Disney "hugely supportive" of Epic Mickey

By Tom Bramwell Published 11 October, 2010

"Most serious Wii title in history of mankind."

Junction Point's Warren Spector has lavished praise on Disney for the quality of support he has received putting together ambitious Wii-exclusive title Epic Mickey.

"I've told every publisher, and I told Disney, I don't do budgets, I don't do schedules, and I make the games I want to make. If you don't want that, let's part ways now and we'll stay friends. Don't think you can change me because you can't. I think Disney found that out. And they've been hugely supportive, I've got to say," Spector told IGN at New York Comic-Con this weekend.

"There are not a lot of publishers who'd have the courage to stick with us. I mean Mickey Mouse with choice and consequence on the Wii - if this isn't the biggest budgeted, most serious third-party Wii title in the history of mankind I don't know what is. And only Disney would have supported that."

Spector also said that fans of his past work would still find a lot to their taste if they decided to join him for the Epic Mickey ride on 26th November.

"If Deus Ex fans give this a shot I think they'll find Mickey is quite a hero," he said. "Although they're making different kinds of choices and seeing different kinds of consequences the gameplay philosophy that is the underpinning of Deus Ex, Thief, System Shock, and the multiple games I've worked on, it's still right there. It's just different. There you go, it's not good or bad, it's just different."

Check out our Epic Mickey preview and the extended intro below.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000. Follow him on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (28) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • chrisjm #1 2 years ago

    can it live up to castle of illusion...

  • sonicyoda #2 2 years ago

    Warren Spector; the Terry Gilliam of gaming.

  • FogHeart #3 2 years ago

    "If you don't want that, let's part ways now and we'll stay friends. Don't think you can change me because you can't."

    Mmm-MMMM! You tell him, baby-girl!

  • r4z0rbl4d3 #4 2 years ago

    So many fancy words, but from what I've seen of this game, I'd call it a simple platformer at best... I'd say he's more Peter Molyneux than Terry Gilliam...

  • Tyronne #5 2 years ago

    Last time I was asked to go on a epic mickey ride I ended up with a very sore bottom...and they never showed me the puppies or gave me the sweets they promised me.

  • drxym #6 2 years ago

    The history of Epic Mickey is interesting and quite long. I hope it succeeds.

  • NorUraeus #7 2 years ago

    Ok Disney. get over it an announce a PS Move version will ya ;)

  • MrFlump #8 2 years ago

    I have to say I'm somewhat envious that this is a Wii exclusive title. Its a fantastic looking game and he's really managed to get a lot out of the console given the hardware even if it is at its core a platformer. Its not going to make me reconsider getting a Wii again after having traded in my last one though.

    It has made one of my christmas purchases for my nieces who still play on their Wii very easy this year though!

  • Doctor_What #9 2 years ago

    While I'd love for this to succeed, I can't help but think it's going to crash and burn. As NorUraeus said, I await the PS Move version keenly.

  • GamesConnoisseur #10 2 years ago

    Don't think Move version will happen, although here too I would seriously love a HD version. That said I m sure there are Wii owners who would equally love to see Wii version of say Uncharted lite or Fable side story!

    We readily accepts platform exclusives but apparently only ON the console(s) we have?

    If cos of Wii exclusivity the game bombs with lower than hoped for sales, that Disney's and Nintendo business.

  • hobojebus #11 2 years ago

    I havent herd one good review of this yet, mostly people just say its epic fail.

  • drxym #12 2 years ago

    @GamesConnoisseur I think exclusivity fell out of budgetary / time constraints. Originally the project was cross platform but I expect management wanted to rein things in, and the easiest way was to focus on a single platform. Assuming Epic Mickey is a financial / critical success and not some expensive white elephant I think it's pretty likely it will turn up for other platforms in due course.

