EA acquires BioWare, Pandemic News
PC Xbox 360 News by Games Industry.biz
Electronic Arts has announced an agreement with Elevation Partners to acquire VG Holding Corp., the owner of both BioWare Corp. and Pandemic Studios, GamesIndustry.biz reports.
"These are two of the most respected studios in the industry and I'm glad to be working with them again," said EA CEO John Riccitiello.
"They'll make a strong contribution to our strategic growth initiatives on quality, online gaming and developing new intellectual properties. We also expect this will drive long-term value for our shareholders."
Riccitiello formed Elevation Partners in 2004, shortly after leaving EA. In 2005, his new company made a bid for Eidos, which it later withdrew.
Riccitiello returned to Electronic Arts as its CEO in early 2007.
EA will pay up to USD 620 million in cash to the stockholders of VG Holding Corp. and will issue up to an additional USD 155 million in equity to certain employees of VG Holding Corp., subject to time-based or performance-based vesting criteria.
EA will also assume outstanding VG Holding Corp. stock options and has agreed to lend VG Holding Corp. up to USD 35 million through the closing of the acquisition.
The Pandemic and BioWare teams will join the EA Games label currently run by Frank Gibeau.
BioWare is currently developing Mass Effect, which will be published by Microsoft for the Xbox 360 in November, and is in the early development stages of a massively multiplayer online game. Pandemic Studios is developing the upcoming Mercenaries 2: World in Flames and Saboteur.
The two developers employ roughly 800 people across four studios located in Edmonton, Canada; Los Angeles; Austin, Texas; and Brisbane, Australia.
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ProtoformX
12/10/07 @ 08:11
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That's the problem with big companies. As they acquire more money they can only think on how to get more money than that. I work in a theatre and last year we made profit ranking in the some millions. Now all the head honchos can think of is how to make more money than that. I won't give the exact figure for confidentiality reasons but anyone who thinks we need to make more money is quite possibly ill. Does this mean Mass Effect will now have the EA logo slapped on it?
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Seems like they are not happy with shelling out "Peter Beardsley's Soccer Inferno 2009" and "Harry Potter's Wizball Hattrick Pro Evo Deluxe", but need some fresh ideas for a change.
Since it is EA, they spend 860 Million for it. Ask Nintendo or Blizzard, where they bought their ideas and how much they paid.......
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 12/10/07 @ 09:15
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That_Happy_Cat
12/10/07 @ 08:18
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Speaking of Blizzard... they got bought didn't they? I think they went on to make some decent stuff.
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asphaltcowboy
12/10/07 @ 08:20
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Hmm, sounds like it might screw up the ME trilogy... will EA want a sequel on PS3 without some kind of introductory game?
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ProtoformX. But if EA did stop trying to grow they would lose share holders and then they themselves would be open to a take over. this is why capitalism is bad and destroying the planet.(i know software publishers are not big polluters but companies that are work on the same model where by the only thing they are do is produce more and use up more recourses not the companies fault it's the whole system that is wrong)
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Artemis_Matsas
12/10/07 @ 08:24
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Bioware Live 2009 anyone???
Edit: Damn you DB2k ;)
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most recently on 12/10/07 @ 09:25
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cheeseweasel
12/10/07 @ 08:28
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":S
Be funny if Bioware & Pandemic go the way of Westwood, Bullfrog, Origin... etc." Funny how exactly? |
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"Shit.
I feel sorry for everyone who works at Bioware. Must be a dark day in their offices today." I wouldn't feel sorry for Bioware employee's, come Jan 2008 there will be a lot of cleared mortgages! It's what happens in the future, post acquisition to Bioware's output with EA's track record that makes it look bad news for gaming generally. |
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Tiger_Walts
12/10/07 @ 08:33
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At first I thought noooo and then I realised that this will be good for the PS3 as it'll get more games badly ported from the 360 now... yes, GAMES for the PS3!
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most recently on 12/10/07 @ 09:35
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monkie_king
12/10/07 @ 08:40
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Puts Sony's 16m GBP Evolution deal in perspective.
