Legal Step
Member
EA
Challenge Everything...then buy it.
Also anti-trust laws are for losers.
Challenge Everything...then buy it.
Also anti-trust laws are for losers.
WOW! EA Buys 20% of UbiSoft
- Thread starter mcdonnell
- Start date
If Anti-Trust doesn't block this move from EA, it's gonna be it. EA will be the big unstoppable in videogame software like Microsoft is with Windows in the PC market.
After EA crush everyone (including us UBI *snif) they gonna have control over the software and they'll launch their own console. It's more and more written in the sky as time goes.
Please Anti-Trust may you axe this EA to an end. (even if it would probably not do much just like it did pretty much nothing to Microsoft...)
After EA crush everyone (including us UBI *snif) they gonna have control over the software and they'll launch their own console. It's more and more written in the sky as time goes.
Please Anti-Trust may you axe this EA to an end. (even if it would probably not do much just like it did pretty much nothing to Microsoft...)
The Shadow
Member
I remember a time when EA hate was supposedly from bitter Sega fans.
People here are so stupid and naive. This is exactly why I've hated EA for so long.
There's always hope of a second videogame crash. I think that's a real possibility if EA buys up enough talent.
People here are so stupid and naive. This is exactly why I've hated EA for so long.
There's always hope of a second videogame crash. I think that's a real possibility if EA buys up enough talent.
FrenchMovieTheme
Member
boo yah ladies! You love it!
one day we will all be a part of EA
one day we will all be a part of EA
Legal Step
Member
But come on people Splinter Cell 2008 is gonna rock.
Warm Machine
Member
EA has never made the most out of a license. All of their Bond games suck.
Though, I'll hand it to them for Battlefield, SSX 3, and Freedom Fighters...though in 2 of those 3 cases it wasn't really about them.
Though, I'll hand it to them for Battlefield, SSX 3, and Freedom Fighters...though in 2 of those 3 cases it wasn't really about them.
They have? Can you back that figure up with numbers or rankings? Hell, Square Enix doesn't even have a Euro publishing branch (though neither does Namco to be fair). Outside FFX-2, they haven't had any real hits either (besides games Nintendo or Sony published for them). Where's this success coming from exactly?Hello GAF! I like to be an idiot! said:
So you can't source it?Hello GAF! I like to be an idiot! said:
All those brands are still successful. WRC is big in PAL regions (as is WO still). WildArms and Ape Escape still pull in 200k+ in Japan. Dark Cloud's done decently in all regions (it's outsold most dungeon hacks). Jak and R&C are doing fine too, can you prove they're selling proportionately worse now?Hello GAF! I like to be an idiot! said:
PC. Which you seem to keep ignoring.Hello GAF! I like to be an idiot! said:
Oh and don't forget Fable for Xbox games. The Rare investement should produce something notable sooner or later too.
You hardly know what you're talking about. If not for PlayStation, Sony Corp would be in deep shit. Kutaragi's now on the excutive board, leading all consumer electronics for Sony Corp. CELL and OpenMAX are Sony's ticket to shaking up the chip/OS business, both spawning from SCEI. Wake up.Hello GAF! I like to be an idiot! said:
sonycowboy
Member
So, we since are seeing the inevitable merger / aquisition activities., let's speculate on the vulnerable and empire builders 
NOTES about these numbers:
1) These only include GCN, PS2, & XBX. I didn't include GBA (why? Because I was lazy)
2) Some sub-labels are included
3) They are units, not dollars, so bargain brands might be somewhat better represented.
But, the scales of these companies are such that this gives us a pretty good idea of the landscape. If you don't like it, well, the world's not perfect.
Basically, this is just a jumping off point to see who is vulnerable and who is looking to be be bigger
NOTES about these numbers:
1) These only include GCN, PS2, & XBX. I didn't include GBA (why? Because I was lazy)
2) Some sub-labels are included
3) They are units, not dollars, so bargain brands might be somewhat better represented.
But, the scales of these companies are such that this gives us a pretty good idea of the landscape. If you don't like it, well, the world's not perfect.
