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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Disney Interactive Media

Chris Heatherly Vice President of Product Development, Disney Interactive Media Group 1) Is it a challenge to create a game based off an established Disney movie or television show rather than creating an original concept? John Lasseter of Pixar always says that there are three things that make a great film – a great story, endearing characters and a believable immersive world. Games are less about linear storytelling and more about storytelling through place, character, and game mechanics. People rarely want to relive a story that they have already seen in movie theaters – they already know how it ends! So the trick is to make something that feels like an authentic expansion of the original story while giving people a new way to experience these wonderful worlds and characters. 2) What new Interactive product most excites you and why? I continue to be really excited about virtual communities like Club Penguin and the potential they have in this new era of gaming. The gaming category is expanding from a packaged goods-driven model to a focus on building audience and engaging with them over a long period of time. With Club Penguin, we have the largest audience of kids playing together. It’s become the world’s virtual playground. The reason kids are so passionate about Club Penguin is that we treat it like it’s their place. Kids have so little control in their lives that when you give them a place that is theirs that they can influence, where they are respected and feel like they belong, it’s amazingly powerful and they show you tremendous loyalty. This is different from the title-driven approach which is focused on an upfront payment for a defined amount of play. Our world is free to play for most things. We only make money if you love what we offer. This has been a very good business for us. It means that we can build on that audience instead of having to re-acquire them every time we introduce something new. 3) In terms of the creative process, do you take a different tact when developing an online social media game versus a console game? Does something work for one, but not the other? There are differences, for sure, but the lines are blurring. Console games are about playing by yourself or with a small group of friends. Social games are about engaging with a much larger number of friends — dozens or even hundreds. Console games tend to be more linear or directed and social games are often more open-ended. Club Penguin’s founder Lane Merrifield often compares social games to a cardboard box. You can buy your kid the best toy in the world but often times they end up playing with the cardboard box because the box can be anything they want it to be. Social games are the same way in that we are not dictating the play. We are creating a safe environment, and letting them use their creativity. 4) What is the most exciting part of your job? The most exciting aspect of my job is getting to work with the millions of kids who play our virtual worlds…to know that you are a special part of a kid’s life is really the magic of my job. 5) How do people respond when you say you work for Disney? You can always see that glimmer in someone’s eye when you tell them you work for Disney because everyone has such a personal connection to it. Disney is not just about kids either. It’s often times a way for adults to be a kid again, or to connect with their children around something that they both share. It’s the one area where the Mouse is hurting. Walt Disney Co.’s gaming division has long struggled to make a profit as it pumps out games for consoles, websites, social networks and smartphones. The Interactive Media Group — which was spun off as a separate business segment in 2008 — posted a $308 million loss last year on revenues of $982 million. Disney officials have said they hope the unit will become profitable by 2013. The majority of the interactive group’s revenues stem from game sales and subscriptions, which fluctuate depending on the timing of movie releases and cable programming. Despite its struggles and layoffs last year, the division maintains a large presence in the San Fernando Valley. Its headquarters are located on Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood and the unit maintains a presence in Glendale. The Interactive Media Group creates games for consoles based on Disney movies such as “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Cars 2” as well as original titles such as the online gaming community Club Penguin. In fact, Disney is shifting from console games to the increasingly crowded field of online games for social networks and smartphones. In Aug. 2010, Disney acquired Playdom Inc., which makes online games for Facebook and other social networking sites. In the first quarter of Disney’s 2012 fiscal year, the interactive group saw revenues decline $70 million from the same period a year ago, due to a drop off in the company’s console games. Disney said it released fewer console games in the first quarter compared to the same period the previous year. The interactive division also creates, publishes and distributes content for Disney.com and manages Disney’s mobile phone business in Japan. — Andrew Khouri

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