The Studio Gobo Maneuver

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The Studio Gobo Maneuver

Postby goofyspaceranger » Mon May 16, 2016 12:13 pm

#SaveDisneyInfinity to me, does not mean that we continue to get the same product from the same company. That just doesn't make any sense. The Disney Interactive division had struggled for many quarters on the console. Disney Infinity was an understood risk, started out well, then it too missed expectations for multiple quarters. It's personal to us, but it's not personal to stockholders; it can't be. If Disney Infinity cannot make the business expectations in the release bringing Star Wars, then how can stockholders expect anything different in the months ahead? There needs to be a different business model. There needs to be less risk. Or there needs to be a different company willing to take it on. Or both.

If we want to maximize the chance for the Disney Infinity product to continue in some form, we need to consider as many different options as possible, and hope that those who are actually in a position to have the conversation will consider one of those options.

The "Hail Mary" post is probably the best chance for the Walt Disney Company to continue Disney Infinity - but it's likely to be completely digital. It would be highly unlikely for the company to take on the toy production/shelf space risk again. Not impossible, but highly unlikely. And they may not want to pursue the mobile/PC side regardless.

"An Avalanche Alternative?", as pointed out by @Mukluk4 , is dependent on Avalanche Software capital - that of the original entrepreneurs who began Avalanche Studios in the first place, who may or may not have capital reserves based on the purchase of their company and the initial success of Infinity. Just don't know.

Here's another possible avenue (probably the best chance yet in extending Disney Infinity's toys-to-life): Studio Gobo. This is the company that brought us the Pirates, Guardians, & Empire Play Sets (arguably the BEST Play Sets across all three releases). The Walt Disney Company has expressed that there would continue to be licensing opportunities for the console. As Disney Infinity fans, wouldn't you want that company to have the best understanding of the product, to ensure that it continues that intangible magic? Studio Gobo recently announced expansion. They believe in mobile. They believe in the toys-to-life value in enhancing the mobile experience. Again, don't have any idea what kind of capital is at hand, whether it could be combined with the capital of Avalanche Software execs, what price the Walt Disney Company would place on the Toy Box editor, but here's the proposal...

Purchase the Toy Box editor & associated brand licensing from the Walt Disney Company. That is no small Disney Infinity Feat - but with the combination of the official cancellation, the social media response from the fans, and the licensing that the Walt Disney Company could collect, it could work. Remember there are patents associated with it - if those don't go along with the purchase, at least ensure the software can be developed & sold royalty-free. Hire a core set of Avalanche developers & animators to extend digital content (would probably only be able to hire a handful - would need to treat it like a startup). They wouldn't need to move to another country; they would be Studio Gobo employees at a U.S. site (potentially could lease the facility until it could be purchased from the Walt Disney Company, which would have little use for a Utah-based site location, or if this is not feasible, lease a much smaller space). Studio Gobo would own that Toy Box software & theoretically could expand it themselves, but it would be more efficient to leverage the expertise of Avalanche Studios for editor enhancements, building toys, themes & characters. Utilize the same subscription-based price model proposed in the "Hail Mary" post. When revenues & profits from millions of year-long subscriptions have accumulated, resume physical toy design & production through the same contacts - with smaller production amounts to reduce risk. Your revenue would continue to be subscription based, so would not be nearly as dependent on figure sales. Decide whether new Play Sets would be developed & distributed as part of subscriptions, or perhaps manage the investment by instead making the Toy Box even closer to a Play Set experience. Leverage the community, and leverage Ownership of the Toy Box.

Studio Gobo would also want to leverage the Toy Boxes that have been built over several years. This would take some assistance in transferring from Disney's Cloud framework to theirs (if they don't have one, they'd need one - unless the Walt Disney Company is willing to host a licensed company's product). Disney Infinity IDs are the same IDs used for other direct-Disney purchases, such as Park reservation/purchases. But you'd want to maintain the IDs across the migration for the social media aspect of Toy Box ownership - perhaps they'd transfer the ID with a revoked password, so that you're required to change it upon SG registration (by needing to now the original password, it would prevent ID ownership from being stolen). And if I read the legal notices correctly, the Toy Boxes themselves are actually owned by the fans who built them - go figure.

An interesting side-note: if you recall our Sheriff's earlier contests, he has a working relationship with Studio Gobo (both UK based). His prizes included signed Infinity merchandise from their staff. This fan site has been integral to the Disney Infinity community, and his forums here could become the official forums of Disney Infinity if the Toy Box ownership transferred to them. With the business model shifting to the Toy Box & to the community, this would make perfect sense.
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Re: The Studio Gobo Maneuver

Postby Letthewookiewin » Thu May 19, 2016 12:51 am

I applaud your willingness to think outside the box and search for solutions. Studio Gobo would work for me. Actually I'm fine if the game stays alive no matter who keeps it alive and how they go about doing it.
 
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Re: The Studio Gobo Maneuver

Postby goofyspaceranger » Thu May 19, 2016 12:14 pm

^ Thanks, agreed. Any number of companies could do this, leveraging the skills & talents of the Avalanche Team (& associated marketing arm of Infinity on the west coast). It can reboot big or small. Studio Gobo stood out to me because they made the best Play Sets, because they're expanding in favor of toys-to-life opportunities, and because they know the Sheriff. Whichever company would pick this up is probably going to need to make their own Disney Infinity website, and these forums would provide a continuity for the life of the franchise. I pointed to these forums from the IBM corporate citizenship kit because I feel that this is one aspect where this unofficial site is better than the official one.
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