E3: Disney Interactive Studios announces line-up plus more

At the E3 Media and Business Summit 2007, Disney Interactive Studios announced their list of upcoming video games and discussed a number of its plans for the future.

Disney’s investments naturally include product development and talent. The studio has grown to staff 700 people in 11 countries and it has plans to put in US$ 130 million in product development for this year. Since gamers won’t really be interested in the numbers, we’ll go ahead and give you the list of upcoming games discussed during E3, including the announcement of a couple of sequels, a new online community, and Turok‘s release date.

First off, Disney Interactive Studios announced an online community for the DS called DGamer. DGamer will enable gamers to chat with other gamers, create their own avatars, and trade in-game items. Gamers will be able to connect to DGamer via the DS’ Wi-Fi connection, so basically players can connect to the community anywhere. Players can also connect to the community via DGamer’s channel at Disney.com. The said app is currently being developed by Fall Line Studios and will be the bundled in free with all Disney titles starting May next year.

The rest of the Disney titles come after the jump!

At the E3 Media and Business Summit 2007, Disney Interactive Studios announced their list of upcoming video games and discussed a number of its plans for the future.

Disney’s investments naturally include product development and talent. The studio has grown to staff 700 people in 11 countries and it has plans to put in US$ 130 million in product development for this year. Since gamers won’t really be interested in the numbers, we’ll go ahead and give you the list of upcoming games discussed during E3, including the announcement of a couple of sequels, a new online community, and Turok‘s release date.

First off, Disney Interactive Studios announced an online community for the DS called DGamer. DGamer will enable gamers to chat with other gamers, create their own avatars, and trade in-game items. Gamers will be able to connect to DGamer via the DS’ Wi-Fi connection, so basically players can connect to the community anywhere. Players can also connect to the community via DGamer’s channel at Disney.com. The said app is currently being developed by Fall Line Studios and will be the bundled in free with all Disney titles starting May next year.

Next comes The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. It’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe‘s sequel and picks up where the first game left off. The video game version will be coming to multiple platforms (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, PC, PSP, DS, and PC) and is currently being developed by Traveller’s Tales. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian will feature 20 playable characters who each have their own individual weapons and abilities. The game will go beyond the movie version and will feature a “drop-in/drop out” two player mode that can be done both online and offline. The title will be the first to sport the DGamer technology on May 2008.

We all know about the upcoming video game Turok from Propaganda Games. It’s about Joseph Turok, a black ops commando who was sent to a strange planet to hunt down his former mentor, Roland Kane. It just so happened that the planet in question is chock full of dinosaurs, giants bugs, and Kane’s soldiers, the Mendel-Gruman. Anyway, Disney announced the release date for the next gen title (PS3, Xbox 360) as February 5, 2008.

The next one is the sequel to Disney’s first original IP, Spectrobes. Rallen and Jeena continue their adventures in Spectrobes II, or basically the search for the narcoleptic creatures. This new DS title will feature a new enemy called Krux and new Spectrobes. Gamers will also be treated to getting to play as either Rallen or Jeena. Spectrobes II from Jupiter Corp. is tagged with an ETA of fall next year.

You can start practicing the songs from High School Musical and High School Musical 2 as Disney Interactive Studios also announced High School Musical: Sing It!. It’s basically a karaoke game that features two game modes: story and party mode. In story mode, players will be getting a chance to go through the movies’ events and sing the songs, while party mode features competitive multiplayer gameplay. There are 30 songs in the game, from the movies and from other Disney shows. High School Musical: Sing It! will be going to the PS2 and the Wii (it will come with a microphone for the Wii version) this fall.

Another High School Musical title comes in the form of High School Musical: Makin’ the Cut! for the DS. Players can choose to play as any of the High School Musical stars or create their own characters in this rhythm-based game. It will also feature competitive multiplayer via Wi-Fi, plus a feature that lets players create their own music videos and share it with friends. There are 12 songs from High School Musical and High School Musical 2 included in the game. High School Musical: Makin’ the Cut! is slated for release this fall.

Another popular Disney show gets a video game version – Hannah Montana. Disney Interactive Studios has two Hannah Montana titles up their sleeves, Hannah Montana: Spotlight World Tour for the Wii and Hannah Montana: Music Jam for the DS. In the Wii game, players will tour the world as Hannah Montana and dance with the Wiimote. The DS game on the other hand, takes a different road entirely. It enables players to create their own music (acoustic or electric guitar, drums, and everything else), solo or jam with three friends via Wi-Fi. Release for both titles are tagged as October.

Disney will be releasing Power Rangers: Super Legends to coincide with the television series’ 15th anniversary. Old and new fans of the show will be glad to know that they will be able to play as the rangers from the original (Mighty Morphin) up to the current series (Operation Overdrive). Naturally, the mission is to save the Earth, and that includes fighting enemies, solving puzzles and exploring the in-game world. Power Rangers: Super Legends for DS, PS2, PC, and GameCube is slated for release this fall.

The next game is designed for the little girls’ market, Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey. As the name suggests, players will be able to play as their favorite Disney princess (Ariel, Snow White, Cinderella, and Jasmine) and save each princess’ world. No damsels in distress here. Players can also create their own princess with a number of customization options like name, dresses, accessories, hair, skin tone, and eye color. The game is playable solo or multiplayer. Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey will be gracing the Wii, PS2, and PC this fall.

Another game aimed at kids is Disney Friends for the DS. It’s an adventure simulation game that showcases some of the most popular Disney characters: Stitch from Lilo & Stitch, Dory from Finding Nemo, Simba from Lion King, and Winnie the Pooh. Disney Friends will be released this fall for Europe and spring next year for North America.

Last game on Disney Interactive Studios’ list is Enchanted for the DS. It features Princess Giselle who was banished from her fairy tale world Andalasia to modern Manhattan. It has three playable characters including Giselle, Prince Edward, and Pip, Giselle’s chipmunk. The Enchanted will be coming to the shelves this fall.