Disney Interactive

Club Penguin founder Lane Merrifield is leaving Walt Disney Interactive two years after a reorganization put him in charge of the entertainment giant's online virtual worlds strategy. He is being replaced by a well-regarded Disney veteran of 10 years, Chris Heatherly, according to a person knowledgeable of the changes who is not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Heatherly originally designed toys for the company before moving to its digital games division. Merrifield joined Disney in 2007 after its $350-million acquisition of Club Penguin, which pioneered the once popular business of virtual worlds for children -- many of whom spent their parents' money buying digital items.

Walt Disney Co.'s video game division laid off about 50 staffers Tuesday from several locations on the same day that it closed the Austin, Texas, studio that produced its "Epic Mickey" titles. The layoffs were separate from the people who lost their jobs at Austin-based Junction Point, according to a knowledgeable person not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Disney's Interactive Media unit, which also includes online content, has shed jobs recently as it attempts to meet Chief Executive Robert Iger's publicly stated goal of achieving profitability in its current fiscal year.

Faced with having to boost production costs to keep up with the fast-moving video game market, Disney Interactive has laid off 90 permanent employees and an undisclosed number of temporary workers, ending the company's 3-year-old experiment producing video games. The Glendale-based unit of Walt Disney Co. will continue to offer video games, but only through license agreements and other development relationships with third parties, said Disney Interactive spokeswoman Amy Malsin.

Club Penguin founder Lane Merrifield is leaving Walt Disney Interactive two years after a reorganization put him in charge of the entertainment giant's online virtual worlds strategy. He is being replaced by a well-regarded Disney veteran of 10 years, Chris Heatherly, according to a person knowledgeable of the changes who is not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Heatherly originally designed toys for the company before moving to its digital games division. Merrifield joined Disney in 2007 after its $350-million acquisition of Club Penguin, which pioneered the once popular business of virtual worlds for children -- many of whom spent their parents' money buying digital items.

Continuing to bring in creative talent and properties from the outside, Walt Disney Co. has hired Alex Seropian, a founder of the company behind the hit series Halo, as the creative head for its video game division. In addition, Disney is acquiring Wideload Games, the development studio he runs. The deal comes just a week after Disney agreed to buy Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion. In 2007 it acquired online virtual world Club Penguin for $350 million. Lane Merrifield, the general manager of Club Penguin, is now working on other online projects for the company.

Walt Disney Co.'s video game division laid off about 50 staffers Tuesday from several locations on the same day that it closed the Austin, Texas, studio that produced its "Epic Mickey" titles. The layoffs were separate from the people who lost their jobs at Austin-based Junction Point, according to a knowledgeable person not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Disney's Interactive Media unit, which also includes online content, has shed jobs recently as it attempts to meet Chief Executive Robert Iger's publicly stated goal of achieving profitability in its current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Co.'s Internet and wireless group said it had signed a deal to develop news and entertainment for a wireless software platform being rolled out by the nation's largest wireless telephone network. Under the deal, Walt Disney Interactive Group will create ESPN-branded sports services for a new applications platform being developed by Qualcomm Inc. for use in wireless telephones.

Multimedia Start-Up Scores Disney Deal: Two-year-old interactive firm 7th Level Inc. and Disney Interactive will co-develop a CD-ROM game based on Walt Disney Co.'s "Lion King" characters Pumbaa and Timon, the companies said. The deal is something of a coup for 7th Level, whose proprietary animation technology distinguished it from the dozens of multimedia start-ups coveting an alliance with Disney.

Disney Interactive, a Glendale-based unit of the Walt Disney Co., has laid off 90 permanent employees and an undisclosed number of temporary workers, ending the company's 3-year-old experiment with producing video games in-house. The workers were dismissed Tuesday without warning--though rumors had circulated beforehand--and were told to leave by the end of the day, Disney Interactive spokeswoman Amy Malsin said.