Basically, this is just a jumping off point to see who is vulnerable and who is looking to be be bigger
Code:
Publisher LTD Sales Share
ELECTRONIC ARTS Total 81,902,104 21.75%
SONY COMPUTER ENT. (SONY) Total 27,332,953 7.26%
ACTIVISION Total 24,891,435 6.61%
ROCKSTAR GAMES (TAKE 2) Total 22,194,424 5.89%
NINTENDO OF AMERICA Total 19,415,062 5.16%
THQ Total 18,254,393 4.85%
MICROSOFT Total 18,038,164 4.79%
ATARI Total 15,407,335 4.09%
NAMCO Total 13,802,370 3.66%
SEGA OF AMERICA Total 12,365,257 3.28%
UBISOFT Total 12,263,120 3.26%
KONAMI OF AMERICA Total 11,758,017 3.12%
MIDWAY Total 10,878,413 2.89%
ACCLAIM ENTERTAINMENT Total 9,495,166 2.52%
VIVENDI UNIVERSAL Total 9,437,355 2.51%
CAPCOM USA Total 8,614,734 2.29%
TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE Total 7,936,993 2.11%
LUCASARTS ENTERTAINMENT Total 7,306,484 1.94%
EIDOS INTERACTIVE Total 6,007,194 1.60%
SQUARE EA (SQUARE ENIX USA) Total 4,588,390 1.22%
GOTHAM GAMES (TAKE 2) Total 2,702,203 0.72%
MULTIPLE VIDEO GAME MANUFACTUR Total 2,478,484 0.66%
TECMO Total 2,503,119 0.66%
KOEI Total 2,206,142 0.59%
SQUARE ENIX USA Total 1,791,787 0.48%
INTERPLAY PRODUCTIONS Total 1,723,130 0.46%
TDK MEDIACTIVE Total 1,627,235 0.43%
BETHESDA SOFTWORKS Total 1,556,932 0.41%
CRAVE ENTERTAINMENT Total 1,551,442 0.41%
AGETEC Total 1,345,208 0.36%
MAJESCO Total 1,348,503 0.36%
BAM! ENTERTAINMENT Total 1,215,065 0.32%
BANDAI AMERICA Total 1,176,832 0.31%
THE 3DO COMPANY Total 1,028,213 0.27%
SIERRA ENTERTAINMENT (VIVENDI Total 851,890 0.23%
CODEMASTERS USA Total 590,002 0.16%
NATSUME Total 600,995 0.16%
CONSPIRACY Total 570,730 0.15%
SONY ONLINE ENT. Total 516,276 0.14%
TITUS SOFTWARE Total 524,480 0.14%
KEMCO AMERICA Total 485,284 0.13%
ATLUS Total 361,226 0.10%The Abominable Snowman
Member
Competition absolutely destroys EA's profits. I cannot blame them for eliminating as much potential competition as they can. You saw what Sega/Take Two did this year. What if Ubi creates stronger competition for EA's profitable Medal of Honor and Battlefield games? They've already taken some bites out of their sales, especially MoH. This is essentially EA protecting their interests. Don't blame the Playa, Blame the game.
EA has competition coming in from all sectors. Their biggest moneymakers are probably Sports, The Sims and war themed games in that order.
They've knocked out about half of their sports competition in one fell swoop. No company aside from Nintendo has made anything comparable to the Sims, and Nintendo's mismanagement of Pikachu and pals has IMO stunted what potential they had. Even still, it's no direct competition.
It may be EA protecting their bottom ine, and if they purchase Ubi outright, then they've not only did that but they've added quite a few valuable franchises that could add revenue
EA has competition coming in from all sectors. Their biggest moneymakers are probably Sports, The Sims and war themed games in that order.
They've knocked out about half of their sports competition in one fell swoop. No company aside from Nintendo has made anything comparable to the Sims, and Nintendo's mismanagement of Pikachu and pals has IMO stunted what potential they had. Even still, it's no direct competition.
