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Disney forms Nintendo games studio
Disney is forming a new studio based in Salt Lake City called Fall Line (???) to make games exclusively for Nintendo featuring Disney characters. The new studio marks the fourth that Disney has bought or started up on their own in the past two years at a tune of more than $200 million dollars.While Nintendo puts the emphasis on fun in their games instead of next-gen processing power, Disney could be a great fit with them. Both Nintendo and Disney skew heavily towards younger audiences, and those aren't the kind of gamers who'll be concerned with how many polygons it takes to render Goofy's hat into a photorealistic prop. They have sequels in the immediate future: another Chicken Little game comes out around Wii-launch, and you can probably expect another Cars video game.It'll be interesting to see what Fall Line can produce on their own. Maybe they'll port Kingdom Hearts to the Wii. That would be worth a wait.[Thanks, Bored]
Disney's Cars & Pirates of the Caribbean miss Blu-ray until '07
Our fears have been confirmed, Disney will not release their two biggest summer movies, Cars & Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest on Blu-ray until next year. In contrast to the statements made by a Warner exec about a big HD fourth quarter, they predict a slower adoption for the high definition formats than DVD enjoyed. That isn't to say they're entirely pessimistic about the situation, but CEO Bob Iger just thinks it's too early to predict anything...of course if his company supported HD DVD also and had been already shipping high definition discs for several months at this point maybe he would feel like they have a better handle on things. Still, we should remember that despite a strong summer, Disney is in the middle of restructuring to cut costs, spend less on marketing, and may not want to undergo the expense of shipping such high profile titles to a small, unproven market, instead opting for a low-profile release schedule to start.
Disney's Cars DVD dated, no Blu-ray release in sight?
It only took one line from VideoBusiness' note about the DVD details of Pixar's latest hit film Cars to dampen our spirits. The Blu-ray supporting Buena Vista Worldwide Home Entertainment (Disney) didn't mention any plans for a high-def release of the movie yet. The DVD isn't hitting until November 7, well after Disney's first Blu-ray releases featuring Paul Walker in Eight Below on September 19, but we are looking forward to other summer movies getting day-and-date releases, why not one from the friendly budget HDTV calibrators at Pixar?The end of the year and the launch of the Playstation 3 is far enough away however that we still hold out hope for plenty of Blu-ray content to become available, and maybe with codec and dual-layer issues straightened out as well. We're looking forward to some great 1080p CG this winter, and we don't mean from Killzone.[Corrected Cars release date]
Apple easter egg in Pixar's "Cars"
Brian at FreeMacBlog writes in to point out an Apple easter egg he spotted in Pixar's Cars. During the opening race, one of the cars that is briefly on screen has an Apple logo on the hood, and is fittingly numbered "84." Pretty cool, Brian! Did anyone else spot this car?
First impression: Cars from THQ
Here's quick multiplatform glance at THQ's movie adaptation of Pixar's Cars. It's a cartoony racer that isn't a bad entry level game for people who aren't as hardcore into other facets (ie: Gran Turismo).
Cars video podcast
Who doesn't like Pixar movies? The latest effort from our favorite part of Disney is 'Cars.' I know, I know this isn't exactly breaking news but the fine folks at Pixar have created a video podcast chronicling different parts of the movie, and it is available via iTunes.[via Luxo]
Jobs to spend more time at Apple
Steve Jobs told shareholders this week that, in light of Disney's acquisition of Pixar, he would actually be spending more time at Apple, in part because he'll be relinquishing his CEO position at Pixar in a couple of weeks once the merger finishes. Many have been speculating that Mr. Jobs would be spending more time at Disney, but he publicly responded "that couldn't be further from the truth... It'll require less of my time than Pixar did."This should be good news for anyone concerned about Mr. Jobs' continued involvement with Apple.[via Wired]
Switched On: When you wish upon a star
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a weekly column about the future of technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment: To: All Disney staffFrom: Executive CommitteeRe: Organizational ChangesAs many of you are aware, Disney recently acquired Pixar, which has resulted in changes to our corporate governance. After extensive consultations with our revised Board of Directors, we would like to share the following announcements, starting with changes to our trademark animated characters:Mickey Mouse has long been Disney's most recognizable ambassador. However, our Board now feels that the two suspender buttons on his shorts are too confusing; Mickey will henceforth be a one-button mouse. Mickey's mouth will also be enhanced with a blue tooth and rolling your finger across his spherical nose will enable 360-degree scrolling freedom. Pulling on Mickey's tail will no longer hurt him; it will gracefully detach using patented magnetic connector technology.Mickey's companion Minnie Mouse has also been incredibly popular, and today we're announcing that she will be replaced by a new model, nano Mouse. Nano Mouse is a half the size of Minnie Mouse, thin enough to be on the cover of Vogue, can use many of Minnie's accessories and – please note, animators – will not be permitted to skip.Each year, millions of families come to our renowned theme parks to interact with our beloved costumed characters. However, our Board feels that the haphazard way in which they circulate the grounds is inefficient. Now children will be free to visit one of their animated pals at the snow-white Goofy Bar, where they will be able to receive attention in real time. Goofy's face has also been redesigned in a way that, our attorneys advise us, bears only coincidental resemblance to our former CEO Michael Eisner.
