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Disney Infinity Canceled; Disney Exits Console Publishing; Avalanche Shut [Statement]
- Thread starter Inferno313
- Start date
Disney had kind of an insane cost base.
Avalanche was 300 people, plus they had eight other studios on top of them working on Disney Infinity 3.
It's like how Junction Point was shut down after Epic Mickey 2 because they were 700 employees and the game only sold a few million.
Dr. Zoidberg
Member
I assume families with younger children, as well as hardcore Disney collectors. Did the figures work with a mobile game or just consoles? People tell me that most younger kids are only playing mobile games these days unless their parents also play games in which case they probably play consoles, as well as this game.
I look for Lego Dimensions to bail out before too long.
The only TTL items I buy are selected Amiibo, and those are just because I'm a Nintendo fan and want them for display. People, especially gaming adults, don't want a lot of shit cluttering up their rooms. In an industry that has eschewed plastic instruments, and is on an ever-increasing trend toward an all-digital future, it always seemed a little risky to invest a lot of money into something that involved a lot of physical stuff. Once the novelty wore off it was not long for this world.
Glass Shark
Banned
Man, that sucks for all the people losing jobs. What little time I spent with Infinity was nice, it seemed like a well-made product.
McBradders
NeoGAF: my new HOME
Heartbreaking news. Avalanche are a wonderful bunch. Hoping that everyone affected lands on their feet.
NOLA_Gaffer
Banned
I spent a bunch of money on it as well, though I bought almost everything on sale so I mitigated as much of the cost as possible. I also was making custom Series 3 Power Disc Albums for a while and I probably covered the cost of all my Disney Infinity purchases with them alone.
KingdomHeartsFan
Member
I never understood the appeal of these games. The game looks boring and if its about collecting there's way better quality figures to collect. Hopefully the people losing their jobs can land back on their feet.
slightconfuse
Banned
Wow that's crazy , thought is was doing amazing
MatrixMan.EXE
Member
Yo wtf....
My first thought is, "I hope all the employees can land somewhere else as soon as possible."
Second, "WHAT?!"
Third, "Shoot, I need to buy some DI figures now, don't I."
Don't want to pay $30 later down the road for some of the ones I did always kind of want. I hated the style of the figures for most, but a few worked really well - like Baymax.
I need a Baymax.
Second, "WHAT?!"
Third, "Shoot, I need to buy some DI figures now, don't I."
Don't want to pay $30 later down the road for some of the ones I did always kind of want. I hated the style of the figures for most, but a few worked really well - like Baymax.
I need a Baymax.
DeathSparks
Member
Man this is just shocking to me, Avalanche Software made some good games including one of my personal favorites
EnlightenedMint
Member
I wanted to see Johnny V back up on the E3 stage this year 
300 jobs gone too, hope they land on their feet.
300 jobs gone too, hope they land on their feet.
Interesting but not totally unexpected. My wife and I went to Walt Disney World back in March and out all 4 major theme parks, I only saw one or two little sections in stores that had anything Disney Infinity related. Granted I didn't look to hard (already have everything I wanted) but thought it was odd being AT DISNEY.
So did I. I wonder if Skylanders and LEGO Dimensions edged them out in sales? Its interesting that Disney is leaving the self publishing biz (for the second time?) owing to losses etc just as Warner Games is going from strength to strength.
Yeah, it's shocking how innefective Disney was with gaming stuff. I'm surprised, actually, because generally they seem like a company that knows how to make money.
Well, at least they are still open to licensing stuff. They have a goldmine of IP's that could make great games.
Vegetable Lasagna
Member
Not surprised. This is exactly the direction Disney said they were going in when they closed Lucasarts and handed Star Wars to EA.
Newtype-001
Member
Man 300jobs :/
Ghost Dad the Whip
Member
Oooof!
cartographer
Member
Lot of people with lost jobs. Hope they can get back on their feet quickly.
