Warren Spector wants to be clear: Mickey Mouse wasn’t always as boring as he is today. And it wasn’t a deliberate move to rob the mouse of his mischievous nature. It’s just the way of the cartoon world.

“It happens to every cartoon character,” he says. “They all begin as dangerous, mischievous things, then they start to settle down and become more realistic – and the way they’re drawn becomes more realistic. Eventually, they move into a nice suburban home and get some nephews who are unexplained. Then someone comes along and reminds them that they’re this anarchist thing and the cycle begins again.”

What Mickey had that held that off for a while was Walt Disney. The company founder loved his creation and viewed Mickey as his alter ego. That kept the changes minute enough that Mickey was able to establish a lasting identity.

Spector’s hoping that “Epic Mickey” marks the beginning of a new cycle – a Mickey reboot, if you will. He’s lobbying Disney to use this re-imagined character in arenas other than games, though hasn’t received any commitments on that yet.

“Realistically, all we’re trying to do is make Mickey the game hero he deserves to be,” he says. “In my secret heart of hearts, I would love to see a movie or a comic book - and I plant that seed everywhere I can and see if takes root. But if it never happens, that’s fine.”

Junction Point Studios has done some incredible work with animating Mickey Mouse for “Epic Mickey”. The screen shots, honestly, don’t begin to do the game justice. To prove this, Warren Spector showed off some old cartoon footage of the mouse last week running alongside the game’s Mickey model mimicking the cartoon. In some instances, it was impossible to tell the difference.

But there’s something you might be expecting from the cartoons that will never, ever happen in the game. Mickey, who has become a rather chatty rodent over the years, won’t speak a word in the game.

Don’t misunderstand: There’s dialogue, but it appears as text bubbles – not audibly. And that’s a very deliberate move.

“I made the creative decision that characters wouldn’t talk in the Cartoon Wasteland,” says Spector. “It was entirely a creative decision because [he begins speaking in a high-pitched Mickey voice] As soon as I start doing this, I’ve lost most of my potential audience. [resumes natural voice] If I’m trying to re-introduce this character to an audience, there are certain connotations with that voice that I’m going to have a hard time overcoming. ”

While full voice is certainly possible on the Wii hardware, Spector says he has instead decided to use those system resources for other elements of the game.

 

After literally years of silence surrounding Warren Spector’s “Epic Mickey,” Disney and Spector are finally talking about the project – and they have a lot to say.

The company held a launch event recently in London, unveiling new details and offering a peek behind the thought process at how the game came to be. Over the next couple of days, The Cut Scene will be looking at what might be and what might have been with this reintroduction of the world’s most famous rodent.

Spector actually didn’t head to Disney looking to work on a Mickey game. He had two of his own projects at Junction Point Studios that he was looking to find a publisher for.

One, he says, was “a big, BIG fantasy game that I had been wanting to do for about 15 years. My wife and I created a world and a whole story arc for DC comics. They decided not to pick it up. I loved this world and the characters we had created.”

The other was a near-future science fiction-themed game. It was, hints Spector, a spiritual successor to “Deus Ex” in many ways.

Given the family audience Microsoft is targeting with Project Natal, it seems natural that Disney would have a game ready for the system’s launch. That’s not a sure bet, though, says Graham Hopper, president of Disney Interactive Studios. “That’s an interesting question we’re deciding now,” he says. “For us, doing something just to be there [at launch] doesn’t have a lot of appeal. There’s an impetus to be first just for the sake of being first, but we won’t do that.”

That said, there’s plenty of internal enthusiasm for the motion-based controller. And the founder of Bungie Software is leading the charge on it.

Alex Seropian joined Disney last month to act as a ‘coach,’ of sorts to the expanding internal staff of developers. One of his first meetings upon joining was related to Natal and where Disney stood with the peripheral.

Disney’s other ace-in-the-hole, developer Warren Spector, won’t be contributing to any Natal-driven efforts in the near future as he continues work on “Epic Mickey” for the Wii, but it’s a safe bet he’ll be looking closely at the device once that game is out the door.

“I’m completely convinced that gesture controls are the future of gaming,” he says.

We saw and heard a lot about motion sensor controls at last week’s E3, but it was Microsoft’s “Project Natal” that caught the eye of Disney Interactive.

“Project Natal has the most long-term potential, in my opinion,” Graham Hopper, the head of Disney’s gaming unit, told me during a chat at E3. “We’re interested to see what software will be developed with it – and we’re going to be working hard to figure that out ourselves.”

Hopper said he sees the full-body interface and voice recognition capabilities of Natal as something that will change the face of gaming.

It’s ironic, when you think back to the last generation, when a system was often judged solely on the quality of its graphics. They’re still a factor today. (Let’s face it, the Atari 2600 would flop if it hit the market now, no matter how great the games were.) But they’re perhaps the third most important factor in today’s game machines.

“I think it’s interesting how everyone thought the basis of competition was going to be graphics,” says Hopper. “It turned out to be two other things: The first is online connectivity; the other is human interface.

“These illustrate where the industry is going. … It sounds like little things, but it adds up quickly.”

Disney Interactive, historically, has been known for games targeted at children. And this year’s lineup was no exception, with new “Hannah Montana” and “Wizards of Waverly Place” titles on display.

A few years ago, though, the company began dipping its toes in the core gamer waters. This year, alongside the younger-skewing games were “Split/Second,” an action racer that’s heavy on the pyrotechnics and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned” an action/role-playing game set before the film series.

“As a company, the experiences we create appeal to everyone,” said Hopper. “I don’t see any reason we can’t serve core gamers with content they love.”

As gaming companies get more affordable, there has been a lot of chatter on Wall Street about major media companies buying out existing game publishers. Disney, in particular, was rumored to be sniffing around Electronic Arts last November.

So far, nothing has come of that – and Hopper indicates that we shouldn’t hold our breath for any major announcements.

“We’re going to be very selective,” he said. “I don’t feel we need an acquisition to grow.”

I think it's a safe bet more readers of this blog have heard of "Pure" than "Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force." The former is a major franchise launch and the first game from Disney Interactive Studios' Black Rock racing studio. The latter is a Nintendo DS spin-off from the popular kids' online world. "Pure" has 55 reviews on Metacritic. "Elite Penguin Force" has two.

According to Graham Hopper, we may have our priorities out of whack. The senior VP in charge of DIS noted during an interview yesterday that "Elite Penguin Force" has been his company's number one selling title (in units, not revenue) since its November debut. It's not exactly sexy, but it's based on a huge franchise (and even connects to it, with currency earned in the game available in "Club Penguin" on the Web), it's on the world's most pouplar videogame device, and it's a $30 title in an economic environment where value sells.

Like many publishers, Disney is finding that consumers are flocking toward value titles and only the very best known, best selling high end franchises, Hopper noted. As a result, games like "Elite Penguin Force" and "Phineas and Ferb" (another DS title, this one based on a Disney Channel show), which is DIS's number two title currently.

It's a very tough environment as Disney attempts to break into the AAA franchise world, Hopper admitted, particularly during the crowded fall when his company launched "Pure." Though it got good reviews and sold decently to predisposed fans, Disney was hoping it would break through to a broader audience. "If I had it to do over again, I would have released 'Pure' at a different time," he explained. "Relative to other racing titles we did well, but I would have loved for it to transcend the genre."

