Co-president Jimmy Pitaro has been named head of the division.
Disney has reorganized its interactive division by merging the unit's games and media operating groups and installing co-president nm4274844 autoJimmy Pitaro[/link] as its head while co-president John Pleasants will remain as a consultant for an unspecified amount of time.
Until Monday, Disney Interactive had been separated into a games unit run by Pleasants and a media division headed by Pitaro.
Disney Interactive had been a drain on profits for several years and Disney CEO Robert Iger has been determined to turn the segment around. Pleasants and Pitaro seemed successful in that endeavor lately, with Disney reporting last week that its interactive segment swung to $16 million in operating income in the fiscal fourth quarter, reversing an operating loss of $76 million a year prior. Revenue for the unit more than doubled to $396 million.
Getting much of the credit for the turnaround is Disney Inifinity,...
Disney has reorganized its interactive division by merging the unit's games and media operating groups and installing co-president nm4274844 autoJimmy Pitaro[/link] as its head while co-president John Pleasants will remain as a consultant for an unspecified amount of time.
Until Monday, Disney Interactive had been separated into a games unit run by Pleasants and a media division headed by Pitaro.
Disney Interactive had been a drain on profits for several years and Disney CEO Robert Iger has been determined to turn the segment around. Pleasants and Pitaro seemed successful in that endeavor lately, with Disney reporting last week that its interactive segment swung to $16 million in operating income in the fiscal fourth quarter, reversing an operating loss of $76 million a year prior. Revenue for the unit more than doubled to $396 million.
Getting much of the credit for the turnaround is Disney Inifinity,...
- 11/11/2013
- by Paul Bond
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Disney Interactive co-president John Pleasants is leaving his post, and co-president Jimmy Pitaro will take control of the division with the added responsibilities of its games and media groups, the Walt Disney Company announced Monday. The two were named co-presidents together in 2010; Pitaro (above, left) had been VP of media at Yahoo!, while Pleasants (right) moved up from Disney’s Playdom unit. Their responsibilities included online, social media, mobile and other digital properties. With the the merged unit, Disney Interactive said it will “move forward with a singular strategy for driving revenue and advertising across key platforms and franchises.” Disney said Pleasants.
- 11/11/2013
- by Josh Dickey
- The Wrap
EA will develop new Star Wars games as part of a multi-year licensing deal with Disney.
The publisher will create new titles based on the Star Wars movies for mobile devices, consoles and PCs, it was announced on Monday (May 6). Disney has kept some rights to develop mobile and browser titles, along with social and online games.
"Every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe. Three of our top studios will fulfil that dream, crafting epic adventures for Star Wars fans," said EA Labels president Frank Gibeau in a statement.
"Dice and Visceral will produce new games, joining the BioWare team which continues to develop for the Star Wars franchise. The new experiences we create may borrow from films, but the games will be entirely original with all new stories and gameplay."
"Our number one objective was to find a developer who could consistently deliver our fans...
The publisher will create new titles based on the Star Wars movies for mobile devices, consoles and PCs, it was announced on Monday (May 6). Disney has kept some rights to develop mobile and browser titles, along with social and online games.
"Every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe. Three of our top studios will fulfil that dream, crafting epic adventures for Star Wars fans," said EA Labels president Frank Gibeau in a statement.
"Dice and Visceral will produce new games, joining the BioWare team which continues to develop for the Star Wars franchise. The new experiences we create may borrow from films, but the games will be entirely original with all new stories and gameplay."
"Our number one objective was to find a developer who could consistently deliver our fans...
- 5/7/2013
- Digital Spy
Disney made the significant announcement earlier today that Lucasfilm Ltd. and Disney Interactive will be entering into a multi-year, multi-title exclusive licensing agreement with Electronic Arts for the development of future titles in the Star Wars franchise for console, PC, mobile, and tablet platforms.
The news arrives following Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm and closure of the LucasArts game development division. Rather than license new titles through various video game developers, Disney has announced that Electronic Arts will be the sole publisher for future Star Wars games.