  • rojjer #13 2 years ago

    'don't do deadlines' hahahahahaha. Yeah, sure you said that and landed the job.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #14 2 years ago

    I think this looks really good but sadly I never was into Mickey Mouse at all. I really don't like the character. I'm still hoping it does well though because it feels like a 3rd party title that the developers really take quite seriously and sadly this seems not to be the norm on the Wii, with a few rare exceptions of course.

  • Headless_Monkey_Boy #15 2 years ago

    @hobojebus

    Why don't you send a link to a negative review or even just an aknowledgement. I'd be interested to read it and find out who wrote it since they've obviously mastered time travel.

  • makeamazing #16 2 years ago

    What with the Wii userbase going hot and cold for certain titles, and Spectors unwillingness to conform to budget as he puts it, and the numbers of people involved in the project, I think it might be a failure in terms of profit. Which is unfortunate as they seem to have worked hard on the game. I think we might see it on other platforms later on, but by then it might be too late.

    The only people who can afford to do platform specific titles is the platform holders, its just not sensible spending lots of money from a 3rd party perspective to release on a single platform.

  • Smoped #17 2 years ago

    This will be interesting. Provided this gets at least decent review scores and a marketing budget to match the development budget, if it won't sell millions it will be really difficult for anybody not named Miyamoto to develop a Wii game with a real budget.

  • dr_shambles #18 2 years ago

    Actually considering getting a Wii for this.

  • CaoSlayer #19 2 years ago

    Are you sure that Warren Spector is not an alias of Peter Molyneux?

  • Eraysor #20 2 years ago

    Might actually dig out the Wii for this; I might even go play World of Illusion to get myself in the mood!

  • _LarZen_ #21 2 years ago

    Game look's realy fun so I hope it sells good on Wii and that a version for the PS3 wil come later.

  • smelly #22 2 years ago

    >"That said I m sure there are Wii owners who would equally love to see Wii version of say Uncharted lite or Fable side story! "

    Not me. I bought the wii to play GOOD games, not movie wannabe casual gaming fluff...

    I got intrested by the 360 and the pretty pixels.. played endless casual gamer shooters which could be finished in a day. Played casual gamer RPG-lite Fable.. Played all the "best" 360 games, realised it's best to rent them as they're all casual gamer games which can be finished in a day.

    Went back to the wii, as although it has fewer high quality games - the ones it does have (made by nintendo(tend to be less casual based, more hardcore.. and last me long enough to justify a purchase rather than a rent.

  • drxym #23 2 years ago

    @smelly "Not me. I bought the wii to play GOOD games, not movie wannabe casual gaming fluff... "

    You bought a Wii to escape wannabe casual gaming fluff? That's kind of like saying "I live down here in the sewer because I can't stand the smell of dog poo".

    As for Uncharted, I suggest virtually everyone who has ever played it or its sequel would disagree with you on your summary.

  • ubergine #24 2 years ago

    I can't literally have this man's baby, but I can STEAL a baby and pretend it is ours.

  • mkreku #25 2 years ago

    I wonder if I can play through Epic Mickey in its entirety while substituting Mickey with JC Denton in my head..?

  • smelly #26 2 years ago

    "As for Uncharted, I suggest virtually everyone who has ever played it or its sequel would disagree with you on your summary."

    I noticed you didnt say "bought it", because like most modern games - it's over quicker than a prom queens first sex experience - you'd be a fool to buy and not rent it for a week.

  • Lee_Morris #27 2 years ago

    I just can't play Wii games anymore. If this comes to PS3 I'll be all over it.

  • drxym #28 2 years ago

    @smelly Uncharted and Uncharted 2 were best sellers so therefore a lot of people bought them, including myself. Uncharted 2 has sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide and met with almost universal acclaim as well as winning many awards including numerous game of the year awards. As for being over fast, no it isn't. The main UC2 game is something like 10-14 hours and there is plenty of replay value for trophies and a multiplayer to boot.

    You (non) arguments against the game are bizarre to say the least and demonstrably wrong.
    Edited by drxym at 12/10/10 @ 11:42