A blog about my interests, mainly the history of fighting games. I also talk about animation, comic books, car culture, and art. Co-host of the Pink Monorail Podcast. Contributor to MiceChat, and Jim Hill Media. Former blogger on the old 1UP community site, and Capcom-Unity as well.
What was the ultimate failure of the Disney Sports Network and who was to blame? What lessons, if any, did the industry learn from these games? There were four Gamecube and two Gameboy Advance titles in the DSN series. Was this brand exclusivity because the powers that be at Konami thought that Nintendo was the only platform where the titles would work? Did Konami think that Nintendo had the same family friendly reputation synonymous with Disney? What about the cast of friendly characters, were they inviting or insulting sport fans or casual game fans? Was the game too simplistic in concept and too complex in execution? Was the DSN series a case of greed, where one company licensed a popular name but placed it over as many games as they could with mediocre gameplay? If these things were true then the failure of the DSN series would fall squarely with Konami.
The new Disney President, Bob Iger, thinks the company should put more Disney games on Nintendo platforms and for that matter Marvel titles on more powerful consoles. Was this logic valid given the cold reception to Disney games on systems like the Xbox 360 and PS3 over the past decade? Or did Disney have a bad reputation among the community because their games were lackluster and the company tended to flood the market with title after title for the consoles, handheld and PC? When the titles did move off shelves was it the Disney name that sold them rather than reviews or word of mouth? Titles from Disney Interactive have not developed much of a reputation. When working in conjunction with large publishers like Konami or UbiSoft, very few of their collaborations have ever met with great success. If Disney was bad at making games and even worse at making game decisions then the failure of the DSN series would fall squarely on Disney.
Both Disney and Konami were partially responsible for the success and failure of the series. Konami made a serious attempt at creating a legitimate, well-researched and fun sports series for the Nintendo consoles. They had all of the elements to go head-to-head with EA or any other sports publisher, including Sega and Activision without actually making any sim titles. By limiting the gameplay elements to sports they could focus on getting the Disney characters "right." Any other developer / publisher would either make a half-hearted movie tie-in game or struggle to invent a plot and story to wrap around the characters. After fighting with the mechanics and gameplay the lesser studios would forget the most important thing; the amount of work it took to bring the characters to life. Konami was an exception to this because the characters took the highest priority in their games. Disney legends lent their voices to the projects and Disney family members their insight. These things were reflected in every detail both big and small. The art, the cameos, the grudges and the rivalries all seemed fresh yet familiar. Both publishers tried their best at marketing and promoting the games but few were willing to listen.
Konami of Japan shaped the canon and history of the Disney icons in sports. Not since the art of / how to videos featuring Goofy made their debut in 1941 have we seen a focused attempt at making the Disney characters relevant in sports culture. The six DSN titles released between 2002-2003 were a footnote in game history but their influence did not disappear. The Japanese take of the designs featured in the DSN series would be emulated again and again in graphic as well as figure art. The titles may have disappeared from the gamer consciousness but not entirely from the collective unconsciousness. The Japanese, more than any western developer had an understanding as to the importance of remaining true to the characters. This held especially true for modern game designers.
Fans of the Kingdom Hearts series could tell you how true Tetsuya Nomura and Square-Enix were to the source material and more important, how respectful they were of the legacy. That RPG series took many artistic liberties with the character designs of Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Minnie, Pete... well, almost all the icons that were also featured in Disney Sports Network. These stylistic changes were made because the plot demanded it. Square-Enix was able to reinvent the characters while respecting their origins and importance in the universe. They began the series in 2002, the same year that Konami was trying to make the characters into sporting icons. While the latter did not take off, the former developed a massive following, the first Kingdom Hearts game sold almost 9 million copies worldwide. Disney must thank Kingdom Hearts for giving them a good reputation among core gamers. The approach that the Japanese had with the characters settled very well with gamers. They did not simply stick the Disney characters into a typical genre and follow the trends, nor did they try to create a dumbed-down game experience and slap a character on the box. They presented the characters in roles as heroes and villains and allowed them a wide range of emotions and expressions. They were free to be brave and fierce, empathetic and angry through the series. They gave audiences a dramatic plot which was far more complex than those of typical mascot games as well as gameplay dynamics missing from most Western developed Disney titles. These things intrigued gamers, both Disney fans and not. They made the mascots more identifiable than anything Disney had done, animation-wise, in over a decade.
Those at Square-Enix and Konami created worlds that perfectly complimented the characters. They were placed in scenarios unique to either Western or Eastern audiences or in sports leagues more fantastic than any existing ones. Kingdom Hearts and the Disney Sports Network were titles set outside of canon, yet ended up influencing all the universes involved. These things were accomplished thanks to the insight and support of the Disney family, legends and Interactive group. The Disney purist might not approve of me saying so but Mickey Mouse became relevant to young audiences because of the Japanese and their videogames, not because of Walt and his cartoons. Disney should recognize this and see how they could capitalize on this bold approach to their own characters for future games. There are many classic characters waiting for their moment to shine, for the right game to come along. Junction Point was given the creative freedom to do this, to explore the mascots in new and nostalgic ways because the road was paved by Square-Enix and Konami. Epic Mickey will attempt to make the characters relevant as both heroes and icons to the world once more. Mickey Mouse will be given the lead role in a game not designed or marketed towards young children. The decision to let the character sell the game rather than let the name sell the game will be a giant step towards making audiences embrace the name once more.
Provided that Konami and Disney Interactive had learned from their mistakes, and there are many signs that they have, then it would be great to see the Disney Sports Network return. Undoubtedly the series would be much closer to the original vision of bringing not only the Disney characters but the theme parks to life. Both studios have grown and evolved greatly since then and I foresee a time when the characters will become recognizable sports figures as much as cartoon and videogame icons.
I’d like to hear about it in the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!
