Disney still has the Epic Mickey IP
With today’s Junction Point closure news, the Epic Mickey IP was left in limbo. Junction Point was the main maker of the two Epic Mickey games, but now the team is no more.
Disney has since confirmed that it has retained rights to the franchise. For now, however, the company has no plans the series’ future. This one will likely remain dormant for a very long time, if not forever.
Jaleco made and published Ninja JaJaMaru-Kun way back in 1985. One cancelled DS game later, the series is now being revived on the 3DS.
This week’s Famitsu reveals a new Ninja JaJaMaru-Kun, subtitled “Princess Sakura and the Secret Dragon”. Hamster will distribute the title in Japan on April 25 for 4,980 yen.
This week’s Famitsu review scores are as follows:
Sangokushi 12 (PSV) – 8/8/7/7
Heroes Vs (PSP) – 8/8/7/7
Heavy Fire: Shattered Spear (PS3/360) – 6/7/6/7
PachiPara 3D: Deluxe Umi Monogataru ~PachiPro Fuuunroku Hana Kotou Shoubushitachi~ (3DS) – 6/6/6/6
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two’s US sales have been clarified. Based on information provided by Disney and NPD, the game sold 529,000 units in November and December. We had previously heard that Disney moved just 270,000 copies, though that figure now appears to have been inaccurate.
Sales of Epic Mickey 2 along with Power of Illusion stand at 695,000 units up to the end of December. That should put the 3DS game at around 166,000 units sold in the US.
There hasn’t been a new Prince of Persia since 2010’s The Forgotten Sands. Additionally, Ubisoft hasn’t made any major announcements about the IP.
Ubisoft Montreal CEO Yannis Mallat, in an interview with IGN, noted that Prince of Persia “is being paused”:
“Brand management is a tricky thing. It needs people’s attention a lot. I think it is fair to say that, right now, Prince of Persia is being paused. But we said the same thing for some other brands that suddenly popped up because a team is willing to do it.”
Fear not, Prince of Persia fans – the series isn’t dead. It’s merely resting for now. Prince of Persia is still very significant for Ubisoft, and Mallat said the IP “is as important as any other franchise for Ubisoft.”
“I’m not scared at all for Prince of Persia fans. We’ll find something to entertain them with in the future. Prince of Persia is part of Ubisoft’s portfolio. As a matter of fact, we sometimes iterate on franchises and sometimes we give them time to breathe and time to grow, or time to rest. Prince of Persia is as important as any other franchise for Ubisoft. As soon as we have something to show, we will.”
The Wii got off to a massive start (err– a four year long “start”) across the globe, but despite the sales lead it managed to procure it seems that sluggish sales of the console in 2011 and 2012 have allowed Microsoft’s competing Xbox to close the gap and prepare to surpass Nintendo in the coming months. According to Chart Track data, the Xbox 360 actually outsold the Wii 4 to 1 in 2012.
“The success of Microsoft and the Xbox 360 during the past two years highlights a radical changing of the guard in the game industry. Much has been made about a steady video game sales decline in the past three years. In reality the decline has mainly been due to the aging console systems and more importantly because of Nintendo’s collapse.” – DFC Intelligence, analysis firm
The real question now is whether the Wii U can perform even half as good as its predecessor.
Crytek’s new studio in Austin, Texas is primarily comprised of ex-Vigil employees. This may seem like a pretty good opportunity for Crytek to pick up THQ’s Darksiders IP, but nope – it won’t be happening.
If Crytek USA won’t be working on Darksiders, what kind of titles will the company be involved with? Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli explained:
“It would be pretty much safe to say that this team will be working on online games. (Crytek USA will focus on) online games and kick-ass triple-A productions. It is going to be quite a significant investment for Crytek over the next five years.”
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Warren Spector has moved on from Disney Interactive. Spector’s studio, Junction Point, was officially shut down today, but it was unclear if he would move on from Disney as a whole.
A representative has since confirmed that Warren Spector is no longer with Disney. This is backed up by his LinkedIn profile, which now states: “Wondering what comes next?… Want to talk?”
The video below gives another inside look into LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, along with past LEGO games:
