This announcement has me excited and scared at the same time.  This Christmas, Santa brought my son the  Skylanders Giants video game for the Wii.  The game has over 40 new toy figures that interact within the video game.  Each one with specific powers and abilities to help you get further along in the game.  It is now January 17th and we have already purchased 25 figures!  At $10 – $15 a pop we are all in but you do the math!  (The guy at my local Wal-Mart is SICK of me calling EVERY day asking if the Eye Brawl or Thumpback giants are out yet!) Seeing the success of this business model, Disney has announced that they too will be going down this video game avenue.  Their version, Disney Infinity has the potential to become a MASSIVE success.

In what Disney is touting as their “most ambitious gaming initiative ever” You can pick from TONS of Disney characters to interact in the video game.  Now before we blow past that statement let’s look a little closer.  Disney fans are some of the most loyal collectors on the planet.  Their movies and characters are beloved by millions.  Not only can you collect cool characters like Mickey, Minnie and Goofy but what about all the Pixar stuff like The Incredibles, (I’ll have to get all of those), or Nightmare Before Christmas, (I absolutely have to have all of those!), Phineas and Ferb (I can’t play unless I have Perry!).  They are setting themselves up to dominate This new form of video gaming and it will most likely force me to cut up my credit cards before I do irreversible damage.

Disney Infinity integrates these collectible character figures into the game. These figures provide experiences that are true to these characters and stories, as well as the opportunity to bring characters from various Disney and Pixar films to play together in a virtual “Toy Box.”

Each story-driven experience, or “Play Set,” drops players into an iconic Disney location, while solving puzzles, battling enemies, and collecting characters, vehicles, and gadgets for their personal stash, used later to build a unique virtual world. Players can access their “Toy Box” and build and customize their own unique virtual world using their favorite characters, vehicles, settings and accessories. Disney Infinity allows players the opportunity to share these unique creations in the “Toy Box” mode with friends both online and off.

The Disney Infinity universe launches in June across all consoles — including the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, and Wii U — and will roll out in phases on mobile devices and the Web throughout the year.

The game includes 17 character figures, 40 collectible interactive pieces, the Infinity base onto which figures are placed to unlock their in-game worlds, and interactive discs that serve as power-ups for various “Toy Box” characters.

Disney’s action-adventure game will come with a $74.99 price tag; add-ons start at $34.99 for the play set pack, while infinity figures cost $12.99 each, figure three-packs are $29.99, and a power disc pack will be $4.99.

Take a look at the trailer below and let us know what you think.  Which character are you most excited about.  Me…I’m probably leaning towards either The Mayor from Nightmare Before Christmas,Syndrome from The Incredibles or even Eve from Wall-E.  (Dash may be our first character because he looks like my son though.)

Skylanders started it, now Disney is taking it to the next level.  Can a DC Comics, Marvel or even Star Wars version be far behind?  I hope not!