Konami and Disney Interactive did not create the arcade sport experience. Nor were they the first to bring it to consoles. They did however set a standard that gamers looked for in every non-sim sport title. The best of the lot and the one most closely emulated was Disney Sports Soccer. It made it's debut in 2002 and has held up well over the years. The combination of fantastic playing fields, magical powers and appropriate redesigns of iconic characters was seen more recently in another Nintendo game.
The Super Mario Strikers series, developed by Next Level games, was first published by Nintendo in 2005. It incorporated many of the elements seen in Disney Sports Soccer and developed a few of its own. The game had a more aggressive feel than the Disney title as the field was bordered by an electric fence, which players could shove opponents into, as well as elements from the Mario series like the Chain Chomp and Thwomps which could litter the field and become obstacles. For many gamers the best thing that Next Level did with the series were the character redesigns.
Most of the Mario cast returned in this game with a visual overhaul. The colors assigned to the characters were familiar, however it was the cut of the uniforms and associated designs which showed much more attitude than gamers were used to seeing. This was especially true for the family-friendly cast. In 2007 the concept art for the Strikers sequel showed even more attitude than any Mario game to date. The once soft and round characters were now drawn with sharp angles and angry expressions. Was it pretentious to have Western developers (Next Level was a Canadian studio) redesign the popular Japanese characters or was it refreshing? That depended on many variables. The redesigns were good but ultimately dated by their design choices. They seemed too pop, owing more to the tastes and trends of contemporary character designs. Whereas the Disney titles featured uniforms, patterns and color combinations that were closer to traditional cuts but could not be dated to any particular era or design trend.
There was a fine line between updated designs that were appropriate for a character and those that were absurd. The ones that made the most sense were applied to a particular genre. In the sports world it was logical that Mario and company wore uniforms that fit on the soccer field. Running around in tight overalls and clumsy boots would not have been silly. These characters also had to be presented with stern faces and serious expressions. Sports may be fun but competition can also be highly intense. It was only appropriate that Mario and his friends be set with a hint more attitude and aggressiveness than gamers are used to seeing. This helped add a new dimension to the character, while complimenting the things that were universally understood about the character, including his bravery and selflessness. The concept art provided for the Disney sport games did much of the same thing. They presented the icons with more expressions of attitude than gamers were used to seeing. My coworker commented that Mickey Mouse should never be scowling, he was supposed to be a perpetually cheerful and friendly character. I reminded her, as Epic Mickey will remind audiences, that the Disney characters were once capable of showing a broad range of emotion, including anger, fear and resentment. These things did not detract from the characters but instead made them appear more alive and personable. Especially more than any grinning mascot on a tee shirt ever could.
Emotive qualities added a dynamic to the cast that also reflected their personality. It was something too easily missed by most designers trying to recreate or re-imagine the icons. Attitude became a replacement for substance. Iconic characters that were made famous in the 1930's soon found it hard to remain relevant, at least under modern producers. In 2004, between the Disney and Mario redesigns, the classic Looney Tunes characters were recast by Warner Bros. as superheroes with plenty of 'tude. Loonatics Unleashed failed to make a significant impact with audiences and was in fact petitioned against for having character designs that were too edgy and stylized. The series was cancelled after two seasons. Critics pointed out that the characters lacked the personality and dimension of the icons they were trying to emulate. They feared that the show was pandering to the "extreme" generation without taking into account all of the elements that made the original characters like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and the Tazmanian Devil work.
The problem of giving classic cartoon characters special powers was not limited to the WB. Disney brought back an old Donald Duck comic book alter ego known as the Paperinik / the Duck Avenger / Phantom Duck. The various nicknames were shortened to PK Duck and a videogame bearing his likeness was released. Despite having an actual legacy to fall back on, the reception to the character and game was chilly, scoring less than average in most reviews. Players had expected that a Disney game with Donald Duck as the protagonist would end up being more like the better received Goin' Quackers. Both games were actually developed by UbiSoft, demonstrating that some redesigns did not work well even from the same publisher of a previous solid game.
The use of attitude and contemporary design choices have not always worked well for characters. Too much reliance on visual appeal, rather than reflecting personality type, or staying true to the character's origin have sunk many cartoon as well as videogame characters over the past 15 years. When done correctly even the biggest of the names, like Mickey Mouse could be given an extreme makeover while still retaining the classic charm. Audience saw how Pete (as the enormous Julius) and Mickey swapped places in the animated short Runaway Brain. It was a clear example of how even the most extreme changes to an icon could work under the right circumstances. It demonstrated how design and purpose are meant to work together and not one taking precedence over the other.
But I digress... I was speaking more on how Konami was able to create a legacy that would be emulated around the industry.
Nintendo was not the only studio that created an arcade soccer experience. Sega had released a 3-on-3 soccer game in 2002, the same year as Disney Sports Soccer. Sega's Soccer Slam had a familiar, frenetic gameplay with over-the-top character designs, tight but memorable stadiums and special attacks. It was a very fluid game that relied on quick reflexes and expert timing to be enjoyed and was one of the few arcade soccer titles that was rated higher than Disney Sports Soccer. The use of passes, attacks and combos in dribbling was akin to the "Street" series of games that EA was producing.
EA was not asleep during the early 2000's. They had become keenly aware as to what Konami, Disney, Sega and Nintendo were producing but did not have an answer right away.
Electronic Arts was responsible for relaunching the arcade-style sports game for consoles with the debut of NBA Street in 2001, which also happened to be one of my favorite games of all-time. Considered by many to be the spiritual successor to Midway's NBA Jam series, EA was able to incorporate the MixTape style of playground basketball with high profile athletes. EA took the superstar athletes out of the stadiums, dressed them down and used actual courts from around the country. This endeared the franchise to the gamers that felt EA was spending too much time creating sim experiences and ignoring the elements that made many fall in love with the sport to begin with.
