Disney Mobile

Disney Mobile was a mobile-focused Disney business and brand associated with mobile games, applications, digital content, family services, and, for a period, branded wireless offerings. The subject is broader than a single mobile-network operator: it developed and licensed Disney-branded mobile content, published games and applications, operated customer-facing wireless services in selected markets, and worked with telecommunications and technology partners to distribute Disney experiences on phones and tablets. The brand’s mobile-content activities began in Japan in August 2000, when Walt Disney Internet Group entered an agreement with NTT DoCoMo for the Disney-i content service. This early move positioned Disney as a provider of downloadable and subscription-based mobile entertainment rather than only as a traditional media company. In the early 2000s, Disney expanded the model internationally. Walt Disney Internet Group and Index Corporation agreed in 2003 to develop and distribute Disney-branded mobile content for China, with China Mobile involved in the proposed launch. DisneyMobile.com was also introduced in December 2003 as a portal for Disney mobile content. Licensing became a central part of the international strategy. In 2004, Disney licensed mobile content to KPN in the Netherlands and reached an agreement with Vodafone covering Disney Mobile services in 14 countries across Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region. Disney also used the Starwave Mobile identity for mobile games and other non-Disney properties within the wider Disney business and from third parties. These arrangements allowed Disney to reach subscribers without building a complete telecommunications infrastructure in every market. Disney subsequently experimented with operating branded wireless services. In the United States, Disney Mobile worked with Sprint and launched a mobile virtual network operator service in June 2006 using Sprint’s CDMA network. Disney managed administration and marketing, with an emphasis on families. Its Family Center suite included parental controls, spending limits, call-management rules, location services, and family alerts. The service was intended to combine ordinary wireless access with Disney-oriented family-management tools and content. A planned United Kingdom service involving DMobile and O2 was halted in August 2006 because of unfavorable retail-market conditions. The United States wireless service stopped accepting new customers in September 2007 and ended on December 31, 2007. Disney then shifted toward licensing its Family Center technology and mobile content to other providers. Japan followed a separate path. In November 2007, Disney Japan and SoftBank announced a wireless-service joint venture called Disney Mobile, which was scheduled to launch in 2008. This Japanese initiative should be distinguished from the earlier U.S. service and from Disney Mobile’s broader content and games operations. Disney Mobile also became a significant publishing and development label for smartphone games. Disney purchased Tapulous in July 2010 to strengthen its mobile-game capabilities, and Bart Decrem of Tapulous was appointed general manager of Disney Mobile in 2011. The brand’s games included original Disney Interactive releases, adaptations of established Disney properties, and collaborations with external developers. Where’s My Water?, released in September 2011, introduced Swampy the alligator and became a major mobile-game success, briefly competing with Angry Birds at the top of iTunes game rankings. The game generated spin-offs and additional online content. Other releases included Puffle Launch, based on Club Penguin, and Disney AppMATes, a Cars 2-related toy-and-tablet product developed with Spin Master. Disney increasingly relied on co-development partnerships as mobile gaming matured. Examples included Temple Run: Brave, produced with Imangi Studios, and Disney Crossy Road, developed with Hipster…