He has higher hopes that "Split Second," (left) the next title from Black Rock, will do next. Due in early 2010, it's a "Burnout" style arcade action racer set in a reality show where players set off explosions to mess with competitors. And while it's tough to make judgments based on the early build Disney showed, "Split Second" definitely appears to have major adrenaline and less of of the gearhead-targeted tricks and engine customization present in "Pure."

However, Hopper also noted that Black Rock has two teams working. So don't be surprised at all to see Disney give "Pure" another shot in late 2010 or 2011.

It's no surprise that THQ is shuttering or spinning off some development studios given its recent decision to lay off a staggering 24% of its workforce.

But it's perhaps instructive to notice about which of its 11 remaining studios it is now spinning off or selling (after previously closing five). One that really stood out to me on a list reported by Crispy Gamer is Heavy Iron. It has been around since 1999 and has worked on nine titles for THQ in that time. But if you look at its four most recent releases and the one it's currently working on, you'll notice a trend:

Heavy Iron has become THQ's go to studio for lead development on Pixar games. But that deal is about to be over. Disney is taking development of the Pixar games internal starting with 2010's "Toy Story 3." Which pretty much leaves Heavy Iron without a raison d'etre. THQ doesn't have any more licenses to assign. And given how conservative the publisher is now being about original properties, we can't expect it to keep many, if any, internal developers alive for that purpose.

Of course, Disney will probably be on the hunt for talent to help it make Pixar games. The only internal studio it has that focuses on kids' games, Avalanche Software, is already pretty busy making games based on the Disney Animation Studios films. So as Heavy Iron looks for assignments, or its staff looks for new jobs, it's possible they could be working on Pixar games for a new publisher.

What about the other two studios being spun off or sold? Well, Incinerator Studios never really got off teh ground since it was founded in 2006. At the time, the publisher said it looked forward to Incinerator bringing "its own ideas for next generation development." But all it made in its short life was versions of "Cars" for the Wii and 360, "Cars: Mater National" for the PS3 and Wii, the Wii and PS2 versions of "MX vs ATV: Untamed" and Wii/PS2 game "Nicktoons: Globs of Doom." Once again, experience working on Pixar titles probably didn't help.

The fact that those two developers are being spun off as independents, rather than shut down, indicates that some people involved must think they can get work. Which makes some sense given their history working on licenses. The road is tougher for RTS/RPG specialist Big Huge Games, which THQ has said it will either sell or shutter. The publisher only bought it last year, but has apparently quickly given up hope of competing in that space favored only by core gamers. It will probably be an uphill climb to find another publisher or investor willing to bet money on a developer like Big Huge at this time, even given what's probably a dirt cheap price.

The PSP is in trouble. And Sony has decided the answer is girls.

In a press release from its "Destination Playstation" event for retailers today, Sony said its handheld console has a "rapidly growing install base" and is "riding a wave of momentum," something anybody who has looked at the numbers knows isn't true. Worldwide sales last quarter were down 8% at 5.08 million. Domestically in 2008, sales were virtually flat in the U.S., according to NPD, at 3.8 million. So, yes, the install base is technically growing, but this isn't exactly a wave of momentum, especially compared to, say, Nintendo's DS, which saw sales grow 17% in the U.S. from a much bigger lead, putting it at almost double the PSP's install base.

PSP Software sales are also slowing, down 7% worldwide in the third quarter.

Sony's announcements that are getting the most attention, unsurprisingly, are PSP versions of "LittleBigPlanet," "Assassin's Creed," and "Rock Band." If they're executed well, those games could sell with the core gamer crowd, most of whom already have PSPs and have been begging for better software. "LittleBigPlanet" may face challenges, given how poorly it has sold for PS3. It's also worth keeping in mind that "Assassin's Creed" for the DS sold only 126,000 units, according to NPD. Nonetheless, that and "Rock Band" will, at a miminimum, get the attention of the big spending core gamers who have mostly ignored the system since last March's "God of War: Chains of Olympus."

But if Sony wants real growth, it has to compete for the audience that has so far ignored the PSP (and the PS3 for that matter) -- everyone besides young men. Which is why the biggest news today by far is its partnership with Disney for a new PSP-exclusive "Hannah Montana" game and hardware pack, which will include a pink PSP, the game, and "Hannah Montana" episodes on UMD (coming in July; pre-order at GameStop now!).

In addition, Sony has lured Ubisoft to make PSP versions of its "Petz" games, which are really popular with younger female gamers.

Sony is not being subtle about its goals, stating explicitly in the release that it's making a "push toward teen and 'tween' girl gamers."

And why not? To broadly stereotype, girls love their cell phones and they're a sizable portion of the DS demo. They're the lowest hanging fruit out there.

Drawing Disney into the PSP fold with one of its biggest tween girl franchises (save for "High School Musical") undoubtedly cost Sony something. There's a reason, after all, that past "Hannah Montana" games have been on DS, Wii and PS2. In fact, as this IGN compilation shows, Disney Interactive has only made two games for the PSP ever. Compare that to 24 on the DS. Given that Disney has had huge success making games based on "Hannah Montana," "High School Musical," "Kim Possible" and other licenses aimed squarely at girls, those numbers says a lot about what it thinks of the PSP audience.

In other words, Disney surely isn't doing this because it thinks it can sell lots of games and UMD episodes. But "Hannah Montana" could be a great draw for Sony to sell more PSPs to a new demo. Given who receives most of the benefits, I think we know who's funding most of the costs.

Disney Interactive Studios, the conglomerate's video game unit, took up only a small part of Disney's earnings call today, but the brief mention made clear that DIS is facing a problem that a lot of publishers are struggling with: falling prices.

To be specific, Disney Chief Financial Officer Tom Staggs said that DIS sold more units last quarter, but ended up making less money because "a competitive and difficult market put pressure on pricing." In other words, it wasn't able to keep up a $60 price point for 360 and PS3 games, $50 for Wii, or $30 for DS games at retail. (Here's one concrete example: Best Buy is selling "Ultimate Band" for $40 on Wii and $20 on DS).

Still, Staggs said Disney expects to "continue to invest in... videogames, websites and virtual worlds," meaning that despite the recent layoffs at DIS, there's no significant pullback from the videogame or digital space.

More coming soon on Electronic Arts' hugely disappointing earnings, which also were released today

Disney Interactive Studios is starting work on a new Tron game at the same time it's joining the long list of companies laying off staff and consolidating development studios.

A spokersperson declined to comment, but sources tell me DIS is talking to developers about a "Tron" game that will be tied to "TR2N," the film sequel that its sibling studio is producing. The movie, which will star Jeff Bridges, Garret Hedlund and Olivia Wilde and be directed by Joseph Kosinski, is tentatively scheduled for 2011, which is when we can expect to see the game too.

This is, of course, a no-brainer. "Tron" was a movie about videogames that spawned several successful arcade games (classics of my youth), as well as a sequel in 2003. So with a new movie coming out, what were the odds Disney was not going to do a new videogame?

Nonetheless, it's exciting news to have a full fledged new Tron coming. And it's good news that the movie is more than two years out (i'll go out on a limb and say Disney won't release it in the Winter), since that means the game will have a solid amount of production time.