The success of NBA Street caused EA to launch an entire franchise of games, covering many of the same bases as the Disney Sports titles over the next eight years. A sequel to NBA Street in (2003) and even and the first entry of NFL Street (2004) were released before they created a soccer entry for their catalogue. There were some great elements in FIFA Street. Lessons that they learned from the other entries in the series. Not the least of which were the high-profile names to attach to the project or the dazzling locations found outside of the stadiums.
Unfortunately, like Disney Sports Soccer, EA found that it set a high mark with it's first game but was unable to recreate the magic in other genres. The NBA Street series managed to maintain consistently high scores yet NFL Street rated slightly higher than average and FIFA Street barely average scores after debuting. It was the last version, FIFA Street 3 released in 2008 which had the most dramatic overhaul to the visuals and controls. The game incorporated nuances from the NFL title, in which characters could run along walls for short bursts to get around opponents, as well as build a combo meter to unleash a powerful strike. Despite these things the game failed to break into the scores seen for the NFL and NBA games. The perfect arcade soccer formula had managed to elude EA, in this regard Konami and Disney had upset the behemoth. What EA did manage to accomplish was become one of the first western developers to clue into the use of exaggerated proportions for sport titles.
EA had been using exaggerated proportions early on in the franchise. Characters in their respective sports looked like distorted versions of actual athletes. American Football players were thicker and more muscular, NBA players taller and lankier and soccer players very diverse in their proportions. To get a sense as to how far EA has stretched the proportions over the years compare the realistic style of the characters in Madden 11 for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 to the cartoonish athletes for the Nintendo Wii. The use of simpler models for the Wii might be due to the limited processing power of the console, however the character designs had become very popular in gaming regardless of system. The last of their Street titles, which happened to be the FIFA game, highlighted this transition from realistic to cartoonish proportions.
Other studios in the west were keen on this style of art and presentation and began incorporating it into their own games. When Academy of Champions Soccer was announced I was intrigued with how UbiSoft was going to approach the arcade soccer style. Would it have the same charm of Disney Sports Soccer? The fast paced matches of Sega Soccer Slam? The polish or Mario Strikers? Or would it fail to make a significant impact among gamers? One thing was certain, the 2009 title had a very bold artistic style. It was something that I covered in a blog titled How sports changed the 3D aesthetic. The game itself had an arcade feel and introduced adventure-style quick time events to shake defenders from steaking the ball. This element slowed down the pace of the game and possibly did not work well for a sport title, but the other elements seemed to work very well together. The artistic direction was unique, the level designs meant to conjure up images of magic and super powers for the young football stars, and cameos from the UbiSoft library appeared as playable characters.
The control had incorporated a very progressive gameplay tool. Players could mark where on the net they planned to strike via a red bullseye and could concentrate on passing the ball and setting up the shot instead. Players could freely move this target as they progressed up the field. It was something that I do not think had ever been done before in any soccer game and a minor gameplay element which made the game special. UbiSoft managed to rate higher than all of the FIFA Street games, according to Metacritic, but failed to approach the reactions set by Sega Soccer Slam or Disney Sports Soccer. The question for the industry was what else they learned from the attempt to get the Disney Sports Network off the ground? I shall go over this in my next and final blog on this series.
Did you play any game in the DSN series? Were you a fan of any of the arcade style sports games? I’d like to hear about it in the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!
Konami was spread thin over the four Disney Sports titles released in 2002 for Gamecube and the two above-average titles released for the GBA in 2003, Disney Sports Motocross and Disney Sports Snowboarding. Even for companies as large as Konami and with Disney Interactive backing the series, it was simply too much to launch a franchise series of six sport titles within a year. The lack of experience and familiarity with any sport other than football / soccer showed for Konami. The lack of familiarity with an entire subculture, like skateboarding, was evident as well.
A jaded gamer would say that Konami was exploiting the license for maximum profit rather than trying to make a sincere attempt at a sports series. The work that the studio and publisher put into the games should never be forgotten or talked down, especially for how it shaped the gaming industry and Disney itself. Let's look at the facts, the published games and the concept work.
Sports games are a big part of the gaming, and entertainment industry. It was suggested in Barron's financial magazine in 2008 that 40% or more of Disney's entire value came from the ownership of sports broadcaster ESPN. There was tremendous cash flow generated by the broadcaster on a year-to-year basis. It would be foolish to overlook the importance of sporting as both a money maker and as a culture. Game publishers, like EA, have just about cornered the market on sim sport titles, owning contracts with the biggest franchises, including the NFL, NBA and FIFA. Going head-to-head with EA would be a struggle, even for Disney. Konami had an inside track however, as their Pro Evolution Soccer series was on par, if not better than any soccer sim from EA. Beginning with a solid soccer game, which was the number one sport in the world, and tying it into the Disney universe would just about guarantee that Konami would get off on the right foot.
The Disney license made sense for a sports series to rival anything out of EA. Konami and Disney would find their niche in the sports world by providing an experience that was not purely sim. Combining cartoon graphics and an arcade experience would be unique to all the genres. They would be able to saturate the market with sport games that were outside of the norm and challenge the stranglehold from EA other publishers. It was a bold move but one that made tremendous sense.
The entire Disney Sports Network concept was set to be more than a gimmick featured in the opening cinema.It was going to cover the spectrum of the traditional and action sports while not being locked into a certain mode. Players would have continued to see elements like magic shoes, and impossible "cartoon physics" framing the game. Moreover the DSN world was set to be an ongoing series with sequels and different genres being tackled. Might we have seen Disney Sports Bowling, Tennis, Baseball or Hockey?
