Epic Mickey sales "strong" - Disney
Revenues rise following layoffs.
Disney Interactive and Warren Spector's studio Junction Point suffered severe layoffs in recent months, but Wii-exclusive adventure game Disney Epic Mickey did the business.
The giant company's Interactive Media division saw revenues of $349 million during the first quarter – up by 58 per cent.
It said it saw gains in console game sales, and "strong performance" from Epic Mickey and Toy Story 3.
However, the division made a $13 million loss due to the acquisition of Playdom, the online game company Disney bought for an eye-watering $763 million in late July.
Last month Disney confirmed a "restructuring process" at the Interactive Media Group – owner of Junction Point and Split/Second maker Black Rock - that marked its transition from a boxed game publisher to a digital publisher.
Half of Disney Interactive Studios' 700 staff were reported to have been cut.
The cuts followed the cancellation of in-development Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned, which Disney had invested millions of dollars in. Propaganda, the developer behind it, was later closed.
Movie tie-in Tron: Evolution flopped and Wii-exclusive Epic Mickey, which sold 1.3 million units in December 2010 in the US, was reported to have performed below expectations. According to Disney's latest financials, however, it appears to have brought success. Will we see a sequel?