Disney to cut back on 'higher end console games'

However, there are 'opportunities with Marvel' for higher end consoles.

Disney Interactive Studios has revealed it plans to cut down on the number of PS3 and Xbox 360 games it produces, instead focussing more heavily on casual platforms such as the Wii and DS.

"I think that there is still a huge opportunity on the games front but I think it probably will be derived from a slightly changed strategy than the one that we began few years ago," explained Disney CEO Bob Iger during a recent earnings call. "It is pretty clear that the higher end console games are a little bit more challenged in the world where not only they are more costly to produce and market but there is just much more competition from casual games and games on platforms like the iPhone iTouch platform."

Iger added that its typical "Disney Branded game" seems to perform better on the Wii and DS platforms, and that while the company will continue to make games for the high end (Xbox 360, PS3), it will "be very, very judicious in how many and which ones" it chooses.

It appears that one area in which Disney feels it could find success on high end platforms is with the Marvel brand.

"We have some interesting opportunities with Marvel and that would be a brand that we think would do extremely well on the higher end consoles," said Iger.

News broke late last year that Disney was to buy Marvel for $4 billion, enabling the media and entertainment conglomerate to make use of Marvel's 5,000 characters on its television channels, theme parks, video games and movies.

Via Seeking Alpha