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ELECTRONIC ARTS MAKES OFFER FOR TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE

Yeah, you're probably groaning right now as much as I am. If this article over at Kotaku is right, then it appears that Electronic Arts has made a considerable offer to acquire longtime rival Take-Two Interactive (2KGames, Rockstar, etc). 

According to the article, EA isn't fooling around either. The offer they've made is supposedly $26 a share – some 64 percent higher than the stock was selling for roughly one week ago. That's considerable money, though I'm sure the stock itself would see a rise as we approach the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV. 

It also seems that Take-Two has already spurned this offer, and much like the ongoing situation between Microsoft and Yahoo, Electronic Arts will be taking their offer directly to the shareholders of the company – the question now is just how much faith do those shareholders have in TakeTwo's current management and GTAIV.

Wow, I didn't think I'd hear one this week that would dwarf the rumor that Microsoft was looking to acquire Epic, but here it is. We'll be sure to keep you updated on any movement on this story as we hear about it. 

EDIT: While posting this one, it appears the news is breaking everywhere about this offer, making it appear that it is indeed legitimate. May God have mercy on our consoles. Consider this rumor confirmed. (The offer, not that it is a done deal)

February 24, 2008 Posted by | 2K Games, Electronic Arts, Grand Theft Auto, Mergers & Acquisitions, Oh Noes!, Rockstar, Rumor Confirmed, Rumors, Take-Two | Leave a comment

THQ TO ACQUIRE BIG HUGE GAMES

You know gang, I don't know how to feel about this next bit of news… according to Gamasutra, THQ has entered into negotiations to buy Big Huge Games. Now I know that the two have been working closely together since March of 2007 or so on some unnamed RPG, but I still have to say that I get an uneasy feeling about this one. I don't know, maybe I was just hoping to see Brian Reynolds and company come back to the Rise of Nations franchise following 2006's somewhat weakly received Rise of Legends.

One thing of interest in the article is the statement that it was actually a new intellectual property Big Huge was working on that prompted THQ to make an offer;

"We asked what else Big Huge is bringing to the table, given that one of THQ's stated goals in addition to increasing its internal development capabilities, is to expand its portfolio of owned IP.

He replied, "I would say that the RPG was enough, but what definitely sealed the deal for us on both sides is the next one. It's more innovative, more unique, and we just felt like it requires both long-term thinking from both sides. But also from THQ's perspective, it showed us that this is a studio that can gen some new concepts. Anything else coming out of Big Huge is icing on the cake."" – Gamasutra

Now being as big a fan of Big Huge and Brian Reynolds as I am, I've got to say that the idea of some new concept coming out of the studio is more than enough to snag my attention. I remember talking with a good friend of mine back when Rise of Legends came out that while the game made wasn't the best RTS title I had ever seen, it would certainly be a great backdrop for a massive multiplayer online game.

I almost wonder if this new, long-term game would be just such a thing. Certainly, the profits coming to Activision Blizzard from World of Warcraft are more than enough to make anyone consider trying to grab a piece of the pie. Admittedly, there's been nothing to make me think that's whats going on beyond that conversation – in fact, I'm not even sure if the "Rise" IP is actually held by series developer Big Huge or publisher Microsoft Games.

Getting back to the matter at hand, there is one (hopefully) bit of good news to be found here – according to the Gamasutra article, THQ currently plans on taking a hands-off approach to managing the company. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that this all works out in the end.

January 17, 2008 Posted by | Announcements, Big Huge Games, Brian Reynolds, Mergers & Acquisitions, THQ | Leave a comment

ACTIVISION INC AND VIVENDI GAMES TO MERGE INTO ACTIVISION BLIZZARD

Just when it looked like it was safe to go in the boardroom, Activision Incorporated (Guitar Hero) and Vivendi Games (World of Warcraft) have announced that they will be merging into Activision Blizzard – a move that involves some 19 billion dollars and will result in Vivendi gaining a 52 percent interest in the new company.

