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Disney Announces several new titles and a DS community at E3

by: Dan -
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Yesterday, Disney Interactive made several announcements about upcoming game titles and the creation of a new community dedicated to Nintendo DS users. The titles announced were The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, DS, PSP and PC), which will debut the new DGamer community, the previously announced Turok (Xbox 360 and PS3 - Feb 5, '08)), Spectrobes II (DS - Fall 2008), High School Musical: Sing It! (Wii and PS2), High School Musical: Making the Cut! (DS - Fall), Hannah Montana Spotlight World Tour and Hannah Montana: Music Jam (Wii -Spotlight World Tour and DS - Music Jam - October), Power Rangers: Super Legends (PS2, DS, GameCube and PC - Fall), Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey (Wii, PS2 and PC - Fall), Disney Friends (DS - Spring 2008 in U.S.) and Enchanted (DS - Fall). See the full release with all details after the jump:
Disney INTERACTIVE STUDIOS SHOWCASES COMMITMENT
TO INNOVATION, CREATIVITY AND COMMUNITY
At e3 Media & Business Summit 2007
 
DGamer, Spectrobes II and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Announced
 
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — (July 12, 2007) — Disney Interactive Studios discussed the success of its business, unveiled a major new online community initiative and announced new titles in popular video game franchises during the E3 Media & Business Summit 2007.
 
Disney continues to make major investments in growing its video game self publishing business to develop creative and innovative entertainment experiences.  Disney Interactive Studios plans to invest $130 million in product development in 2007.  The company also continues to invest in talent, which has grown to around 700 employees in 11 countries.
 
Ninety percent of new products will be Disney-branded with 70 percent based on films and television properties and the other 20 percent focused on new intellectual property.  The remaining 10 percent will be devoted to non-Disney branded content such as games branded Touchstone or ABC.
 
DGamer, a new online community initiative that will be included in all Disney Interactive Studios’ Nintendo DS™ games starting in May 2008, was unveiled.  DGamer will link to the DGamer Channel on Disney.com.  Also announced were The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian video game and Spectrobes II, both second installments of successful franchises.
 
Disney-branded games ranked first in North American sales among all third-party published Nintendo DS games in 2006, which includes Disney Interactive Studios’ published games and licensed properties such as Disneyā—¸Pixar titles published by THQ Inc.  Among all publishers, Disney Interactive Studios was fourth in Nintendo DS game sales in 2006 (up from No. 10 in 2005) and third in Game Boy Advance sales (up from No. 4), according to The NPD Group.
 
Disney Interactive Studios showcased upcoming youth-branded games both for handheld and console platforms.  New video games for girls, boys and families will include titles on multiple platforms based on the Disney Channel franchises High School Musical, Hannah Montana and Power Rangers.  Titles such as Disney Friends, Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey and Enchanted round out the lineup.
 
The release date for Turok, which will be published under the company’s familiar Touchstone brand, was announced as February 5, 2008.  The re-imagined game from Classic Media’s popular license will be available for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.

Disney’s upcoming products creatively build on successful franchises in a multitude of media.
 
         DGamer: Disney’s new online community for the Nintendo DS will connect Disney video game fans in a fun environment.  DGamer will allow Disney game players to chat, create personal avatars and trade game-themed items, across the room or anywhere in the world with the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.  Anything a DGamer player will be able to do on the Nintendo DS will also be done online through the DGamer Channel at Disney.com.  DGamer will be included free in every Disney game for the Nintendo DS and will roll out in North America first starting in May 2008 with the release of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian for the Nintendo DS.  DGamer and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian for the Nintendo DS are being developed by Fall Line Studio, Disney Interactive Studios’ Nintendo-focused studio in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Platforms: Nintendo DS and computers
Release Date:  May 2008
 
·         The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince CaspianThe second installment of The Chronicles of Narnia takes place where “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe” left off.  The versions for consoles, which are being developed by Traveller’s Tales, willfeature 20 playable characters, each with different weapons and abilities.  The gamewill expand beyond the film and include “drop-in/drop out” two-player gameplay both offline and online.  The company’s DGamer technology will debut with the Nintendo DS version.

Platforms:  PLAYSTATION 3 system, Xbox 360, Wii™ home video game system, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Nintendo DS, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system and Windows PC
Release Date:  May 2008
·         Turok:  Published under the Touchstone label, Turok is an epic, story-driven first-person shooter set on a dark, mysterious planet in the future.  Players take on the role of Joseph Turok, a former black ops commando, now part of an elite special forces squad, known as Whiskey Company, which is on a mission to take down a war criminal – Turok’s former mentor, Roland Kane.  Set on a planet inhabited by Kane and his soldiers, the Mendel-Gruman, Turok must use his elite military training to elude Kane’s well-trained army and the ravenous, unpredictable dinosaurs, huge insects and other massive creatures that populate the environment.  Turok is being developed by Propaganda Games, Disney Interactive Studios’ development studio in Vancouver, British Columbia. 

