I have noticed that since the announcement of VMK closing
Disney has kept there mouth's shut.
It's as if they are intimidated.
Anyone else notice this?
it somewhat lowers my respect for Disney..
:Question2:

I would be intimidated/scared too if I were them. They just announced the closing of a game of at least 6000 active players, around half of which are protesting, taking the story to news stations, posting polls all around the internet and call/e-mailing their top employees and directors.

^^
so true

That made me lose a lot of respect. Know Im not scared of them.
- acefredfred

Their respect for me fell down the tubes. They are so very intimidated now. i mean they have CNN ringing up their phones wanting an interview. Plus they are blocking us out. They have their emails rejecting emails now. All we need is one very public news story and bingo I think we have VMK back. Now don't quote me on that but they hate bad publicity, as most buissness do, and they will want to make everyone happy.

Disney + bad publicity = torches and money loss and vmk back, oh my!

People, stay focused and continue to email and call!

Nice to pull up my Yahoo page and see a big story about the next 10 animated movies Disney previewed for the press today.
Maybe they are focused on much bigger things to them.
Was a story with a rueters tag on entertainment and gossip.

Aww intersting, I know they also want to make money with there games so I'm not sure if they are charging for the next two online games they plan on releasing.

I have a odd feeling they will talk... eventually. One of these days they will. I can feel it..

They probably will charge for the next two games. Aren't they a Fairies game and a Cars game?

This is making me so sick. I used to love Disney. I imagined if I died and went to heaven someday, it must be Disneyland or it wouldn't be heaven.

I'm so mad that they're forwarding everyone's calls to a voice mail box if they want to leave a message and complain. Which you KNOW they're just deleting and not listing to, that's why they're doing it that way. :(

They probably will charge for the next two games. Aren't they a Fairies game and a Cars game?

Yeah thats what I was thinking.

If a news outlet picks them up and they get bad publicity, they may lose more money than if they just kept the game open @_@

CNN iReports has three stories. Keep posting comments on the stories so our voices are heard.

CNN iReports has three stories. Keep posting comments on the stories so our voices are heard.

Gah, their interface is confusing. Can someone post a summary of what was said for us who are flash-impaired?

Only thing Disney is concerned about is Cars, POTCO and Fairies. And I don't think little kids "intimidate" Disney. There is NO point of talking when it clearly states on VMK.com of why VMK is closing. End of Story.

I disagree. "Kids" are a big Disney market. Adults go to the parks and on "adventures by Disney" for their kids.

Disney also has ESPN (sports channels) and ABC network. Today's kids are tomorrow's adults who will (or will not) take their kids to Disney properties.

While "intimidate" is not the right word, I think Disney will do what it can in the near future to try and draw kids back.

I really hate to do this, but I guess I will start using the term
Di$ney to refer to the WDIG.
-Kit

Nice to pull up my Yahoo page and see a big story about the next 10 animated movies Disney previewed for the press today.
Maybe they are focused on much bigger things to them.
Was a story with a rueters tag on entertainment and gossip.
And look at all the free advertising for those 10 movies they will be missing.

Can the effectively advertise all those movies on their other game sites? All the other games have a somewhat limited appeal. VMK is everything Disney and they could effectively use it to advertise those movies both when they go to theaters and when they go to dvd.

They are missing a huge opportunity here.

I don't really blame Disney for this. I think they have to keep quiet about the closing pf VMK, because there is something that could make the company look bad if it were brought to light. They handled an internal problem with and internal solution.
It is a big shame that VMK has to close. It had such potential. Maybe if there is enough interest, they will build a newer better VMK. If they can fix the problems that have plagued VMK since day one.

