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Disney Interactive Studios

Disney Interactive Studios, Inc. (initially Walt Disney Computer Software, later Disney Interactive and Buena Vista Games, Inc.), is an Worldwide American video game company. It self-publishes and distributes a broad portfolio of multi-platform video games and interactive entertainment worldwide.

History

Walt Disney Computer Software

In 1988, Walt Disney Computer Software was established as a subsidiary of Walt Disney Consumer Products, a division of The Walt Disney Company when a group of "software development specialists" were spun off from Walt Disney Educational Productions and put under the leadership of Shelley Miles, then Vice President of The Walt Disney Music Company, to become the first entity in the Disney organization to internally develop or publish computer and video games for commercial release. This subsidiary produced many Disney-themed games during several years of operation but was eventually shut down and reorganized in 1996 as Disney Interactive.

Disney Interactive

In its early period, Disney Interactive often worked as a developer rather than a publisher (though it also marketed games on its own for select platforms), establishing strategic development/publishing alliances with interactive-gaming industry leaders such as Sony Computer Entertainment, Nintendo, Activision, Capcom (the most allianced), Konami, Square and Ubi Soft. Disney Interactive dealt with mass-market, global development, publishing and distribution of interactive entertainment software based on its intellectual property (including Disney characters and other franchises).

Buena Vista Games

To diversify its portfolio, the company re-established itself as Buena Vista Games and divided productions across two publishing labels -- Buena Vista Interactive developed titles across multiple platforms for creative content from the numerous businesses within The Walt Disney Company, and Disney Interactive marketed and distributed children's entertainment and learning software. Buena Vista Games is probably best known for the Kingdom Hearts series along with Japanese developer Square Enix.

Disney Interactive Studios

In 2007, The Walt Disney Company re-merged its productions under the name Disney Interactive Studios. The studio publishes both Disney and non-Disney branded video games for all platforms worldwide, with titles that feature its consumer brands including Disney, ABC, ESPN, Touchstone (which is used as a label for Disney Interactive), and Disney/Pixar. The studio also selectively licenses Disney intellectual property to other video game publishers.

In June 2008 Disney Interactive Studios was spun off of Disney Consumer Products and taken up under the new division Disney Interactive Media Group.

List of games

Development studios

In 2005, Disney Interactive Studios acquired two external game development studios, Propaganda Games and Avalanche Software. Eventually, the company also acquired Climax Racing.

Karl Jeffery, founder and chief executive officer of Climax Racing "As a premier, award-winning studio that has created some of the best racing titles of all time, Climax Racing is an ideal component of BVG’s expanding portfolio of development talent."

The company also publishes games from Q Entertainment worldwide except Asia: Lumines II, the sequel to the popular puzzle game for the PSP system; Lumines Plus, a new version of Lumines for the PlayStation 2; Every Extend Extra, a puzzle shooter; and a Disney Interactive Studios's Meteos: Disney Edition, the popular Meteos game for the Nintendo DS with Disney characters.

Disney Interactive Studios has also announced the formation of a new development studio Fall Line Studio dedicated to creating games exclusively for Nintendo consoles Wii and Nintendo DS. Fall Line Studio will operate as a sister studio to Avalanche Software, both companies being based out of Salt Lake City. The studio will focus on small-team projects using Disney's brand. Former general manager of Rainbow Studios Scott Novis has been chosen to serve as vice president and general manager of Fall Line Studio.

"This studio will be one of our centers of creative excellence and it gives us the ability to fully capitalize on our properties and expand our market share on Nintendo platforms," said Graham Hopper of Buena Vista Games. "Scott Novis brings the perfect mix of team building and relevant business experience to the position of studio head for Fall Line Studio."

Disney Interactive Studios has historically been a strong supporter of Nintendo platforms and is currently the number three publisher of Game Boy Advance titles in North America. And Fall Line marks the company's ongoing plan to cut back on outsourced game development and focus on internally developed software.

The company has recently revealed a full line up of games at E3 2006, which include DIE's Turok, a re-imagining of the video game series of the same name and Desperate Housewives: The Game, based on the hit television show.

On the July 13, 2007 it was announced that Disney Interactive Studios had acquired Warren Spector's Junction Point Studios.