Disney Launches DGamer

A few weeks back I had the pleasure of sitting down with some of the folks from Disney Interactive to talk about their new online community tool, DGamer which is launching in conjunction with the new Prince Caspian game for DS. It's actually a pretty ingenious little setup and one that Nintendo should take note of. DGamer can be used to communicate over the DS wireless online or on the DGamer website.

Using DGamer, players can log into their Ds or online accounts and create a sweet little 3D avatar that can be customized with tons of hairstyles, accessories and costumes including character outfits from some of your favorite Disney. Once your avatar is created you can then interact with other people in the DGamer community using your DS. But the fun doesn't stop there, by playing various Disney DS games, you'll be able to unlock new costumes and accessories as well as "honors" which are similar to achievements. Unlocking honors will also provide more little goodies to make your avatar special. They can also unlock special hidden content in certain games.

What really makes DGamer special is their approach to protecting younger players. Obviously this service will appeal to some adults but is mainly geared towards kids. Parents will be able to set parental type controls through the website, allowing one of the three levels of communication. First there is "Speed Chat" that allows players to talk using a pre-determined list of words and phrases. The next level is "Speed Chat Plus" where you can free-form type but inappropriate language is blocked. Finally there is "Open Chat" which allows players to talk freely, but to do so requires the exchange of a simple code via email outside of the DGamer system. It's much easier and smoother to deal with than Nintendo's cumbersome friend code system.

I checked out DGamer first hand over the last few weeks and it's really very cute. I enjoyed the art style of the avatars and of course I couldn't resist dressing up my little guy in a Tinkerbell outfit. In my opinion, Disney's DGamer could really change the way Nintendo DS users communicate. Hopefully the big "N" will take a few pointers from the big "D" and start to smooth out their methods of DS communication between friends.