Had Konami's original series done well, and if every game in the genre had the same amount of polish and dedication of the soccer title, then that might have been the case. It would be entirely possible for Konami to have followed up with four or more Nintendo-exclusive games that were not sequels given how quickly assets were moved between the studios. Even EA was exploring the possibilities of a Disney sports franchise the same year as Konami when they published Disney Golf in 2002.
Konami and Disney made a favorable impression with editors and gamers alike early on. Unfortunately the reviews for the other titles in the series were very unfavorable and rightfully so. Players that were delighted with the soccer game struggled with unfinished and unpolished experiences in the skateboard, basketball, and football titles. Those other games killed the momentum of the soccer title and caused Konami to let the DSN concept die and the license with Disney expire. Ultimately that was a sad but understandable decision. Both Disney and Konami went wholeheartedly into the venture. Key members of Disney Interactive, as well as the Disney family including Roy Disney and the actual voice talents, lent themselves and their insight into the development of the franchise. Continuing to invest time and money on a franchise that was one of the poorest rated ever would not make much sense to either party. To understand more on how it failed from something other than a gameplay aspect we have to see how the partnership itself hamstrung the series.
The specifics of the license with Disney limited the experience. Konami was going to get exclusive use of certain characters, and only those characters for the DSN games. Konami had to build an experience around key icons and only those characters. They had to create an entire world that held the Disney flavor without stepping into other IP. The work that went into teammates, logos, costumes and especially level and stadium designs most likely originated from Konami. These things were brilliant in concept and visually breathtaking. They created a Disney feel without having anything to do with the company directly.
However these things were not enough to keep the franchise alive. The lack of identifiable characters, outside of the star players, was not the reason the series failed. At least not in concept. The games worked with the original supporting cast of unknown cartoon characters. Over-saturating the series with Disney characters as teammates would not have helped the games at all. Fanservice and cameos alone could not have made up for poor controls and lackluster gameplay.
Looking back gives perspective on where the license with Disney might have been too restrictive. The vision that Konami and Disney wanted to present were in both the concept art as well as in the games themselves. The wonderful themes and game elements presented in the opening cinemas for each title, as well as several of the levels across all four Gamecube, and both Gameboy Advanced titles were ripe with potential. Presenting the ideal games however eluded the developer and publisher. The best versions of the titles would not only have had the polish in the control, features and gameplay, but they would have also incorporated elements from the theme parks as well.
The parks, after all, not only incorporated the vision of Walt Disney himself, but his most trusted artists and imagineers all had a hand in shaping how every theme worked individually and collectively as well. No detail was too small to be overlooked, no project too big to be deemed impossible, from colors to sounds and even smells, everything that went into the creation of the Disney parks was an amazing collective effort. The most creative minds in animation and entertainment shaped the elements that many now take for granted. Had these lessons and park features been incorporated into the DSN series then Konami would have had something truly spectacular. A heavy use of the theme parks is something that designer Warren Spector foresaw and that his Junction Point studio was incorporating with the development of Epic Mickey.
The stadium levels created by Konami were amazing for the traditional sports, they all had that special Disney Magic. This applied to the football, basketball and soccer stages. The fantasy-inspired Charmers Castle, with its towering spires, elegant banners and mix of romantic and modern elements was the home arena for the Charmer's basketball team. Instead of a bench for the team each player had a golden gothic-looking ornamental chairs and the scoreboard was built into a sculpture with gothic numbers displaying on the wall. The Steamrollers home stadium, an enormous dome had to be as large and as imposing as the home team, headlined by Pete. The field was a steel frame with gigantic visible gears turning underneath, steam would shoot up from the grates sporadically and arcs of electricity would shoot up the metal goal posts. Above the bleachers and facing the end zone was a series of gears perpetually grinding away, turning the ornamental beams across the dome. The industrial design was as awe inspiring as it was amazing.
The deficiencies in the universe were not present until the series took gamers out of the stadiums and onto the streets. It was the world presented in Disney Sports Skateboarding that demonstrated the vision that Konami wanted to present to gamers. There were many hints in concept art and in level designs for the stages themselves, unfortunately Konami could probably not incorporate these things in because the use of park assets was not in the licensing arrangement. It was painfully obvious in the Dreamland Funpark. That level took a heavy dose of Fantasyland and put it in the game, more so than even the Charmer's Castle. It was a mix of the Magic Kingdom and a Roller Coaster Kingdom without quite recreating the Disney magic. Dreamland Funpark was not the only level that "could have been."
The suspended track of the Hystaria level had strong hints of the beloved Windy Valley from Sonic Adventure. As it turned out there were also major cues from the Disneyland Big Thunder Mountain railway on the level as well. Twisting, broken railways, rocky cliffs with steep drops and tunnels mixed with suspended tracks, rails and zeppelins. It was also not the only level that could have been based on an actual theme park ride. The level Moon of Iota was set out in space and had the futuristic stylings, colors and atmosphere that hinted heavily at the iconic Space Mountain.
Even with the use of the iconic mouse ear balloons and an assortment of hidden Mickey's everywhere, none of these levels took direct quotes from the Disneyland attractions, however they all hinted very strongly at them. The perfect DSN license would have and should have included permission to use the elements from the theme parks. It would have grounded the Disney characters better than the pocket universe Konami had created for them. It would also have been a consolation to those wishing to see more Disney characters in the series. The use of theme park cues might have allowed designers a faster turnaround with the game and possibly would have freed up the developers to focus on control issues instead. No amount of concept art, no matter how well presented, could make up for the lack of time and focus that went into the gameplay.
Each title needed the entire focus of Konami and not solely shared assets and voices among them. Only then would the DSN series had survived and flourished. Did the failure of the DSN series verify that there could not be any good Disney games or any good licensed games? Was this proof that Konami went into the series with too much ambition? Perhaps that is the case but to sum it up by looking at so few variables we miss the bigger picture. Konami had a profound influence on the industry thanks to the Disney Sports series and we shall highlight this in the next blog.
