disney infinity
Latest
.jpeg.cf.jpg)
Disney Infinity moves 3 million starter packs
Disney Infinity may have been named as a reference to its own potential revenue - The New York Times reports that Disney Interactive has sold three million Disney Infinity Starter Packs, which include figurines of three Disney characters and the game itself. Infinity was also the tenth best-selling game of 2013, according to data from the NPD Group. Activision's Skylanders Swap Force, Infinity's main competition, was not one of the top 10 best-selling games of 2013, but the Skylanders series' revenue from retail sales surpassed $1.5 billion earlier this year. Consoles have received annual installments of the Skylanders franchise since its introduction with Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure. Plans to expand Infinity's cast have resulted in new figurines for Disney's Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph and Tangled films, with references to classic moments from past films being recreated in Infinity's Toy Box mode. With Infinity's introduction doubling Disney Interactive's fourth-quarter earnings, Infinity's play set is likely to keep expanding. Future additions might not be determined by developers though - only The Claw knows who will go and who will stay.
Toy Story's claw machine among five toy boxes added to Disney Infinity
Disney Interactive offered five new toy boxes for Disney Infinity owners to play with this week. Two of the toy boxes are inspired by the Toy Story films: the Toy Story Claw and Toy Story Racer stages. Toy Story Claw has players searching for ten lost aliens in a claw machine, whereas Toy Story Racer takes place in a space-themed racetrack. The other new Disney Interactive-created toy boxes introduced this week are Big Thunder, inspired by the Big Thunder Mountain attraction at Disneyland, as well as Sky Gauntlet 2 and The Sky Trials. Disney Infinity recently received new characters, including Wreck-It Ralph and Tangled's Rapunzel.
Disney Infinity to add Wreck-It Ralph, Tangled, Frozen characters
Disney Infinity aims to live up to its name with the addition of three movie franchises to the platformer/adventure/sandbox/whatever-it-is game. Wreck-It Ralph and Tangled characters Ralph, Vanellope and Rapunzel have already found their way into stores, while Anna and Elsa from Frozen have yet to arrive. Ralph is available exclusively at Best Buy until December 31, while Vanellope is exclusive to Target until the same date. Walmart, meanwhile, gets to braid and play with Rapunzel's ludicrously long hair until December 31 as well. Anna and Elsa will be released nationwide on November 26, a day before the movie they star in. So if you already know you're going to love the movie and its characters - or you're a time traveler and have already seen the movie - these toys are for you. And everyone else who can find them. Along with the characters, Disney Interactive will also be releasing 20 new Power Discs. These discs grant various in-game bonuses, from items and aesthetic changes to boosts and abilities. You can see the full list of discs and their effects after the jump:
Disney Interactive co-president John Pleasants resigns
John Pleasants has left his post as co-president of Disney Interactive, the New York Times reports. "It was a collaborative decision to do what's right for the business at a time when we have clear momentum," Pleasants said of the decision. "It's complicated to have co-presidents. It doesn't seem to make sense as a long-term strategy." "I will tell you that it's a bit of a mixed thing for me," added Pleasants. "I would have also been happy to stay on. I would be misleading you if I said I wanted to leave." Pleasants' responsibilities will now be shouldered by Jimmy Pitaro, the other co-president installed alongside Pleasants in 2010. During their co-tenure, Pitaro largely focused on Disney's official web presence, while Pleasants headed the gaming side of things, most notably the launch and promotion of the company's kid-friendly sandbox game Disney Infinity. Despite his desire to stay on with Disney, Pleasants leaves the company in a good position. He claims that during his tenure, Disney's mobile gaming division flourished, and that while the company reported losses of $300 million the year Pleasants and Pitaro were hired on, Disney Interactive's most recent financial reports show a $16 million profit, largely due to strong sales of Disney Infinity.
Disney Infinity doubles quarterly earnings for Disney Interactive
The release of Disney Infinity drove a 107-percent increase in fourth-quarter revenue for Disney's Interactive division, the company revealed in its quarterly financial report. Disney notes that its Interactive division took in $396 million in revenue during the quarter ending September 28, 2013. Disney Interactive's revenue totaled $191 million during the fourth quarter of last year. "Improved operating results for the quarter and year were due to increases at our console games and Japan mobile businesses," the report states. "The increase at our console games business was primarily due to the fourth quarter release of Disney Infinity." The bounceback follows up on Disney Interactive's $54 million operating income loss in the second quarter of 2013. Disney Infinity represented a significant risk for the division, as parent company Disney passed on the opportunity to produce games based on the Iron Man and Star Wars franchises in order to focus on Infinity's development. During a conference call this week, Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that more than one million Disney Infinity Starter Packs were sold across all available platforms since the game's release in August.