"December 2, 2007 (Santa Monica, Calif. and Paris, France) – Activision, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) and Vivendi (Euronext Paris: VIV) today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement to combine Vivendi Games, Vivendi's interactive entertainment business — which includes Blizzard Entertainment’s™ World of Warcraft®, the world’s #1 multi-player online role-playing game franchise — with Activision, creating the world’s largest pure-play online and console game publisher. The new company, Activision Blizzard, is expected to have approximately $3.8 billion in pro forma combined calendar 2007 revenues and the highest operating margins of any major third-party video game publisher. On closing of the transaction, Activision will be renamed Activision Blizzard and will continue to operate as a public company traded on NASDAQ under the ticker ATVI." – Activision Blizzard merger announcement

I've got to say that this one is actually a little bit shocking as it would appear that neither company was really in a situation where they needed the assistance of the other. It's also somewhat interesting to see that of all the different companies under Vivendi Games' banner, Blizzard is the one that made the title of the new company. I guess both sides know where the money train is, eh?

The terms of the merger seem fairly intricate, so I won't begin to go into them here in an abbreviated manner. If you're looking for all the details, be sure to check out Activision Blizzard's new website at www.ActivisionBlizzard.com. One thing that I should say right off the bat, is that World of Warcraft fans appear to have nothing to worry about, as according to Blizzard, they will continue to operate as a seperate division of the new company. (and certainly the fact that Blizzard was considered important enough to represent the new company in name indicates both sides are well aware that Blizzard should continue it's operations without interference)

"We're pleased to announce that along with the other companies that make up Vivendi Games, we are merging with Activision to form a new global entertainment organization called Activision Blizzard (pending shareholder and regulatory approval). Similar to our previous arrangement, Blizzard Entertainment will now operate as a division of this new organization.

There will be no changes to our games, our websites, our personnel, or our day-to-day operations as a result of the deal. However, this combining of resources will benefit all of the companies involved and will further strengthen Blizzard's ability to continue delivering high-quality content for our players around the world for many years to come. To learn more about this exciting new development, please read our Activision Blizzard FAQ." – Blizzard.com

I'm also sure Electronic Arts is a bit upset at once again losing the "biggest third party software company" title once again, so be sure to keep an eye out for more possible acquisition announcements in the coming weeks.

December 2, 2007 Posted by | Activision, Activision Blizzard, Announcements, Blizzard, Mergers & Acquisitions, Vivendi, Warcraft | Leave a comment

ELECTRONIC ARTS BUYS PANDEMIC STUDIOS & BIOWARE

In a surprise announcement, Electronic Arts has announced that in a deal worth up to 810 million dollars, they’ve purchased both Pandemic Studios (Mercenaries 2) and Bioware (Mass Effect). I can only assume that EA took those stories about them falling behind Activision on the third party developer size chart poorly.

“Today I want to announce two new teams joining the EA family – Pandemic Studios in Los Angeles and Brisbane , Australia ; and BioWare Corp. in Edmonton and Austin . Both will become part of the EA Games Label, reporting to Frank Gibeau.

As you may know, I brought these studios together and served as their CEO while I was with Elevation Partners. I know and respect these teams, the games they make and the strong individual creative cultures that define them. I couldn’t be happier to have them join us at EA.” -EA.com

This one was a bit upsetting. Bioware and Pandemic Studios are two of the more unique development houses out there, and fears of them getting the standard EA treatment (sequel after sequel with few real changes) is running pretty high on the internet right now. We can only hope that this turns out well in the end.

On a related note, Microsoft was quick to point out that regardless of today’s announcement, they are still the exclusive publisher for Bioware’s Mass Effect, and the game will remain an Xbox 360 exclusive. However, they also did make a point of noting that Bioware owns the intellectual property for Mass Effect and that, at present, there are no deals in place for the second or third games in the series.

“First, and most important right now, EA’s acquisition of BioWare will not change the current release schedule for Mass Effect. All of us are excited for the game’s worldwide release, starting Nov. 20. Everyone at BioWare (the owners of the Mass Effect IP) and Microsoft (the exclusive publisher of Mass Effect) are committed to keeping everything on track. And yes, Mass Effect will be an Xbox 360 exclusive, despite any rumors (or wishful thinking) to the contrary.

