Disney Interactive Studios will cut back on the number of games it develops for the Xbox 360 and PS3, saying its releases tend to do better on platforms like the Wii and DS.
Disney CEO Bob Iger said that while the game industry presents a “huge opportunity” for the company, it doesn’t necessarily lie with the traditional core consoles. “It is pretty clear that the higher end console games are a little bit more challenged in the world where not only they are more costly to produce and market, but there is just much more competition from casual games and games on platforms like the iPhone [and] iTouch platform,” he said.
“Disney branded [games] seem to perform better on the Nintendo Wii and DS platforms, and on the platforms that are not to the high-end console games,” he continued. “And so while we’re going to continue to make games for the high end, we’ll be very, very judicious in how many and which ones we choose.”
It seems like a fairly logical approach to take: A quick look at Disney Interactive’s lineup reveals an awful lot of Pirates of the Caribbean, Chronicles of Narnia, High School Musical and other such fare that’s obviously going to appeal more to the casual end of the gamer spectrum, so focusing development of those titles on the casual end of the hardware spectrum only makes sense.
Among the titles judiciously chosen for development on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC are the racer Split/Second and the new Tron videogame slated for release later this year. Iger also “briefly mentioned” Epic Mickey, although that title is being developed exclusively for the Wii. “But I would say that our focus is going to be little bit more diverse and a little bit less reliant on highest end console games,” he added.
Source: Develop
Published: Feb 10, 2010 03:50 pm