Did you play any game in this series? What did you think? I’d like to hear about it in the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!
The concept behind the Disney Sports Network was original. Konami and Disney Interactive had built a template for sport videogames featuring the most iconic characters in the world. The developer and publisher managed to deliver the complete vision with Disney Sports Soccer but failed to follow up with any other title in the series. This was no more evident with their basketball and skateboarding games. In order to understand how and even why the games failed we have to look at the publisher and see their history with sport titles. Konami had a very specific track record when it came to sport titles. This experience was reflected in Disney Sports Soccer. At one time Konami had two teams developing professional football (soccer) games, the Winning Eleven and Pro Evolution Soccer series. They had been working with the international sport for over 15 years. The PES franchise had been very successful and that experience was evident in Disney Sports Soccer.
The studio based out of Osaka had only limited experience with sports and activities more popular in the west. A great basketball game had eluded Japanese developers for some time. The most memorable basketball game Konami produced was Double Dribble. An arcade title from 1986 that was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System a year later. Their experience with basketball was spotty at best. Disney Sports Basketball was not a sim or 5-on-5 game but rather a faster paced 3-on-3 arcade experience. The game borrowed the elements that I spoke about in the previous blog, with regards to the teams, stadiums, uniforms and colors. Plays were quick and dunks were presented with over-the-top animations. It could be considered an attempt at making an NBA Jam-style game with Disney characters. Unfortunately the stiff control, poor balance, questionable collision detection and canned animations detracted from the title.
Each title in the DSN series was cast in a slightly different light, this was made most obvious in the opening animations. The Soccer title captured the energy and tempo of the global game, the American Football game captured the spectacle of the competition and the Basketball game had a very urban, almost Hip Hop vibe to it. It was present with the musical beat and urban setting in the opening animation. Characters bounced around fanciful arenas, not as large as either football games but still filled with tons of eye candy. Courts made of glass and suspended by blimps over skyscrapers, courts incorporated into theme parks and even space stations, all of the fanciful things that you would come to expect from the other titles in the universe appeared in DSN Basketball. The game itself was possibly the one with the most modes and even gameplay options. Disney Sports Basketball featured a number of play options including a full season as well as exhibition and challenge titles where All-Star teams combining different Disney icons could be put together. At the end of the Challenge Mode yet another feature popped up pitting a handful of "All Star" teams with their own uniforms and logos, including Pete's All Stars (who will be mentioned below in the soccer game), Mickey, Donald and Goofy also had their own All Star lineup. This was the only sports title that featured team creation consisting of multiple icons on the same side. The game also featured a step-by-step tutorial mode which was lacking in every other DSN title.
Control-wise the game was also the simplest to play, or at the very least fastest to master. On the easy setting players could dominate the competition with a couple of buttons. Passing, shooting and defending were completed with two buttons. On the harder settings scoring became frustratingly difficult as opponents stole or blocked the ball with efficiency and had a higher percentage of shots and dunks go in. Advanced players could actually enjoy the depth provided by the game targeted at youngsters. While it offered the frenetic scoring and over-the-top dunks of NBA Jam it also had a basic crossover move like NBA STREET as well as the ability to change formations and back down opponents like NBA Live. Players could switch relatively quickly between the tactics to find which worked for their particular character and style of play. This mix of arcade and sim elements meant that players could enjoy the gameplay in more than one format. Two buttons worked against opponents on the easiest setting but players had to master the four regular button and two shoulder button commands if they wanted to survive on the harder modes.
Disney Sports Basketball featured a marked difference between the teams and their style of play. The way the characters handled and even their special moves were defined by the individual mascots. In this way the teams each had their own personality, like the Soccer title. Unfortunately it lacked the substitution feature of the either the Soccer or American Football titles. While the gameplay was actually decent, above average despite what the reviews tell you, it was not in the same league as the aforementioned NBA games. The game did present one notable twist to the DSN experience. Pete and his Steamrollers were featured in the opening cinema and all through the instruction manual but the team was not present in any of the modes when starting a new game. This team could only be seen and played against after a season of playing against every other team in the league.
A cinema would introduce them on a smaller basketball court-sized version of the Steamroller Dome. Players would have to defeat the massive Pete and his team of hogs in a best-of-three series in order to unlock the team and their stadium. It was in the final levels that the naming behind his team, the Steamrollers, was explained, Pete was the only character in the game that could run over opponents rather than sidestep them with the crossover command. In fact Pete often knocked down all three of my teammates many times in a single rush to the basket. I learned quickly that the best defense against the character was to give him plenty of space and go for a rebound. Stealing the ball would often result in getting flattened by his quick step. This exception to the gameplay would have made Pete a popular choice amongst gamers trying to cheat their way to the top. Having gamers play through a season before unlocking the Steamrollers was a wise choice from a design standpoint.
As an aside I failed to mention that Pete was also the pivotal character in the DSN Soccer game. At the end of the Challenge Cup mode the player would have to take on Pete's All Stars, rather than the Steamrollers. This team had its own Stadium, playing in Vista Arena in outer space, which was the setting meant for Goofy's SpaceNuts team. Pete's All Stars also had their own uniforms, black and gray striped in a stark contrast to the bright orange of the Steamrollers. The ref Jose Carioca and the linesmen Huey, Dewey and Louie had bright yellow alternate uniforms instead of their regular black uniforms. The All Stars were composed of all the bad guy characters in the title, Pete and his hogs, Mortimer and his dogs and the Big Bad Wolf and his wolf teammates. The three mascot characters all had access to their magic abilities and trying to beat them was next-to-impossible as the rivals trounced players with an assortment of cheap shots and magic attacks. The difficulty curve with the magic shoes enabled was maddening, possibly surpassing the difficulty of Ninja Gaiden in its hardest mode. The only realistic way to defeat the team was to play through a season without any magic allowed. Additionally, if players managed to unlock all 40 magic shoes in the game they were rewarded with the Tiny Rockets, a team made up of the ref and linsemen from the game and the four all had access to magical shoes, making them the most powerful team in the game. Both Pete's All Stars and the Tiny Rockets could only be selected in the Exhibition Mode and not the Challenge or Dream Cup modes.
