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ELECTRONIC ARTS OFFICIALLY DELAYS MERCENARIES 2

I'll keep this one short as I'm running massively late at the moment and haven't had much time to prepare any kind of a post for today. It seems I forgot to mention that Electronic Arts has officially delayed Mercenaries 2: World in Flames a few weeks back. 

According to Kotaku, while retailers are listing the game as coming this November, EA will only commit to a fiscal 2009 release, meaning the game could ship anywhere from April of this year to March of 2009. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again until the end of time – these delays don't bother me so long as the end product benefits from teh added time. I would far prefer to see Mercenaries 2 be the kickass funfest the first game was than The Outfit v2.

February 10, 2008 Posted by | Announcements, Delayed, Electronic Arts, Mercenaries, 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

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

LAZY DAY TRAILERS: MERCENARIES 2: WORLD IN FLAMES

I’ve never made a secret of the fact that Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction was one of my favorite games of the last console generation. It was just one of those titles that seemed to have everything – open ended gameplay, massive explosions, vehicle combat, more massive explosions, a load of fun whenever you played it and of course, some really freaking massive explosions. It was, in short, a masterpiece of directed mayhem.

It’s because of that love for Mercenaries that I’m thrilled to announced that GameTrailers.com has posted the debut trailer for Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, and you can watch it right here. You know, the more things change, the more they stay the same – while Pandemic Studios may have found a new publisher in the form of Electronic Arts, it looks like everything else has remained pretty much the same… in other words, things still blow up reeeeeeal nicely.

While some of the footage may look a little rough around the edges, it’s still early on and I’m sure the game will go through quite a bit more polishing before release. So far I like what I see – I like it a lot.

For more information on Mercenaries 2, be sure to check out the Mercenaries 2 official website. Those of you who want to download the trailer you just watched in standard or high-definition should head over to GameTrailers.com.

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is currently slated to release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 and Windows PC some time in 2008.

June 17, 2007 Posted by | Lazy Day Trailers, Mercenaries, Pandemic Studios, Video | Leave a comment

MERCENARIES 2 COMING TO THE XBOX 360?

UK site Computer and Video Games has reported that Pandemic will be bringing the sequel to Mercenaries to both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. While details are still a bit scarce, CVG has advised that they’ve been told by a reliable source that while Mercenaries 2: World in Flames has only been announced for the Playstation 3, it will indeed be appearing on Microsoft’s next-gen console as well.

"World in flames has so far only been announced for PlayStation 3, but although we can’t actually tell you why, we’ve got it on very good authority that it will be Xbox 360 bound, even if there’s a short PS3 exclusive period first. Pandemic haven’t even signed a publisher yet, but we can tell you that it won’t be LucasArts/Activision again." -Computer and Video Games

I’m hoping that this rumor turns out to be true as I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to pick up a Playstation 3 anytime soon and really don’t want to miss out on any of the explosive goodness that the Mercenaries name brings to mind.

Check out the Computer and Video Games article here and keep your fingers crossed for a multi-system release.

July 27, 2006 Posted by | Mercenaries, Pandemic Studios, Rumors, Xbox 360 | Leave a comment

MERCENARIES 2: WORLD IN FLAMES FAQ

The good folks at Pandemic have a two threads up on the official Mercenaries 2 forums that those seeking more information about the game may wish to check out. The first is a thread where fans can post questions for the dev team and get some feedback on what’s going on with Mercenaries 2. Needless to say, that’s become a very long thread. The second is simply a frequently updated thread that takes all the questions and answers from the aforementioned thread and posts them in one place so you don’t have to fish through 65+ pages of comments to get a bit of info on the game.

Based on information from the site, Pandemic is still shopping around for a distributor for the game and has still not made a final determination on what systems Mercs 2 will be appearing on. Here’s to hoping it goes multi-platform so no one has to miss out on the kaboomy goodness. After all, like the game says… “Everybody Pays”

Check out the Mercenaries 2 website here, the “Ask a question” thread here, and the question summary thread here.

June 10, 2006 Posted by | Mercenaries, Pandemic Studios | Leave a comment

MERCENARIES ARMING UP FOR SEQUEL

According to Gamespot, Pandemic Studios has announced that they are working on a sequel to the hit game Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction. The sequel, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, will be shown at E3 this month and is slated for release on next-generation consoles. Gamespot notes that not only are specific consoles not mentioned, but that Pandemic did not identify the games publisher, meaning that LucasArts may not be working with them on this one.

May 4, 2006 Posted by | LucasArts, Pandemic Studios | Leave a comment