Official Press Release Details From Disney Interactive
January 15, 2013
Today, Disney Interactive Co-President John Pleasants and John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer for Disney and Pixar, unveiled Disney’s most ambitious video game initiative ever, Disney Infinity, at a special event for media and Disney fans at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. Disney Infinity is an all-new gaming experience that gives players unprecedented freedom and endless opportunities to create stories starring beloved characters from Disney and Pixar’s most popular franchises.
For the first time ever, players will place real-world figures like characters and power discs on the “Infinity Base” device to activate original story-driven adventures within the game. The platform lets players play through story-driven experiences based on popular Disney franchises, and collect unique characters, vehicles, and gadgets from each world and save them to a virtual “Toy Box.” Players can create their own adventures in the virtual “Toy Box” using the items they’ve gathered. When Disney Infinity launches in June, players can explore the worlds of Monsters University, The Incredibles and Pirates of the Caribbean — with more Play Sets to be revealed soon. Visit the Disney Post later this week for a video recap of today’s event and go to disney.com/infinity (UPDATED: Link is no longer active) for more information.
Event Speakers
John Pleasants Co-President, Disney Interactive
John Pleasants is co-president of Disney Interactive, the interactive entertainment segment of The Walt Disney Company. In his role, Mr. Pleasants leads the overall strategy for Disney Interactive Games, the division’s multi-faceted digital games businesses, which includes games across console, social, and mobile platforms, in addition to a portfolio of online virtual worlds. He also oversees Disney Interactive’s global network of game development studios.
John Lasseter Chief Creative Officer at Disney & Pixar as well as Principal Creative Advisor at Walt Disney Imagineering
John Blackburn Studio Vice President and General Manager of Avalanche Software
John Blackburn has worked in the video game industry for more than 20 years. After a brief career programming banking software, Blackburn spent the next three years programming Super Nintendo games at Sculptured Software in Salt Lake City. During this time, he worked on titles such as Mortal Kombat, Seaquest DSV and Wrestlemania: Arcade.
In 1995, Blackburn co-founded Avalanche Software and currently serves as the Studio Vice President and General Manager. His career has evolved along with the studio, where he has played many different roles in the development of over 28 games. He began as a programmer working on many of the Mortal Kombat sequel titles, but rapidly transitioned into a management and design position. In this role, he was able to co-create the award-winning Tak franchise for licensors THQ and Nickelodeon. He then went on to consult with Nickelodeon on the creation of the “Tak and the Power of Juju” animated television series.
Key Features Of The Game
- Unprecedented Creative Play – Featuring a virtual “Toy Box” and a vast open world environment, players can create their own stories and customize their adventures combining characters, environments, gadgets, vehicles and more. The possibilities are truly infinite as Disney will add new additions from the company’s vast library of entertainment properties.
- Infinite Storyline Possibilities – Disney prides itself on its storytelling culture and for the first time ever, Disney Infinity will put the story creation into the hands of consumers. Players will be able to create their own adventures in an open-world environment and will give players unprecedented freedom for creative play.
- Multiple Franchises Across All Platforms – Disney Infinity introduces an all-new universe, featuring a toy-inspired art style where multiple Disney franchises and characters can exist and interact in one game and across Xbox360, PS3, Wii, Wii-U, PC and online, as well as on smart devices including tablets and mobile phones.
- Interactive Figures Activate In-Game Adventures and Customizations – Disney Infinity will initially introduce a line of 40 collectible interactive figures – characters, Play Set pieces and power discs – that allow players to expand and customize their play experiences. Over time, Disney Infinity will release additional characters and “Play Sets” and this platform will constantly evolve.
- 17 interactive character figures allow players to experience a variety of their favorite characters in each ”Play Set” and in “Toy Box” play
- 3 Play Set pieces that add new Disney and Disney•Pixar “Play Set” locations
- 20 power discs enhance environments, add gadgets and more
- Co-op Multiplayer Action – Disney Infinity supports 2 player co-op play in structured adventures and up to 4 players in “Toy Box” mode.
Publisher: Disney Interactive
Developer: Avalanche Software
Release Date: June 2013
Platforms: Nintendo Wii™ and Nintendo Wii-U, Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, PC, as well as an accompanying mobile experience.
Genre: Action/Adventure
Pricing:
- Starter Pack: $74.99
- Play Set Pack: $34.99
- Disney Infinity Figure: $12.99
- Figure 3-Pack: $29.99
- Power Disc Pack: $4.99 ESRB
Rating: This game is not yet rated by the ESRB
Character Artwork
In-Game Screenshots