Walt Disney Co. said it formed a new business unit to develop games that can be played on the Internet, interactive television and wireless communication devices. Disney named Jan Smith as president of Buena Vista Game Entertainment Studio, reporting to Disney President and Chief Operating Officer Robert Iger. Smith will continue in her job as president of Disney Interactive, which makes game software for personal computers and video game systems.

When it comes to games, Walt Disney Co. is embarking on a new game plan. The entertainment giant is restructuring its money-losing digital media group, laying off employees and closing a game development studio as the company shifts away from expensive console games to focus on online and mobile entertainment. Disney Interactive Media Group laid off about 200 people Monday as co-Presidents John Pleasants and James Pitaro announced a sweeping reorganization of the unit's games and online groups.

The Walt Disney Co. executive who oversaw a vast expansion of the studio's online and gaming ventures, but struggled to achieve profitability, is leaving the company. Steve Wadsworth, president of Disney Interactive Media Group, sent an e-mail to his staff late Thursday, saying he had decided to leave after 11 years. He gained broad oversight of the media giant's sprawling digital operations in a 2008 reorganization, which combined the games group with the company's online operations.

Continuing to bring in creative talent and properties from the outside, Walt Disney Co. has hired Alex Seropian, a founder of the company behind the hit series Halo, as the creative head for its video game division. In addition, Disney is acquiring Wideload Games, the development studio he runs. The deal comes just a week after Disney agreed to buy Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion. In 2007 it acquired online virtual world Club Penguin for $350 million. Lane Merrifield, the general manager of Club Penguin, is now working on other online projects for the company.

Days after Disney Interactive Studios launched "Spectrobes" for the Nintendo DS hand-held game system this spring, it discovered that fans had posted hacks to the video game on the Web. But instead of calling their colleagues in the legal department, the Disney executives were thrilled. "Nobody goes to that amount of trouble to decode something unless they really liked it," said Graham Hopper, a Walt Disney Co. executive vice president and general manager of its game studio in Glendale.

Walt Disney Co.'s Internet and wireless group said it had signed a deal to develop news and entertainment for a wireless software platform being rolled out by the nation's largest wireless telephone network. Under the deal, Walt Disney Interactive Group will create ESPN-branded sports services for a new applications platform being developed by Qualcomm Inc. for use in wireless telephones.

Walt Disney Co. said it formed a new business unit to develop games that can be played on the Internet, interactive television and wireless communication devices. Disney named Jan Smith as president of Buena Vista Game Entertainment Studio, reporting to Disney President and Chief Operating Officer Robert Iger. Smith will continue in her job as president of Disney Interactive, which makes game software for personal computers and video game systems.

* Disney Consumer Products Group of Burbank announced the promotions of Fernando Avila to vice president of operations and technology for shared services infrastructure operations, and Rachel Glaser to vice president of operations and technology for global merchandising. Avila joined Disney in 1980 and has been involved in technology initiatives at the corporate level, the company said. Glaser came to Disney in 1986 and has held various positions within the finance department.

Digital Domain is expected to announce today that it has hired Debra Streicker-Fine, former president and chief executive of Cloud 9 Interactive, to lead its interactive media group. Streicker-Fine oversees about 30 people who produce CD-ROMs, games and content for the Internet and interactive television at the Venice special-effects firm. Digital Domain Interactive Media produced the "Barbie Fashion Designer" CD-ROM, which has sold 1.3 million copies, and its sequel, "Barbie Cool Looks."

In an effort to re-energize its gold-plated brand, Walt Disney Co. is launching a product blitz that will put Mickey Mouse and the gang on toothbrushes, cereal boxes, juice cartons and even bottles of plain water. Though two recent studies show the Disney brand remains strong, operating income for the company's Consumer Products division has fallen by $438 million over the last three years, a nearly 50% decline.

* Ashley Power, the 15-year-old founder and co-chair of Goosehead.com in Studio City, and her stepfather and co-chair, Mark Schilder, have agreed to a one-year option with MGM Television Entertainment. The deal gives MGM the first right of refusal to any of Power and Schilder's television ideas as well as the right to use Power and Schilder as consultants for online content. The pact with MGM has led to a script order from Showtime Networks. Goosehead.