Since neither BioWare nor Microsoft have made any announcements about sequels or publishing deals, we aren’t ready to say anything more about the future of the franchise, but you can be sure we’ll be discussing a lot of things with BioWare (and EA) in the weeks to come.” – Gamerscore Blog

Why do I get the feeling that eventually every third party developer will fall under EA, THQ, Ubisoft or Activision? *Sigh*

October 12, 2007 Posted by | Announcements, Bioware, Electronic Arts, Mergers & Acquisitions, Pandemic Studios | Leave a comment

ELECTRONIC ARTS BUYS PANDEMIC STUDIOS & BIOWARE

In a surprise announcement, Electronic Arts has announced that in a deal worth up to 810 million dollars, they’ve purchased both Pandemic Studios (Mercenaries 2) and Bioware (Mass Effect). I can only assume that EA took those stories about them falling behind Activision on the third party developer size chart poorly.

“Today I want to announce two new teams joining the EA family – Pandemic Studios in Los Angeles and Brisbane , Australia ; and BioWare Corp. in Edmonton and Austin . Both will become part of the EA Games Label, reporting to Frank Gibeau.

As you may know, I brought these studios together and served as their CEO while I was with Elevation Partners. I know and respect these teams, the games they make and the strong individual creative cultures that define them. I couldn’t be happier to have them join us at EA.” -EA.com

This one was a bit upsetting. Bioware and Pandemic Studios are two of the more unique development houses out there, and fears of them getting the standard EA treatment (sequel after sequel with few real changes) is running pretty high on the internet right now. We can only hope that this turns out well in the end.

On a related note, Microsoft was quick to point out that regardless of today’s announcement, they are still the exclusive publisher for Bioware’s Mass Effect, and the game will remain an Xbox 360 exclusive. However, they also did make a point of noting that Bioware owns the intellectual property for Mass Effect and that, at present, there are no deals in place for the second or third games in the series.

“First, and most important right now, EA’s acquisition of BioWare will not change the current release schedule for Mass Effect. All of us are excited for the game’s worldwide release, starting Nov. 20. Everyone at BioWare (the owners of the Mass Effect IP) and Microsoft (the exclusive publisher of Mass Effect) are committed to keeping everything on track. And yes, Mass Effect will be an Xbox 360 exclusive, despite any rumors (or wishful thinking) to the contrary.

Since neither BioWare nor Microsoft have made any announcements about sequels or publishing deals, we aren’t ready to say anything more about the future of the franchise, but you can be sure we’ll be discussing a lot of things with BioWare (and EA) in the weeks to come.” – Gamerscore Blog

Why do I get the feeling that eventually every third party developer will fall under EA, THQ, Ubisoft or Activision? *Sigh*

October 12, 2007 Posted by | Announcements, Bioware, Electronic Arts, Mergers & Acquisitions, Pandemic Studios | Leave a comment

ELECTRONIC ARTS BUYS PANDEMIC STUDIOS & BIOWARE

In a surprise announcement, Electronic Arts has announced that in a deal worth up to 810 million dollars, they’ve purchased both Pandemic Studios (Mercenaries 2) and Bioware (Mass Effect). I can only assume that EA took those stories about them falling behind Activision on the third party developer size chart poorly.

“Today I want to announce two new teams joining the EA family – Pandemic Studios in Los Angeles and Brisbane , Australia ; and BioWare Corp. in Edmonton and Austin . Both will become part of the EA Games Label, reporting to Frank Gibeau.

As you may know, I brought these studios together and served as their CEO while I was with Elevation Partners. I know and respect these teams, the games they make and the strong individual creative cultures that define them. I couldn’t be happier to have them join us at EA.” -EA.com

This one was a bit upsetting. Bioware and Pandemic Studios are two of the more unique development houses out there, and fears of them getting the standard EA treatment (sequel after sequel with few real changes) is running pretty high on the internet right now. We can only hope that this turns out well in the end.

On a related note, Microsoft was quick to point out that regardless of today’s announcement, they are still the exclusive publisher for Bioware’s Mass Effect, and the game will remain an Xbox 360 exclusive. However, they also did make a point of noting that Bioware owns the intellectual property for Mass Effect and that, at present, there are no deals in place for the second or third games in the series.