Report: Toys R Us' Black Friday deals cut into current-gen bundles
Toys R Us is apparently joining GameStop in bringing a new $200 250GB PS3 bundle to its Black Friday deals, going by scans of a flyer posted at BFAds.net. Like GameStop, the US retailer's bundle includes Batman: Arkham Origins and five-star offering The Last of Us. On the Xbox 360 front, there's a 4GB system with Kinect that's also priced at $200. That bundles in Kinect Sports Season Two, Kinect Adventures, and an additional freebie in the form of Halo 3. Hopping over to the land of Nintendo, the new Skylanders Swap Force 8GB Wii U bundle (which incidentally features Nintendo Land) is going for $260 - that's a chunky $40 saving. There's also a Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon blue 3DS bundle that's down $20 to $150. It's not just about battles between platform holders, though. Starter packs for Skylanders Swap Force and Disney Infinity are at each other's plastic throats too, both priced $37.49. Then, just to remind us of the extensive current-gen library, Toys R Us is reprising its Buy 1 Get 1 for $1 deal from last year. That deal comprises 150 games as wide ranging as Saints Row 3, Sonic Generations, Halo Wars, Batman: Arkham City, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. If your eye is stuck on this fall's big name games, the retailer also has Buy 1 Get 40 percent off on all the video games. Take that, wallets!
GameStop nabs Disney Infinity Jack Skellington figure
A new Disney Infinity figure, Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas, will be available as a timed exclusive through GameStop. Starting on October 5, all brick-and-mortar locations in the US will sell Jack and almost 100 locations will have Nintendo representatives on-hand to demo the game to curious shoppers. The first 50 sold in each store that Saturday will also walk out with a free poster. Disney Infinity launched in August and uses a physical base not unlike Skylanders to marry toys with a video game. By placing the figurine on the base along with "Power Discs," the character is activated and transported into the game's virtual toy box. In our review of Disney Infinity, we ultimately found the experience to be enjoyable for both kids (we're kids at heart) and adults. Disney Infinity is currently available on the Nintendo Wii, Wii U, 3DS, Xbox 360 and PS3.
gdgt's best deals for September 25th: Monoprice 27-inch Monitor, TRENDnet Wireless N USB Adapter
Ready to save some cash on your tech buys? Then you've come to the right place. Our friends at sister site gdgt track price drops on thousands of products every day, and twice a week they feature some of the best deals they've found right here. But act fast! Many of these are limited-time offers, and won't last long. Today's top deals include a pair of devices that could improve your home office setup. A slim 27-inch Monoprice monitor makes your work almost pretty to look at, while a TRENDnet USB WiFi Adapter lets you move away from your modem. Join gdgt and add the gadgets you're shopping for to your "Want" list. Every time there's a price cut, you'll get an email alert!
Disney Infinity gets 'Tron Highway,' four other free toy boxes
Five new toy boxes are available for free in Disney Infinity, Disney announced. One of the toy boxes is Tron Highway, which offers puzzle-platforming and racing action along a blue, neon-lit track. The other four free toy boxes this week are Sugar Mania, Monster Rally, Cosmic Platformer and It's a Trap, all of which are available on Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii U. The courses can also be accessed by Disney Infinity: Toy Box players on iPad. Additionally, Disney announced the "Extreme Sports Challenge," in which players are encouraged to submit their best toy box "sports arenas" over the course of the next week. On October 3, the developer will choose a handful of featured creations and make them available for download as well.
Disney Infinity Toy Box iPad app out now
The Disney Infinity: Toy Box app is now available on iPad. Announced with one other companion app in August, the Toy Box app allows players to built and sync worlds to Disney Infinity, unlocking new characters, props and decorations along the way. Players start out with 60 items to build toy box levels with, and any items unlocked in the main game become available to use in the app. Disney Infinity: Toy Box is compatible with iPad 2, 3, 4 and iPad Mini devices, and is free until October 5. Disney did not specify how much the app will cost afterwards.
Activision: Skylanders Giants remains No. 1 in US and Europe [Update]
In dollars, Skylanders Giants is still the No. 1 selling console and handheld game in the US and Europe – including its toys and accessories, Activision reports. Activision notes that Giants sold more than 500,000 Starter Packs globally in its first two weeks last year, and the Skylanders franchise has generated more than $1.5 billion worldwide in its lifetime. Activision expects Skylanders figures to outsell the top action figures in the US and Europe during the first eight months of 2013. A new competitor to Skylanders, Disney Infinity, sold 294,000 units in its first two weeks in the US alone and was ranked No. 3 in overall sales for August, according to the NPD. Skylanders Swap Force, the third full Skylanders game, launches in October for Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, PS3 and 3DS, and later this year for Xbox One and PS4. Update: Activision's two-week sales number of 500,000 refers to global sales, while Disney Infinty's numbers cover the US only. Activision notes Skylanders Giants "remains the biggest kids' videogame launch in the last 12 months in the US and Europe," based on revenue and according in part to Activision internal estimates. The above story has been edited for clarity.
