Disney Nabs Onlive VP As Head Of Social Games

Disney Interactive Media Group has hired OnLive VP for games and media John Spinale as its new senior vice president of social games, where he'll lead all aspects of the company's social business, including Playdom. "Playdom has an exciting roadmap for 2012 and beyond, and John will play an important role in bringing the magic of Disney to the world’s most popular social media platforms," DIMG co-president John Pleasants said in a statement. "Social games are a key part of Disney’s digital strategy, and will be a critical driver of DIMG’s future success." Before working to shape the content strategy for streaming game service OnLive, Spinale served as senior VP of product development at Eidos through its 2005 acquisition by SCi. Spinale served as a director and executive producer at Activision during the '90s, working on titles including MechWarrior 2 and Pitfall 3D. His career also includes the founding and management of successful wireless messaging and transaction network Bitmo before its 2001 acquisition. Disney's up-to-$763 million purchase of Playdom last year has contributed to significant losses for the Interactive Media division throughout the fiscal year.