Cartoon Network Unveils FusionFall

The Cartoon Network announced that it will unveil its virtual world platform, Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, tomorrow at the San Diego Comic-Con. FusionFall, produced in partnership with Grigon, is a mix of a "3-D console platform game and all the customization, character development and open-ended world exploration of an MMORPG."  A previous release pegged the game as free-to-download with support through subscription and micro-transactions. Users will power-up by collecting "small, super-deformed versions of Cartoon Network characters [...] to assist during missions." However, the network confirmed with Kotaku that Adult Swim characters will not be part of the game.

"Our current offering of online games continues to be the main driver of Cartoon Network New Media’s success, and we’ve surpassed 2 billion game plays annually for the past three years. FusionFall fulfills our goal of increasing the range of game play we offer, and we expect it to significantly expand our audience," said Paul Condolora, senior vice president and general manager of Cartoon Network New Media.

The majority of the network's games are free, though, so it remains to be seen whether users will take to a pay-to-play model.

We spoke yesterday with Trilogy's Michael Pole about the importance of white-label, private virtual worlds for massive brands. It seems like The Cartoon Network agrees. One of the major sources of revenue he spoke about were subscriptions.

"If [Pimp My Ride's owner, Viacom] were to launch a new movie and there was a new trailer available or they wanted to have celebrities appear in world, we could do that," he said. "We can create special areas in which premium subscribers can go to and will pay premium fees for to see something that's not available to the average user."

It sounds like FusionFall, though, will be entirely subscription-based, though. That's the way Disney's ToonTown started before switching to an ad-based model. And with the absence of Adult Swim characters, it seems like Cartoon Network is aiming for more of a children's virtual world, so it might eventually need to go the same route.

We'll be following the news at the convention and following up with the team after the show.

[Screens via Kotaku]

Joey Seiler
www.VirtualWorldsNews.com
joey (at) showinitiative.com
(512) 535-8650
skype: joey.seiler.vwnews

Comments

[luis felipe]

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