There was a fairly large article in an Irish paper this morning about a new round of funding that Havok has obtained, along with an interview with its Chief Executive, Dave O'Meara. No major news, but I thought I'd post up some of the main points, for anyone who's interested..
- They're looking to aggressively invest in new products, offices & acquisitions; the new funding wasn't for day-to-day operations, but strategic plans
- Plan to set up in Asia; just won their first contract in Japan, without a base there, but plan to set up offices in Japan & Korea in time for next-generation systems.
- Havok has NO interest in being acquired. In a thinly veiled reference to EA's acquisition of Criterion, O'Meara said that it was important Havok remain independent because its products are used by range of competing companies. If EA were to buy Havok, its competitors would stop using its software (suggesting, perhaps, that this is what will happen to Renderware?). They're doing too well to be acquired, according to O'Meara.
- There will be a series of new products coming; the first will be aimed at the animation industry.
- Despite being used in films (Troy & Matrix Reloaded being two), they have no plans to offer a movie-focussed product; they plan to remain focussed on games, but if movie deals come along, that's a bonus.
- They've appointed a former engineering director from Discreet to oversee their next-gen strategy; their now focussed on being the standard for the games industry going into the next-generation.
It's nice to seem them expand...after Criterion's acquisition, Havok's independent position is more important than ever imo.
edit - oh, and in the same article, it was mentioned that EA is on a bit of a shopping spree in Europe at the moment...probably more announcements on the way so.
- They're looking to aggressively invest in new products, offices & acquisitions; the new funding wasn't for day-to-day operations, but strategic plans
- Plan to set up in Asia; just won their first contract in Japan, without a base there, but plan to set up offices in Japan & Korea in time for next-generation systems.
- Havok has NO interest in being acquired. In a thinly veiled reference to EA's acquisition of Criterion, O'Meara said that it was important Havok remain independent because its products are used by range of competing companies. If EA were to buy Havok, its competitors would stop using its software (suggesting, perhaps, that this is what will happen to Renderware?). They're doing too well to be acquired, according to O'Meara.
- There will be a series of new products coming; the first will be aimed at the animation industry.
- Despite being used in films (Troy & Matrix Reloaded being two), they have no plans to offer a movie-focussed product; they plan to remain focussed on games, but if movie deals come along, that's a bonus.
- They've appointed a former engineering director from Discreet to oversee their next-gen strategy; their now focussed on being the standard for the games industry going into the next-generation.
It's nice to seem them expand...after Criterion's acquisition, Havok's independent position is more important than ever imo.
edit - oh, and in the same article, it was mentioned that EA is on a bit of a shopping spree in Europe at the moment...probably more announcements on the way so.