“First, and most important right now, EA’s acquisition of BioWare will not change the current release schedule for Mass Effect. All of us are excited for the game’s worldwide release, starting Nov. 20. Everyone at BioWare (the owners of the Mass Effect IP) and Microsoft (the exclusive publisher of Mass Effect) are committed to keeping everything on track. And yes, Mass Effect will be an Xbox 360 exclusive, despite any rumors (or wishful thinking) to the contrary.

Since neither BioWare nor Microsoft have made any announcements about sequels or publishing deals, we aren’t ready to say anything more about the future of the franchise, but you can be sure we’ll be discussing a lot of things with BioWare (and EA) in the weeks to come.” – Gamerscore Blog

Why do I get the feeling that eventually every third party developer will fall under EA, THQ, Ubisoft or Activision? *Sigh*

October 12, 2007 Posted by | Announcements, Bioware, Electronic Arts, Mergers & Acquisitions, Pandemic Studios | Leave a comment

ELECTRONIC ARTS BUYS PANDEMIC STUDIOS & BIOWARE

In a surprise announcement, Electronic Arts has announced that in a deal worth up to 810 million dollars, they’ve purchased both Pandemic Studios (Mercenaries 2) and Bioware (Mass Effect). I can only assume that EA took those stories about them falling behind Activision on the third party developer size chart poorly.

“Today I want to announce two new teams joining the EA family – Pandemic Studios in Los Angeles and Brisbane , Australia ; and BioWare Corp. in Edmonton and Austin . Both will become part of the EA Games Label, reporting to Frank Gibeau.

As you may know, I brought these studios together and served as their CEO while I was with Elevation Partners. I know and respect these teams, the games they make and the strong individual creative cultures that define them. I couldn’t be happier to have them join us at EA.” -EA.com

This one was a bit upsetting. Bioware and Pandemic Studios are two of the more unique development houses out there, and fears of them getting the standard EA treatment (sequel after sequel with few real changes) is running pretty high on the internet right now. We can only hope that this turns out well in the end.

On a related note, Microsoft was quick to point out that regardless of today’s announcement, they are still the exclusive publisher for Bioware’s Mass Effect, and the game will remain an Xbox 360 exclusive. However, they also did make a point of noting that Bioware owns the intellectual property for Mass Effect and that, at present, there are no deals in place for the second or third games in the series.

“First, and most important right now, EA’s acquisition of BioWare will not change the current release schedule for Mass Effect. All of us are excited for the game’s worldwide release, starting Nov. 20. Everyone at BioWare (the owners of the Mass Effect IP) and Microsoft (the exclusive publisher of Mass Effect) are committed to keeping everything on track. And yes, Mass Effect will be an Xbox 360 exclusive, despite any rumors (or wishful thinking) to the contrary.

Since neither BioWare nor Microsoft have made any announcements about sequels or publishing deals, we aren’t ready to say anything more about the future of the franchise, but you can be sure we’ll be discussing a lot of things with BioWare (and EA) in the weeks to come.” – Gamerscore Blog

Why do I get the feeling that eventually every third party developer will fall under EA, THQ, Ubisoft or Activision? *Sigh*

October 12, 2007 Posted by | Announcements, Bioware, Electronic Arts, Mergers & Acquisitions, Pandemic Studios | Leave a comment

ACTIVISION ACQUIRES BIZARRE CREATIONS

In a surprise announcement, Activision announced late wednesday that they have acquired UK based Bizarre Creations, the development house behind Microsoft’s Project Gotham Racing franchise. While the exact terms of the deal were not disclosed, the acquisition does not include the rights to the PGR series, as Microsoft is the holder for that particular intellectual property. Geometry Wars on the other hand, as you may have guessed from the upcoming Nintendo DS release of Geometry Wars: Galaxies, is another story. I’d expect to see some form of Geometry Wars finding it’s way to the PlayStation 3 some time in the near future.

"SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sep 26, 2007 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATVI) today announced that it has acquired U.K.-based video game developer Bizarre Creations, one of the world’s premier video game developers and a leader in the racing category, a $1.4 billion market that is the fourth most popular video game genre and represents more than 10% of the total video game market worldwide.

