Junction Point Studios has officially been disbanded by Disney after their final game, Epic Mickey 2, flopped in the game market during 2012 holiday season.
Seems like this is the season to fold video game studios; they’re closing left and right! After Epic Mickey 2’s commercial failure, only selling 529,000 copies between November 18th and New Year’s Day in the US, Disney decided to pull the plug from Junction Point. Compared to Epic Mickey 2’s predecessor, the game just couldn’t keep up with today’s competitive video game market. The official news broke by a statement from Disney, including:
It was with much sadness that we informed our teams today of changes to our Games organization, which include the closure of Junction Point Studios. These changes are part of our ongoing effort to address the fast-evolving gaming platforms and marketplace and to align resources against our key priorities. We're extremely grateful to Warren Spector and the Junction Point team for their creative contributions to Disney with Disney Epic Mickey and Disney Epic Mickey 2.
Despite being a multiplatform title, Epic Mickey 2 didn’t break even and was grossly outclassed by Epic Mickey 1’s 1.3 million copies sold in the same month of release. While we didn’t do a co-op review the game ourselves, much of the criticism of the game revolved around the weak AI and numerous camera issues.
Warren Spector, Creative Director behind the development of the Epic Mickey series, had a lot of promising things to say about the game before release. When asked if he would be transferring over to the much buzzed about Disney Infinity, a Disney spokesperson replied that Warren “will not be staying on with Disney.” Where he’ll be heading to is still unclear. He recently commented on Junction Point's disbanding:
Yes, it's true. The Junction Point journey is over. To all those who've asked, or want to ask, I'm sad but excited for the future. JPS had a good eight year run. I got to work with some amazing people on some amazing projects. I've had some of the most magical times of my life, fulfilling several life-long dreams. I've gotten to know Disney fans and Disney cast members, gotten hands on with Disney's history, walked where Walt walked... 'Magical' really is the only word.
Despite the delivery Junction Point gave with Epic Mickey 2, at least they gave it a shot in a co-op title. Co-Optimus wishes the best of luck to Warren and everyone involved with Junction Point!
Source: Eurogamer.net
