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RETAILBIZ: ALICE IN WONDERLAND WWW.MCVUK.COM
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CURIOUSER CAMPAIGN
edition draws heavily from Burton’s imagination, recreating the film’s warped take on Carroll’s Underland, the developer has worked hard to make the DS edition stand out from the crowd. “Alice in Wonderland on Wii faithfully captures the movie look and feel with stunning, avant-garde visuals and some of the most charismatic characters in history have been beautifully and colourfully recreated in the game,” says Woodward. “Players will be amazed by the graphical quality we’ve managed to achieve and they’ll love taking control of this diverse cast of characters, each with their own unique special abilities. “More than simply a port from one platform to another, Alice in Wonderland has been built specifically for both the Wii and DS respectively.
“The Wii captures the amazing visual style of the movie and features drop-in drop-out co-operative gameplay, whereas the DS version has a really unique 2D visual style that looks nothing at all like the movie, but is perfectly suited to the DS platform. “Both gaming press and retailers have loved what we’ve done with both this and the Wii version.” Hype is building behind the starstudded Alice in Wonderland movie, and Disney Interactive Studios is well positioned to capitalise on this with the game. The publisher is once again collaborating with other teams from around the Disney empire to ensure the success of the game, the movie and every other facet of the Alice brand – and it is confident the game will achieve the sales it deserves.
RELEASED: MARCH 5 FORMATS: WII, DS PUBLISHER: DISNEY DEVELOPER: ETRANGES LIBELLULES PRICE: VARIOUS DISTRIBUTOR: CENTRESOFT CONTACT: 0121 625 3388
“Alice in Wonderland is certainly not your typical tie in,” adds Woodward. “We’re hoping to capture the imagination of both gamers and fans of the movie. We’re anticipating an extremely positive reaction from the media including core gaming media such as the Official Nintendo Magazine who has already embraced the DS version. With the additional weight of the rest of the Walt Disney Company behind the property, retailers can expect a stellar performance from Alice.”
As with its recent release The Princess and the Frog, Disney Interactive Studios has been working closely with its parent’s Hollywood arm in order to create a marketing plan that cross-promotes the entire Alice in Wonderland launch, including the movie, the game and more. There will be ads in trade magazines for the various industries involved with the movie, game and merchandising, supported by a targeted girls’ media print campaign. Online, Disney has set up an official Alice in Wonderland franchise website, which includes a bespoke section dedicated to the video game. Elsewhere, there will be a social media campaign running through Facebook, with an interactive storytelling application and numerous third-party partner promotions. A cinema trailer campaign will run before screenings of the film to generate awareness and excitement among movie-going fans. Disney Interactive Studios will be running trade marketing support with its existing, traditional customers, as well as working on cross-promotional trade activity through non traditional outlets – such as clothing, book and toy stores – to tie-in with other merchandising initiatives surrounding the film’s release.