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The distinctions between hardcore games and casual games (the committed enthusiasts versus the broader market fans) are melting away. That’s evident in the strategy of Graham Hopper, president of Disney Interactive Studios. The company puts 70 percent of its investment into titles that support major Disney licenses, but the investment is growing so much that Disney is pouring a lot of money into original titles for hardcore gamers such as “Pure,” a critically-praised off-road ATV racing game that Disney just launched. In a fairly short time, Disney will be tripling the amount of money that it invests in video games. As Disney builds its gamer cred, it will be interesting to see if it can snare hardcore gamers even as it pursues mainstream consumers and girls.

VB: You started your expansion a few years ago and you’ve kept on buying game development companies.

GH: Yes, it’s an outgrowth of our continued investment in this space. This year, we’re spending $175 million to $200 million in development. Last year it was $130 million and the year before it was between $90 million and $100 million. You can expect to see our output continue to increase. We’ve also said we plan to raise that number to $350 million a year in five to seven years’ time. We aren’t done yet. There are a lot of exciting projects we’ll be announcing in the next 12 months.

VB: So “Pure” is going to get you some real cred among hardcore gamers?

GH: I think so. It’s a really fun game. The team at Black Rock Studios was so excited to have an opportunity. We asked them what really turns them on. They had this idea of taking an ATV game into the wilderness. They created this massive environment with vertigo-inducing jumps. The game took shape and moved in a wonderful direction. It’s more like a trick-racing game than the simulation games they had done before. It’s accessible and fun. It lets people with different levels of competence get something out of it.

VB: What are your impressions of the industry? Read the rest of this entry »

LOS ANGELES—With the influx of fresh new gamers, thanks in large part to the popularity of mass-market game machines, the DS and the Wii, more game companies than ever are jumping on the girl gamer bandwagon. Practically every booth at this year’s E3 Media and Business Summit this year had something to offer for female gamers of various demographics.

The breadth of games ranged from Nintendo DS titles like Namco Bandai’s “National Geographic Panda” and Legacy Interactive’s “Zoo Vet Endangered Animals” to Wii titles like Electronic Arts’ “Littlest Pet Shop” (pictured above, also available on Nintendo DS) and “Boogie: Superstar.”

“We discovered with the original ‘Boogie’ that tween girls really loved the game, so we decided to focus on girls 10 to 14 years of age with this sequel,” said Charles-William Bibaud, associate producer for the game. “We worked with a local tween author and a choreographer to make sure this game has everything a tween wants, including lots of customization and the ability to use real dance moves with the Wii.”

Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of sales and marketing, said at Nintendo’s E3 press event that 48 percent of Nintendo DS owners are now female gamers. And that number is huge given the fact that Nintendo has sold over 70 million Nintendo DS portables worldwide (as of the end of March). Factor in that the company forecasts a global installed base of 100 million Nintendo DS units by the end of March 2009, and there is clearly a new market for game publishers and developers to target. Read the rest of this entry »

LOS ANGELES–Disney Interactive Studios previewed what it said was the best of its E3 video game trade show line-up last week, as part of a tour for game critics. After failing to garner critical praise for its re-launch of the dinosaur-shooting game “Turok” earlier this year, Disney is going after the hardcore racing gamer with the off-road ATV game “Pure” on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

This is the first title from Disney-owned, UK-based Black Rock Studio (formerly Climax Racing), which is known for excellent off-road racing franchises like Sony’s “ATV Offroad Fury” and THQ’s “Moto GP.” This game and others are a sign that Disney is starting to get video games. For years, its game division has been an also-ran in the games business, rarely producing breakout hits and perpetuating the notion that the Hollywood studios will never excel at making games in the shadow of their movie businesses.

Although the off-road racing genre is experiencing a sudden traffic jam this year with games like Sony’s “Motorstorm 2,” THQ’s “Baja” and “MX vs ATV Untamed” and Activision’s “Baja 1000,” Pure could drive Disney onto the Main Street of games. The title handles well — the ATVs have a nice blend of simulation with arcade flavor (they’re realistic but not so hard to drive) — and it looks breathtaking. With its trick-based focus, “Pure” also stands out from some of the crowd. The solid track record of the game studio should win over the core racing fans and it’s up to Disney’s marketing to woo the rest of the audience.

Disney is also expanding its original “Spectrobes” game franchise. This title has potential to cross over to TV and movie in the future. The new game, dubbed “Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals,” carries on from the original, which has sold over 1 million units since launching in March 2007. Developer Jupiter is on a hot streak with their recent Nintendo DS hit for Square-Enix “The World Ends With You” and the new game offers a robust gameplay experience that introduces 3D gaming and over 30 hours of adventuring. Shipping on Oct. 7, this sequel should top sales of the original with the kids who love the collectible gaming experiences.

