Disney will close 3 of their virtual world games.
Toontown, Pirates Online and Pixie Hollow have all been slated to close on Sept 19th. These are being closed as in "CLOSED forever".
Reactions online would seem to indicate that many fans are holding on to the belief their favorite is perhaps being closed only to be revamped and open again at a later date. This is not the case. Online petitions will probably not change the decision as the numbers likely speak to the popularity of each game.
“We are shifting our development focus toward other online and mobile play experiences, such as Club Penguin and a growing selection of Disney Mobile apps,” the Burbank, California-based company said in an e-mailed statement.
The change leaves Club Penguin as the only so-called virtual world operated by Disney. The site, acquired in 2007, is the largest of its kind, according to Disney. The company has been adding more themed content tied to characters from Star Wars and Pixar films such as “Monsters University.” On the Toontown site, Disney suggests players move to Club Penguin. The site had more than 200 million penguin characters created, according to a July report by Variety.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger has been working to shore up Disney’s interactive unit, which lost $216 million last year. This week the company introduced its Infinity video-game system, which features characters including Pixar’s Buzz Lightyear and Captain Jack Sparrow from “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
-Anthony Palazzo