This is a relatively large gamble for Disney as many, myself included, became somewhat jaded after the company closed down the long-running LucasArts, taking Star Wars 1313 – the highly-anticipated a third-person adventure title – along with it. One might think that Disney would want to explore distributing the Star Wars license to various developers who may bring a variety of new and creative ideas for moving the franchise forward.
The news arrives following Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm and closure of the LucasArts game development division. Rather than license new titles through various video game developers, Disney has announced that Electronic Arts will be the sole publisher for future Star Wars games.
This is a relatively large gamble for Disney as many, myself included, became somewhat jaded after the company closed down the long-running LucasArts, taking Star Wars 1313 – the highly-anticipated a third-person adventure title – along with it. One might think that Disney would want to explore distributing the Star Wars license to various developers who may bring a variety of new and creative ideas for moving the franchise forward.
- 5/7/2013
- by Adam B.
- GeekRest
Ready to play in a Galaxy Far, Far Away…?
The Walt Disney Company and Electronic Arts Inc. today announced a new multi-year exclusive licensing agreement to develop and publish globally new games based on Star Wars characters and storylines.
Under the agreement, EA will develop and publish new Star Wars titles for a core gaming audience, spanning all interactive platforms and the most popular game genres, while Disney will retain certain rights to develop new titles within the mobile, social, tablet and online game categories.
“This agreement demonstrates our commitment to creating quality game experiences that drive the popularity of the Star Wars franchise for years to come,” said John Pleasants, Co-President of Disney Interactive. “Collaborating with one of the world’s premier game developers will allow us to bring an amazing portfolio of new Star Wars titles to our fans around the world.”
“Every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe,...
The Walt Disney Company and Electronic Arts Inc. today announced a new multi-year exclusive licensing agreement to develop and publish globally new games based on Star Wars characters and storylines.
Under the agreement, EA will develop and publish new Star Wars titles for a core gaming audience, spanning all interactive platforms and the most popular game genres, while Disney will retain certain rights to develop new titles within the mobile, social, tablet and online game categories.
“This agreement demonstrates our commitment to creating quality game experiences that drive the popularity of the Star Wars franchise for years to come,” said John Pleasants, Co-President of Disney Interactive. “Collaborating with one of the world’s premier game developers will allow us to bring an amazing portfolio of new Star Wars titles to our fans around the world.”
“Every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe,...
- 5/6/2013
- by Melissa Thompson
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Last month, Disney and Lucasfilm shut down LucasArts and cancelled all of the Star Wars games that were in production. It was a bloody shame. Disney has now announced that they are teaming up with Electronic Arts to develop any other Star Wars games from here on out. EA studios Visceral, Dice, and BioWare will work with Lucasfilm on the development of these new games!
EA should end up making some great Star Wars games. It still sucks that games like Star Wars: 1313 and Battlefront 3 won't be happening anymore, but hopefully in the next few years we'll start seeing some awesome Star Wars games being released. Here's the full press release:
The Walt Disney Company (Dis) and Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) today announced a new multi-year exclusive licensing agreement to develop and publish globally new games based on Star Wars characters and storylines.
Under the agreement, EA will develop...
EA should end up making some great Star Wars games. It still sucks that games like Star Wars: 1313 and Battlefront 3 won't be happening anymore, but hopefully in the next few years we'll start seeing some awesome Star Wars games being released. Here's the full press release:
The Walt Disney Company (Dis) and Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) today announced a new multi-year exclusive licensing agreement to develop and publish globally new games based on Star Wars characters and storylines.
Under the agreement, EA will develop...
- 5/6/2013
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Here’s the other shoe dropping after new Star Wars owner Disney shuttered LucasArts, the video game producer that had been behind the majority of games related to George Lucas’ Star Wars franchise. At the time of that announcement — which included laying off more than 150 employees — Disney said it planned to use a licensing model. EA already has worked in this business before, creating Star Wars: The Old Republic. Burbank and Redwood City, Calif., May 6, 2013 — The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: Dis) and Electronic Arts Inc. (Nasdaq: EA) today announced a new multi-year exclusive licensing agreement to develop and publish globally new games based on Star Wars characters and storylines. Under the agreement, EA will develop and publish new Star Wars titles for a core gaming audience, spanning all interactive platforms and the most popular game genres, while Disney will retain certain rights to develop new titles within the mobile,...