Note to anyone confused as I was, this is Avalanche Software and not Avalanche Studios, the makers of Just Cause
Wow, this is huge. What a shame. My heart goes out to everyone that loses their jobs.
It's strange that such a massive company like Disney that makes as much money are as hesitant with console gaming as they are. They've even had Disney Infinity shown during press conferences at E3.
That probably counts as licensing, so likely not.
It's strange that such a massive company like Disney that makes as much money are as hesitant with console gaming as they are. They've even had Disney Infinity shown during press conferences at E3.
That probably counts as licensing, so likely not.
Sword Of Doom
Member
Honestly don't know about that. Even if Disney Infiniti was making money for a company like Disney it might not have been enough
It's the one-time cost for shutting down Infinity, so all the expenses with shutting it down and liquidating inventory.
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/o/one-time-charge.asp
How is that not what they've been doing (other than Disney Infinity) for years? They'd already mostly exited the console market, following the shutdowns of Propaganda, Black Rock, Junction Point, and Wideload.
LinkMaster111
Member
Hopefully the folks at Avalanche land on their feet.
I figured someone had to get out of the toys to life game at some point, between Skylanders, Disney Infinity, Lego Dimensions, and amiibo there just wasn't enough room for everyone (both in terms of market share and literally in terms of physical shelf space). That being said, I always thought Skylanders would be the first to go.
I figured someone had to get out of the toys to life game at some point, between Skylanders, Disney Infinity, Lego Dimensions, and amiibo there just wasn't enough room for everyone (both in terms of market share and literally in terms of physical shelf space). That being said, I always thought Skylanders would be the first to go.
derExperte
Member
Not completely surprising considering they stopped support for PC and Apple TV earlier this year.
I mentioned it earlier in the thread but the DI starter set was higher than Skylanders on the sales list from NPD's annual recap the last couple years but that doesn't include figures which I'm sure makes all the difference.
mightynine
Member
I mean, you obviously need to tweak it for a different platform. I meant more along the game's idea, i.e. a turn-based board game that works with external figures.
Disney's out $147 million from the Infinity project after 3 years.
I don't think Nintendo's out money from amiibo.
J
Jotamide
Unconfirmed Member
It was rather short-lived though.
Leafhopper
Banned
After they closed Black Rock Studios, I don't know why I am surprised but, I am.
Vegetable Lasagna
Member
They're committed to money. Sending out their IPs to already established AAA studios is much easier than trying to run your own shop. IPs that bring in tons of cash without having the dirty work.
Professor Lich
Member
Man, that's rough. I met a guy who worked on Disney Infinity at GDC this year. He enjoyed working on it because his kids loved playing it.
My thoughts are out to the developers.
My thoughts are out to the developers.
Hyrule Warrior
Member
No huge loss to me personally...Infinity was the worst in these type of games to me. Limiting the characters to their particular playset always seemed to defeat the purpose to me...plus the game itself just seemed way too simple and just fucking boring. Never cared for the toybox either. Not saying Skylanders is perfect, but I appreciated the idea of those games when they started at least...just feel like they have never made a truly great one yet, and have squandered it.
Lego Dimensions is bull shit entirely to me, because the only cool thing in that game was the mash up of different properties...it was no different than any other Lego game though, and cost 10x more.
Lego Dimensions is bull shit entirely to me, because the only cool thing in that game was the mash up of different properties...it was no different than any other Lego game though, and cost 10x more.
The problem isn't that it's "not selling". It's just not selling enough for Disney. They can make buckloads of money with other merch, they don't care about video games.
thesuperfunk
Member
Did not expect!
Yes.
George Oscar Bluth II
Banned
Damn, that sucks.
I remember one guy at Disney saying they'll have more stuff (at least for Marvel) for consoles this E3. Wonder if things have changed.
I remember one guy at Disney saying they'll have more stuff (at least for Marvel) for consoles this E3. Wonder if things have changed.