You can feel the excitement in the air at Disney Interactive!
Disney Animated, Disney Infinity and Where’s My Water? are just a few of the innovative experiences that the division is producing—experiences that are completely changing the mobile, online and console landscape.
I recently had an exclusive opportunity to sit down with Co-Presidents Jimmy Pitaro and John Pleasants to get their take on Disney Infinity and upcoming projects at Disney Interactive.
What are some of Disney Interactive’s key goals?
Jimmy: Our mission is to provide world-class entertainment for kids and families everywhere and to create products that push the boundaries of technology and imagination. We are working hard to extend Disney’s history of creativity and storytelling across new platforms to bring the best of Disney to bear in new ways. We’re also very passionate about content creation and we are leveraging the interactive medium to tell Disney stories that, like all of our company’s entertainment, represent the promise of the Disney brand by exhibiting high quality and heart.
Disney Infinity is such a hit! It really must have been a big team effort…
John: Disney Infinity is without a doubt the biggest gaming initiative we’ve ever undertaken, so there is a lot of excitement. Our employees invested more than three years into buildingDisney Infinity. We are proud of what we’ve accomplished so far. We designed Disney Infinity to be a platform that can expand for years to come.
How do teams stay current on the newest innovations and products?
Jimmy: It is an incredibly exciting time to work in the tech space, and we work hard to foster a strong culture of innovation. We invest time and resources into ensuring we are constantly evolving our products and strategies around our guests’ needs, while also meeting the demands of the ever-changing technology landscape. It requires a great deal of flexibility and focus to create compelling experiences that engage people across the many digital platforms. And the various products we’ve shipped over the past year, including Disney Infinity, Disney Animated, Story, Where’s My Mickey? and all of our responsively designed websites, certainly represent Disney Interactive’s innovative spirit.
How is Disney Interactive leading the way in the technology and interactive entertainment industries?
John: At Disney Interactive we focus on marrying innovation with quality and heart. That is how we stand apart in the competitive interactive space. We’re also ensuring all of our existing entertainment experiences are available on leading platforms and devices, including the re-launch of Disney.com as a responsively designed site, the release of Club Penguin for iPad and the new Disney Infinity Toy Box iPad app. Our mobile titles have been very successful, with 11 titles reaching the top 25 most downloaded games on iTunes and Google Play charts, five of which hit No. 1!
What’s on the horizon for Disney Interactive?
Jimmy: At last month’s D23 Expo, John and I announced a slate of innovative new apps, video series and games during our division’s first-ever D23 Arena presentation. Fans can look forward to more original online video series, including Blank: A Vinylmation Love Story and It’s a Small World, more characters in the constantly expanding Disney Infinity universe and even more games and apps starring classic and original Disney characters.