The Cut Scene - Video Game Blog by Variety

Disney making Club Penguin DS game that connects to the virtual world

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.

Disney not making Turok movie

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.

Turok movie a possibility

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

Disney merging videogames group with online group

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.

Prince Caspian: Narnia has been invaded by barrels

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.

Prince Caspian game gets exclusive video scenes

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.

THQ, Disney Interactive, and Disney's new animated slate

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.

Disney buys a new developer... sort of

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.

Disney's "Ultimate Band"... everything you wanted to know

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?

GDC: THQ and Pixar, studio acquisition plans, and more from Disney Interactive

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.

Toy Story 3 game coming from Disney...why is anyone surprised?

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.

Turok: Disney's first non-Disney game

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.

Activision: More of the same, Disney: Something different

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.

"Pirates" helmer Gore Verbinski backstabs Disney over video game tie-ins

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.”

High School Musical soaring, Ratatouille bombing: the latest in kids' game sales

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.]

Turok review: extra thoughts

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.