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EA aquires CRITERION!!!
- Thread starter boutrosinit
- Start date
boutrosinit
Street Fighter IV World Champion
Sod that. Does this mean they own Renderware now?
*Imagine* the implications.
WHOA.
*Imagine* the implications.
WHOA.
ManDudeChild
Member
Well that about wraps it up for Criterion 
Woah. This seriously came out of nowhere. I also wonder of the implications for Renderware...is EA planning a prestige technology group that will license out tech to other companies, or will they start keeping it all to themselves?
edit - lol @ "two globally recognized intellectual properties, Burnout and Black"..they obviously are expecting high things from Black
edit - lol @ "two globally recognized intellectual properties, Burnout and Black"..they obviously are expecting high things from Black
SpoonyBard
Banned
Who's next? Free Radical?
Socreges said:
This would be something of a relief for me..can't quite express why, but for some reason it would. I guess Criterion as game developers will then plug into EA's own technology solutions, which probably include Renderware anyway.
edit - actually, ugh..no: "EA places a strategic priority on creating games with a set of tools and libraries that are shared among its studios. RenderWare and RenderWare4 - currently under development for next generation consoles - will be combined with EA's technology to create a common framework for development. EA also plans to continue licensing the middleware technology to other developers.
"Combining EA's tools and technology libraries with the existing RenderWare technologies will create a superior platform for game development," said Criterion CEO David Lau-Kee. "This system will provide the most powerful common technological framework for creating great games. Our work on RenderWare4, combined with EA's next generation efforts, will also boost development efforts on the next generation of consoles which are expected to debut over the next two years." "
Hmm, I don't like this.
EA buys Criterion; deal includes game studio and RenderWareSocreges said:
Electronic Arts has announced the purchase of British game development studio and leading middleware provider Criterion, giving the top publisher control of the hugely popular RenderWare platform.
Financial terms of the deal were not announced, but it will see EA taking over the entirety of Criterion's operations from former parent company Canon Europe - including RenderWare, the company's game development studio, and key game properties Burnout and Black.
EA plans to use Renderware - and the forthcoming RenderWare 4 system for next generation consoles - as the basis for its game development in future, and while Criterion will be managed from the EA UK Studio in Chertsey, only a few miles away from Crtierion's Guildford headquarters, the RenderWare project will be managed separately from EA's local studios.
Crucially, EA has also confirmed that it will continue licensing the company's middleware technology to other developers. The RenderWare platform is used by a large number of other publishers and developers around the globe on key projects. The irony that they will now be licensing their core technology from their biggest rival will, however, almost certainly not be lost on many of them.
"This is a great fit," according to EA chairman and CEO Larry Probst. "Criterion offers us studio talent and a proven management team, globally recognised intellectual property and technology infrastructure that will accelerate our readiness on the next generation of consoles."
For his part, Criterion CEO David Lau-Kee believes that the acquisition will benefit both companies. "Combining EA's tools and technology libraries with the existing RenderWare technologies will create a superior platform for game development," he said in a statement. "This system will provide the most powerful common technological framework for creating great games. Our work on RenderWare4, combined with EA's next generation efforts, will also boost development efforts on the next generation of consoles which are expected to debut over the next two years."
EA was already set to publish the studio's Burnout 3 title, which will launch this autumn on Xbox and PS2. First person shooter Black was well-received by the media at E3, but no release date for the title, which will now also join EA's roster, has yet been set.
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=56174
SpoonyBard
Banned
Socreges said:
From the article:
"EA places a strategic priority on creating games with a set of tools and libraries that are shared among its studios. RenderWare and RenderWare4 - currently under development for next generation consoles - will be combined with EA's technology to create a common framework for development. EA also plans to continue licensing the middleware technology to other developers."
I guess it could be good, in that it might prompt new competition in the engine market. Obviously if EA makes Renderware for the exclusive use of its studios, it will open a huge gap in the market, but even if they do keep licensing it out, I imagine lots of devs would look for alternatives to stem EA's dominance. They'd have to be credible/competitive alternatives, though...maybe an existing player like Havok could expand out into more general middleware (though Havok themselves do enjoy quite a co-operative relationship with Renderware, so maybe not...).
edit - and I agree with Lost Weekend..though I think they'd have to do a better job of maintaining distinct brands within the EA umbrella than they have up till now, because to the ordinary consumer, EA appears as just one brand (albeit a very big one). If they want to go down the hardware path, they should start pushing the different brands within EA, kinda like how big washing powder and food companies have multitudes of different products and brands. The consumer thinks they all come from many different companies, but usually it's just a few. A similar approach with EA could lend them greater credibility in the market (i.e. they'd appear to have much wider and more diverse support than they would if they simply presented themselves as "EA").
edit - and I agree with Lost Weekend..though I think they'd have to do a better job of maintaining distinct brands within the EA umbrella than they have up till now, because to the ordinary consumer, EA appears as just one brand (albeit a very big one). If they want to go down the hardware path, they should start pushing the different brands within EA, kinda like how big washing powder and food companies have multitudes of different products and brands. The consumer thinks they all come from many different companies, but usually it's just a few. A similar approach with EA could lend them greater credibility in the market (i.e. they'd appear to have much wider and more diverse support than they would if they simply presented themselves as "EA").
MightyHedgehog
Member
Gattsu25 said:
Yep. I can see Renderware being dumped in favor of other middleware options considering who the new owners are by a couple of EA's bigger rivals. Maybe even Take Two.
MightyHedgehog
Member
Lost Weekend said:
I'd hazard a guess that EA has more internal/wholly-owned developers and resources than anyone at this point, including Nintendo, Sony, and MS. In the video game field, I mean.
ManDudeChild
Member
The way things are going, companies like Take-Two, Ubisoft, Activision and other large publishers are going to have to merge to take on EA. Ugh
MightyHedgehog
Member
DSN2K said:
Yeah, seriously. People talk of MS and Sony wanting to rule the industry and being the lord of video games at some point...well, maybe more Sony than MS...or maybe the other way around...anyway, EA is the one to fear.
Doom_Bringer
Banned
fuck this sucks
sonycowboy
Member
Lost Weekend said:
Looking at the financial results, I think it's MUCH more profitable for them to stay in the software business.
boutrosinit
Street Fighter IV World Champion
cja said:
Well spotted.