This acquisition represents the latest step in Activision’s ongoing strategy to enter new genres. Last year, Activision entered the music rhythm genre through its acquisition of RedOctane’s Guitar Hero franchise, which is one of the fastest growing franchises in the video game industry." – Activision press release

Obviously, Bizarre will be moved into making multiplatform games, which would virtually ensure the end of their participation in the development of the PGR franchise, though the early rumor is that Bizarre will simply move back to producing the Metropolis Street Racer series, meaning that while the name changes, little else will. One thing that many seem concerned about, is whether or not Activision will show the same kind of quality control that Microsoft has shown with Bizarre’s titles. As usual, only time will tell.

September 28, 2007 Posted by | Activision, Announcements, Bizarre Creations, Mergers & Acquisitions | Leave a comment

WOE TO MMOG PLAYERS EVERYWHERE – ALLAKHAZAM’S HAS FALLEN

1UP.com is reporting that in the battle between mmog players and the gold farmers, the gold farmers seem to have won another round. Allakhazam’s Magical Realm reported today that they have been bought out by the parent company of IGE, one of the largest item selling companies out there, and the owners of Thottbot.com as well. While the moderators at Allakhazam’s are stating that IGE’s parent company has made sure to put the 2 in different divisions, gamer’s aren’t buying it.

Now I’ve had a lot of bad experiences with gold famers in World of Warcraft, so I’m not holding out much hope for Allakhazam’s to be left unscathed. Personally, I’d advise to be very careful if you use them to price items before you toss them up in the auction house. Adding insult to injury, it was also revealed that Allakhazam’s will be renamed Zam.com.

May 4, 2006 Posted by | Mergers & Acquisitions, MMOG'S | Leave a comment

WOE TO MMOG PLAYERS EVERYWHERE – ALLAKHAZAM’S HAS FALLEN

1UP.com is reporting that in the battle between mmog players and the gold farmers, the gold farmers seem to have won another round. Allakhazam’s Magical Realm reported today that they have been bought out by the parent company of IGE, one of the largest item selling companies out there, and the owners of Thottbot.com as well. While the moderators at Allakhazam’s are stating that IGE’s parent company has made sure to put the 2 in different divisions, gamer’s aren’t buying it.

Now I’ve had a lot of bad experiences with gold famers in World of Warcraft, so I’m not holding out much hope for Allakhazam’s to be left unscathed. Personally, I’d advise to be very careful if you use them to price items before you toss them up in the auction house. Adding insult to injury, it was also revealed that Allakhazam’s will be renamed Zam.com.

May 4, 2006 Posted by | Mergers & Acquisitions, MMOG'S | Leave a comment

MICROSOFT ACQUIRES MASSIVE INCORPORATED

Microsoft’s employee blog, Gamerscore Blog, is reporting that as rumored, Microsoft will be acquiring in-game advertising company Massive Incorporated for an undisclosed sum. Kevin Johnson, co-president of the Microsoft Platforms and Services division, summed up the purchase like this;

———————————-
“Joining forces with Microsoft will allow Massive to deliver even greater benefits for advertisers, game developers and gamers through one of the world’s largest, most comprehensive online networks,” said Mitchell Davis, CEO of Massive Inc. “While our current business relationships will remain in place, with Microsoft we have the prospect of extending our technology into a vast array of new markets and online environments.” – Kevin Johnson
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It should be interesting to see how this plays out as far as deals Massive has with other Console makers such as Sony.

May 4, 2006 Posted by | Mergers & Acquisitions, Microsoft | Leave a comment

VIACOM TO BUY XFIRE

While I’ve never been an Xfire user, I know many people who are. To them, I’d like to express my sincerest condolences as Gamespot is reporting that Viacom has reached an agreement to buy Xfire for 108 million dollars and will be merging it with MTV Networks. You know what that means gang, a company that knows nothing about gaming is attempting to capture that ever elusive young-male demographic and is going to start deluging us with what they think is hip and cool. Get ready to see a bunch of advertisements and changes that don’t really reflect the user-base.

April 24, 2006 Posted by | Mergers & Acquisitions | Leave a comment