- 5/6/2013
- by THE DEADLINE TEAM
- Deadline TV
After the closing of LucasArts, many wondered what would become of the Star Wars games in general. Now some of that confusion has been cleared up as it's been announced that EA has entered into an exlcusive multi-year deal with Disney to produce Star Wars games.
Disney bought out Star Wars, er Lucas Arts, and many questions came up. Everyone seemed to have a Star Wars license somewhere, and we knew this was the whole reason Disney wanted the company. So where do the cartoons, comic, games, etc end up? Well we have an answer to the games.
EA and Disney announced that EA now has exclusive control over the video game licenses of Star Wars. This includes all the characters and storylines, which most likely includes the future movie tie ins. The good news is this only includes games for the "core gamer" audience. Disney still has rights to the casual,...
Disney bought out Star Wars, er Lucas Arts, and many questions came up. Everyone seemed to have a Star Wars license somewhere, and we knew this was the whole reason Disney wanted the company. So where do the cartoons, comic, games, etc end up? Well we have an answer to the games.
EA and Disney announced that EA now has exclusive control over the video game licenses of Star Wars. This includes all the characters and storylines, which most likely includes the future movie tie ins. The good news is this only includes games for the "core gamer" audience. Disney still has rights to the casual,...
- 5/6/2013
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Dustin Spino)
- Cinelinx
In January, Disney Interactive hosted an event to show off "its most ambitious gaming initiative ever." It now seems that consumers will have to wait an additional two months to play with it. The game, called Disney Inifinity, is a hybrid of an action figure and a videogame akin to Skylanders, a hugely popular game from Activision Blizzard. John Pleasants, co-president of Disney Interactive, said that Infinity will now launch Aug. 18, whereas Disney had originally planned a June launch. On Thursday, a Wall Street analyst noted that Disney CEO Bob Iger has stated that profitability at Disney Interactive
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- 3/14/2013
- by Paul Bond
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Walt Disney Company has announced that they have delayed the launch of their Skylanders-esk game, Disney Infinity, from its original June 2013 release window, to August 18th in North America and August 20th internationally. Disney Interactive co-president John Pleasants revealed that the two month delay was due to an “opportunity” rather than a necessity.
“The date became an issue in terms of them asking, ‘Is there a better opportunity here?’ ” Pleasants told the New York Times. “We could deliver in June if we wanted to. Will a two-month timing change help us? Sure, of course. It gives us a little more time to add bells and whistles and make sure it really sings and pops.”
Musical references aside, the new August release date should still give Disney Interactive plenty of time to get Disney Infinity onto retail shelves before Activision releases the next installment in their popular video game/toy hybrid franchise,...
“The date became an issue in terms of them asking, ‘Is there a better opportunity here?’ ” Pleasants told the New York Times. “We could deliver in June if we wanted to. Will a two-month timing change help us? Sure, of course. It gives us a little more time to add bells and whistles and make sure it really sings and pops.”
Musical references aside, the new August release date should still give Disney Interactive plenty of time to get Disney Infinity onto retail shelves before Activision releases the next installment in their popular video game/toy hybrid franchise,...
- 3/14/2013
- by Justin Alderman
- We Got This Covered
Originally announced for a June release, Disney says its new game world Disney Infinity has been pushed back to August. According to the New York Times , Infinity will now reach stores on Aug. 18 in North America and on Aug. 20 overseas, said John Pleasants, co-president of Disney Interactive, in a telephone interview. A June rollout had been planned, pegged to the release of Pixar.s .Monsters University.. Pleasants said that retailers were asking for a launch closer to the holiday season, which starts in October. Another reason might be that the next edition of Skylanders is scheduled to arrive this fall. .We think it.s good to be first and really lean into the most important selling season of the year,. Pleasants said. .We could deliver in June if we...
