Thank Grog It’s Firday!
OK. Yes. So, the headline is a bit of a taunt to the Simpsons’ new dark ruler…if you actually believe that Disney is as bad as all of the old school, traditional media types believe they are.
I am not in that camp. In fact, I am one of those who thinks that large, efficiently run, diverse, amazing companies, should be allowed to rise to the top, and be everything they can be, without the fear of being called “a monopoly.” Companies that get too big, ultimately go the way of Rome, and buckle under the pressure of handling too much…with too wide a grasp. Ask Microsoft…and perhaps even Facebook. But, I like the world better with Google and Amazon. Too political?
Well…as it pertains to the Simpsons, and for that matter, TSTO, I am going to go with the belief that Disney knows what a treasure the show is, and has the kind of deep pockets, and forward thinking, to make both the show, and the game, a continued reality for years more to come. Belief is a powerful thing. It creates faith…and then reason is thrown out the window. But, I digress…
The Disney statement is bold. Yes. But, both Disney’s new Masthead, and “Sizzle Reel” released this week when the ink was barely dry on the final acquisition papers of Fox Entertainment, would tell a story that should put this conversation to bed.
Take a look at both. And then, try and tell me that the Simpsons is just going to head quietly into syndication/rerun heaven.
It is clear, that Disney thinks that the Simpsons is part of their primary assets, as it pertains to entertainment. There is our little Bart…given the same attention as Woody, Mickey, and Danny Glover! Holyfreakinshirt! The Mouse loves the Simpsons.
For this reason, I truly believe that we can all relax.
Oh. Wait. TSTO is owned by Gracie (Matt Groening and Co), FOX (which is now Disney) and EA…which is NOT Jam City.
Who is Jam City? And why do we care? Well…this gets convoluted. Jam City is a Mobile Game development company who “Signed a Development Deal” with Disney back in November 2018. This was about the time that Disney started to put the throttle up to full speed, on the Fox acquisition. So again we ask, who is Jam City? They are the makers of such amazingly fun games as….
Wait. Whaaaaaa? Family Guy, and Futurama and… WAIT…Aren’t those games from the dreaded Tiny Co.?????
Yes. Yes they are. Jam City acquired Tiny Co. back in 2016.
But it gets murkier…
Disney and Jam City have been co-mingling employees… as of this article in Variety eludes.
Which was followed closely by a ton of layoffs at Jam City…
And then Another Article on Jam City getting a ton of investment capital, in order to EXPAND their holdings…
What does all of this mean for TSTO???
Probably nothing for a while.
What we do know, is that Tiny Co (which is part of a company that isn’t all that Tiny…and has a deal with Disney), pretty much sucks. Harsh. But true. Their history for Family Guy The Quest for Stuff and Futurama Worlds of Tomorrow is abysmal at best. So, the only Groening-inspired-mobile-game to actually be a success…and thrive…and prosper over the years, is TSTO…which was of course developed by EA…a true Juggernaut in the gaming industry.
How is this all going to play out? Hard to tell. But, one thing is for sure…unless Disney buys out EA (which is not remotely likely), TSTO is going to be the odd game out in the lineup. It’s not mentioned in any of the articles. And even though Bart and the Simpsons family are being welcomed with open arms and much hoopla by the Disney-ites…the game, may be a casualty of Disney’s desire to be in the Mobile Gaming world.
We’ll see. Nothing is going to happen quickly. Or…it will. Giant re-brandings after acquisitions are like that. And it is clear that at this point, Disney holds all of the cards. We may see something about the game soon…or it will just continue to coast along with the show for another couple of years.
One thing is for certain…nothing is for certain.
On to a brighter note…
I inspired another golf enthusiast to design their own course!
A faithful reader (and Buyijja supporter) wrote me about their golf course in the comments…and of course, (pun intended) I had to see what he had created! wilsoncpu has made a lovely little course, with a ton of forethought into the play-ability of the course.
His comment on last week’s Friday Filler planted my seed of curiosity.
OK, I had to have my own 9-hole course. I’m sure it could use some spiffification ™, but it’s playable, and a solid 36 par, with a couple of “reachable” greens for the big hitters. Like Patric, I got no new “Golf Course” choices in my Yearbook. And I only have ONE of those in my town so far! 😦
For fun, I modeled several holes after ones at my local course, and one after a hole at the Pristine Course up in Lake Placid, where one tee is immediately adjacent to a restaurant patio! So all the diners can watch you flub your drive! ACK! Worst. Placement. Ever.
I loved that he trademarked the word, spiffification ™. That is bold thinking. I too have been trying for years to make “padular device” part of the modern lexicon. But, I digress again…
Here is his course.
Hole 1 (the parody of the Pristine Course)
Holes 2,3,4*
Holes 5,6
Holes 7,8*,9
Both par 5’s, marked with an asterisk, are reachable in 2 by the “big hitters”.
He explained his design a bit in an email.
I think of the flowers as markers rather than actual foliage, but I’m thinking that doesn’t really work. I may take them out.
BTW, here are my par values. Two of the par 5s could be 4s for the long drivers.