The titles at their best were a template for game animators to draw from, character designers to learn from and level designers to pull ideas out of. From a modeling standpoint the characters were faithful adaptations of their 2D counterparts. Many of the physical traits, personality cues, proportions and subtle details were brought into 3D models. Granted, there were some exceptions where characters with mouse ears did not keep their ears in perspective even when the head turned. This trick was easy to accomplish in 2D but would require some extra work in 3D. This was a slight oversight (the desired effect would show up in Epic Mickey after all) but for the DSN series the 3D models were great as the entire cast and supporting characters was well presented across the series. The uniforms themselves were actually unique in each title and not simply reused through the series. The color choices, patterns and logos did cross over but players in the basketball game had basketball jerseys and sneakers, players in the American football game had padding and helmets and those in the soccer title wore traditional kits. Each detail was accurate for their respective sport, from the cut of the fabric down to the cleats on the shoes. No detail was overlooked in the series.
From an animation standpoint the team at Konami had mastered the difficulties of creating realistic movement when the characters themselves had unrealistic proportions. Think about the challenges of having cartoon characters perform actions in three dimensions. How difficult would it be to have the short Huey, Louie or Dewey convincingly dribble a basketball almost as big as they were, or have the flat-footed Donald dribble a soccer ball across a field with his webbed feet? What about contests where height and size were supposed to matter? In the basketball title the shorter Minnie Mouse was supposed to be on par with the tall and lanky Goofy. There was also the challenge of having any character go up against the massive Steamrollers lineup and survive. The team at Konami in Osaka answered the challenges while respecting the legacy of the characters. The dribbling of the Tiny Rockets was fast and frenetic, as the ball did not have long to travel to the ground. Donald would lean forward and run full bore with a waddle in a wide-stance while keeping the ball close on dribbles, on free kicks he would turn his back to the person kicking the ball look then over his shoulder and shake his tail as a challenge / target. Minnie had a higher-than-average three point shot ability so she did not have to get close to the rim and attempt a dunk against taller opponents, this did not mean she couldn't dunk though. While the mascots maintained a happy facade in the other titles the grim determination was most evident and appropriate on those faces in the soccer title.
The stadiums themselves were amazing. As the detail in the logos and uniforms was evident, so too was the level of detail reinforced in the stadiums themselves. There were bannisters for camera people to set up, exit rows for the virtual guests, working projectors displaying the game from different angles, coolers and water bottles littering the sidelines and fully functional game and penalty clocks high above in the stands. While the majority of these things might not have been noticed or even seen by average gamers, it certainly helped ground the characters into a tangible universe. It wasn't solely the elements that existed in real world stadiums that were duplicated, it was the elements incorporated from the impossibly fantastic imaginations that were brought to life. Transparent floors with the scoreboard and gamecock visible underneath. Perpetually color-shifting fields made up of hexagons. Backboards made up of anti-gravity technology or with floating electronic signs circling them. I will go on and on over the course of the series with how spectacular the levels were. These were the types of designs that would make even the most creative architect green with envy.
The other saving grace, like those of most of the DSN games were the character designs and even concept art provided by the Disney artists. These rarely seen pieces showed the mood and atmosphere that the title was trying to present. These pieces gave the characters dimension far beyond a typical mascot sketch or any other Disney illustration of that time. Unfortunately most of the games failed to reproduce that sense of vulnerability, competitiveness or passion. They instead reduced the characters to the glassy-eyed, grinning mascots most people associate with the modern Disney characters.
The fourth game in the Gamecube lineup was possibly the worst. Disney Sports Skateboarding had the dubious distinction of being the lowest rated skateboarding game on Metacritic. A year later (in 2003) Toys For Bob developed and Activision published the highly popular Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure. It was vastly superior to the Konami game in many ways. It featured more modern characters from the Disney library including Toy Story, the Lion King and Tarzan. But it wasn't the characters that made the game special, it was the control by far. Toys For Bob had built their game on the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 engine. The control, tricks and animations were familiar to audiences and could be picked up easily by newcomers to the genre. Toys For Bob didn't follow up with another skateboarding game until 2006 when they made the Nintendo exclusive Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam. By comparison the limited experience that Konami had with skateboarding as a culture and activity was evident as the gameplay fell far short of the expectations presented in the opening cinema.
Disney Sports Soccer came close to achieving gameplay that was on par with the opening cinema. DSN Skateboarding did not come close. The only thing that the skateboarding game had in common with the opening cinema were the locations. All of the levels and some of the features shown in the cinema made it into the game. The flow of the levels (the lines of the skatepark construction) was decent but the control of the characters and the multiplayer aspects were poor to nonexistent. I forced myself to play through the game through completion, again and again, to try and squeeze every ounce of detail that I could from the game.
Konami had only produced a few other skateboarding games before DSN Skateboarding. The two previous, ESPN X-Games Skateboarding released in 2001 and Evolution Skateboarding released a year later were met with mixed reviews. There were few changes made to the original X-Games Skateboarding engine to make it the backbone of both DSN and Evolution Skateboarding. That engine was one based on the Metal Gear Solid 2 engine that also happened to power the Winning Eleven game. Konami had built a powerful gaming engine, potentially spending millions in the process, that could be ported for different genres and even consoles. The thing that all the titles using the engine had in common were with the graphics. The engine was able to present fantastic 3D models with great lighting, textures and effects. It was able to recreate the physical traits of an actual skateboarder like Danny Way, a cartoon character like Donald Duck or even a Konami legend like Solid Snake while staying true to the source material and art direction.
