want to risk it. They have that tired Activision mentality of cheap and quick.
I know Iger has mentioned that Disney is not good with video games and they have no problems licensing their IPs out
This one baffles me too, the video game industry makes a lot more then the movie/TV business.
They have already have in the ways that matter. The studio mostly does licensing now, meaning it is essentially a profit machine. Selling the IP:s themselves is off the table, I assume.
I see no wrong with this move. Disney right now doesn't really have anything to do with game development beyond their IP licensing departments. Foxnext gets sold off to another company that's more aligned to gaming which has more corporate synergy. Disney can and will probably still continue the licensing arrangements.
I honestly think it's quite commendable for them to say: "Hey, we don't understand this business and we can't really be a competitor there, so let's let people who know what they're doing work with our IPs instead of us trying to do something we just fundamentally don't understand and / or don't care enough to excel at."
I think the Disney we gamers most fondly remember is the Disney that licensed their IPs to Capcom and Sega, etc. That back then created some real classics like Castle of Illusion.
One thing I'll say is that I think Disney had a real chance to turn Mickey Mouse into a videogame superstar, but they really didn't follow up on their 16bit successes and Warren Spector had no clue what he was doing with Epic Mickey. I think they fucked up quite badly giving the IP to him. Some other developer might have made a Mickey Mouse 3d Platformer that could've competed with Mario.
I never played them myself, but I thought that the Epic Mickey series was very well received by fans and critics. Am I misremembering or are you referring to other aspects of the games or deals surrounding the games?
Aren't movies & TV more marketable for merchandising which is where most of the money comes from?
Uhm, Epic Mickey and Epic Mickey 2 have a 77 and 64 Metacritic rating respectively. Those games had tons of issues and weren't even close to being in the same ballpark as Mario.
You folks are portraying it wrong. There's a couple of giants at the top that make all the money and everyone else is 'sharing the scraps'. Disney was definitely in the group that shared the scraps.
"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] In November 2018, Disney agreed to have Jam City take over operation of its Glendale game studio, sell them Emoji Blitz and for develop of future Pixar and Walt Disney Animation franchises games. Staff at the studio would be offered jobs with Jam City working of the Disney titles.[31]"
Looking at this, it's no wonder that they shut it all down. Losing 200 million a year just isn't sustainable.
The frustrating part of Disney pulling out of the games industry and killing off Disney Infinity is that it didn't have anything to do with how well the game was doing it was because somebody up top decided to flood the market with more toys than they were ever likely to sell.
Videogames must be a pretty hard industry to break into if Disney, of all companies, can't make a go of it.
True about Mario.
I, however, get the feeling that no matter how much money you sink into establishing Mickey as a successful gaming mascot the success may never come. Mickey already being a successful mascot in other areas of media would undoubtedly help, but that is hardly an assurance. It is probably better to to what Disney is already doing, or leaning towards doing; License the IP, set a minimum bar of quality, and let someone else take the financial risk.
Licensing does seem like the best way for Disney to go about things. Would take a lot of money to set up divisions, and even then there's no guarantee of success. I figure if they wanted to start publishing again they'd acquire already existing devs into the fold, kinda like how Warner Bros. bought up Atari, TT Games, Midway etc.
Sure hope they don't give away exclusive rights in the future, though, like EA and Star Wars. Letting Nintendo and Square Enix make Marvel games was a good move.
Sure hope they don't give away exclusive rights in the future, though, like EA and Star Wars. Letting Nintendo and Square Enix make Marvel games was a good move.
Disney just doesn't understand game development costs more then movies and require more time.
They just expect it to be this cheap tie in toy for an easy profit. And when they get serious about it they dont know why the game isnt good, why it's taking so long, and why the costs are what they are.
They need to find a good company that matches with their views on characters and qualities like Nintendo and stick with it. Or better yet Square Enix in its entirety since they still have a pretty good relationship with them.