But it's not all light cycles and ricocheting discs at Disney Interactive. The media conglomerate's videogame arm laid off almost 30 people at its Propaganda Games studio in Vancover, maker of last year's fairly well received (I thought it was pretty good), so-so seller "Turok." According to Kotaku, that's tied to the cancellation of "Turok 2." From what I can gather, a sequel isn't necessarily dead, since Disney retains the rights it to the character it optioned from Classic Media, and two teams remain at work at Propaganda. But it is likely a follow-up is on hold, or back to the drawing board.

Also feeling the pinch are a pair of DIS's six internal developers: Fall Line and Avalanche. The two Salt Lake City-based studios are merging together into one entity that will focus on games based on Disney animated films. That has already been Avalanche Games' raison d'etre, while Fall Line's latest game was "Ultimate Band," which didn't sell too well or win over many critics (Variety's Chris Dahlen panned it). A Disney rep said that Fall Line will bring Avalanche expertise on Wii and DS, which are more than ever the platforms that matter for kid-focused titles. Upcoming games in the works from the newly merged studios include "Toy Story 3" for 2010 and, though it hasn't yet been announced, probably "The Princess and the Frog" for this December.

Other Disney studios unaffected by the layoffs include U.K.-based Black Rock, maker of "Pure" (a racing game I loved that just missed my top ten for 2008), Junction Point in Texas, Warren Spector's company that's rumored to be making some kind of platformer starring Mickey Mouse, and China-based Gamestar, which does outsourcing work.

A recent story in weekly Variety by my colleague Jill Goldsmith, our very experienced and astute Wall Street reporter, was musing on what 2009 held in store for the major media conglomerates and included this fascinating bit of speculation based on interviews Jill did with various financial professionals who follow these companies closely:

That would be quite an event, huh? When you think about it, it makes some sense. Disney has been investing heavily in videogames these past few years. And while its stock is down (31% off its 52-week high), EA stock is way down (67% from its 52-week high), which means buying EA could be a potent way for Disney to jumpstart itself to a lead position in this still relatively fast growing space.

And when you think about it, Disney might not be the only media conglomerate considering such a move. Most of the conglomerates are interested in videogames and have started dipping their toes in the water, some (Disney, Time Warner), Viacom aggressively and others (NBC U, News Corp.) more conservatively. but right now, they're in an interesting position. DVD sales, long the studios' cash cow, have flattened and there's no sign Blu-ray or digital downloads/streaming will pick up the slack (for more details, read this story). So big media is looking for new ways to ignite growth.

The videogame business has been having problems, with growth slowing of late, but it's still red hot compared to movies, TV, and music. And many videogame publishers, not just EA, have seen their stocks take major hits in the past six months, much more than the declines for big media shares. That means videogame publishers are more affordable for the conglomerates than they were a year ago. Which means we could just see a Disney-EA acquisition, or others like it, in 2009

We've been kinda tough -- not undeservedly, of course -- on some recent Disney videogame releases, but there's a turnabout of sorts from a somewhat surprising outlet: the new "Club Penguin" game for the DS.

It's the first major spin-off Disney has done for the uber-popular kids virtual world since purchasing it last year in a deal worth up to $700 million. As Variety critic Chris Dahlen reports, it's a fun collection of mini-games and mysteries that fits smoothly into the "Club Penguin" landscape:

"Club Penguin's" simple cartoony style loses little in the move to the smallscreen. The island's layout remains essentially the same, but players now explore it from a first-person perspective -- which makes it easier to comb each space for hidden coins and clues.

The missions challenge players with object-manipulation puzzles, simple decoding tasks and plain old hunting and rummaging for clues. Any kid who reads well, follows directions and doesn't mind scouring the island once in a while for new leads should have no trouble. Unfortunately, the gameplay will occasionally frustrate their best efforts: A lack of negative feedback can make it difficult to figure out why penguins don't always move where the player points, for instance, and some design mistakes in the final action sequence makes it difficult to trigger the right action and complete the game.

There's also a smart, if rather simple, tie-in to the virtual world. Kids can't import their "Club Penguin" character to the DS, which would probably be the ultimate tie-in, but coins earned on the new game can be transferred to the virtual world, and content like newsletters and polls from "Club Penguin" can be downloaded onto the DS. Which is probably a smart move by Disney to ensure that "Elite Penguin Force" will only reinforce kids' online "Club Penguin" interest/addiction, rather than replace it.

Full review: Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force

(This is the fifth of eight or so posts going up throughout the holiday weekend tied to an article I have in the forthcoming weekly Variety that looks at the promise of Brash Entertainment, the first Hollywood videogame publisher, and the reasons it went from $400 million to out-of-business in a year and a half. The article and posts are all based on extensive interviews with nearly a dozen former employees, executives and developers who worked at or with Brash, most of whom understandably spoke only on background. The posts here on the Cut Scene will summarize and expand some of the key points from the Variety article and also provide some interesting details and anecdotes that didn't make print.

You can read the entire article here.

You can see all of my related posts, and get all the important background, on the Cut Scene's Brash category page.)

Since I'm about halfway through my series of Brash post-mortem posts, I figured it's a good time to post the "light" one...

In all my interviews with former Brash employees, there was one name that came up almost as much as Mitch Davis: Mickey Mouse. "Did you hear the Mickey Mouse story?" people would ask me, their voice dipping almost to a whisper like they wanted to talk about our alcoholic sister-in-law but didn't want to be the one to tell me she's an alcoholic, in case I didn't know.

Did Brash actually manage to get the rights to make a game with Mickey Mouse? Isn't Disney a bit more protective with its IP than that? What were these people talking about?

Finally I found out from someone who was there. It actually involves the oddest story of a corporate retreat I've ever had. And I've been on a few funny corporate retreats myself.

I want to issue a big disclaimer before I go into the details: This is just a funny story. I don't think this actually reflects badly, or well, on Brash management. The worst you could say is someone hired a weird consultant. In the grand scheme of things that happened at Brash, it's not even a blip. So I'm not posting this as an actual reason Brash went down in flames, or even to be emblematic of any problems. It's just an amusing tangent.

So here's the deal: Brash had a few off-site meetings for staff over the summer. The first was in June with almost everyone, at Shutters in Santa Monica. The topic was essentially "What have we done wrong and how can we improve things moving forward?" There was a "team building consultant" who served as a moderator for discussions and took notes. She had a funny quirk of wearing Mickey Mouse t-shirts. A bit weird, but, you know, it's L.A. and her title is "team building consultant," so it's just barely noteworthy.

Then apparently there was a second off-site just for the sales and marketing staff the next month. The consultant was there again. As any reasonable person would, she noticed employee morale was quite low and stress was high. At one point, during a break, she was talking to a few employees and had this piece of advice (as related to me second-hand):

When you need to center yourself and find a place of happiness, take a Mickey Mouse doll and stick it between your legs. Because Mickey Mouse is what happiness all about. When you're looking for happiness and you need to center, that’s what Mickey Mouse is for.

Don't give me that look. I just report the news, folks. I couldn't make it up if I tried.

More actually serious insights about Brash coming over the weekend as I get breaks and feel like writing more. And again, please don't take this to mean anything more than exactly what it is. It's just, well, if you were a journalist and you heard this story and you had a blog, could you resist posting it?

