Disney's Game Foray Could Dwarf Competition

Currently, about 80% of the division's titles are based on existing Disney content, with 20% of division spending going toward new intellectual property.

When Disney relaunched its Web site earlier this month, it put a Spectrobes teaser on its page. That resulted in 450,000 views in one day, says Hopper, who cited the high number as an example of the power of the Disney brand.

"Something like this doesn't cost us money to do, but it is of tremendous value to us in reducing the risk," says Hopper.

Games Avast!

Disney Interactive has another much-anticipated game release in the works. In May, the company will debut its Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End game for all major consoles, including Sony's(SNE Quote) PS3, Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's(MSFT Quote) Xbox 360 and the PC.

For independent video-game publishers, a more powerful Disney game division could be discomforting.

Disney says growth in its game division will come from publishing more games rather than from existing licensing arrangements it has with publishers. Electronics Arts(ERTS Quote), for instance, licenses the ESPN brand from Disney to produce a range of games under its EA Sports franchise, which brings in a significant chunk of revenue for EA.