While everyone is trying to replicate the success of MTV Games/Electronic Arts’ Harmonix’ “Rock Band,” including Activision with its “Guitar Hero: World Tour,” Disney has a Wii-exclusive game that stands out from the crowd. Aimed at tweens and families who don’t want to spend $200 for guitars and drums peripherals, “Ultimate Band” lets people play game as a rock singer, guitarist/bassist and drummer using only the Wii Remotes and Nunchucks. To play the guitar, the controllers are used to mimic strumming, while drums replicate drum movements. It’s a four-player game, so the entire family can join in. And unlike the other rock games, this one features songs and avatars that are family-friendly. As an added bonus, the licensed songs come from bands like Weezer, The Who and The Jonas Brothers and not Disney movies or TV shows. Read the rest of this entry »

While Hollywood in general still seems relatively uneasy about putting its feature films online, Disney has decided the time is right — in a limited way at least.

Disney’s popular show “The Wonderful World of Disney” showcases films from its catalog on prime time television once a week. Now those same films will be placed online; that means viewers don’t have to be in front of their TVs on Saturday nights to catch the show, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The films, which will appear on Disney’s website, will be shown for free but will be ad-supported. The hit film Finding Nemo is the first of these moves to go online, but it will only be available to watch until June 13. After that, Disney will put up the next film, Monsters, Inc.

While we’re not likely to see newly release films avilable online for free anytime soon, studios releasing some of their catalog films with ads seems like a smart move. Other studios are starting to do this as well on services like Hulu. In fact, if you’re not into the more family-oriented fare of The Wonderful World of Disney, you’ll probably like some of Hulu’s selections, including The Usual Suspects, Sideways, 28 Day Later and The Big Lebowski.

Now if only we can get Hulu and Disney.com onto our television sets, so we don’t have to watch them while sitting at the computer.

[image: Walt Disney Pictures]

I can see it all too clearly. Next February, during the post Super Bowl XLIII celebrations, a reporter asks the MVP of the game what he’s going to do now: “I’m going to Disney World — on Google Earth!”

It’ll be the perfect blend of nostalgia and marketing.

Yes, kids (and kids at heart), Google has today added detailed 3D imagery to make it possible to view Disney World, and more specifically, the Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center, Hollywood Studios and the Animal Kingdom, right from within the Google Earth application.

It was actually Disney itself that created the 3D models and KML layers. Because of this, there are some features you won’t find in the rest of Google Earth, such as the ability to wave magic wands and sprinkle pixie dust (if that sort of thing appeals to you).

On top of the almost 5,000 structures Disney modeled in 3D, it threw in thousands of real world objects such as trees, benches and signs just for good measure.

I went to Disney World many times when I was a kid. Now I can go back without traveling the nearly 3,000 miles. I’m sorry, but I have to say it: “When you wish upon a star…”

As we’ve discussed recently, there are a growing number of players in the online movie distribution field. Eventually, one way the winners are going to set themselves apart is by promoting content that others don’t have. Apple had that for a while with Disney movies. Not anymore.

Today, the digitial video recorder TiVo announced a deal with Disney to place its films on the device for rental. This service will be provided via a deal with CinemaNow, according to NewTeeVee.

Apple didn’t have an exclusive deal with Disney, but it was one of the only major players with both a download service (iTunes) and set top box (the Apple TV) to have access to the popular films. This was hardly surprising given that Apple chief executive Steve Jobs sits on Disney’s board of directors and is Disney’s largest individual shareholder (thanks to the deal made when Disney bought Jobs’ digital animation film house Pixar for $7.4 billion in 2006).

With Disney films now on TiVo, it makes the device a more compelling competitor to Apple TV (not that it wasn’t already given that it has DVR functionality while the Apple TV does not). It also indirectly gives a boost to iTunes competitor Amazon Unbox because that service is on the TiVo as well for movie downloads (though the Disney deal is separate from Unbox).

Even though it’s not yet the leader in movie downloads that it is in music downloads, it seems like Apple is being come at from all sides. Just a couple weeks ago, Netflix announced a new set top box with Roku that will allow subscribers of that service to access catalog content in their living rooms for free. The device is also significantly cheaper than the Apple TV ($99 vs. $229).

Now even Mickey Mouse has dealt a blow to Steve Jobs. Will he counter with an announcement at Apple’s WWDC event a week from Monday?

[photo: Disney]

Robots aren’t just for hobbyists anymore. The programmable gadgets have taken off thanks to the efforts of tech-oriented companies such as WowWee, Sony, Ugobe and LEGO. But the market may be ready for a whole new level as Disney enters the market tomorrow.