Seems Disney has an unfortunate trend with videogames based on its animated features this year: Adaptations that completely miss the spirit and tone of their source material.

First came THQ's "Wall-E," which as I wrote back in June, was basically a short collection of videogame cliches that didn't remotely resemble the quirky and romantic film. Now comes "Bolt," Disney Interactive's adaptation of its sibling studio's pic. Variety critic Tom Chick found it similarly wanting, noting that a movie about a super-powered dog who discovers he's not so super and has to discover the value of his normal self has become a game in which the titular pooch is always super-powered and questions nothing:

Rather than taking on the admittedly difficult challenge of addressing the movie's story of a dog who discovers his life as a superhero is just a show, the game embraces that show, sending Bolt on a globe-hopping adventure in which he can shoot laser beams from his eyes, rip through steel with his jaws, and blast bad guys with a supersonic bark. It's like making a "Superman" videogame in which Kal-El never leaves Krypton.

Game is also missing some of the best characters from the movie who kids will likely expect to see. The overeager hamster in a ball only makes a cameo, while the wisecracking trio of pigeons aren't around at all. Because he's on a TV show in which he's merely a pet for owner Penny (the game's other playable character), Bolt doesn't even talk. That seems sure to disappoint tykes. And really, how hard would it have been the give the hamster in a ball a playable level? Sounds to me like it's begging for some "Katamari"-style rolling.

Full review: Bolt

I'll admit that when I first heard about "Ultimate Band" earlier this year (writing about it here) and also when I tried it at E3, I thought it might be a smart idea. Disney most certainly doesn't have a chance of beating MTV and Activision at the peripheral game (a lesson Konami is learning the hard way with "Rock Revolution"), so why not use the Wii-mote for some air guitar/drums (thus keeping the price down dramatically) and target the visual design, soundtrack, etc. at the tween demo that the makers of "High School Musical" and "Hannah Montana" know so well?

Sounded good, but it turns out to be a major letdown, according to Variety critic "Chris Dahlen." It's "a convoluted, inconsistent and inauthentic experience," he writes, "that emulates a phony lip-synching boy band more than a real rock experience." Um, ouch. He then adds a little more detail:

The guitar and bass parts are plagued by distractions like hand claps, whammy motions and windmill strums that are barely tied to the music or even the actions onscreen... [T]he singer... doesn't even get a microphone. Retitled the "frontman," he or she is struck triggering poses and leading the crowd in a wave. Kids who want to sing along for fun don't even get the lyrics. The guitarist and bassist each have three completely different workarounds for the lack of a fretboard, but they often get convoluted, forcing players to use arbitrary button combinations to fret the notes, all while strumming the air.

Kids will inevitably end up fighting to play the drums, which are the only instrument to offer remotely believable gameplay. Downward and sideways motions to hit the pads have a reasonably close relationship to an actual performance, though even the drummer is still saddled with intrusive spins and claps.

Sounds like rather than serving as a low cost alternative for kids who can't get their hands on "Rock Band" or "Guitar Hero" yet, it'll just remind them how much they wish they could be playing those games instead.

Full review: Ultimate Band

I'm guessing The Cut Scene's audience doesn't include many 7 year-old girls who love the Disney Fairies, but it probably does include a lot of people interested in the Walt Disney Company.

Which is why you might be interested to know that Disney's new virtual world for Tinkerbell and her fairy pals, "Pixie Hollow," is pretty damned good. According to Variety critic Leigh Alexander:

Given the existing popularity of the brand, Disney could have easily slapped together low-budget graphics and a feeble, ad-festooned web interface, put the "Fairies" label on it and still made megabucks. Instead, the colorful and engaging "Pixie Hollow" online play space, with its lush floral fantasy backdrop and sonorous orchestral background music, puts to shame its much more overtly opportunistic competition. In a climate where virtual worlds are widely viewed as another hot brand extension tactic, "Pixie Hollow" can fly on its own two wings.

Disney, of course, has been investing heavily in virtual words, from buying "Club Penguin" to building "Pirates of the Caribbean Online," (more an MMO, but still) "Pixie Hollow" and soon, one based on the Pixar movie "Cars." (If "Pixie Hollow" is Disney's online hangout for girls, it looks like "Cars" will be the one for boys).

We found "Pirates Online" to have some major technical problems at launch (though I personally haven't planed it in the past year. But it looks like Disney put a lot of care into "Pixie Hollow." I think one could question whether it's good in the big picture for kids to have another online hangout that teaches to love a corporate brand, ask for Mom and Dad's credit card, and spend tons of time earning in-game items. But there's no question they're better off doing so in a virtual world that's well built and safe, which "Pixie Hollow" is.

You can read Leigh's entire review here.

Last year's "Spectrobes" was the first attempt by the burgeoning Disney Interactive Studios to create an original intellectual proprerty. It was pretty clearly a "Pokemon" rip-off, but it still came out well and shipped (not sold) over 1 million units, which is good for a DS-only title.

Inevitably, any publisher looking to establish new IP will greenlight a sequel to a game unless it flat out bombs. Thus we have "Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals," which Variety reviewer Tom Chick says "improves the original game considerably by adding better combat, sharper graphics and deeper online features."

This is a game primarily for kids who love collecting and trading and such, but Tom says the the improved RPG combat, which emphasizes direct control of the creatures, is a complex enough system that it will even appeal to some RPG fans. He also notes that the game emphasizes feeding and taking care of the Spectrobes, giving a game aimed primarily at boys "an almost maternal aspect."

Just as interesting beyond the gameplay, though, is how tightly it's integrated with the new DGamer system, which is essentially a mix of Facebook and Xbox Live that connects Disney kids' videogames and Disney.com. You create an avatar, show off trophies, make friends, etc. There's no real social network for gamers under 12 and Disney, which already has a big chunk of kids' media online, wants to take hold of it and connect everyone playing "Spectrobes" and "Prince Caspian" and "Club Penguin" and "Fairies Online" into one big happy and advertised-to family.

Here's an excerpt from Tom's review

Battles in the first “Spectrobes” were a clunky process of scooting Rallen around an enemy flanked by two of his revived creatures and hoping for the best. But fights here are split into two types, each emphasizing more direct control. During exploration, Rallen uses weapons to take out monsters spit out by tornadoes. Once inside the tornados, the spectrobes take over in pairs, which gives the creatures more personality. Some are toe-to-toe bruisers, some are nimble and some are stand-off ranged attackers. It’s a much more exciting way of playing out combat, and it gives the various spectrobes plenty of character. It’s also a complex enough battle system that “Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals” will appeal to some adult RPG fans.

And you can read the whole thing right here.

DIsney Interactive Studios has been on an acquisition tear the past few years. This year, those developer acquisitions are bearing fruit as the publisher, previously known mainly for cheap handheld adaptations of properties like "Hannah Montana" and "Kim Possible" (hey, they make money) has moved into new genres and original (or at least not owned by Disney) properties. It started in February with "Turok" and now we've got "Pure," the first game from UK-based racing game studio Black Rock (formerly Climax), which Disney bought in 2006.

