Disney has announced that it's going to develop its own games for the Nintendo's Wii console gaming platform. Why not just license their characters to other developers? There's money in them there pixels, and Disney wants to mine it all.
Disney CEO Robert Iger said last September that the company can earn more by developing its own games rather than licensing characters and content to other developers. The company wants to make 80 percent of its games internally, and have 80 percent of these titles based on Disney movies, TV shows, or other content. The company has been buying out other game development studios, such as Avalanche Studios and Propaganda Games, as well as starting its own game companies.
So why pay special effort to support the Wii? The new head of Fall Line Studio, Scott Novis, explained that younger children often find PlayStation and Xbox games technically challenging, with a multitude of buttons to master. The Wii's simpler control scheme and lower price could make it a more appealing platform for Disney games. "It seems like with our brand, the Nintendo platform is a really good place to put our development effort and focus," Novis said.