Mickey Mouse, Magneto, and Master Chief

So, for the first post, I figured I would go ahead and get right into the thick of it. Until I get better at these, it might just seem like news... but I want to hear your opinions! I want to be able to discuss these things with people.

Disney has been busy over the past few weeks. First they announced the $4 billion Marvel acquisition, and then shortly after they announced the far less publicized, but just as important, Wideload Games acquisition. These 2 aquisitions open up a huge market for Disney and here is why.

First a background of the companies acquired... Marvel is... well it is Marvel, theyve been big comic people since your parents parents were reading comics. Not much to say on that front. They recently started producing their own films under the name "Marvel Studios," with their first film being Iron Man. Now, there is probably far less known about Wideload Games. Wideload games is a small video game firm at about 25 employees, based out of Chicago. They are responsible for a few smaller titles that are riding the digital distribution wave, being featured on Steam (a digital computer game distribution system). A more important note is that the founder and CEO of Wideload, Alexander Seropian, was co-founder of Bungie Software, which produced the ever-popular and still growing franchise of "Halo."

It's really obvious where Disney is going with the combination of these two acquisitons. They are targeting teenage boys through video games and TV shows. It turns out that Marvel characters are probably more appealing to boys aged 12-17 than Pirates are. And what do boys that age do? Play video games... a lot. The video game industry has lost a lot of sales since the recession, but they still have a bright future. And with this combination of creative talent and a HUGE pool of characters to draw from, Disney will surely pull out some pretty quality video games in the years to come.

I personally hope that the Wideload acquisition might also have something to do with the rumored game currently being called "Epic Mickey," which looks amazing. Some concept art can be seen here. Althought that project looks like it might already be fully underway.

Onto the implications of the Marvel acquisition... If you are like me, one of the first things that you thought of when you heard about this was "What about Marvel Superhero Island at Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park?!" Well, after a little digging I have found at least some information.

As it turns out, Marvel has a HUGE tangle of licensing issues that will (probably) take years for Disney to sort through. As I mentioned before, Marvel only recently started producing and financing its own films, before that they would simply license them to other studios. Sony had licensing rights for the first three Spider Man movies and, after their success, got rights to do three more and even beyond that. Similarly, Twentieth Century Fox has the rights to the X-Men Movies. Universal Studios made the most recent Hulk failure. Disney plans on continuing the popular franchises (assuming their still popular) as these contracts run up but, if they want to do anything right now then they are going to have to use some of the other Marvel characters that aren't currently in the main stream (maybe they will make a Ghostrider sequal... Disney seems to love them some Nick Cage...).

Concerning theme parks, Universal has the rights to use Marvel characters in theme parks located in Florida and Japan. Forever. So, don't ever expect to see a walk around of Iron Man at Hollywood Studios. It probably will never happen. But, Bob Iger said he may use the Marvel characters in properties located in "California, Hong Kong, Paris, and elsewhere." (God only knows what that implies... *Crosses Fingers*)

To me, I think that, aside from all the licensing confusion, these were both great acquisitions on Disney's part. This is going to lead them into a new market where hopefully some much-needed profit is. It also sets Disney up to be in prime position after the market climbs out of the recession. My only concern is that they might have msised the comic book craze. I am not sure if it will ever die out, but there have been a lot of comic book movies over the last 10 years.

So, what does this mean to you? How do you feel about it? Lets hear it! Remember, the whole point of this is to have some discussion.

Tom

Sources:

Wall Street Journal:

"Disney Nabs Marvel Heroes" by Ethan Smith and Lauren A. E. Schuker

"Disney Buys Videogame Company" by Nat Worden

Disney's Press Releases on acquiring the companies

Wideload's website (Wideload.com)

"Disney Buys Videogame Company" by Nat Worden

Disney's Press Releases on acquiring the companies

Wideload's website (Wideload.com)