Disney Mobile developed from The Walt Disney Company's early effort to extend its entertainment franchises into mobile communications and downloadable content. The business was associated with Walt Disney Internet Group, later Disney Consumer Products and Disney Interactive, and did not remain limited to one operating model. Across its history, it combined direct consumer services, licensing agreements, mobile-network partnerships, game publishing, and application development. The first major step identified for the brand occurred in Japan in August 2000. Walt Disney Internet Group agreed with NTT DoCoMo to launch Disney-i, a mobile-content service. At the time, mobile phones were becoming important channels for games, short-form entertainment, personalization, and subscription content. Disney-i allowed Disney to test how its characters and media properties could be adapted to a mobile environment while relying on an established telecommunications network. Disney expanded its content strategy in 2003. Walt Disney Internet Group and Index Corporation agreed to develop and distribute Disney-branded mobile content for the Chinese market, with Index working with China Mobile on the proposed service. In December of that year, DisneyMobile.com launched as a portal for Disney Mobile content. The portal model gave Disney a branded destination for games and other mobile experiences while allowing distribution relationships to vary by country. Licensing was particularly important in 2004. Disney licensed content to KPN in the Netherlands and agreed with Vodafone to provide Disney Mobile services in 14 countries: Australia, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. These arrangements illustrate that the historical Disney Mobile footprint was international, but often depended on local telecom operators rather than a single Disney-owned network. Disney also revived the Starwave name as Starwave Mobile for casual games serving non-Disney brands within the Disney group and selected third-party properties. Disney later tested a more direct role in wireless services. Before Disney Mobile, Disney and Sprint had launched Mobile ESPN, a sports-oriented phone service using ESPN content. Disney Mobile subsequently worked with Sprint on a U.S. mobile virtual network operator, launched in June 2006. The service operated on Sprint's CDMA network. Disney handled administration and marketing and targeted family subscribers with a package that combined cellular service and parental-management functions. The Family Center suite included spending controls, rules governing when phones could be used, GPS-based family locating, and family-wide text alerts. Disney and Sprint expected this combination of content and family tools to encourage demand for mobile data services. The wireless strategy encountered market difficulties. In April 2006, DMobile and O2 had agreed on a United Kingdom virtual-network arrangement, but the United Kingdom rollout was abandoned in August after Disney cited unfavorable changes in the retail environment. The U.S. service stopped taking new wireless customers in September 2007 and ended altogether on December 31, 2007. Disney changed direction by emphasizing licensing of Family Center and mobile content to other providers rather than continuing the same U.S. retail model. Japan represented a separate wireless initiative. In November 2007, Disney Japan and SoftBank announced a joint venture to launch a Japanese Disney Mobile service in 2008. This initiative should not be treated as a continuation of the U.S. Sprint service in operational terms. It reflected Disney's continuing interest in branded wireless distribution while using a strong local carrier partner. The later history of Disney Mobile is primarily associated with mobile games and applications. Disney purchased Tapulous in July 2010 to increase its mobile expertise. Bart Decrem, who came from Tapulous, was appointed general manager of Disney Mobile in 2011. On September 22, 2011, Disney released Where's My Water?, a physics-based game featuring Swampy the alligator. Swampy became the first original Disney mobile character described in the reference material and helped the game compete with established mobile hits. The game's success produced related titles and online video content, including Where's My Perry? and Where's My Mickey? Other initiatives demonstrated Disney's efforts to connect mobile software with existing franchises and physical play. Puffle Launch brought a mobile version of a Club Penguin game to phones. In October 2011, Disney and Spin Master introduced Disney AppMATes with Cars 2 toys. The physical vehicles used conductive components and touch points to interact with an iPad application, effectively turning the tablet into a digital play surface. As the mobile-games market developed, Disney increasingly worked with outside studios. The co-development model gave Disney access to specialized production capabilities and enabled adaptations of popular game formats and entertainment properties. Disney Mobile partnered with Imangi Studios on Temple Run: Brave and with Hipster Whale on Disney Crossy Road, released on April 6, 2016. Disney Crossy Road quickly reached the top of iOS download rankings after launch. The broader associated developer network included companies such as Rovio Entertainment, Outfit7, Kongregate, Jam City, and Kabam. The available material does not establish a definitive current corporate structure, current executive roster, headquarters, official active website, or final discontinuation date for every Disney Mobile product. Older games have sometimes been retired as support resources and new releases changed, while selected titles received longer support. Disney Mobile is therefore best documented as a historical and evolving Disney mobile-business brand encompassing wireless services, licensed mobile content, family tools, applications, and games rather than as one continuously operating telecommunications company.

• 2016

  Disney Crossy Road

  [1]Disney Mobileen.wikipedia.org

  Disney Mobile and Hipster Whale release Disney Crossy Road, which quickly reaches the top of iOS download rankings.

• 2011

  Where's My Water? and AppMATes

  [1]Disney Mobileen.wikipedia.org

  Disney releases Where's My Water? and introduces the Cars 2-themed AppMATes connected-toy product with Spin Master.

• 2010

  Tapulous acquisition

  [1]Disney Mobileen.wikipedia.org

  Disney acquires Tapulous to strengthen its mobile-game capabilities.

• 2007

  U.S. wireless service closes and Japanese venture is announced

  [1]Disney Mobileen.wikipedia.org

  The U.S. service ends during the year, while Disney Japan and SoftBank announce a separate Japanese wireless venture.

• 2006

  U.S. virtual network service launches

  [1]Disney Mobileen.wikipedia.org

  Disney Mobile launches in the United States using Sprint's CDMA network.

• 2004

  International licensing expansion

  [1]Disney Mobileen.wikipedia.org

  Disney signs mobile-content arrangements with KPN and Vodafone, extending services through partner networks.