/still remembers when EA were the good guys
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most recently on 12/10/07 @ 09:41
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Well... Mass Effect was initially planned to be a trilogy... but with EA at the reigns, could we be seeing much, much more?
I'm hoping Bioware still have their say, I'd rather have a three year wait for a "Game of the year" not a game every year that just doesnt have that thing worth waiting for... |
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Grogmonkey
12/10/07 @ 08:52
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Still, must be good for Pandemic and Bioware. Aside from never having to worry about funding ever again, if they ever make a shit game, they'll never, ever, ever be blamed for it. Internet reactionism will see that EA takes all the flak.
Ah well. I enjoyed my time at EA, so I'm sure they will too. But I don't want to rock the EA-hatin' boat, so to speak, so allow me to add: zOMG mi lief iz teh rooined lol mas efect wll b rubish nad ŁA wll by teh wrld |
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Mentalist(air)
12/10/07 @ 08:54
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Pandemic / Bioware have done the big corporate buyout thing already, and had John Riccitello in charge of the company that owned them for a while without any major obvious degredation from them (unless you cound Jade Empire being considered less impressive than KOTOR).
I suspect things will remain much as they were. |
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GamesConnoisseur
12/10/07 @ 08:59
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I will wait on what the statement from Bioware and MS regarding Mass Effect triology being affected in any way by the aquisition.
Yeah EA's track record doesnt give us much confidence. Still with new CEO I m hoping that they are not too narrow focused and they did say need more orginial titles and less of sequels!! |
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penguin_overlord
12/10/07 @ 09:16
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It really does have to be said that the past couple of weeks has been a bit up and down for Microsoft. On the one hand, you have the outstanding success of Halo 3 and an increase in 360 sales (in the US at least - outselling the PS3 over 4:1 last week). But on the other hand they no longer have Bungie as an in-house development team and both Bioware and Bizarre have been bought up by other companies (the purchase of Pandemic has little impact as they have no 360 exclusives).
Of course, MS still own the Halo franchise and Halo Wars next year looks like being a great game. And it doesn't mean either that Bungie will no longer write Halo games. But it does mean that MS can't so closely influence what Bungie create or even own their IPs. Bizarre's PGR series (although maybe not a system seller) has been important to the Xbox since day one and evidence points to Bizarre no longer being responsible for the franchise so that can't be good news. And Bioware is another important 360 developer with Mass Effect, for many, possibly looking to be the best game of the year. With Bungie now free to write for the PS3, Bizarre no longer writing PGR games and Bioware now owned by a company that releases just about everything as a multi-platform release, the 360's future library of exclusives is starting to look bleak. |
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Grogmonkey
12/10/07 @ 09:18
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@Xerx3s
I'm just sayin' past experience is no indicator of future events. And I'm saying that from a certain perspective as one has seen it 'From the Inside' (cue ominous music). And I'm not saying it JUST because they signed my payslip. Though it definitely helps my opinion of them ;) Allow me to add that I understand how people might think "Oh, so-and-so company didn't too well out of an EA deal." Because from about 10 years ago things started to go steadily downhill. But recent EA releases have not been bad. In fact, a fair number have been very good; whether as publisher or developer (especially Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. *cough*). It's the whole "EA never make anything good and Bioware are doomed and Mass Effect 3031 will be rubbish and I'll never buy an EA game ever again" crap that gets to me. I like a bit of comedy over-exageration as much as the next guy, but when it comes to EA it just gets nasty. And often unnecessarily so. I read this story on Kotaku last night (can't get to it whilst at work, unfortunately), and there was a quote from Greg Zeschuk (although it may have been the other one, whos name escapes me for the moment) and he seemed fairly happy with things. Maybe he said it because he's paid to do so. Maybe he's really pissed at the deal and is planning to leave Bioware in six weeks. Until then, though, if he says the deal is good for Bioware, I'm gonna go with the idea that the deal is good for Bioware. I imagine the same holds true for Pandemic, too. "At my age I'm prepared to take a few things on faith." |
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