Variety reviewer Brian Crecente is fairly impressed, calling it "a slick, physics-defying racer that makes up for its lack of substance by hitting all the right notes on style." Basically, it's gorgeous looking, it allows for a lot of customization without insisting on it, and there are lots of killer tricks you can do with your ATV. I'm actually most impressed by this point Brian makes:

Well-executed tricks provide "boost" that can be used for speed bursts and to perform even more complex stunts. The need to balance the use of boost for both purposes gives "Pure" a strategic level that helps to set it apart from other racing games.

Integrating speed and showing off so that a smart balance of both is necessary is much smarter game design than just putting them into a single game as separate elements (now go fast! now do a trick!).

So while racing games haven't exactly been revolutionized, it looks like "Pure," like "Turok," is a solid starting point for Disney in a new genre.

You can read Brian's entire review of "Pure" here.

PS I actually did some of the motion capture for the stunts. But don't tell anyone.

This was a no-brainer once the Walt Disney Company bought Club Penguin last year, but it's still interesting to see it finally happening... Disney Interactive Studios is doing a DS game based on the mega hit virtual world.

It's called "Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force" and it involves penguins on secret agent missions (hey, I don't come up with it). But the really interesting part is that Disney promises the DS game will be able to wirelessly connect to the Club Penguin virtual world so kids can unlock special features, upload coins that they earn, etc. They can also chat with friends on their Disney.com friends list, which is being integrated with Club Penguin, via the new DGamer service.

This is the first step Disney has taken to move Club Penguin beyond the virtual world where it has started into other parts of the company, and also a sign of how Disney's Web properties are being more and more merged into its videogames (as heralded by the merger of those two divisions into Disney Interactive Media Group).

And not too different from competitor Nickelodeon's licensing deal with Capcom to make a "Neopets" DS game, though in that case there isn't any promised connection between the game and the virtual world.

Variety film reporter Marc Graser has helped me out with some reporting and we've confirmed that Disney, which publisher the "Turok" game, is apparently not developing a "Turok" movie.

The film is apparently being developed by Classic Media, an IP management firm that controls the rights to "Turok," along with Casper the Friendly Ghost, the Longe Ranger, and other old cartoons and comic books. (I haven't been able to reach Classic Media to confirm their exact plans yet.)

The absence of major studio involvement is one more reason for fans to be really cautious when reading all those crazy blog posts (all of which are based entirely on this one) about how Adam Beach's off-hand comment is proof that a "Turok" movie is happening. Without major studio involvement, raising the money to make a full on live-action film is even more of a challenge. It's possible, of course, or it's possible they're thinking low budget direct-to-DVD.  Classic Media did produce a direct-to-DVD "Turok" animated film that came out earlier this year (pictured left).

So, dear readers, this isn't exactly getting made in the way that "Prince of Persia" or even "Bioshock" are. Take all these reports with a huge grain of salt.

MTV is reporting that "Turok" v/o star Adam Beach said there's talk of turning Disney's first M-rated videogame into a movie. Here's the quote from MTV's movies blog:

“We just finished the animated movie and now we’re going into the feature film movie [which should lens] hopefully in a couple years. We’re about to set up meetings to develop a script and put it out there,” Beach enthused. “I’ll have to beef up, and be a good guy, and save the world!”

As is always the case with such projects, I'd advise fans to be extremely cautious. MTV"s headline ("EXCLUSIVE: Adam Beach to star in live action Turok movie") is the kind of over-the-top headline that people who don't know much about the movie business typically write.

What Beach actually said in the quote is that they are setting up meetings to develop a script. Keep in mind that there are dozens of meetings every day to develop scripts. Only a fraction of those turn into good scripts and a fraction of those actually get made as movies. And even that tiny faction often have big changes along the way in terms of talent, concept, etc.

All that being said, it's interesting that a "Turok" movie is even being talked about. And given that the game was published by Disney Interactive Studios, it's likely being developed (if it's even at that stage yet) by Walt Disney Pictures (under the Touchstone label, I'm sure, just as the game was).

We'll be looking into it here at Variety to see if there's anymore more to a "Turok" film than a few people talking. But I can assure you already that proclamations that it's happening and the star is set are a tad premature.

Related:
-Variety's review of "Turok"
-"Turok" released through Touchstone

PaidContent and AllThingsD reported last night, and I have just confirmed, that Disney is merging its fast growing videogame unit with its fast growing online content unit into one super-charged digital division.

So Disney Interactive Studios, which has published everything from "Hannah Montana" and "High School Musical" games to "The Chronicles of Narnia" and "Turok," will now be part of the same group that runs Disney.com, "Pirates of the Caribbean Online," and hundreds of online casual games. The new umbrella division is called Disney Interactive Media Group.

The merger makes a lot of sense on multiple levels. Operationally, these two units are increasingly stepping on each other's toes. Why did one division make last summer's "Pirates" console games and an entirely different one produce "Pirates Online." Is there really that big a difference between the casual games DIG makes for its websites and DIS makes for the DS? (And can I have more abbreviations starting with "D" in one sentence?)

I'd also bet this will be useful for Disney on Wall Street, as it can now report all its digital revenues as one big line item, rather than having videogames buried as part of consumer products. That should help the Mouse House (as Variety calls it) to promote itself as a 21st century digital powerhouse.

Steve Wadsworth, president of Disney Internet Group, came out as the corporate victor, taking the role as head of Disney Interactive Media Group. Graham Hopper, the senior VP in charge of Disney Interactive Studios, will now report to Wadsworth in some capacity, though it's not exactly clear yet what his title will be. Unless he's really unhappy with the arrangement, it seems safe to assume Hopper will stay in charge of non-online videogames, since he has spearheaded a major expansion of the division, including buying and starting multiple development studios (Warren Spector's Junction Point, Black Rock, Propaganda, etc.) and adding new mature and original IP to the line up ("Turok," "Pure," "Ultimate Band," whatever Spector is doing).

Disney Internet Group, meanwhile, has been investing heavily in virtual worlds including upcoming ones based on "Fairies" and "Cars," as well as overseeing "Club Penguin," which it bought last year. In addition, it handles mobile content and games.

You can read the official memo from Bob Iger about the topic, which was apparently leaked by someone last night, on PaidContent.

More coming in my story for tomorrow's Daily Variety.

Variety's review of "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" (Disney Interactive's game based on its sibling studio's tentpole film) is online and our critic Matt Peckham is struck by just how many platforming cliches this game encompasses -- especially endlessly breaking barrels and boxes in search of collectible items.

While the recreations of the movie's CGI sets are phenomenal and Matt's impressed by the artful use of video clips from the film, he's ultimately disappointed by just how much time is spent "scouting small maps, collecting keys that open bonus chests and battering every crate and barrel in sight to free glittering shards that boost armor rating" as well as "staving off gangs of Telmarines while finding cogs to assemble Rube Goldbergian contraptions, standing on depressible platforms to open doors and employing special abilities like shooting and climbing to solve bland puzzles."

In other words, the settings are phenomenal, but the action is all "been there, done that." (Even within the game, since as Matt notes, "Those who aren't put off by the cliches will almost certainly balk at the way the same to-dos are woven into nearly every level.")

Here's the introduction to Matt's review:

Narnia has a crate and key epidemic in Disney Interactive's new "Prince Caspian" videogame. Though there's a fair bit of action, this movie adaptation is primarily a collection of platform gaming cliches with an emphasis on punching through breakable containers in search of the items needed to keep going. Sterling reproductions of the movie's CG sets will wow anyone, but "Caspian's" obsession with trivial collectibles and too-obvious puzzles limits its appeal to young gamers and "Narnia" buffs.

