CES-Disney to launch more massively multiplayer games
Walt Disney Co. (DIS.N: Quote, Profile , Research) sees launching more online so-called massively multiplayer games as part of a strategy to entertain kids wherever they go, Chief Executive Bob Iger said on Monday.
Disney, whose Mickey Mouse brand is a household name around the world, aims to reach a new generation of kids and young adults who are as likely to be clutching digital music players and watching online videos as sitting in front of the television.
"We plan to build more virtual worlds like "Pirates" based on a broad range of our properties," Iger told attendees of the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, referring to a Web game based on its "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies.
"You can imagine living in Buzz and Woody's toy universe," he added, recalling Disney Pixar's computer animated hit feature film "Toy Story".
Thousands of people can play on the Web at once in massively multiplayer online games, or MMOs, which essentially never end. Popularized by games such as "Ultima Online", many are based on medieval or science-fiction themes that attract male players.
But in recent years, virtual worlds such as Second Life, where big corporations including Dell Inc. (DELL.O: Quote, Profile , Research) and Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD.O: Quote, Profile , Research) have built virtual businesses, have attracted a broader and older audience.