Disney Cancels “Disney Infinity”

This is a very sad day for fans of the “Toys to Life” genre. “Disney Infinity” has always been, without a doubt, the best example of it I’ve ever played, far outshining the original “Skylanders” and the so-okay-it’s-average “Lego Dimensions”. I mean, which game allows you to play as characters from Disney, Pixar, Marvel AND Star Wars while also owning their likenesses in awesome, detailed figurines? Featuring worlds such as “Inside Out”, “Pirates of the Caribbean”, “The Force Awakens” and “Guardians of the Galaxy”, alongside their respective characters, “Disney Infinity” is truly the dream of any kid who’s a Disney fan, and honestly, their parents would find a lot to love, too. Sadly, the dream was not meant to last – recently, Disney announced that “Infinity” is, well… Surprisingly finite.

“Disney Infinity” had three versions so far – the original, which showcased Disney and Pixar levels and characters, 2.0, which featured Marvel characters, and 3.0, which was all about Star Wars. It’s unknown what the theme of 4.0 was supposed to be, but either way, it’s not going to be happening, as no more versions of the game will ever be released. “Disney Infinity 3.0” will see two more levels released alongside their respective characters, based on “Finding Dory” and “Alice Through The Looking Glass”, and after that the game won’t receive any more support whatsoever. It’s currently unknown whether the currently available characters and levels (which are sold in the form of toys) will continue to be manufactured, but it’s unlikely.

The decision from Disney to pull the plug of “Infinity” may be shocking to some, especially to those who know that the game is currently at the top of the “Toys to Life” genre, but honestly, it wasn’t hard to see it coming. When “Infinity 1.0” came out, demand for the toys far outmatched the supply from the manufacturer, and while that’s usually a good thing, in this case it led to mad sales, as every parent was worried that supplies wouldn’t last and that their child would be disappointed, which in turn led to even more sales. As a result, when “Infinity 2.0” launched, Disney vastly overestimated their demand and that resulted in hundreds of thousands of unsold copies of each figurine. Compare this with Nintendo’s approach to the “Toys to Life” model – their Amiibo figures are always in short supply in North America precisely to exploit this loophole in the consumer’s mind. When a product’s in high demand, it’ll always sell even more. And while creating an artificial shortage does sound like a murky business practice, it’s better than the alternative, namely – ending your game and packing up store with millions of unsold toys.

Honestly, I’m kind of hoping that now Disney will release some kind of Collector’s Edition which offers all three versions of Disney Infinity alongside all levels and characters without requiring the figurines in order to play them, but who knows if that’ll ever happen. It’d be practically like free money for them, but hey, I’m not exactly their business adviser!