And you can read the whole thing here.

Remember how "Enter the Matrix" had literally hours of new video footage for its story featuring side characters from the film trilogy? That game sold a lot of copies but was outrageously expensive and a critical flop, so perhaps it's not a surprise that no movie-based vidoegame since then has attempted to integrate new footage shot by the film's cast and crew.

Disney Interactive is very cautiously trying it again though, with "Prince Caspiain." In this case, however, we don't have a few hours, just a few minutes in the form of two new scenes that frame a level the developers created to bridge the gap between "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and "Caspian."

Every developer of a videogame based on a movie brags that they had significant cooperation of some sort from the studio, producers, filmmakers, etc. In the case of "Caspian," Disney has prime evidence that its studio and its videogame developers (separate units of the same conglomerate) are talking, what with two new scenes with the star of the movie created by the director and writers, not to mention extensive digital assets from the film integrated into the game, most notably in the form of a massive castle setting (seen in the screenshot on the left). Whether the game is any good? Well, Variety will have a review soon.

All the details are here, in a story exclusively in today's Daily Variety.

Update (4/24): I should have noted in the story and here on the blog that while film director Andrew Adamson oversaw the new scenes, they were actually directed on set by the movie's pre-visualization supervisor Rpin Suwannath.

Yesterday Disney unveiled its feature animation slate all the way through 2012, as we detailed at length in Variety. It includes two movies a year -- in most cases one from hit factory Pixar and one from the less successful (these days) Disney Animation Studios.

That has some big implications for THQ and Disney Interactive Studios, the Mouse House's own videogame publishing arm. As I reported in February, DIS got the rights to publish a game based on "Toy Story 3," which comes out in 2010, but THQ still has one game left in its deal with Pixar, which was made before the animation studio was acquired by Disney, after this year's "Wall*E" (which looks like it could make a natural puzzle/exploration game) and next year's "Up" (pictured left, about 78 year-old on some kind of adventure with a little kid -- a movie starring an old man looks like even less of an obvious game than "Ratatouille," which didn't do very well for THQ).

So we can probably assume that one of Pixar's two 2011 toons (2011 is an odd year in which Pixar will actually have two games) will turn into a game for THQ -- either "Newt," a romantic comedy about two mismatched amphibians, or "The Bear and the Bow," a mythical adventure set in Scotland. I think it's safe to bet which one THQ would prefer to get, but we'll see whether it has to deal with the romantic comedy instead.

Another question left unanswered... THQ made the original "Cars" game, which was a big hit, plus this year's follow-up "Mater-national." But does it get to keep making "Cars" games through 2012's "Cars 2?" Does it lose that right at some point? I'll be looking into it.

Meanwhile, there's a lineup of Disney animated films  for which we can safely bet DIS will be making game adaptations. They include all of the Disney Animation Studios releases: this year's "Bolt," 2009's "The Princess and the Frog, 2010's "Rapunzel," and 2012's "King of the Elves." Also, as we already know, it's doing the game based on Pixar's 2010 release "Toy Story 3." And then there's a good chance it will do one of the Pixar films -- either "Newt" or "The Bear and the Bow' -- in 2011 and probably "Cars 2" in 2012.

As numerous outlets, including Variety, reported in the past day, Disney Interactive Studios has bought its sixth developer: China's GameStar.

But it's worth noting that this isn't anything close to DIS' purchase of, say, Junction Point or Avalanche or the studio formerly known as Climax.

Right now, Gamestar does outsourcing work supporting other studios. It has done that for DIS in the past, including assisting Avalanche on one of the "Hannah Montana" games. For now, DIS is buying it to have some inexpensive outsourced labor in China to help with game development. This is not a studio that's ready and able to make AAA games for the publisher.

At some point in the future, of course, Gamestar might be ready to do just that. And when it happens, it could be a great asset for Disney to publish some games tailored to the fast growing Chinese market.

But for now, its 90 employees in Shanghai and Wuhan will be pitching in on the kind of titles we know (or perhaps don't know) that Disney is already making at its other five internal studios.

By now you've probably heard about Disney's new entry into the music/rhythm category, "Ultimate Band," which comes out in the fall. If not, check out my story from yesterday's Daily Variety.

You probably know the basics: It's a music game for Wii and DS that uses their motion sensing / touch screen to play the instruments, so it doesn't come with any extra peripherals. It's being developed by Disney Interactive's Fall Line Studio in Utah, which DIS established in 2006 to make Wii and DS games. Though the development house has contributed to some other projects, this is the first game that's being made entirely at Fall Line.

But I learned a lot more that I wasn't able to fit in the story. So here, direct from my interview with Senior Game Designer Derek Dutelly, are all the details on "Ultimate Band"

-The DS version will use the same technology as the "Hannah Montana" music game for Nintendo's handheld system that Disney Interactive put out last year. It's basically the same game with all new visuals. That means in addition to playing instruments by tapping them on screen, players can also create original compositions and share them with friends via the DS wireless connection. They can also play in a virtual band together via bluetooth.

-By using the Wii peripherals, Disney wants to make "Ultimate Band' much easier to pick-up-and-play than "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band." "We're 'Burnout' and they're 'Grand Turismo,'" Dutilly said to illustrate the difference.

-The drum-playing mechanic doesn't use any pointing. Instead, "Ultimate Band" utilizes the Wii-mote accelerometer to tell how and when players are tapping an invisible drum kit. How can you get more than two notes out of the Wii-mote and nunchuk? By swinging either controller to the side, instead of just up and down.

-For guitar, players strum by moving the Wii-mote up and down. Different notes are played with combinations of the "c" and "z" buttoms on the nunchuk, which players hold up like the neck of a guitar.

-"The bass is not just a dumbed down version of the guitar," Dutilly promises, taking on a common complaint about "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band." In addition to the basic notes and strumming from the guitar mechanic, bass players can move the nunchuk up and down to simulate sliding along the neck of the bass. That gives them a range of extra notes.

-There's no singer, because Disney didn't want to include (and charge for) a microphone with the game. Instead there's is what Disney calls the "front man." That's the person whose job it is to move around and get the crowd riled up. No, I'm not quite sure what that means either, but it sounds like it'll either be innovative and cool or the really lame position for the person who knows literally nothing about videogames.

-That concept of riling up the crowd is important throughout "Ultimate Band." Beyond the "front man," other  players have the ability to get  the crowd roaring. That's what the "a" button letting the guitarist "grandstand" in the above screenshot is, I assume. And the drummer has the ability to swing the sticks in his or her hands between notes to excite the audience (the audience is easily excitable, it seems).

-Songs already announced include "Steady as She Goes" by the Raconteurs, the Who's "My Generation" and "Fell in Love With a Girl" by the White Stripes. They're all covers, which Disney says is because the game is designed to not have any long stretches without one instrument playing (which can get annoying in "Rock Band"). I'm sure the lower cost of covers may have influenced a budget-conscious company like Disney a bit too.

-Visual design and song selection will all be pretty tame. Disney is targeting an E-10 + rating.

I didn't quite have the chutzpah to ask Dutilly what seemed like the most obvious question to me: Couldn't you guys have come up with a better name than "Ultimate Band?" Was "Super Rock Band" already taken by someone?