Platforms:  Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 system
Release Date:  February 5, 2008
·         Spectrobes II:  The sequel to this year’s highly successful sci-fi action/role-playing Nintendo DS game and the first original intellectual property published by Disney Interactive Studios, Spectrobes II continues the adventures of Rallen and Jeena, planetary patrol officers sent to investigate the mysterious fossilized creatures known as Spectrobes.  Developed by Kyoto-based Jupiter Corp., Spectrobes II will feature a new enemy known as Krux and new Spectrobes as well as the opportunity to play as both Jeena and Rallen.

Platform:  Nintendo DS
Release Date:  Fall 2008
·         High School Musical: Sing It!:  Players express themselves through music with an all-new karaoke twist, choosing their favorite “High School Musical” character and singing all the songs from High School Musical and High School Musical 2.  Debuting as one of the first video games to have a microphone on the Wii platform, High School Musical: Sing It!features motion-captured-choreography from the original movie’s dance routines and offers two play modes.  In story mode - players live the movies while performing songs beginning from “Start of Something New” to “We’re All in this Together” and “What Time Is It?.”  In party mode, friends can compete karaoke-style against each other.  Players can choose their favorite backdrop and belt out solos or duets of approximately 30 hit songs, including popular tunes from other familiar Disney Channel favorites.

Platforms:  Wii and PlayStation 2 system
Release Date:  Fall
·         High School Musical: Makin’ the Cut!In the only “High School Musical” themed handheld video game, High School Musical: Makin’ the Cut lets players show off their musical talents as they play along with the movie’s hit songs.  In this addictive, rhythm-based game, fans play any of the six “High School Musical” stars or their own customized character as they dance to the beat and travel across America competing in the ultimate musical competition.  Players can also compete head-to-head with their friends through wireless play, create their own music dance videos and trade their personal video creations wirelessly with friends.  With 12 songs from “High School Musical” and “High School Musical 2,” friends can enjoy the tunes they love together.

Platform:  Nintendo DS
Release Date:  Fall
·         Hannah Montana: Spotlight World Tour for the Wii and Hannah Montana: Music Jam for the Nintendo DS are based on Disney’s best-selling title last holiday season, which is the top-selling third-party girls Nintendo DS game of all time.  In Hannah Montana: Spotlight World Tour, kids take on a worldwide tour where they perform on-stage as Hannah Montana practicing her dance moves using the Wii controller.  With Hannah Montana: Music Jam, players become their own music sensations, playing and recording their own songs with a four piece band.  They choose chord phrasings on the rhythm guitar track, lay down a basic rhythm, select from electric or acoustic guitar, add a drum track and more.  In this innovative DS game, players can sing solo, or hook up with up to three friends to jam together wirelessly as a band. 

Platforms:  Wii (Hannah Montana: Spotlight World Tour); Nintendo DS (Hannah Montana: Music Jam)
Release Date:  October
·         Power Rangers: Super Legends:  Just in time for the 15th anniversary of the Power Rangers televisions series, fans play as the ultimate super heroes in an action-packed adventure to save the world from evil.  They battle enemies, solve puzzles and explore an interactive world as some of the most beloved Power Ranger heroes, from the original Mighty Morphin squad to the current Operation Overdrive team. 

Platforms:  PlayStation 2 system, Nintendo DS, Nintendo GameCube and Windows PC
Release Date: Fall
·         Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey:  In Disney’s first console video game created specifically for young girls, players befriend their favorite princesses ¾ including Ariel, Cinderella, Jasmine and Snow White ¾ and enter their enchanted worlds.  The princess worlds are in peril and only the player can save them.  Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey lets players play as their own customizable heroine princess character, selecting her name, dresses, accessories, hair, skin tone and eye color.  The game can be played alone, with a friend or with family members.

Platforms:  Wii, PlayStation 2 system and Windows PC
Release Date:  Fall
·         Disney Friends:  Stitch, the mischievous creature from the popular “Lilo & Stitch” films and television series, sings cheerfully as he saunters across the screen.  Disney fans will find plenty of fun ways to bond with popular Disney characters in Disney Friends, a unique simulation and adventure game exclusively for the Nintendo DS™.  Disney Friends features interaction and unique adventures with Dory, the forgetful fish from “Finding Nemo;” Simba, the lion cub from “The Lion King;” and Winnie the Pooh.

Platform:  Nintendo DS
Release Date:  Fall in Europe; Spring 2008 in the United States

·         Enchanted: Based on the major motion picture release of “Walt Disney Pictures Presents Enchanted,” Enchanted for the Nintendo DS follows the story of Giselle, a princess banished from a fairy tale animated land to modern-day Manhattan.  Players take on the roles of Giselle, Prince Edward and Giselle’s trusted chipmunk friend Pip in adventures that span both mythical Andalasia and real-world New York City with film-inspired and original gameplay elements.   

Platform:  Nintendo DS
Release Date:  Fall