BUENA VISTA GAMES ANNOUNCES FALL LINE STUDIO
New Development Studio Focused on Becoming a Center of Creative Excellence for Nintendo Platform Video Games
BURBANK, Calif. and SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - (November 7, 2006) - Buena Vista Games, Inc. (BVG), the interactive entertainment affiliate of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), today announced the formation of a new video game development studio dedicated to creating innovative games for Nintendo platforms. Based in Salt Lake City, Fall Line Studio's focus is to develop games based on Disney's characters, television shows and entertainment franchises as well as creating new intellectual property for the Nintendo DS TM and Wii TM game systems.
Built around a core of industry veterans, the studio will focus on small-team, creative projects that leverage the Disney brand in new and innovative ways. Fall Line Studio will operate as a sister studio to Buena Vista Games' award-winning Avalanche Software studio, also in Salt Lake City, giving the company an advantage in reaching the strong pool of creative talent in the region.
Industry veteran Scott Novis will serve as vice president and general manager for Fall Line Studio. Prior to this position, Novis served as general manager of Rainbow Studios where he grew the staff from 30 to more than 200 employees. His experience in the video game business and knowledge of the industry will allow Fall Line Studio to capitalize on the power of the Disney brand and deliver innovative games for the mass market.
"This studio will be one of our centers of creative excellence and it gives us the ability to fully capitalize on our properties and expand our market share on Nintendo platforms," said Graham Hopper, senior vice president and general manager of Buena Vista Games. "Scott Novis brings the perfect mix of team building and relevant business experience to the position of studio head for Fall Line Studio."
"The opportunity to grow a new studio for Buena Vista Games after success with Rainbow is right in line with my goal to create great games for the mainstream," said Scott Novis, vice president and general manager of Fall Line Studio. "BVG has an excellent management team, a can-do corporate culture and a treasure trove of great intellectual properties that make it exciting for us to start something new."
BVG has a strong reputation for creating games for Nintendo platforms and is the No. 3 publisher of Game Boy ® Advance titles in North America. The strength of the company's famous characters, Disney Channel properties and entertainment intellectual properties provide Buena Vista Games with an unparalleled deep catalog of content.
About Fall Line Studio
Based in Salt Lake City, Fall Line Studio is the newest addition to Buena Vista Games' family of studios, which also includes Propaganda Games in Vancouver, British Columbia; Avalanche Software in Salt Lake City; and Climax Racing in Brighton, England. Fall Line Studio is focused on innovative games for Nintendo systems and gives Buena Vista Games dedicated development resources for the Nintendo DS and Wii systems.
About Buena Vista Games
Buena Vista Games, Inc. (BVG) is the interactive entertainment affiliate of The Walt Disney Company. BVG develops, publishes, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of multi-platform video games and interactive entertainment worldwide. The company also licenses properties and works directly with third-party interactive game publishers to bring products for all ages to market. For more information, please log on to www.bvg.com.
Wii, Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance are trademarks of Nintendo.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Buena Vista Games (U.S.)
Eric Wein
+1 (818) 553-4137
Buena Vista Games (Europe)
Neena Williams
+44 (20) 8222 1552
Kohnke Communications (for Buena Vista Games)
Sean Kauppinen
+1 (415) 702-7208
sean@kohnkecomm.com