• 2003

  Chinese mobile-content plans and DisneyMobile.com

  [1]Disney Mobileen.wikipedia.org

  Disney and Index announce a Chinese content initiative, while DisneyMobile.com launches as a content portal.

• 2000

  Disney enters Japan's mobile-content market

  [1]Disney Mobileen.wikipedia.org

  Walt Disney Internet Group agrees with NTT DoCoMo to launch the Disney-i mobile-content service.

Disney-branded mobile entertainment and family-oriented digital services distributed through owned products, licensed telecommunications channels, and development partnerships.

• Mobile content service · 2000

  Disney-i

  A Japanese mobile-content service launched through an agreement between Walt Disney Internet Group and NTT DoCoMo. It represented Disney's early effort to adapt branded entertainment and interactive content for carrier-based mobile distribution.

• Family mobile-management suite

  Family Center

  A group of family-oriented wireless tools associated with the U.S. Disney Mobile service. Features included spending limits, call and usage controls, GPS-based location services, and alerts that enabled family members to communicate with one another.

• Mobile virtual network operator · 2006

  Disney Mobile wireless service

  A U.S. wireless service operated with Sprint's CDMA network. Disney handled customer administration and marketing and focused the proposition on families, combining cellular plans with parental controls and Disney-oriented content.

• Mobile game · 2011

  Where's My Water?

  A physics-based mobile puzzle game released in 2011 and centered on Swampy, an alligator. It became one of Disney's best-known original mobile-game properties, achieved strong iTunes rankings, and generated related titles and online content.

• Mobile game · 2011

  Puffle Launch

  A mobile version of a game associated with Club Penguin, extending the online-world property into mobile play.

• Connected toy and tablet application · 2011

  Disney AppMATes

  A Cars 2-themed product developed with Spin Master. Physical toy cars interacted with an iPad application through conductive contact points, allowing the tablet to function as an interactive play surface.

• Mobile game · 2012

  Temple Run: Brave

  A Disney-themed adaptation of Imangi Studios' Temple Run format, developed around the animated film Brave through a partnership between Disney Mobile and Imangi Studios.

• Mobile game · 2016

  Disney Crossy Road

  A Disney character and world adaptation of Hipster Whale's Crossy Road concept. Released in 2016, it quickly became one of the most downloaded iOS games after launch.

• 2016

  Use external co-development for Disney Crossy RoadProduct launch

  Background

  Disney increasingly used specialist external studios to create mobile games based on Disney properties and established game formats.

  Action taken

  Disney Mobile partnered with Hipster Whale to release Disney Crossy Road.

  Aftermath

  The game reached the top of iOS download rankings within two days of release, according to the reference material.

  Source

• 2011

  Invest in original and franchise-based mobile gamesProduct launch

  Background

  Disney was expanding from licensed carrier content into smartphone games and interactive products.

  Action taken

  Disney released Where's My Water?, Puffle Launch, and the AppMATes connected-toy system.

  Aftermath

  Where's My Water? became a prominent mobile hit, while AppMATes demonstrated Disney's interest in linking physical toys with tablet software.

  Source

• 2010

  Acquire TapulousM&A

  Background

  Disney sought additional expertise in the expanding smartphone-game market.

  Action taken

  Disney purchased Tapulous.

  Aftermath

  Tapulous executive Bart Decrem became general manager of Disney Mobile in 2011.

  Source

• 2007

  Shift from direct U.S. wireless retailing toward licensingStrategy

  Background

  After the U.S. wireless service was discontinued, Disney reconsidered the direct operator model.

  Action taken

  Disney planned to license the Family Center suite and mobile content to other providers.

  Aftermath

  The business placed greater emphasis on partnerships, licensing, applications, and games than on operating the discontinued U.S. service.

  Source

• 2006

  Launch the U.S. Disney Mobile virtual networkProduct launch

  Background

  Disney sought to combine wireless access, Disney content, and family-management tools while avoiding the need to build a nationwide network.

  Action taken

  Disney launched a U.S. mobile virtual network service over Sprint's CDMA network and marketed it to families.

  Aftermath

  The service stopped accepting new wireless customers in September 2007 and ended on December 31, 2007.

  Source

• 2006

  Cancel the planned United Kingdom rolloutStrategy

  Background

  Disney and O2 had agreed on a United Kingdom mobile virtual network arrangement, but Disney cited adverse changes in the retail environment.

  Action taken

  DMobile halted plans to launch the wireless service in the United Kingdom.

  Aftermath

  The proposed United Kingdom retail wireless service did not proceed.

  Source

1. 1Disney Mobileen.wikipedia.org