Walt Disney Co. pulled the plug on its Infinity video-game business, which combines onscreen play with collectible toys, catching analysts by surprise and casting doubt on the health of that segment of the industry.
Disney announced the decision Tuesday in a footnote to its second-quarter earnings, saying it incurred a $147 million charge for severance costs and to write off its investment in the business. The company will close its Salt Lake City game studio and cut about 300 jobs.
With the action, Disney is ending efforts to develop games on its own and will instead rely on licensees like Electronic Arts Inc., which makes “Star Wars” titles. Disney launched Infinity with great fanfare in 2013. The decision is a big win for Activision Blizzard Inc., which pioneered “toys to life” games with its Skylanders franchise.
Infinity allowed characters from many Disney classics to interact onscreen together, letting kids create adventures that put “Star Wars” or “Toy Story” characters like Buzz Lightyear on a mission in Cinderella’s coach. Much like Skylanders, customer bought a base unit that connected to a console. Collectibles placed on the base showed up in the onscreen story.
Tax receipts boost U.S. budget in April
WASHINGTON >> The United States posted a budget surplus in April, but the deficit so far for the 2016 year remains wider than it was in 2015.
The April surplus came in at $106.5 billion, down from an April surplus a year earlier of $156.7 billion, the Treasury Department said Wednesday. April is normally a good month for the budget: Thanks to annual tax receipts, April has registered a surplus in 48 of the past 62 years.
But seven months into the fiscal year, the deficit was $354.6 billion, up from $282.8 billion over the same period a year earlier. The Congressional Budget Office foresees cumulative deficits totaling $9.3 trillion from 2017 through 2026. Spending on Social Security and Medicare has been rising as the vast baby boom generation retires.
Congress probing daily fantasy sports
WASHINGTON >> Congress on Wednesday launched a fact-finding mission into the loosely regulated world of fantasy sports games — a multibillion-dollar business that advertised almost everywhere during the pro football season.
Lawmakers at a House hearing were generally supportive of the industry as they explored whether federal safeguards are needed to protect players in daily fantasy leagues. Most players ending up losing at the hands of better-informed players who often have a technological edge.
States are beginning to enact a patchwork of laws regulating the industry and its dominant companies, DraftKings and FanDuel.
Hyperloop shows off propulsion technology
NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. >> A low-profile block of aluminum zipped across a short stretch of what looked like railroad tracks Wednesday before crashing into a tuft of sand and sending a small cloud into the clear skies of the desert north of Las Vegas.
The seconds-long demonstration by startup Hyperloop One marked the first public glimpse of a propulsion system that its creators hope will rocket people and cargo through tubes at the speed of sound in five years.
Executives with the Los Angeles-based company said the system could whisk people the 350 miles from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 30 minutes.
They described a future where there’s no such thing as a long-distance relationship, and it doesn’t matter where you live because the commute to work would be so quick.
They say the tubes could run underground — a safe alternative to highway crossings and inclement weather.
The propulsion technology involves levitating pods that use electricity and magnets to move through a low-friction environment at more than 700 mph.
The idea was first articulated in a paper by Tesla co-founder Elon Musk in 2013. Musk was busy building his electric car and rooftop solar companies at the time, and offered the idea to whoever wanted to try it out.
On the move
>> Bank of Hawaii has promoted Janine McFarlane to vice president of its credit card department from assistant vice president. She joined the bank in 2013 as a credit card risk manager and was previously at Sallie Mae and Bank of America MBNA.
>> Responsive Caregivers of Hawaii has named W. Michael Lee president and chief executive officer. Lee recently served as an executive transition management consultant and was interim director since 2014. His 30 years of experience include positions at Hawai‘i Conservation Alliance and Foundation, Waikiki Community Center, Hawaii Nature Center and Hawaii Community Foundation.
Architects Hawaii Ltd. has promoted project manager Daniel B. Moats and project architect Nathan Saint Clare to senior associate. The firm has also promoted the following to associate: senior interior designer Colette Abe Lee, and project administrators James Hoapili Jr. and Jeffrey Lee.
