In a move that will no doubt hinder the haters’ claims that Nintendo is “teh kiddie,” Disney has announced today that will form a games studio specifically tailored to designing games for the Wii. If that lead wasn’t dripping with enough sarcasm for you, just read on from this Bloomberg article:
“Disney views Nintendo as a natural partner since its users tend to be younger. While Microsoft and Sony compete for ardent video game fans with high-end graphics and complex games, Nintendo has made the Wii simple and easy to use with a controller sensitive to motion.
[Scott]Novis said kids find Xbox and PlayStation games technical and difficult to learn, while they typically can pick up a Nintendo game and start playing quickly. At $250, Nintendo’s Wii costs less than the Xbox and PlayStation 3.”
On a serious note, there’s no word in the article about what would happen to popular game franchises like Kingdom Hearts, the SquareEnix title that masterfully combined Mickey Mouse with the teenaged angst of anime Final Fantasy characters and a big honking key. Apparently Disney thinks it can make more money making its own games that licensing out the rights to use their characters to comanies like Square, THQ, and others.
While Disney seems to want to make younger games, you have to admit that seeing Mickey off Pluto with the Uzi from GTA and then screaming “I’m going to Disney World Mother-” before getting blown away by the Army for having six stars would be a real hoot.