Disney Consumer Products is announcing Wednesday that it will make programmable toy robots based on Disney characters, with the first robot debuting at Maker Faire, a geek fest at the San Mateo Fairgrounds in San Mateo, Calif., this weekend. We can thank a new Pixar movie coming this summer for Disney’s decision to bless this market.

Partners include Disney’s Pixar animated film division, Thinkway Toys and WowWee. The toys will talk, dance, fly, respond to commands, and track motion.

The toys are inspired by “WALL·E,”  the cute robot (sort of like a clone of E.T.) from the Disney-Pixar film coming this summer. Another robot will be based on Tinker Bell the fairy from “Peter Pan.”

The Ultimate WALL·E robotic toy and the iDance WALL·E dancing boombox will debut in June; the remote control Tinker Bell flying toy will be available this fall. Disney hasn’t been a player in robot toys, but it did invest in entertainment robotics in the 1960s when it put Audio-Animatronics technology into its theme parks, particularly Disneyland’s Enchanted Tiki Room. (And who could forget good old Abe Lincoln at the “Great Moments With Lincoln” exhibit in Disneyland — oops, I’m showing my age).

Designed by Disney, Pixar animators and Thinkway, the Ultimate WALL·E robot has 10 motors for lifelike movement. With voice activation and a follow-me mode, WALL·E can follow the sound of a human voice and detect someone entering a room. The robot has a variety of sensors that let it hear, navigate, and detect obstacles. It will sell for $189.99. The iDance WALL·E has USB ports, can play MP3 music, and has an audio in-jack that works with any iPod or MP3 player. It will sell for $24.99.

Disney worked with WowWee to make the flying Tinker Bell toy robot, based on WowWee’s FlyTech technology. It will sell for $39.99 starting this fall. Beyond toys, robots are taking off in other respects. Microsoft launched a software development kit for programmable robots. Sony introduced its Rolly spinning toy robot, even though it discontinued its expensive Aibo robots. And iRobot is for both hobbyists and household cleaning applications.

Updated

Club Penguin, a virtual world for kids, has been bought by the Walt Disney Company. The deal is valued at $700 million: $350 million in cash now, and another $350 million if performance targets are met through 2009.

The company, based in remote British Columbia, has more than twelve million total users — mostly kids 6-14 in North America — and including more than 700,000 paying subscribers. It says it is completely funded through subscriptions.

Founded in March 2005, Club Penguin features avatars of animated penguins that live in an antarctic virtual world. Users can play games together, chat, and furnish virtual homes with virtual accessories.

Subscribers choose to pay between USD$5.95 per month and USD$57.95 per year to “[d]ress up your penguin, decorate your igloo, be the first to discover new areas and lots more.”

The purchase shows that Disney is hungry to get into online gaming, a market that is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. One analyst expects US spending to hit $725 million in 2008, up from $375 in 2006.

Comscore reported 217 million unique worldwide users in May, a seventeen percent growth rate from last year’s figures.

Club Penguin is one of many popular virtual worlds for kids that incorporate virtual games and goods. Another popular startup is Habbo Hotel: Instead of an antarctic theme, that site features an urban apartment theme. Another, IMVU is a small and growing startup that combines virtual games and chat with more fantastical landscapes and avatars.

Disney found the purchase appealing in part because “[i]t’s simple, it’s easy to use. It doesn’t require significant amounts of technological investment,” as noted by PaidContent.

This purchase is another step towards digitizing Disney’s family-focused entertainment empire, developing revenue streams beyond its TV-based business, and even its brand. Disney is highlighting how very strategic Club Penguin is becoming by rebranding the Disney.com homepage (screenshot below).

Club Penguin will not be moving its headquarters.

Photo TLC, a Petaluma, Calif. company that helps restore and personalize photos and other gifts, has apparently shut down, VentureBeat has learned.

Little more than a year ago, the company raised $10 million in a venture capital round led by Disney’s Steamboat Ventures, which was a late time for a photo company to be raising money.

Hundreds of photo companies had already launched, although PhotoTLC was part of a group of new wave moving toward customization as a way to diversify. But many others were jumping in the same area, such as Zazzle. Scores of photo sites have shuttered over the past few years.

Here’s part of an email that an employee sent to a contact at partner company, forwarded to VentureBeat by a credible source:

“I am writing to let you know that PhotoTLC has decided to close their business today without notifying any customers in advance. I WISH I HAD MORE OF A HEADS UP BUT I WAS NOTIFIED THE SAME TIME YOU WERE. It has been a tough day and a huge shock to me as well as I had no idea this was going to happen. I wish I had more to say but words can’t express exactly how I feel at this time.”

We’ve put in a call to the company to confirm, but it is late. Strangely, PhotoTLC’s site is still up, and appears functional, as is the site of Club Photo, a Texas company it acquired in late 2005.