Of course, if the games aren't up to par, there won't be any success. But back in the 16-bit days, if Disney would've been smart, they would've had a real shot of having Mickey compete with Mario. I'm guessing no developer jumped on it cause Disney probably offered really bad deals ("Hey, Mickey Mouse is our IP, the name alone will make you sell x million units, so how about we take 90% of the profits and you get almost nothing?").
And yeah, I agree that they should license the IP out, but they'd need to be smart about who they give it to and they'd need to be smart enough to understand that at this point Mickey doesn't have all that much value - I'd be surprised if most kids today even know Mickey Mouse. I might not be all up to date on what Disney has been doing with Mickey, but when I grew up, Mickey was in features and TV shows and so on, Mickey Mouse was huge... not so much today. It's a shame, really.
Disney actually approached us before if we at Moon would like to do something with their IPs, but I'd be too scared having to deal with Disney, maybe even getting a good deal on the first venture and them then putting the hammer down and offering a super bad deal on a follow-up, etc. And it's honestly too much fun for us not to make our own IPs :)
But the last point is pretty much what they are doing now. They license out their stuff instead on in-house development and that's probably the best route for a lot of IP holders.
as far as I know Disney helped bring back those old lucasarts point and click games so they handle games just fine
For real, we should be happy Disney isn't buying up all the game studios
For real, we should be happy Disney isn't buying up all the game studios
It seems Disney won't be the all-conquering entertainment conglomerate that we all feared. At least until Bob Iger is replaced.
Long term, it makes no sense for Disney to have such a small role in the video game development and publishing for their own IP. It would be like saying, "Hey Sony, here's Iron Man. Give us some money and you can make as many movies as you like!"
Long term, it makes no sense for Disney to have such a small role in the video game development and publishing for their own IP. It would be like saying, "Hey Sony, here's Iron Man. Give us some money and you can make as many movies as you like!"
I agree here outsourcing is the right move, but for a company with so much financial clout, feels like they have passed an opportunity to make a real impact in this field. Still, you are right they should focus on what they do best, and they do it oh so well.
I'd say people make the same argument with Apple and Gaming - It's not that easy to become the king of the hill in an art-form you fundamentally don't understand / care about. Apple could've wiped Nintendo away by making their own handheld based on iPhone tech many times over, but they don't want to be in gaming and that's okay.
That's a good analogy I can understand .. who knows we may get a talented developer on a Mickey property at some point
*looks at Moon Studios* :)
Eh, I'm not convinced it's that simple. Sony made far more powerful handhelds than Nintendo twice in a row, and Nintendo still dominated. I figure Apple never got into gaming precisely because they know that it's a business that you can't succeed at just by throwing money and tech at it.
Looks like Scopely got FoxNext.
Must have been a good deal since it's clear that Disney doesn't want it at all.
I'm glad Disney chooses not to get too involved in games because who knows what the outcome of that would be.
I, for one, am glad that Disney doesn't want much to do with games. Sure, they have great IP, but their rapid consolidation of market share within various aspects of entertainment is scary as fuck. At least with them licensing out deals with other publishers means there is at least one medium they can't monopolise.
I mean I'm sure they could pick up a bunch of studios and let them run independently but I hope they never ever do such a thing.
I wish Wideload survived. Very underrated dev that had talent for cartoony games, like their Wii game at Disney; Guilty Party.
Avalanche somehow was saved from the brink of oblivion by Warner Bros of all companies, but have been stuck on a Harry Potter RPG apparently for nearly three years. Toy Story 3 was really well done, including on Wii.
Avalanche somehow was saved from the brink of oblivion by Warner Bros of all companies, but have been stuck on a Harry Potter RPG apparently for nearly three years. Toy Story 3 was really well done, including on Wii.
Well based on the last time they tried. They lose $200 million a year for 4 years straight towards the end. And then shut down the studio and exit the games medium.
Yes but if they cared enough they could aquire a bunch of studios and take them down with them when they fail.
Well, there's also the voracious manner in which he appears eager to acquire every last entertainment property on the planet, which is super-vile and dickish.