For the skateboarding games the character models were all very detailed and appeared fantastic even when compared to the best work coming out of Neversoft, then the developers of the Tony Hawk games.
Where all three Konami skateboarding games failed was in the control department. Despite being detailed models, the characters moved stiffly and the control was even poorer. Turns were slow and clumsy, acceleration was a challenge and activating tricks was difficult even with practice. An activity like skateboarding demanded a certain sense of fluidity, range of motion and speed. Videogames rarely captured the sense of movement and freedom to explore the environment in ways that actual skateboarders could. Skateboarding games challenged developers differently than any other genre. The act of skateboarding was tricky yet had to be be made accessible and fun for gamers. Few outside of Neversoft managed to get that issue solved.
Konami tried to supplement the lack of control experience by changing the formula of a serious skate sim. They added themed environments and even "set pieces" to their titles. Both X-Games and DSN Skateboarding added exploration and even fantasy elements to their level design while Evolution Skateboarding introduced the concept of "boss battles" such as fighting a giant spider, stopping a runaway truck, planting bombs on an oil platform or battling a maniac in a tank. The oil rig and explosives, along with character models of Solid Snake and Raiden featured in Evolution Skateboarding were brought over from MGS2. Simon Belmont of Castlevania fame, Frogger and a few other random characters from Konami's library were put in Evo Skateboarding as well. Unfortunately all of these elements were undone by impossibly stiff controls.
I am a die-hard skateboarding game aficionado. I've played almost every skateboarding game made for consoles, handhelds, computer systems and the arcade. I still own many skateboarding games long forgotten by players. Unfortunately I also pride myself as being a glutton for gaming punishment. I grind through many games not worth the trouble just to see if I can find any redeeming factors in the title, or to try and understand where the designers were trying to go with the game. I played through Disney Skateboarding with every character, in every mode and searched through all the levels for secrets and unlockable content. Most gamers, even die-hard Disney fans refused to play for longer than a few minutes after feeling how stiff and unresponsive the controls were. The learning curve was also brutal as players not only had to learn how to do tricks but also had to complete certain objectives under a time limit. Even with a map to guide players to objectives, reaching some of the locations required thorough knowledge of the level, patience and sharp timing. How a young gamer could accomplish this was beyond me. There were also features touted in the manual and highlighted in the game like alternate costumes and several hidden boards that could never be unlocked. A handful of hidden boards never showed up in any level which frustrated a completion freak like me. The unintuitive checkpoint race, the unfinished training mode and brutally hard contest mode made for for an unforgivable experience. Unlocking everything in the game took almost two dozen hours to accomplish and I am sad for both Disney and Konami because I had to fight the game and controller every minute of the way.
Despite all of these things there were many fun and a few original ideas in DSN Skateboarding. From a gameplay aspect much of the level design was very progressive. Many of the levels in the game were laid out with makeshift ramps and rails lined up as they would be in an actual skatepark. Incorporating these elements made it easier (but not easy) for young or inexperienced gamers to find their way through a stage. The game had "perfect balance" during grinds so that players spent no time worrying about falling out of a grind and instead could pursue long combo strings. Perfect balance also allowed for lines to be built in a circuit, where some combos could be looped infinitely by reaching the right series of rails, wires and ledges.
This game was also one of the rare titles to incorporate grind-able roller coaster tracks in the level design. Jet Set Radio Future, Tony Hawk's Pro Skateboarding 4 and Disney Skateboarding were all released in 2002 and they all had al least one roller coaster track in a level. The Disney and JSRF games allowed for characters to grind upside down, corkscrew and loop on the track. It was a fun dynamic that completely changed the way players approached levels and took gameplay and level design to new heights. The level Dreamland Funpark was inspired greatly by the Magic Kingdom, with an amusement park-meets-fantasy castle setting the stage. It was even framed with fireworks shooting off in the distance, a very nostalgic touch. Konami answered one of the challenges presented in the opening cinema by allowing the characters to do the impossible while skateboarding. It made for one memorable element in a game which was otherwise easily forgettable. Unfortunately it also highlighted one of game design choices that would handicap the vision behind the series.
Disney Skateboarding was special above the other titles because it allowed freedom of exploration. It was not locked into the confines of a sport sim. This freedom highlighted the deficiencies with the series more than the American Football or Basketball games could have. In fact over four DSN games for the Gamecube there were many lessons learned. We shall look at these in the next blog.
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As stated in the previous blog, Disney Sports Soccer was fantastic in concept and execution. It was an exercise in sublime design that should be dissected and emulated by working pros as well as those that want to work in the industry someday. Konami was able to create an approach to the IP that was fresh while maintaining respect for the iconic characters and their history. The reason for this was because they worked closely with Disney Interactive, in particular the Disney legends while approaching the games. Let's start with the first thing gamers noticed, the art and graphics. There were good character models, perhaps not as great as could have been rendered on the systems more powerful than the Gamecube, but better than other Disney showings on the GC. These models were given bright colors and costumes that reflected their personality, while not dating them to a particular era or fashion sense. This sense of timeless design helped break the mold of trying to fit them into a contemporary setting.
These characters featured actual Disney voice actors to lend an air of authenticity and better yet, sincerity to the title. It was the use of shared assets and input from the visionaries at Disney that allowed for the games to give off a sense of something more than another licensed title. Disney Interactive and the late Roy Disney Jr. in particular got special mention by Konami for their contributions to the series. I would like to think that the elements that worked best in the games were the result of their insight. Only developers that happened to also be true fans of the animated universe would have been able to identify and revive classic rivalries, like those of Mortimer and Mickey Mouse whose grudge went all the way back to 1936, while creating a modern sports title that the gamers demanded.
