Blog Post #13: Toy Story 3 Video Game

I don’t think this is an argument at all, rather a fact: Anything Pixar touches will turn to gold. The soon to be Toy Story Trilogy has been pulling in an immense amount of revenue since 1995…so 15 years! At this point Toy Story has brought  $361,958,736 in profit and the numbers are bound to climb with Toy Story 3. By satisfying adults and children by showing toys through a unique perspective Pixar has created an amazing business model.

That being said, what happens when you are a video game designer (Avalanche) that is expected to make a successful video game without Disney Interactive playing a key role? May’s Game Informer has an amazing 6 page spread discussing this dilemma and the bold decision they came upon that may be extremely innovative.

The Pitch: “Until the release of Toy Story 3, we’ve only seen the toys as the world sees them. they move around when nobody is watching, and when Andy maneuvers them around in his bedroom, viewers only see the static playthings being jerked around in his hand. Toy Story 3 marks the first time we’ve been able to see what those play sessions are like from the perspective toys.”

For example, “Where Buzz’s little LED light is not a little LED light, it’s a laser, and he actually flies.”

So the film is not the source for the video game, rather the video game is focused on how the toys perceive themselves not through Andy’s eyes.

I’m on the fence with how I think the video game will turn out. I like Toy Story because the toy’s personalities are molded from the perspective of Andy. Maybe Disney shouldn’t mess with a good thing, and gave the go ahead for a video game to skew the character development of the beloved Toy Story cast. However by making them more fantastical, the game itself could be loads of fun! I could not resist controlling the toys myself and actually shooting cowboy pistols and spaceman laser beams.

Here is the trailer for Toy Story 3.

ETA: I commented on Sarah and Corey

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