It may be EA protecting their bottom ine, and if they purchase Ubi outright, then they've not only did that but they've added quite a few valuable franchises that could add revenue
The Abominable Snowman
Member
At this point, I'm sure one of the console makers will make EA an offer for alliance. It might be Sony and EA vs Microsoft and Nintendo. Who knows.f_elz said:
sonycowboy said:So, we since are seeing the inevitable merger / aquisition activities., let's speculate on the vulnerable and empire builders
NOTES about these numbers:
1) These only include GCN, PS2, & XBX. I didn't include GBA (why? Because I was lazy)
2) Some sub-labels are included
3) They are units, not dollars, so bargain brands might be somewhat better represented.
But, the scales of these companies are such that this gives us a pretty good idea of the landscape. If you don't like it, well, the world's not perfect.
Basically, this is just a jumping off point to see who is vulnerable and who is looking to be be bigger
can you do a list with revenue? unit sales are pretty meaningless in terms of mergers/buyouts..
SatelliteOfLove
Member
The Abominable Snowman said:
And that my friend, scares the shit outta me. Not only because EA is everything the Photoshop gurus have poking fun at them for being, but it would get others to conglomerate as well. Haphazard growth, buy-outs, and mergers are risky and potentially stifling, especially out of fear.
CrimsonSkies
Member
In regards to SonyCowboy's post. I could see Microsoft making investments into Tecmo and maybe another Japanese publisher at the moment. I don't think they'd actually buy anyone out over there. I also believe that Blizzard Entertainment is going to be bought by someone soon. Probably Microsoft. Seems like an ideal fit for both companies. Blizzard could continue making PC / Xbox titles. Microsoft gets some much needed IP that's console exclusive to the Xbox. Ensemble Studios is case in point that a developer under Microsoft's Game Studios can have a fairly hands off envrionment (as hands off as it's going to get).
Warm Machine
Member
Make your case, and it better be good. Also, next time you post a link, post one without a virus attached. You should probably be banned for that.
Agent Icebeezy
Welcome beautful toddler, Madison Elizabeth, to the horde!
Mrbob said:
They can be portable agnostic. I fail to understand your logic. If they have all games on one system, that, imo, provides more incentive to get the system. I know a lot of people that held off of games like the first Def Jam or NBA Street because it wasn't one Xbox. If I thought like them, why make someone buy another console, 300 bucks is 6 more games. THey have already proven they can move software. OVer 1/5 sold this gen is from them. I see this as inevitable
Warm Machine
Member
Eurocom is probably next. Though Nintendo would be wise to pick them up.
Agent Icebeezy
Welcome beautful toddler, Madison Elizabeth, to the horde!
Well, with them buying Criterion for the renderware engine. That will be a big source of revenue next generation. They'd be just like Nintendo was back in the NES/SNES days, but on an even larger scale. 20% of all games sold this gen is from them anyways. Plus they will get royalty fees. It's a win-win situation for them. That's what scares me.....
Warm Machine
Member
Agent Icebeezy said:
Renderware only really became popular due to the programming bitch that was the PS2. The cross platform development isn't as big of a deal now-a-days. Just getting something up and running on PS2 for most dev houses was a pain and without renderware most games wouldn't have made it.
Don't know the difficulty of getting graphics rendering on the upcoming systems but Renderware may become a redundant issue if the difficulties are resolved.
Agent Icebeezy
Welcome beautful toddler, Madison Elizabeth, to the horde!
For Kaz's E3 slideshow presentation, he should just cut the bullshit and just have one slide that says 'Thanks EA!' The message will be the same either way
radioheadrule83
Banned
snapty00 said:
I think they've just moved away from second party financial endorsements. They'd rather outright own a company like Retro, or partner with them on selective projects if they're going to invest at all. The partnership deals and Q fund might be an adequete replacement...
but I wouldn't rule out the conviction of whoever it was at Nintendo who said they may invest heavily in the future (it was Yamauchi/Iwata, I've googled to no avail).