My 2 cents worth...
I don't think they expected the outpouring of people wanting to save the game. I think they are bringing their legal team in to see what they can and can not say. If CNN is calling them with questions it is in their best interest to get the legal team in just in case to make sure they don't say something wrong. We live in a world of lawsuits and lawyers...
I was talking with someone the other day about this and she brought up something I found interesting. It is very possible that something happened in real life that has a direct link to VMK. Yes, you're not supposed to give out personal information and all of that. But there are other ways. You can give someone your VMKF name...some people use the same name...and PM any information from here. Yes, this site is really good at making sure things like that do not happen but they can't be everywhere and read everything..especially PMs. There could be an incident that has not been made public that is causing them to pull the plug on VMK. This is specualtion I want to make clear. But the point I'm trying to make is that something could have happened that we don't know about. They could be talking to legal which always takes a while for them to do anything.
I am not giving up hope that there is still a chance we are heard and VMK is saved but I am preparing myself for the worst as well. It's like watching a sick relative in the hospital wondering what's going on, if they're going to live or die :(
I don't "blame" anyone in particular because I don't know the whole story. I am angry to not know why though. The whole "the promotion ended" line is too weak for me. It ended 2 years ago, why didn't it close 2 years ago? Why now?

Hmm.. Probably.
They might be scared that we wont come back to the parks or something.

I like what you just said autoalice, Its hard to understand why they chose to close and it could be a situation that happened we dont know about. So they have to handle this very carefully.

Very true autoalice, however I am a little doubtful about that scenario. They have covered themselves legally with the agreement we clicked when we all registered for VMK. So whatever happens outside of VMK is not their problem. Also, Disney has managed to get out of legal situations when it comes to park rides, without closing anything down. I don't know if anyone remembers the little girl who had her hair caught in the tracks at It's a Small World, or the two little boys who passed away after riding Rock n' Roller Coaster and Mission Space. Disney has a great legal team that has covered them in all aspects and all those rides are still open. I am not trying to question the safety of Disney rides, please do not misconstrue my statements, the rides are safe to ride. Just a small percentage of incidents have occurred that will occur with anything. So I do not think a "personal information leak" is what has cause VMK to shut down. I think it is all about the money and finically VMK does not make a profit for them that they would like to see. The bottom line for any big corporation is essentially money. And I do not blame Disney for it. I just wish they would have come up with a better way to make everyone happy.

What we have to do is tell the world.

Only thing Disney is concerned about is Cars, POTCO and Fairies. And I don't think little kids "intimidate" Disney. There is NO point of talking when it clearly states on VMK.com of why VMK is closing. End of Story.
Goodness..Its called parents! And i also agree with Kit.
Fight the Power! keep vmk alive!!

The only way you'll see Di$ney keep VMK going is if they aquire Sulake, who they got to do the game. Sulake is just too big a bite for Di$ney to aquire, it would require approval by the Finnish government for the sale, and rather than selling, Sulake is in the process of buying other companies. Their revenues for 2006 were US$77,000,000, 2007 revenue statement is not out yet but you can bet it's more. Remember that 77 million figure for a minute, though.

Di$ney bought the Penguin Clubbers in a deal worth US$700,000,000. That involved $350 million up front, and another $350 million over the next few years as they achieve certain goals. The Penguin Clubbers had annual revenue of US$50,000,000.

Based on the $77 million revenue, if they were able to cut a deal with Sulake it would be for over One Billion dollars. That's a lot of carrots to buy a company that would be duplicating much of what Di$ney will be doing in-house and through their Penguin Clubber division. Plus, the main source of Sulake's revenue is through the Habbo Hotels, which are not safe for the ankle-biters, and so Di$ney wouldn't want to be identified with them.

Based on interviews with Di$ney execs, they intend to start spamming TONS of online worlds, probably with every film released that they see as having a possible online market, i.e. snot nose kiddies. Pixie Hollow, which is already in open beta and should get official release co-inciding with the Tinkerbug movie, will just be the beginning. Look for five to ten online worlds per year once they get rolling.

Di$ney seems to think that ten crummy games is equal to one good game, and judging by the garbage that they put in theatres these days, they are probably right.

-ekb-

Based on interviews with Di$ney execs, they intend to start spamming TONS of online worlds, probably with every film released that they see as having a possible online market, i.e. snot nose kiddies. Pixie Hollow, which is already in open beta and should get official release co-inciding with the Tinkerbug movie, will just be the beginning. Look for five to ten online worlds per year once they get rolling.

Di$ney seems to think that ten crummy games is equal to one good game, and judging by the garbage that they put in theatres these days, they are probably right.

-ekb-

Agreed, and now that we have seen the way Disney treats it's online community is there any reason to think that any of these new online games will continue past the next new movie release?
If they could not see the value in VMK as a marketing tool - expect the continuation of the downward spiral of everything online Disney touches.