- 3/14/2013
- Comingsoon.net
Disney Interactive unveiled Disney Infinity on Tuesday, the long-awaited gaming platform that allows gamers to transport plastic figurines of Disney cartoons on screen as playable characters. Seventeen toy figurines from Disney's treasure chest of movie characters will become playable avatars across a variety of devices, including mobile phones and videogame consoles in what co-president John Pleasants called "a new way to interact with the best of Disney on one game platform, both now and in the future." "With this innovative approach to gaming," Pleasants said, "Disney Infinity will bring to life new...
- 1/15/2013
- by Alexander C. Kaufman
- The Wrap
Disney Interactive today unveiled its most ambitious gaming initiative ever, Disney Infinity (click the banner above for a bigger version!). This all new game platform unlocks the freedom to create stories and play experiences starring beloved characters from The Walt Disney Company and Pixar Animation Studios. Disney Infinity allows players to both experience original adventures in some of their favorite Disney and Pixar worlds and to build their own worlds using the power of their imagination. "'Disney Infinity' introduces a new way to interact with the best of Disney on one game platform, both now and in the future," said John Pleasants, co-president, Disney Interactive. "With this innovative approach to gaming, Disney Infinity will bring to life new...
- 1/15/2013
- Comingsoon.net
The first teaser photos and details for the upcoming Disney/Pixar video game, Disney Infinity, have arrived online. Polygon shared the images and details that are set to officially be announced on January 15th at El Capitan Theatre.
Disney Infinity will be released on all of the major platforms including iOS and Android. Players "will assume the roles of characters from major Disney and Pixar franchises, including Toy Story, Cars, The Incredibles, and Wreck-it Ralph, and explore a variety of open-world environments. The game will include standard modes like capture the flag and an Angry Birds-esque castle-destroying game, but players will be encouraged to come up with their own objectives."
Rumors are circulating that gamer's can unlock content by purchasing real-life figurines and scanning them through a Nfc device. Stay tuned for the official announcement on January 15, which will be presented by PIxar's John Lasseter and Disney Interactive’s John Pleasants.
Disney Infinity will be released on all of the major platforms including iOS and Android. Players "will assume the roles of characters from major Disney and Pixar franchises, including Toy Story, Cars, The Incredibles, and Wreck-it Ralph, and explore a variety of open-world environments. The game will include standard modes like capture the flag and an Angry Birds-esque castle-destroying game, but players will be encouraged to come up with their own objectives."
Rumors are circulating that gamer's can unlock content by purchasing real-life figurines and scanning them through a Nfc device. Stay tuned for the official announcement on January 15, which will be presented by PIxar's John Lasseter and Disney Interactive’s John Pleasants.
- 12/30/2012
- by Jim Napier
- GeekTyrant
Epic Mickey took off like a shot, and found itself a favorite among gamers young and old, and gamers who aren’t even remotely gamers. Building in fun, and really taking a whole new approach to games that can suck players in, whoever they are, the game was elevated to classic status almost instantly.
Well, if you couldn’t get enough, your wait is almost over. Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two is on the way, and it looks to be better than ever, with Warren Spector at the helm, and moving forward with the possibilities.
It’s tricky to imagine where this will go, with the way people fell in love with the first game, but if you played the original, you know that those behind these titles are in love with them as well. See below for all the info, some cool screenshots and other images, and a trailer.
Well, if you couldn’t get enough, your wait is almost over. Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two is on the way, and it looks to be better than ever, with Warren Spector at the helm, and moving forward with the possibilities.
It’s tricky to imagine where this will go, with the way people fell in love with the first game, but if you played the original, you know that those behind these titles are in love with them as well. See below for all the info, some cool screenshots and other images, and a trailer.
- 3/23/2012
- by Marc Eastman
- AreYouScreening.com
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