Toy Story 3 (video game)

Toy Story 3 is a platform video game. The game includes a story mode, which loosely recreates the events of the film; and the Toy Box mode, set within the universe of the fictional ''Woody's Roundup television series, which is featured in the second film, Toy Story 2''. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (PS3) versions include a multiplayer feature in both modes. Woody, Buzz, and Jessie are playable characters throughout the game. They each have their own abilities that are needed to progress through the story mode, although they play the same when in Toy Box mode. In addition, the game also features compatibility with the PlayStation Move motion controller, and there are also downloadable mini-games designed specifically for the Move that could be downloaded for free from the PlayStation Store. An iOS mobile application for iPhone and iPod Touch includes two built-in games: the free ''Woody's Wild Ride, in which the player controls Woody while riding his horse Bullseye across 10 levels; and the premium Toy Story Mania'', in which includes a set of minigames, stages, levels, and prizes. The application also allows the player to use their iPhone or iPod Touch as a controller for the Macintosh version. The Nintendo DS version supports a Nintendo DSi exclusive feature, where the player can use the audio modulator to alter their recorded voices. ==Plot==

Toy Story 3 is based on the film. Sheriff Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, and others are among toys that previously belonged to a boy named Andy. Now 17 years old, Andy has donated his toys to a girl named Bonnie before leaving for college. Three of Andy's toys – Hamm, Rex and Slinky Dog – tell Bonnie's original toys about an adventure they had before being donated to Bonnie. Andy's toys explain that they were donated to the Sunnyside Daycare center, run by a stuffed bear named Lotso. The toys later learn that Sunnyside is a toy prison run by Lotso, a disgruntled ruler of the daycare toys. Andy's toys escape through a trash chute and wind up in a garbage truck, which takes them to a landfill, where they are about to be destroyed by a trash shredder. In the PlayStation 2 (PS2), PlayStation Portable (PSP), and Nintendo DS versions, the toys are saved by Andy's Alien toys (like in the film). In the other versions, Woody, Buzz, and Jessie save the other toys. In addition, the PS2 and PSP versions feature only Rex telling the story, through drawings that he has created. ==Development==

By February 2008, Disney and Pixar had rejected THQ's pitch to develop the video game adaptation of Toy Story 3, choosing instead to have it developed by Disney's Avalanche Software. THQ had been a long-time developer of Disney games. Avalanche Software presented two ideas to Pixar: a traditional story mode that retells the film's story, and the free-roaming Toy Box mode. Pixar liked the ideas and suggested they both be developed. Jonathan Warner, a senior producer on the game for Avalanche, said: "We knew we couldn't just do a 'see the movie, play the game' kind of treatment. This movie is so powerful. It's about the characters and the situations they find themselves in. We had to honour that". Describing the Toy Box mode, Warner said the development team "wanted to take that experience where kids combine different sets of toys from their toy box but it totally makes sense to them, it all flows out of their imagination". Warner further explained that the Toy Box mode begins in a typical western town setting "but soon you're able to start bringing in toys that make no sense to the Western setting and context, like a haunted house toy - and these change the way the town looks, the sort of enemies and toys it brings to the environment, pushing things in a completely different direction". The Toy Box mode went through approximately 10 different versions before Avalanche finalized it. The original version of Toy Box mode would involve bandits invading the player's town, and Warner said the player would then have to "keep performing tasks to make sure everything was still going. We thought it would be a fun and interesting idea, but it turned out to be more like hard work!" Renders and models of the characters were passed to the development team from the film's animators, and the game's characters were hand-drawn rather than using the traditional method of motion capture that is typically utilized in games. In the home console versions, Jeff Garlin and Kristen Schaal also reprised their roles from the film as Buttercup and Trixie. Toy Story 3: The Video Game was announced on February 16, 2010, at the American International Toy Fair, along with the Toy Story 3 mobile application. In April, Disney Interactive Studios announced the exclusive content for the PlayStation 3 version, including the ability to play as Emperor Zurg or unlock additional mini-games designed specifically for PlayStation Move motion controller. The PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable versions were developed by Asobo Studio, while the iOS game was developed by Disney Mobile Studios. ==Release==

Toy Story 3: The Video Game was published by Disney, and was the first Pixar game in years to not be published by THQ. In the United States, Toy Story 3: The Video Game was released on June 15, 2010, three days prior to the film's theatrical release. It was released for computer, PS3, PSP, Nintendo DS, Wii, and Xbox 360. The game was released for the same platforms in the U.K. on July 16. The iOS application was released in the U.S. on June 15, The PS2 version was also released in the U.S. as a standalone copy on November 2, coinciding with the film's home video release. In September 2022, the PlayStation Portable version was added to PlayStation Plus. ==Reception==

According to Metacritic, the home console versions of Toy Story 3 received generally positive reviews, Chad Concelmo of Destructoid praised the graphics of the Xbox 360 version but wished the game included more playable characters, such as Slinky Dog or Mr. Potato Head. Nintendo Power called the Wii version "surprisingly fun", Lex Friedman of Macworld called the iOS game "painfully un-fun" and stated that it played "mostly like a barely-interactive advertisement". The game remained a top-10 seller in the UK as of September 2010. The Nintendo DS version sold 164,000 copies in the U.S. during June 2010; it and the Wii version were among the top 20 best-selling U.S. games that month. ==Notes==