Yesterday afternoon I got a look at some upcoming releases from Disney Interactive Studios and also spoke to the division's head Graham Hopper about its growth strategy and challenges.

Graham was able to clear up a bit of confusion about what's going on with THQ and Disney/Pixar games. As I noted on Tuesday, it was a bit surprising that Disney Interactive got the rights to make a game based on 2010's "Toy Story 3," as THQ still has one more game after 2009's "Up" left in its contract with Pixar. Hopper confirmed that while his unit got the rights to make a "Tory Story 3" game, THQ still gets to make one more title based on a Pixar movie under its contract. We can assume that will probably be whatever Pixar makes in 2011.

Hopper wouldn't make a commitment one way or another as to whether Disney Interactive will take over the Pixar license after the THQ deal expires. It's widely expected in the industry that it will, for the simple reason that most Pixar games (with the notable exception of "Ratatouille") are big successes and with all the emphasis that Disney putting on games, why wouldn't it prefer to make them in-house?

"We're a growing organization and Disney already as a company produces more content than we can make into games," he noted. "We would only do [a Pixar deal] if we could really deliver. We will re-examine that in a few years."

Hopper also said that "Turok" is selling "better than we had anticipated," though it's hard to know what Disney anticipated since this game was its first stab at the M-rated market. But handheld games based on Disney Channel properties and "High School Musical" games on numerous consoles continue to be big sellers, giving DIS some financial stability as it attacks other genres. There's a third "HSM" game announced for this spring and Hopper confirmed that more will be coming soon (no surprise there).

Finally, look for Disney Interactive to be investing in or acquiring more development studios in the near future. Last year it acquired Warren Spector's Junction Point, joining other recent purchases like Propaganda Games, Black Rock, and Avalanche. "We've said we are spending $180 million to $200 million on development this year and then we're moving up to $350 million, so that money has to go somewhere,"  Hopper told me.

I also got a look at some of Disney's upcoming titles, which include a mix of its bread-and-butter and an new genre:

-"Pure" is the first game from Black Rock, the British racing game developer (formerly Climax Racing) that Disney acquired in 2006. "Pure" features four-wheel ATV's, seemingly an odd choice at first, since they aren't as cool-looking as cars, but they allow for some great high-speed aerial tricks, which is what the game's all about. It features an interesting and fairly intuitive system for gaining the power to do crazy stunts on the ATV while high in the air, which needs to be balanced with the need-for-speed to win the race. And it has 16 person multi-player, which is pretty intense. Also of note: Even though it doesn't seem to go naturally with Mickey Mouse, Hopper confirmed that "Pure" will be Disney-branded and not go out with the Touchstone label like "Turok" did. There's a fantastic screenshot from "Pure," which comes out in the Fall, at the top of this post. And if you want to see a trailer, we just posted one on the right in the "video game trailers" widget.

-"Prince Caspian" is, of course, an adaptation of the film based on the classic C.S. Lewis "Narnia" novel that comes out in May. Developed by Traveller's Tales, just like the "Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' game, it's another inoffensive hack-and-slash game, but with a slightly less linear approach. The first level is entirely new to the story. Designed to add some action early on, it bridges the gap between "Wardobe" and the new book/film. The rest of the game follows the plot of the film, and even directly uses some digital scenery from it. But it gives players the freedom to pick missions on each level in whatever order they choose and has a wide variety of playable characters, including minotaur, centaurs and giants, beyond the four protagonist siblings. I'm guessing most gamers will be happy to play as a mythical beast rather than a bunch of pre-pubescent kids.

-"D-Gamer" is a service Disney Interactive is developing that will essentially add kid-friendly social networking tools to Nintendo DS games. It starts with "Prince Caspian." Essentially, the game has an extra app that lets players create an avatar, collect items, and chat with friends. It's very similar to the community features on Disney.com and in fact uses the same technical infrastructure and lets kids communicate back-and-forth between the Web and DS. Creating a social network entirely for games from one publisher seems a bit risky, though if any brand has the consumer affinity to pull it off, it's Disney.

The Wall Street Journal reports today that Disney Interactive Studios will be publishing a game based on Pixar's 2010 release "Toy Story 3."

That's important news, but I completely disagree with this statement in the story, which is kind of the hook that allegedly makes it newsworthy:

When THQ made its pitch for "Toy Story 3," it was widely expected to get the contract because it has made games based on Pixar's last four movies, and is making games for some of its other coming movies

Actually, nobody who has been following Disney and the videogame business expected that. I just wrote in this blog last week, in fact, that "It's widely expected that when THQ’s deal expires in 2010, Disney Interactive will eagerly start handling the Pixar games."

I had thought that THQ would get the 2010 film as well, based on this release that said it had the rights to four films after "Cars." But I guess that has been cut down to three for some reason, perhaps having to do with the Disney acquisition.

Basically, it's apparent THQ's contract with Pixar, which started before Disney acquired it, went through 2009 release "Up." Disney has previously said it is doubling its videogame production budget to $350 million per year over the next five years. Pixar games have, by and large, been big successes for THQ (with the notable exception of last year's "Ratatouille.") Put it all together and it's a no-brainer for Disney to take back the license to Pixar games once the THQ deal ended and assign them to its in-house publisher Disney Interactive Studios.

I'm not surprised that, as the Journal reported, THQ made a play to keep the license. But I would have been shocked if Disney showed so little faith in the videogame unit that it's spending so much money on that it actually took the deal. I also think it's safe to assume that Disney Interactive will be handling games based on all the Pixar movies after 2010, though I plan to look into that more.

More news on this topic came on February 21.

Reprinted from weekly Variety, since it's basically blog length:

Last year, Disney's videogame unit Buena Vista Games joined the Mouse's brand-focused strategy and changed its name to Disney Interactive Studios.

But what to do about an M-rated title that isn't exactly simpatico with the Disney brand?

For the recent debut of "Turok" -- its first violent action game aimed squarely at young males -- DIS borrowed a name from its sibling film studio: Touchstone.

"Turok" was released under that brand, a first for a videogame. The strategy mirrors that of Walt Disney Pictures, which only occasionally uses the Touchstone label now for its handful of adult-oriented releases each year.

It seems Touchstone is becoming de facto throughout the company for anything from Disney that just isn't very ... Disney.

One proviso: I wouldn't be surprised if Disney's next Touchstone game is "Pure," the extreme racing game it just announced for the fall.

Some interesting details on two big publishers and two very different plans to grow their businesses came this week.

Continuing its strategy of carefully expanding its slate beyond properties from its parent company, Disney Interactive finally announced "Pure," the first title from Black Rock Studios (nee Climax Racing), the British developer it acquired in 2006. It's apparently avoiding competition with the Project Gotham Racing and Burnout's of the world by focusing almost exclusively on "extreme" aerial tricks and stunts.

That's not exactly the core of Disney Interactive Studios' business, of course, nor is releasing only on PC, Playstation 3, and Xbox 360. But the publisher has a very healthy base of games that come straight out of its brand, like "High School Musical" for Wii and DS, so it's trying to expand into other areas. The first such effort, "Turok," just came out to a decidedly mixed critical response (though I thought it was a solid if not spectacular effort). And we can probably expect something just as different when we finally find out what what Warren Spector is doing for Disney.