It truly scares me to say this, but... EKB has a really good point.

Please excuse me whilst I go wash my mouth out with lye.

While I think it's more than just Saluke involved here, The points are valid.
There is also the whole Disney parks funding it for the 50th, creation of an online division, that had it's own agenda. The two jealous of the others efforts and succes. The upper managemant wanting to control all the product tie ins as well as limiting talk therefore eliminating the need for hosts and staff,(such as POTC/TOON/and Penguins).
There are too many hands and not enough brains running the Disney Empire.

people need to understand Disney is a Corporation. This is how Corporate America has to/and does run.

Yeah very true. I just watched a show today called the Pixar Story and boy did I learn alot about the business side of animation and cost that it takes to run a studio and how the Pixar Disney merger happened, it was quite a story. :ThumbsUp:

The only way you'll see Di$ney keep VMK going is if they aquire Sulake, who they got to do the game. Sulake is just too big a bite for Di$ney to aquire, it would require approval by the Finnish government for the sale, and rather than selling, Sulake is in the process of buying other companies. Their revenues for 2006 were US$77,000,000, 2007 revenue statement is not out yet but you can bet it's more. Remember that 77 million figure for a minute, though.

Di$ney bought the Penguin Clubbers in a deal worth US$700,000,000. That involved $350 million up front, and another $350 million over the next few years as they achieve certain goals. The Penguin Clubbers had annual revenue of US$50,000,000.

Based on the $77 million revenue, if they were able to cut a deal with Sulake it would be for over One Billion dollars. That's a lot of carrots to buy a company that would be duplicating much of what Di$ney will be doing in-house and through their Penguin Clubber division. Plus, the main source of Sulake's revenue is through the Habbo Hotels, which are not safe for the ankle-biters, and so Di$ney wouldn't want to be identified with them.

Based on interviews with Di$ney execs, they intend to start spamming TONS of online worlds, probably with every film released that they see as having a possible online market, i.e. snot nose kiddies. Pixie Hollow, which is already in open beta and should get official release co-inciding with the Tinkerbug movie, will just be the beginning. Look for five to ten online worlds per year once they get rolling.

Di$ney seems to think that ten crummy games is equal to one good game, and judging by the garbage that they put in theatres these days, they are probably right.

-ekb-

All good points EKB. Up until they made the club penguin deal they probably could have just bought out the VMK product and code from Sulake. But that would have taken someone with a little foresight to recognize that. Now that they spent 700 million on a product that is nowhere near comparable to VMK, I can only imagine what Sulake would want just for VMK itself. So we are probably looking at the need for a total buyout to acquire the product. Of course they could always resell any portions that they don't want. Still, the entire scenario seems unlikely at this point.

Disney built their reputation on timeless classic Family entertainment. The current trend of knock out and knock off movies, video's and now online gaming concerns me greatly. They seem more concerned about the short term and staying in the black, rather than long term enduring products that can transcend generations. They are becoming the short term thinkers that Walt outthought and outpaced in the process of growing the company. Competition will be strong for the right formula to take online gaming and virtual worlds into the future. It seems to me that Disney is content to lag behind. Maybe they think they will have the financial wherewithal to buy out the product that sets the pace. With the unprecedented growth in this arena they are sadly mistaken. Sulake is just a small example of that.

This is the only free game thats -FUN. Like Club Penguin, free is boring, some people, let me make this very clear...CANNOT PAY. And they are just taking away a great experience for people all over the world, they can't feel VMK going away, it's too close to them. All Disney wants to do is make money! They cannot do this one great oppurtunity for us to have. They got bagloads of money, people. They need to learn to use it wisely and not spend it on a TV show with a bad role model. -Stars new path- Anyways, on topic, Disney, if you can't reply then don't start this madness.

EKB, right, sorta.. Sulake would do a MUCH better job :) Sulake actually cared about us. And club penguin, it was such a fun game until Disney came along and turn the cute little penguin ears into mouse ears! :( Disney is just ruining everything these days..

If Disney can't spend their money wisely, I'll take it :D

Disney not talking? Doesn't surprise me. Lol.

- Pinky. :]

i guess it goes to show partly of why most all fun online games cost money. they simply cant make enought to keep it open if they don't charge a select group of players a fee.