Disney Infinity puts away 294,000 copies in August
Disney Infinity put the revenue from 294,000 sales in its toy box in its first two weeks on the market, a Disney spokesperson told Games Industry. Disney Infinity launched on August 18 and it hit No. 3 on the NPD's monthly sales report, behind Saints Row 4 and Madden 25. The Accessories section of the NPD's totals hit $136.7 million for August. "Combined with sales of Skylanders accessories, one in every three accessory sold this month was an Interactive Gaming Toy," NPD reported. We found Disney Infinity to be a joy for Disney fans of any age: "Adults who have a fondness for Disney will get the most out of Disney Infinity, thanks to its expansive Toy Box mode, and the Play Sets will provide hours of entertainment for kids who have prior experience with platformers."
Disney Infinity gets five free toy boxes, including familiar-looking 'Toy Columbia'
Disney Infinity players on Xbox 360, Wii U and PS3 now have five free custom-built toy boxes to check out, courtesy of Disney Interactive. Among the five levels offered is "Toy Columbia," described as a "sprawling city in the sky with infinite possibilities." The level looks strikingly similar to the same Columbia in BioShock Infinite, though Disney doesn't (or rather, can't) say it outright. The other four toy boxes now available are Sky Gauntlet, Jungle Cruise, Trench Run and Blue Breakout. Disney Infinity is also available on PC and 3DS, though the DLC wasn't mentioned for those platforms in Disney's announcement.
Disney Infinity review: Dream it. Do it.
Activision's Skylanders series is doing big business – big enough for the House of Mouse to take notice and develop a multi-million dollar competitor. The result, Disney Infinity, shares surface similarities with Activision's series, but its gameplay skews toward an older audience, in the hopes of capturing a universal appeal. Disney Infinity makes a lot of promises, boasting gameplay that takes cues from big-name hits like Minecraft and LittleBigPlanet. The finished product is a rousing success, offering lightweight but solid co-op gameplay built on a foundation of undiluted nostalgia.
Disney passed on Iron Man, Star Wars games to focus on Disney Infinity
Disney tightened its focus within the video games sector in order to concentrate on the upcoming multiplatform release of Disney Infinity, the Wall Street Journal reports. As part of its restructuring efforts, the company canceled a previously unannounced Iron Man-licensed game that had entered production. Disney Interactive additionally passed on its option to produce multiple Star Wars-licensed games following its parent company's purchase of Lucasfilm earlier this year. According to the Wall Street Journal's report, Disney Infinity cost the company more than $100 million to produce. The risk is great, but Disney counts on a big payoff, as Activision's competing Skylanders series has raked in more than $1.5 billion in sales since its launch in 2011. Disney positions Infinity as a boost for its faltering Interactive division, which has incurred more than $1.41 billion in losses since its formation in 2008. "If Infinity does well, it bodes very well for the bottom line of this unit," Disney CEO Robert Iger told the Wall Street Journal. "If it doesn't do well, the opposite will be the case." "It's a Hail Mary with a tremendous amount of pressure to be a hit," said an unnamed source who recently left Disney's video game division.
