Another one joins the SOE ranks. ToonTown Online is going to be brought to retail shelves this fall by Sony Online Entertainment's Platform Publishing.
|
- Disney’s Award-Winning MMO for Kids and Families Coming to Retail Shelves, New Console Version May Follow - SAN DIEGO, Calif. and NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – August 25, 2005 – Sony Online Entertainment’s Platform Publishing™, a cross-platform publishing, distribution and marketing label, and Disney Online in association with Buena Vista Games announced an agreement today that is scheduled to bring Disney’s Toontown Online, the first massively multiplayer online (MMO) game designed for kids and families, to retail stores this Fall. The family-friendly online title will carry an MSRP of $19.99, which includes a two-month subscription to the game service. Additionally, Platform Publishing has secured a license to also create an online version of Toontown specifically for video game consoles. “Platform Publishing is working with Disney Online to make Toontown available in the places where families usually shop,” said John Needham, chief financial officer and senior vice president of business development, Sony Online Entertainment. “Toontown is a breakthrough game that has introduced MMOs to the online family audience. Now we will be introducing the game to a whole new audience who may not have downloaded it in the past. Additionally, we will begin working with Disney on the potential to create Toontown versions for online-enabled game consoles.” “This is a great opportunity for us to partner with Sony Online Entertainment, a leader in the retail MMO space,” stated Steve Parkis, vice president of premium products, Disney Online. “We feel that our trusted brand and unique game offering that appeals to the entire family is a natural fit for the retail marketplace. And as the connected console marketplace develops, we want to be among the first MMO family titles made available.” Team up with thousands of players for fun gags and exciting games in Disney’s Toontown Online. Disney’s Toontown Online (www.toontown.com) is an award-winning multiplayer online game filled with non-stop play, ever-changing adventure and irreverent fun. Players create their own cartoon characters (Toons) and join forces to save the world from the Cogs, humorless business robots who are attempting to turn the colorful, happy world of Toontown into a dark metropolis of corporate monotony. It’s always growing, always changing and a wild world of cartoon adventures. The PC retail version of Disney’s Toontown Online will come with CD-Rom, game manual and a Cog poster in the box, along with access to a bonus in-game item. Toontown has been designed primarily for children ages 8 to 12, but is enjoyed by kids of all ages. Player feedback reveals that many families are playing the game together, with parents enjoying the game as much as their children. Unique in the game industry, players are evenly split between boys and girls. Toontown has received multiple awards, including Computer Gaming World’s MMORPG of the Year in 2003, a 2003 Parent’s Choice award, and the 2005 WiredKids Safe Gaming Award. Toontown Online is rated E for Everyone (cartoon violence and mischief) by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, and carries a monthly subscription fee of $9.95. For more information, please visit http://www.platformpublishing.com or www.disney.com/press. About Disney Online Disney Online (www.disney.com) produces the number one kids' entertainment and family community destination on the World Wide Web. Launched in 1995, Disney.com is designed to reflect the vision of an “online theme park,” providing an interactive gateway to all of the company’s many Disney-branded internet initiatives. Popular Disney Online places to visit include Disney Channel (www.disneychannel.com), Playhouse Disney (www.playhousedisney.com), shopping at Disney Direct (www.disneydirect.com), Walt Disney Parks and Resorts (www.disneydestinations.com) Walt Disney Pictures (www.disneypictures.com), Disney DVD & Video (www.disneyvideos.com) and Radio Disney (www.radiodisney.com). Among the many magical “neighborhoods” found at www.Disney.com are Disney’s Toontown Online (www.toontown.com), the first 3D massively multiplayer online role playing game for kids and families, and Disney’s Blast (www.disneyblast.com), a premium subscription service for kids ages 3-9. Disney Online also produces FamilyFun.com (www.familyfun.com), the premier online family resource for “great ideas, practical advice, and fun stuff to do” as well as Movies.com (www.movies.com), a leading site that provides a broad array of reviews and information to help movie fans “get movie night right.” Disney Online is a part of the Walt Disney Internet Group, which provides integrated strategic and operational services for Internet, broadband, and mobile initiatives of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS). About Platform Publishing™ Based in San Diego, CA, Platform Publishing is a cross-platform publishing, distribution and marketing label, with an exciting library of interactive entertainment products from third-party developers and content providers for personal computers, game consoles and mobile devices. The label puts talented developers and publishers together with Platform Publishing’s high caliber suite of services and support, including top-notch distribution, marketing and technology resources. Platform Publishing is a DBA of Sony Online Entertainment Inc. For more information, please visit www.platformpublishing.com. About Buena Vista Games Buena Vista Games, Inc. (BVG) is the interactive entertainment arm of The Walt Disney Company. BVG publishes, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of multi-platform video games and interactive entertainment worldwide. The company also licenses properties and works directly with third-party interactive game publishers to bring products for all ages to market. For more information, please log on to www.buenavistagames.com |