It was the spirit of the classic Disney characters which Konami was able to capture and evoke through the series that was their biggest success. They did this not solely by bringing back classic characters and putting them in soccer uniforms but instead placing them in fully realized worlds that complimented the Disney aesthetic. Lets begin with the levels themselves. The majority of the DSN titles featured stadiums that were fantastic creations, completely beyond the scope of any real world stadium while preserving familiar elements.
There were tiers filled with thousands of little characters, banners and flags waving in the stands, air horns going off in the distance, markers and a layout that all reflected cues from gigantic modern stadiums but then complimented with enormous ornamental displays and architecture. A giant pair of fans supported high above the terraces in Great Sun Stadium and the Japanese Edo-inspired castle rafters in Lotus Field were perfect examples of this. In the distance fantastic architecture, some from the realm of science fiction with glass towers and monorails populating the scenery or classic motifs like castles and European villages provided atmosphere to the stadiums. These levels helped remind players of the consistent universe that the DSN opening animation was promoting.
The supporting cast showed up in subsequent team-based games to help create a sense of continuity with the universe. Additionally the team names, colors and logos were carried across the series as well. The choice of bold primary colors for team uniforms helped make the players contrast each other nicely on the field. The colors also served to reflect the personality of each character as well. Mickey Mouse would always be assigned a cool blue, Minnie a soft pink and Pete would carry a blazing orange.
These color choices would be reflected in some clever and memorable logo designs. Each icon helped reflect the core personality of the star player on the team while being a fun design in and of itself. The comedic Goofy was the star of the SpaceNuts, the brutish Pete was the star of the SteamRollers and the arrogant Mortimer was the star of the Imperials. I enjoyed some of the team logos so much that I recreated the art in illustrator. Here are the Wolfgangs and Seaducks logos for your enjoyment.
The character models, color choices, team names, voices and in some cases the stadiums themselves would be assets shared among the other Disney Sports titles. The Seaducks home stadium in the American Football game was a hardwood field built on the deck of the massive S.S. Cantakerous, a cruise ship in sailing out of Duck's Harbor. A variation of this ship would return as the makeshift skatepark in Oceanside Port and the location for a motocross track as well. Unfortunately none of the other sport titles managed to recreate the success of Disney Sports Soccer. The American Football game was not a great offender but seemed only average by comparison especially when compared to the other casual football games on the market.
DSN American Football was a commercial disappointment. As arguably the most famous sport in the USA it made sense that this was the second title in the series that Konami released. It was supposed to be on par with the soccer title and something to draw in Americans that were riding the fence to the whole Disney Sports series. On the surface the game had all the same things that made the soccer title work. All of the teams were returning, with a couple of new additions. Max Goof, the son of Goofy, had his own team (the Lords) as did the alligators (the Headhunters), featured in the Dance of the Hours from Fantasia. The revised character models now had helmets, padding and gear appropriate for the sport. Each team had it's own new and awe-inspiring stadium, a full four more levels that the flagship soccer title. These levels presented the world surrounding the soccer stadiums with more clarity and detiail. Possibly because this game had a slightly longer development cycle than the soccer title.
There was even a new referee with a huge following in the USA, the always impartial Scrooge McDuck. He would watch over the coin toss with great interest. Despite the addition of two more teams what this game lacked was the control and overall level of polish that DSN Soccer had.
The graphics were great but suffered from collision detection problems. The models were well made but the animation used with them made them appear slow and cumbersome. The control was sluggish and plays felt difficult to execute. The difficulty and learning curve were very high. While team management was possible, including stat building and trading, the teammates themselves lacked the cohesive feel and individuality from the soccer experience. There was a divide between the flagship title that Konami produced and every other title with the DSN logo. The Disney Sports game announcement in the Spring of 2002 and the four titles released that same year, with the exception of Disney Sports Soccer, all failed to make any significant impact among gamers. Looking back at that series it can be understood where Konami made their mistakes and also what influence they had on the industry as a whole.
While Konami had assembled a talented pool for the projects, along with the support of Disney Interactive and the Disney voice actors, there was no way for the studio to have released four sport titles within one year without suffering on quality. There were signs of potential trouble with the games as preview versions for journalists and early builds for trade shows like the E3 were sorely lacking. Most late builds of a videogame for the media have a few changes to be made before being published for the market. These things are usually minor fixes with the graphics and control. What the media and public saw with the Disney games a few months before their release were far more than minor bugs. For example, with the American Football game the teammate models were incomplete. The star players like Mickey and Goofy had finished models but teammates were floating pads and helmets. They were playing on the soccer pitch levels rather than in their own stadiums. Whether this was because Konami was pending approval from Disney for their team designs or they were falling behind on the development cycle was unknown. It was a bit alarming to see a game in this state the same year it was supposed to come out.
When the game was released it featured complete models and showed a lot of polish compared to the preview build as well a slight graphical overhaul. The stadiums were new and familiar but not copies of the ones featured in the soccer game. Disney and Konami really outdid themselves with regards to level design as the sport complexes featured in the series were among the most fantastic and imaginative of any ever committed to a sports game.
They were the types of stadiums that held up to the Disney standard, ones in which characters would have been proud to play in. The logos and teams were also carried over, reinforcing the themes and universe that Konami was hoping to establish. The uniforms were accurate for the sport and the features of the arcade experience namely the magic shoes also returned to give characters advantages over opponents. Despite all this the title was lacking the depth, features and control that made DSN Soccer a hit.
Considered a failure, Disney Sports American Football was not the poorest rated of the series. The two games that preceded it, Disney Sports Skateboarding and Disney Sports Basketball were among the lowest rated games ever released by Disney and Konami. The reception to the two games was harsh and not without exception. The failure of the Disney Sports Network was reflected in those games. The next blog will look at how Konami failed the public with poor basketball and skateboarding titles.
Did you play any game in this series of so I’d like to hear about it in the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!
