Disney MMOs Aim For Kids, Branding

February 7, 2008

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The Disney brand, one of the most well-known globally, reaches into the virtual world with a pair of massive multiplayer online games. Disney MMOs Aim For Kids, Branding' /></p>
If my subtle (or not so subtle) role-playing game references in the past did not indicate my geeky past, let be more clear. I was pushed and prodded into both of Disney's MMO games, <a href= Toontown and World of Warcraft. Forums for both Pirates and Toontown prove this with members identifying themselves as grownups.

To someone who grew up with the casual, hilarious violence of Bugs Bunny, the Three Stooges, Tom & Jerry, Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner, these games represent a return to the past, especially Toontown, with its pie-throwing, safe-dropping antics.

The whole point of the games focuses on bringing in kids. They can drive substantial spending by their families; witness the theme parks Disney operates, or the Hannah Montana concerts that spurred astonishing ticket prices on reseller sites.

Don't think of them as MMOs, but as persistent reinforcement of the Disney brand. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm 8,000 gold away from buying my pirate a war sloop. I've got piracy to commit on the open seas. Arrr!