Activision, meanwhile, is doing the opposite: taking its hit franchises and exploiting the hell out of 'em. The newest example is "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith," one of two spin-offs the publisher is releasing for its uber-successful music game series this spring before a proper sequel in the fall. Of course, now that this strategy of doing games dedicated to a single band is out, the possibilities are endless. Any music fan could easily come up with a hundred new "Guitar Hero" sequels. And I wouldn't be surprised if we see them all on the shelves within five years.

Of course the great part for Activision is all it has to do is program a few dozen new songs, re-skin the game (and not even that well, based on the photo above) to give it an aesthetic for whatever band the sequel is dedicated to, and then sell it for $50 or $60. That's the kind of profit margin most game execs would execute their first-, second-, and third-born to enjoy.

The Cut Scene isn’t at D.I.C.E., as I’m saving my travel budget and editors’ good will for GDC in two weeks.

But it looks like I missed at least one good controversy today, when “Pirates of the Carribbean” director Gore Verbinski (pictured at left on the "Pirates" set) used his keynote address to trash Disney’s videogame efforts with the franchise he helmed, both on consoles and with an MMO.

Here’s a summary from MTV’s multi-player blog:

He criticized “Pirates” studio Disney for what he described as their initial disinterest in making a massively multiplayer online game about the world in the movies, a project that he thought would extend the experience of the first “Pirates” movie for big-time fans. It wasn’t started for years and then was made without his direct involvement. He suggested that may have been “a breach of contract.” Of the “Pirates” action games released for consoles, he said, “They are considered merchandising. The same as a poster or a little wind-up doll.”

We’re very pleased with the quality of the games Disney has developed around the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and with the customer acceptance of those games, which has been strong and growing.

Kotaku, which called his Verbinski’s keynote address “often clueless,” adds:

Verbinski attacked the current publisher-developer business model, affirming that "Games are not merchandise." He spoke of his own struggles with game development, saying "With the Pirates of the Caribbean games, the business model killed the potential for something really unique." He explained "I'm not hiding my disappointment, because I know the fanaticism could have driven that world. Five years ago, while adult audiences were dressing up in pirate garb to attend the cinema, I lobbied heavily for an MMOG for Pirates to no avail, because it wasn't in their business plan."

For those pondering the weight of Verbinski’s comments, it’s probably worth noting that he had to check with moderator N’Gai Croal to make sure that there really are three major videogame consoles.

But anyway, Disney Interactive Studios, which publisher last summer’s “Pirates of the Carribbean: At World’s End” console game and Disney Internet Group, which is handling “Pirates of the Caribbean Online” issued a brief joint statement when asked about Verbinski’s comments:

We’re very pleased with the quality of the games Disney has developed around the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and with the customer acceptance of those games, which has been strong and growing

For a different perspective on the games, check out Variety’s reviews of “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” and “Pirates of the Caribbean Online.”

Most videogame blog readers aren’t particularly interested in kids’ games, for obvious reasons. But as data has come in for 2007 sales, some really interesting stories have emerged.

THQ has grown its business on large part on kids licenses in the past few years, primarily based on Nickelodeon Shows and Pixar movies. But as part of a disappointing holiday earnings report that saw net income fall 75% to $15.5 million, neither license worked. “In a very competitive year for kids titles, ‘Ratatouille’ and our Nickelodeon titles did not perform to forecast,” CEO Brian Farrell said succinctly on a conference call with analysts.

(It’s worth noting that Disney/Pixar in general had trouble licensing “Ratatouille” products, since the main character is a not-so-adorable rodent It’s also worth noting that last year’s “Cars” continues to be a huge success. THQ specifically mentioned follow-up game “Cars: Mater-National” as a solid seller.)

So if Nickelodeon and Pixar didn’t work in kids games this year, what did? The same things as on TV and, as we just saw this week, the movies: “Hannah Montana” and “High School Musical.” That’s good news for Disney Interactive Studios, which has been on a bit of a tear recently, underneath the radar of many of the mainstream game press.

Take a look at these statements from the Walt Disney Company’s earnings report, released yesterday: “[Consumer products] operating income growth was primarily due to increases at Merchandise Licensing and Disney Interactive Studios… The growth at Disney Interactive Studios was primarily due to the success of new self-published titles based on 'High School Musical' and 'Hannah Montana'  in the current quarter, partially offset by higher video game development costs.”

Just last week, as part of a press release announcing a spring date for its third “High School Musical” game in under a year, DIS noted that it shipped 3.8 million units of the previous two in 2007. That’s a hell of a lot of games, and a very healthy business considering that, based on what I’ve seen, the development costs were probably a fraction of  typical best-selling titles.

Ironically, a lot of people have noted how Disney Interactive seemed to be in a bad situation since the most valuable titles in its parent company’s library – the Pixar pics – have been licensed out. Last year, however, DIS turned out to have the right film and TV properties  at the right time.

[That being said, it's widely expected that when THQ’s deal expires in 2010, Disney Interactive will eagerly start handling the Pixar games.]

I couldn't come right out and say it in my review, but I'll admit I was surprised at how much I liked "Turok." When a huge corporation like Disney decides to attack a new market -- like M-rated action games -- I expect something completely derivative and soulless. And sure, as I wrote, "'Turok' won't exactly revolutionize the game biz." This is "Halo with Dinosaurs," no doubt about it.

But coming even close to the bar set by "Halo" is no small feat for a first-time developer. By and large, Propaganda did it (at least in the campaign -- nothing comes to close to "Halo 3" multi-player). The graphics are just as good, the gameplay is just as deep, the story is much less ridiculous, and the audio and A.I. are arguably better. Overall, it's a solid package.

As always, you can read it all in the review, but here are a few extra tidbits that didn't make my final draft, along with reactions to some other reviews:

-The third person knife kills are awesome to see (though sometimes difficult to trigger). And the concept of having the camera flow back into Turok's head to re-establish the first-person POV looks great. However, it can be really annoying when, during the animated knife kill, Turok turns in a different direction. When you go back to first person, suddenly you don't know which way you're facing. Especially in the midst of an intense fight, this can be super annoying.

-I turned the camera speed down to the slowest possible setting and I still found that the reticule moved way too fast for me. Aiming at small targets is tough when you can't move the cross hairs precisely.

-Why the hell can't I run? Given how similar all the other controls are to "Halo 3," I kept pushing in the left analog stick expecting to dash, but got an an arrow telling me where to go instead as Turok kept walking at a normal pace.

-IGN dismisses the game's A.I. by calling the enemy soldiers "idiots," which I think is a bit harsh. They're at worst average in their cluelessness. But it's unfair to dis "Turok" on that front without noting how fantastic the dinosaur A.I. is. I loved how they would notice me if I got too close to them or made too much noise, but could also be drawn to the enemies when they start firing their guns. Not to mention the fun of attracting them to a group of opponents by firing a flare, then watching a velociraptor do my work for me. Eminently satisfying.

-1Up, to its credit, asks a question so obvious that it never occurred to me: "What the hell [are] dinosaurs  doing on this planet?" Sure, you could reply that it's so basic to the concept that it's not worth asking (like wondering why Bowser can never get over his freakish inter-species obsession with Princess Peach), but it would have been nice if the game took a second to provide an answer.