Mickey's New Facelift in Video Game

If you own or plan to purchase a Nintendo Wii, it might change the way you look at the cute lovable Mickey Mouse that many of us have all grown up with. Walt Disney is reported to give the lovable character an angry looking make over to where the mouse becomes mean and aggressive. But this aggressive critter will not be the new look of Disney forever, it’s all just going to be put into a video game named “Epic Mickey” for the Nintendo Wii. The game was officially announced by Disney on October 28th and is said to have a totally different plot than any other Disney game. In this game Mickey is stuck in Yen Sid's Cartoon Wasteland where he is forced to face Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and other forgotten Disney characters. Mickey is also on a mission to defeat Phantom Blot who plays the bad guy in this game and his only weapon of choice is a magic paintbrush. The new edgy Mickey is said to be a more appealing version of the mouse and connects to players worldwide, of course it’s hard to defeat a bad guy when you’re a smiling, happy, lovable mouse!

Along with the recent video game, Disney has also received approval from China to build a new park in Shanghai. “Epic Mickey" is expected to be released in the fall of 2010.


“Video-game sales rose 1% in September, according to NPD Group, after six months of declines. Game software sales rose 5%, a smaller increase than analysts had expected. Disney generated about $86 million in retail sales in the U.S. in the first nine months of the year, according to NPD data. Nintendo of America, which is the leading seller of games, made about $1 billion in sales.”

-MSN Money

Personally I believe this is a great strategy Disney is approaching; it has already gained and secured their targeted market and are looking to expand into an entirely opposite market. Disney’s current market is comprised mainly of younger girls – the princesses and fairy tales seemed to do a great job in capturing the attention. With this video game and the recent purchase of Marvel Comics Disney is expanding to a market comprised mainly of young boys which will ultimately put Disney on top of both major markets in the youth industry.