Mouse hunts vidgamers

Disney falls for Avalanche

By BEN FRITZ

LAS VEGAS -- The Mouse is becoming a major vidgame player.

Disney has acquired game developer Avalanche Software in a deal worth more than $25 million and has made a multimillion-dollar investment to form a game production studio in Vancouver headed by a team it lured from Electronic Arts.

Moves are the first into product creation for the Mouse House's Buena Vista Games unit, which previously farmed out work to independent developers.

Studio plans to use Salt Lake City-based Avalanche to create games aimed at kids, the demo that BVG had traditionally targeted. Developer is already working on a title based on "Chicken Little," a Mouse House toon feature slated for release later this year, and will adapt all future Disney Feature Animation releases as well as some of the company's TV toons.

Hiring plans

Avalanche also will create original games that its new parent company could adapt for film and TV. Company has 110 employees, and BVG plans to expand it to increase output.

In Vancouver, BVG will make its first move into the core gamer demo of teen and twentysomething males. Studio's founders all come from EA, where they worked on hit franchises aimed at that demographic including "NBA Street" and "Def Jam."

Studio, which hasn't yet been named, will focus primarily on original games that could be translated to other media by the Mouse House. It has 20 employees but will grow to nearly 100 by the end of the year.

"Our new studio lets us expand into franchise creation for the first time with a proven team," noted BVG topper Graham Hopper. "With Avalanche, we're reaffirming our commitment to the kids space, and we can also look for efficiencies as the production processes for games and animation become more integrated."

Avoiding 'Theft'

Hopper added that while BVG will be publishing more mature games for the first time, he'll avoid explicit titles like "Grand Theft Auto" that wouldn't fit well with the Disney corporate image.

Disney is in the midst of a major expansion of its presence in the vidgame arena, having struck out with an attempt to compete in the early '90s. Separate from its new deals, company is investing $40 million in game production this year, and Hopper said more acquisitions may be in the works.

Move elevates BVG beyond other big media companies' game divisions, which primarily strike licensing deals. Warners is the only other film-TV company that can publish and produce vidgames inhouse, though its Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment unit is smaller than BVG.

Other congloms including Viacom and News Corp. have been considering acquisitions in the vidgame space.