Forbes -- John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer of Pixar and The Walt Disney Animation Studios, has been working closely with Disney Interactive and developer Avalanche Studios to ensure that this new line of toys and games will make its own mark this June. Disney Infinity will offer two ways to play – much like the Toy Story 3 game that Avalanche also created. There’s the story-driven “Play Set” featuring characters from movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, TRON, The Incredibles, Monsters University and Cars, and the “Toy Box” mode, which lets players mix and match characters across platforms.
Lasseter, who enjoys watching his kids play the latest video games, talks about his own video game background and what types of new opportunities Disney Infinity opens up for catalog and upcoming Disney franchises in this exclusive interview.
Before games inspired by movies and TV shows became blatant cash grabs, there was a time when players actually had some solid titles inspired by various IPs, and Disney made some of the best
Quackshot for me, simply because I think there’s a lot of potential for improving on the original and I would love a great platformer starring Donald in a world-traveling Ducktales-style adventure.
Has Disney done more harm than good to Star Wars when it comes to gaming?
Thats not a question that even needs to be asked. Anybody that is a fan of Star Wars and video games knows EA could fuck up a 1500lb steel BB in the middle of a cotton field barefooted. It truly is a travesty that EA is one of the most profitable game companies. Any company that would have made as many missteps with franchises as they did would have folded under and had all of its licenses pulled. Because of MT that litter their games, EA is artificially kept relevant in the industry. They are able to hold on to these licenses with the billions they milk out of gamers every year. So hell yeah Disney underachieved. But we all knew that was going to happen the minute news broke they were partnering with EA.
It's the refusal to do what it takes to get an actual creative project off the ground. Instead Disney and co. pushed out minimal viable products for the majority of its gaming life cycle.
The toys-to-life genre has died out, but the concept of Disney Infinity should live on in another genre since it provides a wild crossover for fans.
Funny to see a Hollywood big wig be kicked out of the room by his kids playing games.