Agent Icebeezy said:
Maybe under new leadership this thought may have changed, but I remember reading old interviews that top EA brass didn't want to touch the hardware business as it is too unstable. As they must maintain this huge inventory of hardware beyond software, and sell the hardware at a loss to get it into peoples homes. Being software only allows them to align themselves with the top dogs and get sweet licensing deals without having to worry about the hardware side.
truesayian
Banned
Amir0x said:
he has my vote.
CrimsonSkies
Member
"Why do you think Blizzard would be bought by anyone? Blizzard won't accept a buyout the same reason EA won't do a hardware platform: Becoming exclusive to one platform will not allow you to release titles on competing platforms."
Being with Microsoft gives them Nintendo handheld, PC of course, and Xbox markets to hit with their games. That's virtually all that Blizzard has done in the past 10 years if you consider Starcraft Ghost an Xbox product that's been delayed to get the other versions up to speed. Which is what appears to have happened given how far along the Xbox version was at the first E3 it was shown. Blizzard has no say really. Vivendi owns them and can sell them. Naturally though Blizzard would have to be kept happy, but I don't see why working for Microsoft would be a step down from working with Vivendi. Seems like a natural fit to me.
Being with Microsoft gives them Nintendo handheld, PC of course, and Xbox markets to hit with their games. That's virtually all that Blizzard has done in the past 10 years if you consider Starcraft Ghost an Xbox product that's been delayed to get the other versions up to speed. Which is what appears to have happened given how far along the Xbox version was at the first E3 it was shown. Blizzard has no say really. Vivendi owns them and can sell them. Naturally though Blizzard would have to be kept happy, but I don't see why working for Microsoft would be a step down from working with Vivendi. Seems like a natural fit to me.
Fresh Prince
Banned
:lol Deathrow vs Badboy
This thread is hilarious enjoy your trip to the 'Bling Era' of Games, boys and girls.
And Halo 2 is nothing special (otherwise generic).
CrimsonSkies said:
Does Vivendi own Blizzard? I thought they just pubished Blizzard developed games. I'm surprised a company as profitable as Blizzard needs a publisher to help sustain development costs.
Blizzard is already publishing games on GBA and Xbox without MS publishing help. I really don't see a reason why Blizzard would need to be bought out by MS. They can develop games just fine on their own and have them published on Xbox. But I agree working with MS would be a step up than being with Vivendi. Just as long as the buyout doesn't make them lose their PC first focus.
Ahh nevermind got my answer here:
http://www.blizzard.com/inblizz/profile.shtml
Vivendi publishes a high number of high profile high selling PC games and own Blizzard. How the hell do they get into financial trouble? Must be other divisions within Vivendi bringing them down.
So will EA axe Brothers in Arms?
With the game getting a lot of positive buzz (and it is looking very impressive), does anyone think that EA will axe the game in favor of their inferior Medal of Honor game now that they have veto power over Ubisoft projects?
And what about Ubi's And1 basketball game? Buh bye due to NBA Street?
With the game getting a lot of positive buzz (and it is looking very impressive), does anyone think that EA will axe the game in favor of their inferior Medal of Honor game now that they have veto power over Ubisoft projects?
And what about Ubi's And1 basketball game? Buh bye due to NBA Street?
This thread is good for a chuckle. FMT you post at IGN? 
http://boards.ign.com/message.asp?topic=74763969&usecoregcookie=1&fromsubscribersendto=1
http://boards.ign.com/message.asp?topic=74763969&usecoregcookie=1&fromsubscribersendto=1
Agent Icebeezy
Welcome beautful toddler, Madison Elizabeth, to the horde!
ManaByte said:
I think they will be gone, at least the And 1 game.. I'm just hoping nothing happens to the Rainbow 6 series. I believe Splinter Cell will be fine, but R6, GR, and MOH are a little too similiar
CrimsonSkies said:
Seriously, do you enjoy talking out of your ass?
The reason that Ghost is delayed isn't to get the other versions up to speed. It's because they found the gameplay lacking when compared to the competition they are facing, namely MGS3 and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. They took the impressions they received from E3 and are reworking the title to make it more fun.
