Disney closes high profile Games Studio

01 Feb, 2013, 23:01 | Posted by: jp-30 | Source: Huffington Post

Disney has just announced it is closing down its Austin, Texas based Junction Point Studios gaming company, led by Warren Spector, shortly after the release of Epic Mickey 2.

Disney said the closure is part of its "effort to address the fast-evolving gaming platforms and marketplace" and to align its resources with its key priorities.

"We're extremely grateful to Warren Spector and the Junction Point team for their creative contributions to Disney with `Disney Epic Mickey' and `Disney Epic Mickey 2,'" the studio said in a statement.

Disney acquired Junction Point in 2007. The studio was led by "Deus Ex" and "Thief" creator Warren Spector...

"I said to myself as Junction Point embarked on the `Epic Mickey' journey that, worst case, we'd be `a footnote in Disney history,'"

While what Disney does with things that aren't LucasArts is dubious in its relevance to Mix N Mojo, I think we can all see a possible outcome of the LucasFilm acquisition if the shift from AAA titles to casual / mobile isn't successful for LucasArts.

Still, when LucasArts used a line very similar to "the fast-evolving gaming platforms and marketplace" as the rationale behind shutting a project down, it led to the formation of Telltale Games.

Comments: 4

Twitter this

What does everyone else think about this?

Reply in this discussion | Not registered?

Comment by: Call me Squinky | Posted 05 Feb, 2013, 19:51 | Quote
"I said to myself as Junction Point embarked on the `Epic Mickey' journey that, best case, we'd be `a footnote in Disney history."

fix'd
Comment by: Melancholick | Posted 03 Feb, 2013, 16:02 | Quote
If it's any consolation, then the situation is slightly different than Disney's theoretical dynamic with LA: they basically threw millions and millions into hiring Spector and putting this studio together, while buying into the myopic perspective that "anything original, with Mickey slapped on it will automatically result in immediate Triple-A credibility."

The first Epic Mickey overpromised and underperformed, and the second--while an improvement--still didn't provide them with a license to print money, which led to Disney simply deciding that they'd can the entire studio and put the kibosh on letting Spector continue the series.

Naturally, with all that said: the exact same fate could befall LA, but it doesn't seem like Disney's got any sort of expectations relating to the studio's performance or back catalogue at this time, which might be a good thing.

*Might*.
Comment by: Jake | Posted 02 Feb, 2013, 12:01 | Quote
When has the outlook for LucasArts seemed rosy in the last five years, though?
Comment by: Jennifer | Posted 02 Feb, 2013, 06:12 | Quote
The future of LucasArts at the hands of Disney was my first thought when I read the news about Junction Point Studios too.

The outlook for the future at Disney really doesn't seem as rosy for LucasArts as it does for Lucasfilm and ILM.

Add a comment

What!? You're not registered?

Allowed bbcodes:

[i] - Italized text
[b] - Bolded text
[url=http://example.com]Name[/url] - Creates a hyperlink
[quote=author]Quote[/quote] - Creates a quote box
[del] - Strikethrough