Hole/Par
1 / 4
2 / 4
3 / 3
4 / 5
5 / 4
6 / 3
7 / 4
8 / 5
9 / 4
I’ll send the designed shots soon, have to update some screen shots. My town idea is that it just grew, like a real town, with some planned developments. So much of it is basically “untouchable” for major changes.
I like the way Mark thinks. The whole “Nuke it if it gets bored” crowd has me flummoxed. It makes all of your work seem so unimportant. But, I get it. Some simply prefer to design like Buddhist monks do with mandalas. Beauty is both transcendental and transitory. Deeeeeeeep.
So…we will find out in the end, whether the beauty that is TSTO is here for another few years…or whether these recent bold changes in the game, are the first signs that Disney is moving the game toward “hospice mode.”
So much life to live…so much golf to be played…TSTO will either be here…or it won’t.
Meanwhile week 3 without any updates, no Easter event… And all the old items and characters available for 30 donuts each… I think we can pretty much safely say TSTO is done for.
http://tstoaddicts.com/2019/04/25/%f0%9f%a4%b7%e2%80%8d%e2%99%80%ef%b8%8f/
Really good article. No end truths by the end of your paper, but it certainly made me think and open my eyes to the changes happening within the tsto game and their potential relation to the outside business transactions of the real world.
All I know, is if they force me watch actual commercial advertisements to earn donuts or to push along a quest, I will immediately quit playing.
I stopped watching and paying for cable TV about 5 years ago altogether due to my frustration with commercials. And I have been much happier for the last 5 years, regarding media consumption.
Thank you for your scary article.
Well…I would call it pragmatic, instead of scary. But, being real is scary sometimes.
DONALD Glover, my dude. I’d try and alter the image before you get hit by a storm of desired corrections. (ironically, there is a rumor that Donald is related to Danny. I think it was debunked, though.)
I have an aversion to the nam Donald…apparently.
Love. Them. And. Fun.
What really gets my head spinning after this whole buyout dealie is that after all those decades of being competitors Disney cartoon and Looney Tunes are now family. But once Mel Blanc passed I feel like Looney Tunes did also so…
~MIB👤
This would be amazing if true. Unfortunately it’s not, as Looney Tunes is still owned by Warner Bros., which is under the Time Warner Group, not the Disney group, so they still get to be competitors.
As long as TSTO does not go the way of DMK. That game has become all about money grabbing. So much so that I’m offloading it by the year end. It started with so much promise too. Well 3 years is good going for me with that one. The yellow people will always be my fave, so I truly hope that they do not alienate us….lovely article as always….💜X
I agree. I think I’m done with DMK too. It seems like every event is impossible to get to the end unless you buy all the premium content.
That’s one reason I like TSTO is that you can complete every event with 4 hour logins even if you don’t purchase premium items.
I thnk there is a weird glitch at the moment for me. I received blackbeard in this event yearbook mystery box and I cannot allow him to finish his first quest. “Search for treasure”. He isn’t allowed to do it at all. I didn’t get his ghost ship. What should i do?
Judging by the way Team Disney Burbank is gutting parts of Team Fox Century City, I still say that The Simpson’s is going to be used as a bargaining chip for Team Disney Burbank to get the rights to all of Marvel in their Theme Parks by selling off The Simpson’s to Team Universal (this will increase maximum profits across the board for everything Marvel related that Disney will be able to do in their Theme Parks worldwide) …. Universal will maximize ownership of The Simpson’s by broadcasting episodes on their Comcast NBC Networks, and creating a more immersive Springfield experience at every Universal Theme Parks worldwide.
Great looking golf course, Sir 🏌️
FWIW, EA has been doing a horrendous job of Star Wars games and Disney seems to have just let them get on with it regardless, admitting that they’re stil fairly clueless re gaming. It would be weird if they chose a different tack for the more successful Simpsons game.
Ullman shorts,
Christmas show,
Marge’s fling,
Homer’s bro,
Bart in well,
Flanders fails,
Whacking snakes,
Monorail,
Mr Plow,
Homer space,
Sideshow Bob steps on rakes,
Lisa’s future,
Selma’s hubby,
Marge not proud,
Homer chubby,
Homer worries Bart is gay,
Poochie, U2, NRA,
Hippies, Vagas and Japan,
Octuplets,
And Bart’s boy band,
Marge murmers,
Maude croaks,
Lisa Buddihst,
Homer tokes,
Maggie blows Burns away,
What else do I have to say?
They’ll never stop The Simpsons,
Have no fears, we’ve got stories for years,
Like – Marge becomes a robot,
Maybe Moe gets a cell-phone,
Has Bart ever owned a bear,
Or, how ’bout a crazy wedding?
and something happens a do-do-do-do-doooo,
Sorry for the clip-show,
Have no fears, we’ve got stories for years
excellent!
Did put your fingers together like Mr. Burns? 😁
Another Billy Joel and Simpson’s fan! Very nicely done…extremely impressed….perfectly written to “We Didn’t Start the Fire”
I do believe that is DONALD Glover. Or as he is known in the world of Music, Childish Gambino.
This is true. I am old. And I apparently have a subconscious aversion to the name Donald. Go figure.
Donald’s of the world are offended
lol! You claim the rhyme ya gotta do the time. Or something.