The Incredibles use Apple gear
Danny was watching the Incredibles with his wife the other night and noticed a familiar key on a decidedly unMac like computer in the movie.Oh, Pixar, you kidders!
Poll Results: The future of Pixney
Yesterday, we asked for your opinion on the quality of films that will come out of the Pixar/Disney union. In our utterly unscientific poll, your options were: Fantastic news! Disaster! Disney will kill future movies I'll wait and see I have no opinion Of the 2,008 of you who voted, a full 45% selected "I'll wait and see." "Fantastic news" and "Disaster..." were very close at 26% and 24% respectively, and 5% of you really couldn't care less about this.I'm with the skeptics. As long as Disney lets Lasseter and co. do what they do unfettered, we should be all right.
Disney buys Pixar: TV films in 720p until Blu-Ray?
So now Steve Jobs has to wear Mickey Mouse ears since Disney bought Pixar for $7.4 billion or more depending on who you ask; that'll get you a ton of "Nemo" for your fish tank. Aside from the new head gear for Stevie, does this mean that we'll only see Pixar movies at home in 720p now? Since Disney owns ABC who broadcasts in 720p, that's what we're thinking. It's not a major issue by any means; the Pixar movies previously shown on ABC have looked truly outstanding. Besides, the Pixar films on next gen DVDs (last we heard, the Mouse was in the Blu-Ray camp) should make this a moot point once consumers adopt the new technologies.
Disney buys Pixar: Good or bad?
Yesterday's big news, of course, was Disney's buyout of Pixar. Steve got more money than he could use in 10,000 lifetimes, a seat on Disney's board of directors and boatload of stock. But what does this mean for the films that are yet to be born of this union? I'm hoping that the Disney suits will look at Pixar's track record (every film has earned more than its predecessor) and just leave well enough alone. Of course, they could come in and clean house. So, what's your opinion of "Pixney"? Take the poll and return tomorrow to view the results. Disney buys Pixar: Good or bad? Fantastic news Disaster! Disney will kill future movies I'll wait and see I have no opinion
More on the Pixar buyout
The finance obsessed people at Bloomberg have a very comprehensive article up covering the Disney/Pixar deal (it was as if they were working on it before the deal of finalized. Imagine that!). Disney will pay $59.78 a share for Pixar stock (and since Steve Jobs is the largest stockholder of Pixar he is going to make out like a bandit), though Disney will be paying with Disney stock (helping to diversify his Steveness' stock interests in the process).Disney is hoping that Pixar will transform the company into the animation powerhouse it once was. Disney is taking the right steps by placing Pixar people in key positions, however, something tells me that Disney and Pixar have very different corporate cultures.Only time will tell.
Disney to buy Pixar for 7.4 Billion
CNN is reporting that Disney is buying Pixar for $7.4 billion, confirming lots of speculation as of late. Jobs will join the board of Disney while John Lasseter, the creative spirit behind Pixar, will become chief creative officer for the combined animation studio. I hope this means only good things for Disney, and no bad things for Pixar. Only time will tell.More details as they become clear.
Disney to Buy Pixar?
When the rumor surfaced last week that Disney might be interested in buying Pixar, I passed it off as just another rumor, along the lines of "Sony to buy Apple" or "Microsoft to buy Fort Knox". But multiple news organizations are reporting today that the all-stock deal may actually be approved and happen as early as tomorrow and that it may be worth as much as $7 billion.As Steve Jobs has a majority share in Pixar, this would be incredibly significant for Mr. Jobs but might also be significant for Mr Jobs' other company, Apple Computer.Could this mean there might be more Apple-Disney partnerships in the future? Disney videos for sale via the iTunes store? Disney-branded iPods? iPod-friendly audio guides at the Disney parks? At the very least, a Disney-Pixar combination should be able to improve the animated offerings coming from Disney, which have been less-than-stellar in the last few years.
Disney in talks to buy Pixar. Again.
The on again off again talks between Disney and Pixar seem to be on again. Bloomsberg is reporting that the two companies are in 'serious talks' about a possible Disney buy out of Pixar. The deal would go down for a little over $6.7 billion, not too bad of a return on Steve's initial $10 million investment (Steve took Pixar off of George Lucas' hands many moons ago and made the little oddity in the most successful computer animation film studio in the world).Don't get your knickers in a twist, though, these negotiations might end up with Disney and Pixar renewing their distribution deal, and nothing more just like they have every other time that this rumor start going around.Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
Last minute holiday shopping?
There's always DVD's, CD's and videogames. So what might you pick up today that would look great on the screen of the HDTV owner in your life? I've got a few ideas.DVD's - The Island - I know I know, nobody went to see it at the theaters, let me tell you, I think they made a mistake. It was a great summer action flick and will make for a great winter action flick to watch inside while it snows. The sets and the special effects had me thinking this may be my first Blu-ray/HD-DVD purchase when I originally saw it in the theater, since neither of them made it this year I'll have to settle for regular DVD quality upconverted. Oh yeah, and Scarlett Johansen? Incredibly easy on the eyes.