Disney Infinity gets two free mobile companion apps
Disney recently announced two mobile apps that go along with its soon-to-arrive game, Disney Infinity. The first app to launch is Disney Infinity: Action, an augmented reality app that has players filming movies of friends and family alongside three on-screen characters: Mr. Incredible, Sulley and Jack Sparrow. The app will be available starting today on the App Store and Windows Store, with an Android release coming "soon." Disney's other app has more ties to the console game, as Disney Infinity: Toy Box will allow players to build and edit worlds on their iPads. After building their levels, Toy Box players can then sync the worlds with Disney Infinity and unlock decoractions, props and characters. Disney said the app will launch in the coming weeks, and like Disney Infinity: Action, it will be free. %Gallery-196051%
Disney introduces Infinity: Toy Box world creator and Action! video apps for iPad
Disney's Infinity collection of toys and video games arrive this Sunday, August 18, and the company surprised the gaming community today by announcing two new iOS mobile companion apps that will be part of the collection. The first is called Disney Infinity: Action! and is described as a user-generated video app. But the second, Disney Infinity: Toy Box, is the one that has our attention. Disney Infinity is the entertainment behemoth's attempt to create cross-media entertainment with toys that come to life inside its video game. For example, if you bought a Buzz Lightyear Infinity toy and set it atop your Infnity game base, you would play with that character inside a Toy Story world. A code with the toy would unlock the character in the Toy Box mobile app, or you could purchase a digital-only Buzz for US$0.99. The Toy Box is an iPad app that allows users to create and edit game worlds filled with Disney props and characters, and it's interoperable across platforms. Create a new world on the iPad, and you can play within it or edit it on a PlayStation or Xbox. To tie all of the platforms together, Disney's also announcing a cloud-based identity system known as Disney ID. Disney Infinity: Action! gives users the chance to shoot videos, then splice them into scenes with Disney characters. The resulting videos, which blend live action with animated cartoon characters, can be shared on YouTube or Facebook, or emailed to others. VentureBeat interviewed Dan Lehrich, the producer of Disney Infinity: Toy Box, who shows off the game world and the world builder in the following video:
Disney Infinity rustles up Toy Story set, makes new pals
Skylanders rival-to-be Disney Infinity unveiled 'Toy Story in Space' as its sixth play set, along with a whole bunch of new playable characters for the Toy Box mode. The game's play sets include physical figures that grant access to in-game worlds and stories, in this case the Toy Story universe. Buzz Lightyear and Jessie are the packed-in figures, while a Woody figure is available separately. Infinity's Starter Pack, priced $75, includes the game, three play sets, and a figure for each one. Those sets are The Incredibles, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Monsters University, and they come with Mr. Incredible, Jack Sparrow, and Sully figurines. As ever with toys, some play sets are sold separately, and Disney has announced three other additional play sets so far. They are Cars, The Lone Ranger, and the newly confirmed Toy Story in Space, each one adding around six to nine hours of gameplay and priced $35. Unlike the other two, Toy Story in Space won't be available when the game launches for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, Wii, and 3DS later this week - it's scheduled for October. Disney also announced new figures for the Toy Box mode, the game's communal sandbox where collected characters can be brought together for crossover antics. While we'd prefer Wreck-It Ralph to get his own launch play set, the big lug does feature as an additional Toy Box character along with co-star Vanellope. The other newbies are Sorcerer's Apprentice Mickey from Fantasia, Tangled's Rapunzel, Phineas and Agent P from Phineas and Ferb, Anna and Elsa from upcoming film Frozen, and finally, maybe the pick of the bunch, The Nightmare Before Christmas' Jack Skellington. The newly announced Toy Box characters will roll out starting October through to next year.
Disney Infinity's first 20 Power Discs come in blind packs of two at launch
Disney Infinity features two kinds of real-world Power Discs that offer in-game boons to characters: Circular discs provide power-ups for Play Set and Toy Box modes, while hexagonal discs unlock items, vehicles and themes. When Disney Infinity launches on August 18, 20 Power Discs will also hit store shelves in blind packs of two for $5 – you won't know which Power Discs you're buying, but they'll come from an initial list of four circular and 16 hexagonal discs. The circular discs are Bolt's Super Strength, Fix It Felix's Repair Power, CHROME's Armor Shield and Pieces of Eight. That's a 10 percent damage boost, 20 percent more health, 10 percent less damage taken, and 10 percent more loot, respectively. Hexagonal discs include Mickey's Car and Cinderella's Coach for Toy Box mode, alongside Alice in Wonderland, Finding Nemo and Tangled texture and sky sets for Toy Box. Three hexagonal discs are "rare," designated with a lenticular design. They are the Dumbo Disneyland ride, the elephant version of Abu from Aladdin and the Astro Blaster vehicle from Buzz Lightyear's theme park attraction. Start saving those quarters, kids.%Gallery-195008%
gdgt's best deals for July 15: Samsung 24-inch 1080p HDTV, ASUS Nexus 7
Ready to save some cash on your tech buys? Then you've come to the right place. Our sister site gdgt tracks price drops on thousands of products every day, and twice a week they feature some of the best deals they've found right here. But act fast! Many of these are limited-time offers, and won't last long. Today's hottest deals include a dirt-cheap, dorm-ready 24-inch Samsung HDTV and a low price on an ASUS Nexus 7. It's also worth noting that the Kindle Fire HD, which we've featured before, has hit a new low at $159.99 at Best Buy, where it's available for in-store purchase only. Want the latest deals delivered to your inbox? Join gdgt and add the gadgets you're shopping for to your "Want" list. Every time there's a price cut, you'll get an email alert!
